43 research outputs found
V605 Aql: The Older Twin of Sakurai's Object
New optical spectra have been obtained with VLT/FORS2 of the final helium
shell flash (FF) star, V605 Aql, which peaked in brightness in 1919. New models
suggest that this star is experiencing a very late thermal pulse. The evolution
to a cool luminous giant and then back to a compact hot star takes place in
only a few years. V605 Aql, the central star of the Planetary Nebula (PN), A58,
has evolved from T5000 K in 1921 to 95,000 K today. There are
indications that the new FF star, Sakurai's Object (V4334 Sgr), which appeared
in 1996, is evolving along a similar path. The abundances of Sakurai's Object
today and V605 Aql 80 years ago mimic the hydrogen deficient R Coronae Borealis
(RCB) stars with 98% He and 1% C. The new spectra show that V605 Aql has
stellar abundances similar to those seen in Wolf-Rayet [WC] central stars of
PNe with ~55% He, and ~40% C. The stellar spectrum of V605 Aql can be seen even
though the star is not directly detected. Therefore, we may be seeing the
spectrum in light scattered around the edge of a thick torus of dust seen
edge-on. In the present state of evolution of V605 Aql, we may be seeing the
not too distant future of Sakurai's Object.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure, ApJ Letters in pres
The Anomalous Infrared Emission of Abell 58
We present a new model to explain the excess in mid and near infrared
emission of the central, hydrogen poor dust knot in the planetary nebula (PN)
Abell 58. Current models disagree with ISO measurement because they apply an
average grain size and equilibrium conditions only. We investigate grain size
distributions and temperature fluctuations affecting infrared emission using a
new radiative transfer code and discuss in detail the conditions requiring an
extension of the classical description. The peculiar infrared emission of V605
Aql, the central dust knot in Abell 58, has been modeled with our code. V605
Aql is of special interest as it is one of only three stars ever observed to
move from the evolutionary track of a central PN star back to the post-AGB
state.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures; accepted and to be published in Ap
V605 Aquilae: a born again star, a nova or both?
V605 Aquilae is today widely assumed to have been the result of a final
helium shell flash occurring on a single post-asymptotic giant branch star. The
fact that the outbursting star is in the middle of an old planetary nebula and
that the ejecta associated with the outburst is hydrogen deficient supports
this diagnosis. However, the material ejected during that outburst is also
extremely neon rich, suggesting that it derives from an oxygen-neon-magnesium
star, as is the case in the so-called neon novae. We have therefore attempted
to construct a scenario that explains all the observations of the nebula and
its central star, including the ejecta abundances. We find two scenarios that
have the potential to explain the observations, although neither is a perfect
match. The first scenario invokes the merger of a main sequence star and a
massive oxygen-neon-magnesium white dwarf. The second invokes an
oxygen-neon-magnesium classical nova that takes place shortly after a final
helium shell flash. The main drawback of the first scenario is the inability to
determine whether the ejecta would have the observed composition and whether a
merger could result in the observed hydrogen-deficient stellar abundances
observed in the star today. The second scenario is based on better understood
physics, but, through a population synthesis technique, we determine that its
frequency of occurrence should be very low and possibly lower than what is
implied by the number of observed systems. While we could not envisage a
scenario that naturally explains this object, this is the second final flash
star which, upon closer scrutiny, is found to have hydrogen-deficient ejecta
with abnormally high neon abundances. These findings are in stark contrast with
the predictions of the final helium shell flash and beg for an alternative
explanation.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figures, 2 tables, accepted for MNRAS. Better title and
minor corrections compared to previous versio
The Magellanic Catalogue of Stars (MACS)
We have compiled the Magellanic Catalogue of Stars (MACS), a catalogue
of positions for 243â561 stars covering large areas around the Large
and Small Magellanic Cloud (LMC and SMC). The positions have been
measured using ESO Schmidt plates and refer to the FK5 system via the
PPM catalogue. A comparison of positions from different plates shows
internal errors at a level of 0\hbox{.\!\!^{\prime\prime}}15 to 0\hbox{.\!\!^{\prime\prime}}23. The
positional accuracy is estimated to be better than 0\hbox{.\!\!^{\prime\prime}}5 per
coordinate for 99% of the stars. The limiting magnitude of the MACS
is B\le16\hbox{.\!\!^{\rm m}}3, but the catalogue is not complete: only those stars
are included which are undisturbed by close neighbours as verified by
visual screening in order to obtain a clean astrometric reference.
We introduce for the MACS a nomenclature and numbering system in
accord with IAU rules based on position, leaving the possibility to
add further stars without upsetting the numbering system. The
catalogue is available via the Centre des Données Strasbourg (CDS)