55 research outputs found
A dusty pinwheel nebula around the massive star WR 104
Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars are luminous massive blue stars thought to be immediate
precursors to the supernova terminating their brief lives. The existence of
dust shells around such stars has been enigmatic since their discovery some 30
years ago; the intense radiation field from the star should be inimical to dust
survival. Although dust-creation models, including those involving interacting
stellar winds from a companion star, have been put forward, high-resolution
observations are required to understand this phenomena. Here we present
resolved images of the dust outflow around Wolf-Rayet WR 104, obtained with
novel imaging techniques, revealing detail on scales corresponding to about 40
AU at the star. Our maps show that the dust forms a spatially confined stream
following precisely a linear (or Archimedian) spiral trajectory. Images taken
at two separate epochs show a clear rotation with a period of 220 +/- 30 days.
Taken together, these findings prove that a binary star is responsible for the
creation of the circumstellar dust, while the spiral plume makes WR 104 the
prototype of a new class of circumstellar nebulae unique to interacting wind
systems.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, Appearing in Nature (1999 April 08
Formation of the black-hole binary M33 X-7 via mass-exchange in a tight massive system
M33 X-7 is among the most massive X-Ray binary stellar systems known, hosting
a rapidly spinning 15.65 Msun black hole orbiting an underluminous 70 Msun Main
Sequence companion in a slightly eccentric 3.45 day orbit. Although
post-main-sequence mass transfer explains the masses and tight orbit, it leaves
unexplained the observed X-Ray luminosity, star's underluminosity, black hole's
spin, and eccentricity. A common envelope phase, or rotational mixing, could
explain the orbit, but the former would lead to a merger and the latter to an
overluminous companion. A merger would also ensue if mass transfer to the black
hole were invoked for its spin-up. Here we report that, if M33 X-7 started as a
primary of 85-99 Msun and a secondary of 28-32 Msun, in a 2.8-3.1 day orbit,
its observed properties can be consistently explained. In this model, the Main
Sequence primary transferred part of its envelope to the secondary and lost the
rest in a wind; it ended its life as a ~16 Msun He star with a Fe-Ni core which
collapsed to a black hole (with or without an accompanying supernova). The
release of binding energy and, possibly, collapse asymmetries "kicked" the
nascent black hole into an eccentric orbit. Wind accretion explains the X-Ray
luminosity, while the black hole spin can be natal.Comment: Manuscript: 18 pages, 2 tables, 2 figure. Supplementary Information:
34 pages, 6 figures. Advance Online Publication (AOP) on
http://www.nature.com/nature on October 20, 2010. To Appear in Nature on
November 4, 201
The evolution of rotating stars
First, we review the main physical effects to be considered in the building
of evolutionary models of rotating stars on the Upper Main-Sequence (MS). The
internal rotation law evolves as a result of contraction and expansion,
meridional circulation, diffusion processes and mass loss. In turn,
differential rotation and mixing exert a feedback on circulation and diffusion,
so that a consistent treatment is necessary.
We review recent results on the evolution of internal rotation and the
surface rotational velocities for stars on the Upper MS, for red giants,
supergiants and W-R stars. A fast rotation is enhancing the mass loss by
stellar winds and reciprocally high mass loss is removing a lot of angular
momentum. The problem of the ``break-up'' or -limit is critically
examined in connection with the origin of Be and LBV stars. The effects of
rotation on the tracks in the HR diagram, the lifetimes, the isochrones, the
blue to red supergiant ratios, the formation of W-R stars, the chemical
abundances in massive stars as well as in red giants and AGB stars, are
reviewed in relation to recent observations for stars in the Galaxy and
Magellanic Clouds. The effects of rotation on the final stages and on the
chemical yields are examined, as well as the constraints placed by the periods
of pulsars. On the whole, this review points out that stellar evolution is not
only a function of mass M and metallicity Z, but of angular velocity
as well.Comment: 78 pages, 7 figures, review for Annual Review of Astronomy and
Astrophysics, vol. 38 (2000
Physical Properties of Wolf-Rayet Stars
The striking broad emission line spectroscopic appearance of Wolf-Rayet (WR)
stars has long defied analysis, due to the extreme physical conditions within
their line and continuum forming regions. Recently, model atmosphere studies
have advanced sufficiently to enable the determination of stellar temperatures,
luminosities, abundances, ionizing fluxes and wind properties. The observed
distributions of nitrogen (WN) and carbon (WC) sequence WR stars in the Milky
Way and in nearby star forming galaxies are discussed; these imply lower limits
to progenitor masses of ~25, 40, 75 Msun for hydrogen-depleted (He-burning) WN,
WC, and H-rich (H-burning) WN stars, respectively. WR stars in massive star
binaries permit studies of wind-wind interactions and dust formation in WC
systems. They also show that WR stars have typical masses of 10-25 Msun,
extending up to 80 Msun for H-rich WN stars. Theoretical and observational
evidence that WR winds depend on metallicity is presented, with implications
for evolutionary models, ionizing fluxes, and the role of WR stars within the
context of core-collapse supernovae and long-duration gamma ray bursts.Comment: 76 pages, 8 figures. Minor revision to "Annual Review of Astronomy &
Astrophysics" review article Volume 45 (2007) following editors comments.
Version with full resolution figures is available from
ftp://astro1.shef.ac.uk/pub/pac/AnnRev_revised.pd
X-Ray Spectroscopy of Stars
(abridged) Non-degenerate stars of essentially all spectral classes are soft
X-ray sources. Low-mass stars on the cooler part of the main sequence and their
pre-main sequence predecessors define the dominant stellar population in the
galaxy by number. Their X-ray spectra are reminiscent, in the broadest sense,
of X-ray spectra from the solar corona. X-ray emission from cool stars is
indeed ascribed to magnetically trapped hot gas analogous to the solar coronal
plasma. Coronal structure, its thermal stratification and geometric extent can
be interpreted based on various spectral diagnostics. New features have been
identified in pre-main sequence stars; some of these may be related to
accretion shocks on the stellar surface, fluorescence on circumstellar disks
due to X-ray irradiation, or shock heating in stellar outflows. Massive, hot
stars clearly dominate the interaction with the galactic interstellar medium:
they are the main sources of ionizing radiation, mechanical energy and chemical
enrichment in galaxies. High-energy emission permits to probe some of the most
important processes at work in these stars, and put constraints on their most
peculiar feature: the stellar wind. Here, we review recent advances in our
understanding of cool and hot stars through the study of X-ray spectra, in
particular high-resolution spectra now available from XMM-Newton and Chandra.
We address issues related to coronal structure, flares, the composition of
coronal plasma, X-ray production in accretion streams and outflows, X-rays from
single OB-type stars, massive binaries, magnetic hot objects and evolved WR
stars.Comment: accepted for Astron. Astrophys. Rev., 98 journal pages, 30 figures
(partly multiple); some corrections made after proof stag
The Effect of Particulate Air Pollution on Emergency Admissions for Myocardial Infarction: A Multicity Case-Crossover Analysis
Recently, attention has focused on whether particulate air pollution is a specific trigger of myocardial infarction (MI). The results of several studies of single locations assessing the effects of ambient particular matter on the risk of MI have been disparate. We used a multicity case-crossover study to examine risk of emergency hospitalization associated with fine particulate matter (PM) with aerodynamic diameter < 10 ÎŒm (PM(10)) for > 300,000 MIs during 1985â1999 among elderly residents of 21 U.S. cities. We used time-stratified controls matched on day of the week or on temperature to detect possible residual confounding by weather. Overall, we found a 0.65% [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.3â1.0%] increased risk of hospitalization for MI per 10 ÎŒg/m(3) increase in ambient PM(10) concentration. Matching on apparent temperature yielded a 0.64% increase in risk (95% CI, 0.1â1.2%). We found that the effect size for PM(10) doubled for subjects with a previous admission for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or a secondary diagnosis of pneumonia, although these differences did not achieve statistical significance. There was a weaker indication of a larger effect on males but no evidence of effect modification by age or the other diagnoses. We also found that the shape of the exposureâresponse relationship between MI hospitalizations and PM(10) is almost linear, but with a steeper slope at levels of PM(10) < 50 ÎŒg/m(3). We conclude that increased concentrations of ambient PM(10) are associated with increased risk of MI among the elderly
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