36 research outputs found
N-body simulations of star clusters
Two aspects of our recent N-body studies of star clusters are presented: (1)
What impact does mass segregation and selective mass loss have on integrated
photometry? (2) How well compare results from N-body simulations using NBODY4
and STARLAB/KIRA?Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure with 4 panels (in colour, not well visible in
black-and-white; figures screwed in PDF version, ok in postscript; to see
further details get the paper source). Conference proceedings for IAUS246
'Dynamical Evolution of Dense Stellar Systems', ed. E. Vesperini (Chief
Editor), M. Giersz, A. Sills, Capri, Sept. 2007; v2: references correcte
Star Cluster Formation and Disruption Time-Scales - II. Evolution of the Star Cluster System in M82's Fossil Starburst
ABRIDGED: We obtain new age and mass estimates for the star clusters in M82's
fossil starburst region B, based on improved fitting methods. Our new age
estimates confirm the peak in the age histogram attributed to the last tidal
encounter with M81; we find a peak formation epoch at slightly older ages than
previously published, log(t_peak / yr) = 9.04, with a Gaussian sigma of Delta
log(t_width) = 0.273. Cluster disruption has removed a large fraction of the
older clusters. Adopting the expression for the cluster disruption time-scale
of t_dis(M)= t_dis^4 (M/10^4 Msun)^gamma with gamma = 0.62 (Paper I), we find
that the ratios between the real cluster formation rates in the pre-burst phase
(log(t/yr) <= 9.4), the burst-phase (8.4 < log(t/yr) < 9.4) and the post-burst
phase (log(t/yr) <= 8.4) are about 1:2:1/40. The mass distribution of the
clusters formed during the burst shows a turnover at log(M_cl/Msun) ~ 5.3 which
is not caused by selection effects. This distribution can be explained by
cluster formation with an initial power-law mass function of slope alpha=2 up
to a maximum cluster mass of M_max = 3 x 10^6 Msun, and cluster disruption with
a normalisation time-scale t_dis^4 / t_burst = (3.0 +/- 0.3) x 10^{-2}. For a
burst age of 1 x 10^9 yr, we find that the disruption time-scale of a cluster
of 10^4 Msun is t_dis^4 ~ 3 x 10^7 years, with an uncertainty of approximately
a factor of two. This is the shortest disruption time-scale known in any
galaxy.Comment: 14 pages including 8 postscript figures; accepted for publication in
MNRA
On the nature of the bi-stability jump in the winds of early-type supergiants
We study the origin of the observed bi-stability jump in the terminal
velocity of the winds of supergiants near spectral type B1. To this purpose, we
have calculated a grid of wind models and mass-loss rates for these stars. The
models show that the mass-loss rate 'jumps' by a factor of five around spectral
type B1. Up to now, a theoretical explanation of the observed bi-stability jump
was not yet provided by radiation driven wind theory. The models demonstrate
that the subsonic part of the wind is dominated by the line acceleration due to
Fe. The elements C, N and O are important line drivers in the supersonic part
of the wind. We demonstrate that the mass-loss rate 'jumps' due to an increase
in the line acceleration of Fe III below the sonic point. Finally, we discuss
the possible role of the bi-stability jump on the mass loss during typical
variations of Luminous Blue Variable stars.Comment: Accepted by A&A, 19 pages Latex, 10 figure
Chemical composition and origin of nebulae around Luminous Blue Variables
We use the analysis of the heavy element abundances (C, N, O, S) in
circumstellar nebulae around Luminous Blue Variables to infer the evolutionary
phase in which the material has been ejected.
(1) We discuss the different effects that may have changed the gas
composition of the nebula since it was ejected
(2) We calculate the expected abundance changes at the stellar surface due to
envelope convection in the red supergiant phase. If the observed LBV nebulae
are ejected during the RSG phase, the abundances of the LBV nebulae require a
significantly smaller amount of mass to be lost than assumed in evolutionary
models.
(3) We calculate the changes in the surface composition during the main
sequence phase by rotation induced mixing. If the nebulae are ejected at the
end of the MS-phase, the abundances in LBV nebulae are compatible with mixing
times between 5 x 10^6 and 1 x 10^7 years. The existence of ON stars supports
this scenario.
(4) The predicted He/H ratio in the nebulae are significantly smaller than
the current observed photospheric values of their central stars.
Combining various arguments we show that the LBV nebulae are ejected during
the blue SG phase and that the stars have not gone through a RSG phase. The
chemical enhancements are due to rotation induced mixing, and the ejection is
possibly triggered by near-critical rotation. During the ejection, the outflow
was optically thick, which resulted in a large effective radius and a low
effective temperature. This also explains the observed properties of LBV dust.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, to be published in The Astrophysical Journal,
April 20, 200
Stagnation and Infall of Dense Clumps in the Stellar Wind of tau Scorpii
Observations of the B0.2V star tau Scorpii have revealed unusual stellar wind
characteristics: red-shifted absorption in the far-ultraviolet O VI resonance
doublet up to +250 km/s, and extremely hard X-ray emission implying gas at
temperatures in excess of 10^7 K. We describe a phenomenological model to
explain these properties. We assume the wind of tau Sco consists of two
components: ambient gas in which denser clumps are embedded. The clumps are
optically thick in the UV resonance lines primarily responsible for
accelerating the ambient wind. The reduced acceleration causes the clumps to
slow and even infall, all the while being confined by the ram pressure of the
outflowing ambient wind. We calculate detailed trajectories of the clumps in
the ambient stellar wind, accounting for a line radiation driving force and the
momentum deposited by the ambient wind in the form of drag. We show these
clumps will fall back towards the star with velocities of several hundred
km/sec for a broad range of initial conditions. The infalling clumps produce
X-ray emitting plasmas with temperatures in excess of (1-6)x10^7 K in bow
shocks at their leading edge. The infalling material explains the peculiar
red-shifted absorption wings seen in the O VI doublet. The required mass loss
in clumps is 3% - 30% ofthe total mass loss rate. The model developed here can
be generally applied to line-driven outflows with clumps or density
irregularities. (Abstract Abridged)Comment: To appear in the ApJ (1 May 2000). 24 pages, including 6 embedded
figure
The dynamics of the nebula M1-67 around the run-away Wolf-Rayet star WR 124
A new point of view on the dynamics of the circumstellar nebula M1-67 around the run-away Wolf-Rayet (WR) star WR 124 is presented. We found that it has been interacting with the surrounding ISM and has formed a bow shock due to its high velocity of about 180 km/s relative to the local ISM. The star is about 1.3 parsec away from the front of this bow shock. The outbursts that are responsible for the nebula are assumed to be discrete outbursts that occurred inside this bow shock. The ejecta collide with this bow shock shortly after the outburst. After the collision, they are dragged away by the pressure of the ISM, along the surface of the bow shock. The bow shock is oriented in such way that we are looking from the rear into this paraboloid, almost along the main axis. Evidence for this is given firstly by the fact that the far hemisphere is much brighter than the near hemisphere, secondly by the fact that there is hardly any emission found with radial velocities higher than the star's radial velocity, thirdly by the fact that the star looks to be in the centre of the nebula, as seen from Earth, and finally by the asymmetric overall velocity distribution of the nebula, which indicates higher radial velocities in the centre of the nebula, and lower velocities near the edges. We find evidence for at least two discrete outbursts that occurred inside this bow shock. For these outbursts, we find expansion velocities of about 150 km/s and dynamical timescales of about 8 and 20 kyr, which are typical values for LBV outbursts. We therefore conclude that M1-67 originates from several outbursts that occurred inside the bow shock around WR 124, during an LBV phase that preceded the current WR phase of the star