924 research outputs found
Unified line profiles for hydrogen perturbed by collisions with protons: satellites and asymmetries
We present new calculations of unified line profiles for hydrogen perturbed
by collisions with protons. We report on new calculations of the potential
energies and dipole moments which allow the evaluation of profiles for the
lines of the Lyman series up to Lyman and the Balmer series up to
Balmer10. Unified calculations only existed for the lines Lyman to
Lyman and Balmer including the H quasi-molecule. These
data are available as online material accompanying this paper and should be
included in atmosphere models, in place of the Stark effect of protons, since
the quasi-molecular contributions cause not only satellites, but large
asymmetries that are unaccounted for in models that assume Stark broadening of
electrons and protons are equal.Comment: 13 pages, 25 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Gemini spectra of 12000K white dwarf stars
We report signal-to-noise ratio SNR ~ 100 optical spectra for four DA white
dwarf stars acquired with the GMOS spectrograph of the 8m Gemini north
telescope. These stars have 18<g<19 and are around Teff ~ 12000 K, were the
hydrogen lines are close to maximum. Our purpose is to test if the effective
temperatures and surface gravities derived from the relatively low
signal-to-noise ratio ( ~ 21) optical spectra acquired by the Sloan
Digital Sky Survey through model atmosphere fitting are trustworthy. Our
spectra range from 3800A to 6000A, therefore including H beta to H9. The H8
line was only marginally present in the SDSS spectra, but is crucial to
determine the gravity. When we compare the values published by Kleinman et al.
(2004) and Eisenstein et al. (2006) with our line-profile (LPT) fits, the
average differences are: Delta Teff ~ 320 K, systematically lower in SDSS, and
Delta log g ~ 0.24 dex, systematically larger in SDSS. The correlation between
gravity and effective temperature can only be broken at wavelengths bluer than
3800 A. The uncertainties in Teff are 60% larger, and in log g larger by a
factor of 4, than the Kleinman et al. (2004) and Eisenstein et al. (2006)
internal uncertainties.Comment: 11 pages and 8 figure
The rate of cooling of the pulsating white dwarf star G117B15A: a new asteroseismological inference of the axion mass
We employ a state-of-the-art asteroseismological model of G117-B15A, the
archetype of the H-rich atmosphere (DA) white dwarf pulsators (also known as
DAV or ZZ Ceti variables), and use the most recently measured value of the rate
of period change for the dominant mode of this pulsating star to derive a new
constraint on the mass of axion, the still conjectural non-barionic particle
considered as candidate for dark matter of the Universe. Assuming that
G117-B15A is truly represented by our asteroseismological model, and in
particular, that the period of the dominant mode is associated to a pulsation
g-mode trapped in the H envelope, we find strong indications of the existence
of extra cooling in this star, compatible with emission of axions of mass m_a
\cos^2 \beta = 17.4^{+2.3}_{-2.7} meV.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures and 3 tables. Accepted for publication in MNRA
Magnetic frustration in an iron based Cairo pentagonal lattice
The Fe3+ lattice in the Bi2Fe4O9 compound is found to materialize the first
analogue of a magnetic pentagonal lattice. Due to its odd number of bonds per
elemental brick, this lattice, subject to first neighbor antiferromagnetic
interactions, is prone to geometric frustration. The Bi2Fe4O9 magnetic
properties have been investigated by macroscopic magnetic measurements and
neutron diffraction. The observed non-collinear magnetic arrangement is related
to the one stabilized on a perfect tiling as obtained from a mean field
analysis with direct space magnetic configurations calculations. The
peculiarity of this structure arises from the complex connectivity of the
pentagonal lattice, a novel feature compared to the well-known case of
triangle-based lattices
Digestibility of Sunflower Seeds in Swine Diets
Limited research has been performed using sunflower seeds as an ingredient in swine diets. Because of the large amount of sunflowers produced in South Dakota, it would be beneficial to determine their usefulness as a feed ingredient in livestock rations. Work conducted at North Dakota has shown levels of over 10% sunflower seeds in diets of growing- finishing pigs produced oily carcasses. Previous research at this station (SWINE 80-8) has shown the maximum level of ground, whole sunflower seeds to be fed to sows during late gestation and early lactation is between 25 and 50%. In order to utilize sunflower seeds in swine diets more efficiently, the digestibility of the various nutrient fractions of the seeds must be determined. This study was performed to determine the coefficients of apparent digestibility, digestible energy and nitrogen retention for rations containing various levels of ground sunflower seeds
Constraining the neutrino magnetic dipole moment from white dwarf pulsations
Pulsating white dwarf stars can be used as astrophysical laboratories to
constrain the properties of weakly interacting particles. Comparing the cooling
rates of these stars with the expected values from theoretical models allows us
to search for additional sources of cooling due to the emission of axions,
neutralinos, or neutrinos with magnetic dipole moment. In this work, we derive
an upper bound to the neutrino magnetic dipole moment using an estimate of the
rate of period change of the pulsating DB white dwarf star PG 1351+489. By
comparing the theoretical rate of change of period expected for this star with
the rate of change of period with time of PG 1351+489, we assess the possible
existence of additional cooling by neutrinos with magnetic dipole moment. Our
models suggest the existence of some additional cooling in this pulsating DB
white dwarf, consistent with a non-zero magnetic dipole moment. Our upper limit
for the neutrino magnetic dipole moment is somewhat less restrictive than, but
still compatible with, other limits inferred from the white dwarf luminosity
function or from the color-magnitude diagram of the Globular cluster M5.
Further improvements of the measurement of the rate of period change of the
dominant pulsation mode of PG 1351+489 will be necessary to confirm our bound.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in Journal
of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physic
Two new pulsating low-mass pre-white dwarfs or SX Phenix stars?*
Context. The discovery of pulsations in low-mass stars opens an opportunity
for probing their interiors and to determine their evolution, by employing the
tools of asteroseismology. Aims. We aim to analyze high-speed photometry of
SDSSJ145847.02070754.46 and SDSSJ173001.94070600.25 and discover
brightness variabilities. In order to locate these stars in the diagram we fit optical spectra (SDSS) with synthetic non-magnetic
spectra derived from model atmospheres. Methods. To carry out this study, we
used the photometric data obtained by us for these stars with the 2.15m
telescope at CASLEO, Argentina. We analyzed their light curves and we apply the
Discrete Fourier Transform to determine the pulsation frequencies. Finally, we
compare both stars in the diagram, with known two
pre-white dwarfs, seven pulsating pre-ELM white dwarf stars, Scuti and
SX Phe stars. Results. We report the discovery of pulsations in
SDSSJ145847.02070754.46 and SDSSJ173001.94070600.25. We determine their
effective temperature and surface gravity to be = 7 972 200
K, = 4.25 0.5 and = 7 925 200 K, =
4.25 0.5, respectively. With these parameters these new pulsating
low-mass stars can be identified with either ELM white dwarfs (with ~ 0.17 Mo)
or more massive SX Phe stars. We identified pulsation periods of 3 278.7 and 1
633.9 s for SDSSJ145847.02070754.46 and a pulsation period of 3 367.1 s for
SDSSJ173001.94070600.25. These two new objects together with those of Maxted
et al. (2013, 2014) indicate the possible existence of a new instability domain
towards the late stages of evolution of low-mass white dwarf stars, although
their identification with SX Phe stars cannot be discarded.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in A&A
On the possible existence of short-period g-mode instabilities powered by nuclear burning shells in post-AGB H-deficient (PG1159-type) stars
We present a pulsational stability analysis of hot post-AGB H-deficient
pre-white dwarf stars with active He-burning shells. The stellar models
employed are state-of-the-art equilibrium structures representative of PG1159
stars derived from the complete evolution of the progenitor stars. On the basis
of fully nonadiabatic pulsation computations, we confirmed theoretical evidence
for the existence of a separate PG1159 instability strip in the diagram characterized by short-period -modes excited by the
-mechanism. This instability strip partially overlaps the already
known GW Vir instability strip of intermediate/long period -modes
destabilized by the classical -mechanism acting on the partial
ionization of C and/or O in the envelope of PG1159 stars. We found that PG1159
stars characterized by thick He-rich envelopes and located inside this
overlapping region could exhibit both short and intermediate/long periods
simultaneously. we study the particular case of VV 47, a pulsating planetary
nebula nucleus that has been reported to exhibit a series of unusually short
pulsation periods. We found that the long periods exhibited by VV 47 can be
readily explained by the classical -mechanism, while the observed
short-period branch below s could correspond to modes triggered
by the He-burning shell through the -mechanism, although more
observational work is needed to confirm the reality of these short-period
modes. Were the existence of short-period -modes in this star convincingly
confirmed by future observations, VV 47 could be the first known pulsating star
in which both the -mechanism and the -mechanism of mode
driving are simultaneously operating.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables. To be published in The Astrophysical
Journa
Follow-up Observations of the Second and Third Known Pulsating Hot DQ White Dwarfs
We present follow-up time-series photometric observations that confirm and
extend the results of the significant discovery made by Barlow et al.(2008)
that the Hot DQ white dwarfs SDSS J220029.08-074121.5 and SDSS
J234843.30-094245.3 are luminosity variable. These are the second and third
known members of a new class of pulsating white dwarfs, after the prototype
SDSS J142625.71+575218.3 (Montgomery et al. 2008). We find that the light curve
of SDSS J220029.08-074121.5 is dominated by an oscillation at 654.397+-0.056 s,
and that the light pulse folded on that period is highly nonlinear due to the
presence of the first and second harmonic of the main pulsation. We also
present evidence for the possible detection of two additional pulsation modes
with low amplitudes and periods of 577.576+-0.226 s and 254.732+-0.048 s in
that star. Likewise, we find that the light curve of SDSS J234843.30-094245.3
is dominated by a pulsation with a period of 1044.168+-0.012 s, but with no
sign of harmonic components. A new oscillation, with a low amplitude and a
period of 416.919+-0.004 s, is also probably detected in that second star. We
argue, on the basis of the very different folded pulse shapes, that SDSS
J220029.08-074121.5 is likely magnetic, while SDSS J234843.30-094245.3 is
probably not.Comment: 12 pages, 19 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Discovery of an ultramassive pulsating white dwarf
We announce the discovery of the most massive pulsating hydrogen-atmosphere
(DA) white dwarf (WD) ever discovered, GD 518. Model atmosphere fits to the
optical spectrum of this star show it is a 12,030 +/- 210 K WD with a log(g) =
9.08 +/- 0.06, which corresponds to a mass of 1.20 +/- 0.03 Msun. Stellar
evolution models indicate that the progenitor of such a high-mass WD endured a
stable carbon-burning phase, producing an oxygen-neon-core WD. The discovery of
pulsations in GD 518 thus offers the first opportunity to probe the interior of
a WD with a possible oxygen-neon core. Such a massive WD should also be
significantly crystallized at this temperature. The star exhibits
multi-periodic luminosity variations at timescales ranging from roughly 425-595
s and amplitudes up to 0.7%, consistent in period and amplitude with the
observed variability of typical ZZ Ceti stars, which exhibit non-radial g-mode
pulsations driven by a hydrogen partial ionization zone. Successfully
unraveling both the total mass and core composition of GD 518 provides a unique
opportunity to investigate intermediate-mass stellar evolution, and can
possibly place an upper limit to the mass of a carbon-oxygen-core WD, which in
turn constrains SNe Ia progenitor systems.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, Astrophysical Journal Letters, 771, L2 (2013
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