276 research outputs found
Physical parameters of the Cen X-3 system
Photographic spectra of Cen X-3 show that the primary star has a spectral type near 06.5 with weak, variable emission at wavelength 4640 and 4686. No orbital motion of the emission or absorption lines is detected; for the latter the upper limit is approximately + or - 50 km/s. Analysis of the available data indicates that the primary is a factor of 2-3 less massive than expected from normal evolutionary models while the X-ray source has a solar mass near 1.5
The mass of the neutron star in Vela X-1 and tidally induced non-radial oscillations in GP Vel
We report new radial velocity observations of GP Vel/HD77581, the optical
companion to the eclipsing X-ray pulsar Vela X-1. Using data spanning more than
two complete orbits of the system, we detect evidence for tidally induced
non-radial oscillations on the surface of GP Vel, apparent as peaks in the
power spectrum of the residuals to the radial velocity curve fit. By removing
the effect of these oscillations (to first order) and binning the radial
velocities, we have determined the semi-amplitude of the radial velocity curve
of GP Vel to be K_o=22.6+/-1.5 km/s. Given the accurately measured
semi-amplitude of the pulsar's orbit, the mass ratio of the system is
0.081+/-0.005. We are able to set upper and lower limits on the masses of the
component stars as follows. Assuming GP Vel fills its Roche lobe then the
inclination angle of the system, i=70.1+/-2.6 deg. In this case we obtain the
masses of the two stars as M_x=2.27 +/-0.17 M_sun for the neutron star and
M_o=27.9+/-1.3 M_sun for GP Vel. Conversely, assuming the inclination angle is
i=90 deg, the ratio of the radius of GP Vel to the radius of its Roche lobe is
beta=0.89+/-0.03 and the masses of the two stars are M_x=1.88+/-0.13 M_sun and
M_o=23.1+/-0.2 M_sun. A range of solutions between these two sets of limits is
also possible, corresponding to other combinations of i and beta. In addition,
we note that if the zero phase of the radial velocity curve is allowed as a
free parameter, rather than constrained by the X-ray ephemeris, a significantly
improved fit is obtained with an amplitude of 21.2+/-0.7 km/s and a phase shift
of 0.033+/-0.007 in true anomaly. The apparent shift in the zero phase of the
radial velocity curve may indicate the presence of an additional radial
velocity component at the orbital period.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic
The Worst Distortions of Astrometric Instruments and Orthonormal Models for Rectangular Fields of View
The non-orthogonality of algebraic polynomials of field coordinates
traditionally used to model field-dependent corrections to astrometric
measurements, gives rise to subtle adverse effects. In particular, certain
field dependent perturbations in the observational data propagate into the
adjusted coefficients with considerable magnification. We explain how the worst
perturbation, resulting in the largest solution error, can be computed for a
given non-orthogonal distortion model. An algebraic distortion model of full
rank can be converted into a fully orthonormal model based on the Zernike
polynomials for a circular field of view, or a basis of functions constructed
from the original model by a variant of the Gram-Schmidt orthogonalization
process for a rectangular field of view. The relative significance of
orthonormal distortion terms is assessed simply by the numerical values of the
corresponding coefficients. Orthonormal distortion models are easily extendable
when the distribution of residuals indicate the presence of higher order terms.Comment: 1 figure; submitted in PAS
Pre-main sequence variable stars in young open cluster NGC 1893
We present results of multi-epoch (fourteen nights during 2007-2010) -band
photometry of the cluster NGC 1893 region to identify photometric variable
stars in the cluster. The study identified a total of 53 stars showing
photometric variability. The members associated with the region are identified
on the basis of spectral energy distribution, two colour diagram and
colour-magnitude diagram. The ages and masses of the majority of
pre-main-sequence sources are found to be 5 Myr and in the range 0.5
4, respectively. These pre-main-sequence
sources hence could be T Tauri stars. We also determined the physical
parameters like disk mass and accretion rate from the spectral energy
distribution of these T Tauri stars. The periods of majority of the T Tauri
stars range from 0.1 to 20 day. The brightness of Classical T Tauri stars is
found to vary with larger amplitude in comparison to Weak line T Tauri stars.
It is found that the amplitude decreases with increase in mass, which could be
due to the dispersal of disks of massive stars.Comment: 15pages, 16 figures and 5 tables, Accepted for publication in MNRA
Blue Straggler Stars: Early Observations that Failed to Solve the Problem
In this chapter, I describe early ideas on blue stragglers, and various
observations (some published, some not) that promised but failed to resolve the
question of their origin. I review the data and ideas that were circulating
from Allan Sandage's original discovery in 1953 of "anomalous blue stars" in
the globular cluster M3, up until about 1992, when what seems to have been the
only previous meeting devoted to Blue Straggler Stars (BSSs) was held at the
Space Telescope Science Institute.Comment: Chapter 2, in Ecology of Blue Straggler Stars, H.M.J. Boffin, G.
Carraro & G. Beccari (Eds), Astrophysics and Space Science Library, Springe
An atlas of 2.4 to 4.1 microns ISO/SWS spectra of early-type stars
We present an atlas of spectra of O- and B-type stars, obtained with the
Short Wavelength Spectrometer (SWS) during the Post-Helium program of the
Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). This program is aimed at extending the Morgan
& Keenan classification scheme into the near-infrared. Later type stars will be
discussed in a seperate publication. The observations consist of 57 SWS
Post-Helium spectra from 2.4 to 4.1 microns, supplemented with 10 spectra
acquired during the nominal mission with a similar observational setting. For
B-type stars, this sample provides ample spectral converage in terms of subtype
and luminosity class. For O-type stars,the ISO sample is coarse and therefore
is complemented with 8 UKIRT L'-band observations. In terms of the presence of
diagnostic lines, the L'-band is likely the most promising of the near-infrared
atmospheric windows for the study of the physical properties of B stars.
Specifically, this wavelength interval contains the Brackett alpha, Pfund
gamma, and other Pfund lines which are probes of spectral type, luminosity
class and mass loss. Here, we present simple empirical methods based on the
lines present in the 2.4 to 4.1 microns interval that allow the determination
of: the spectral type of B dwarfs and giants to within two subtypes; the
luminosity class of B stars to within two classes; the mass-loss rate of O
stars and B supergiants to within 0.25 dex.Comment: 19 pages, 11 Postscript figures, accepted by A&
One Hundred Years of Observations of the Be Star HDE 245770 (the X-ray Binary A0535+26/V725 Tau): The End of an Active Phase
UBV observations of the X-ray binary system A0535+26/V725 Tau at the Crimean
Station of the Sternberg Astronomical Institute in 1980-1998 are presented.
Based on our and published data, we analyze the photometric history of the star
from 1898.Comment: Translated from Pis'ma Astronomicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 26, No. 1,
2000, pp. 13-2
Testing the predicted mass-loss bi-stability jump at radio wavelengths
In this study, we test the theoretically predicted mass-loss behaviour as a
function of stellar effective temperature across the so-called `bi-stability'
jump (BSJ). We gathered radio observations of 30 OB supergiants (O8-B3). We
derived the radio mass-loss rates and wind efficiencies, and compared our
results with Halpha mass-loss rates and predictions based on radiation-driven
wind models. he wind efficiency shows the possible presence of a local maximum
around an effective temperature of 21~000 K -- in qualitative agreement with
predictions. We also find that the radio mass-loss rates show good agreement
with empirical Halpha rates. However, the empirical mass-loss rates are larger
than the predicted rates from radiation-driven wind theory for objects above
the BSJ temperature, whilst they are smaller for the rest. A new wind
momenta-luminosity relation for O8-B0 stars has been derived.Comment: 13 pages, 13 figures, A&
Optical and near-infrared observations of the GRB020405 afterglow
(Abridged) We report on observations of the optical and NIR afterglow of
GRB020405. Ground-based optical observations started about 1 day after the GRB
and spanned a period of ~10 days; archival HST data extended the coverage up to
70 days after the GRB. We report the first detection of the afterglow in NIR
bands. The detection of emission lines in the optical spectrum indicates that
the GRB is located at z = 0.691. Absorptions are also detected at z = 0.691 and
at z = 0.472. The latter system is likely caused by clouds in a galaxy located
2 arcsec southwest of the GRB host. Hence, for the first time, the galaxy
responsible for an intervening absorption system in the spectrum of a GRB
afterglow is identified. Optical and NIR photometry indicates that the decay in
all bands follows a single power law of index alpha = 1.54. The late-epoch VLT
and HST points lie above the extrapolation of this power law, so that a plateau
is apparent in the VRIJ light curves at 10-20 days after the GRB. The light
curves at epochs later than day ~20 after the GRB are consistent with a
power-law decay with index alphaprime = 1.85. We suggest that this deviation
can be modeled with a SN having the same temporal profile as SN2002ap, but 1.3
mag brighter at peak, and located at the GRB redshift. Alternatively, a shock
re-energization may be responsible for the rebrightening. A polarimetric R-band
measurement shows that the afterglow is polarized, with P = 1.5 % and theta =
172 degrees. Optical-NIR spectral flux distributions show a change of slope
across the J band which we interpret as due to the presence of nu_c. The
analysis of the multiwavelength spectrum within the fireball model suggests
that a population of relativistic electrons produces the optical-NIR emission
via synchrotron in an adiabatically expanding blastwave, and the X-rays via IC.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication on A&A, main
journa
3EG J2016+3657: Confirming an EGRET Blazar Behind the Galactic Plane
We recently identified the blazar-like radio source G74.87+1.22 (B2013+370)
as the counterpart of the high-energy gamma-ray source 3EG J2016+3657 in the
Galactic plane. However, since most blazar identifications of EGRET sources are
only probabilistic in quality even at high Galactic latitude, and since there
also exists a population of unidentified Galactic EGRET sources, we sought to
obtain additional evidence to support our assertion that 3EG J2016+3657 is a
blazar. These new observations consist of a complete set of classifications for
the 14 brightest ROSAT X-ray sources in the error circle, of which B2013+370
remains the most likely source of the gamma-rays. We also obtained further
optical photometry of B2013+370 itself which shows that it is variable,
providing additional evidence of its blazar nature. Interestingly, this field
contains, in addition to the blazar, the plerionic supernova remnant CTB 87,
which is too distant to be the EGRET source, and three newly discovered
cataclysmic variables, all five of these X-ray sources falling within 16' of
each other. This illustrates the daunting problem of obtaining complete
identifications of EGRET sources in the Galactic plane.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical
Journa
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