141 research outputs found
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Quantitative Spectroscopy In 3D
The Advanced Spectrum Synthesis 3D Tool ASSET is introduced. ASSET allows for the accurate and fast calculation of spectra from 3D hydrodynamical models. To achieve the highest numerical accuracy 3(rd)-order Bezier interpolations are employed and all available information from the model grid with respect to the spacial and frequency resolution is exploited. ASSET is fully parallelized with OpenMP and MPI and highly optimized to run at about 25% of peak speed on workstations and clusters. The emergent flux for a single spectral line can be calculated from dozens of snapshots within a few minutes, and the whole spectrum (2 . 10(6) frequencies) can be calculated on a small cluster (a few hundred threads) within a day. The numerical methods, the serial optimization and the parallel implementation are described in some detail.Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC
Granulation across the HR diagram
We have obtained ultra-high quality spectra (R=180,000; S/N>300) with
unprecedented wavelength coverage (4400 to 7400 A) for a number of stars
covering most of the HR diagram in order to test the predictions of models of
stellar surface convection. Line bisectors and core wavelength shifts are both
measured and modeled, allowing us to validate and/or reveal the limitations of
state-of-the-art hydrodynamic model atmospheres of different stellar
parameters. We show the status of our project and preliminary results.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; proceedings article for Joint Discussion 10 at
the IAU General Assembly, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 200
Accounting for Convective Blue-Shifts in the Determination of Absolute Stellar Radial Velocities
For late-type non-active stars, gravitational redshifts and convective
blueshifts are the main source of biases in the determination of radial
velocities. If ignored, these effects can introduce systematic errors of the
order of ~ 0.5 km/s. We demonstrate that three-dimensional hydrodynamical
simulations of solar surface convection can be used to predict the convective
blue-shifts of weak spectral lines in solar-like stars to ~ 0.070 km/s. Using
accurate trigonometric parallaxes and stellar evolution models, the
gravitational redshifts can be constrained with a similar uncertainty, leading
to absolute radial velocities accurate to better than ~ 0.1 km/s.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of the Joint Discussion 10, IAU General
Assembly, Rio de Janeiro, August 10-11, 200
Convective line shifts for the Gaia RVS from the CIFIST 3D model atmosphere grid
To derive space velocities of stars along the line of sight from wavelength
shifts in stellar spectra requires accounting for a number of second-order
effects. For most stars, gravitational redshifts, convective blueshifts, and
transverse stellar motion are the dominant contributors. We provide theoretical
corrections for the net velocity shifts due to convection expected for the
measurements from the Gaia Radial Velocity Spectrometer (RVS). We used a set of
three-dimensional time-dependent simulations of stellar surface convection
computed with CO5BOLD to calculate spectra of late-type stars in the Gaia RVS
range and to infer the net velocity offset that convective motions will induce
in radial velocities derived by cross-correlation. The net velocity shifts
derived by cross-correlation depend both on the wavelength range and spectral
resolution of the observations. Convective shifts for Gaia RVS observations are
less than 0.1 km/s for late-K-type stars, and they increase with stellar mass,
reaching about 0.3 km/s or more for early F-type dwarfs. This tendency is the
result of an increase with effective temperature in both temperature and
velocity fluctuations in the line-forming region. Our simulations also indicate
that the net RVS convective shifts can be positive (i.e. redshifts) in some
cases. Overall, the blueshifts weaken slightly with increasing surface gravity,
and are enhanced at low metallicity. Gravitational redshifts amount up to 0.7
km/s and dominate convective blueshifts for dwarfs, but become much weaker for
giants.Comment: 13 pages, to appear in A&A; model fluxes available from
ftp://leda.as.utexas.edu/pub/callende/Gaia3D and soon from CD
Asteroseismological constraints on the pulsating planetary nebula nucleus (PG1159-type) RX J2117.1+3412
We present asteroseismological inferences on RX J2117.1+3412, the hottest
known pulsating PG1159 star. Our results are based on full PG1159 evolutionary
models recently presented by Miller Bertolami & Althaus (2006). We performed
extensive computations of adiabatic g-mode pulsation periods on PG1159
evolutionary models with stellar masses ranging from 0.530 to 0.741 Mo. PG1159
stellar models are extracted from the complete evolution of progenitor stars
started from the ZAMS, through the thermally pulsing AGB and born-again phases
to the domain of the PG 1159 stars. We constrained the stellar mass of RX
J2117.1+3412 by comparing the observed period spacing with the asymptotic
period spacing and with the average of the computed period spacings. We also
employed the individual observed periods to find a representative seismological
model. We derive a stellar mass of 0.56-0.57 Mo from the period spacing data
alone. In addition, we found a best-fit model representative for RX
J2117.1+3412 with an effective temperature of 163,400 K, a stellar mass of
0.565 Mo, and a surface gravity log g= 6.61. The derived stellar luminosity and
radius are log(L/Lo)= 3.36 and log(R/Ro)= -1.23, respectively, and the He-rich
envelope thickness is Menv= 0.02 Mo. We derive a seismic distance of 452 pc and
a linear size of the planetary nebula of 1.72 pc. These inferences seem to
solve the discrepancy between the RX J2117.1+3412 evolutionary timescale and
the size of the nebula. All of the seismological tools we use concur to the
conclusion that RX J2117.1+3412 must have a stellar mass of 0.565 Mo much in
agreement with recent asteroseismology studies and in clear conflict with the
predictions of spectroscopy plus evolutionary tracks.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in Astronomy
and Astrophysics. Erratum available as a separate fil
Fuel-Supply-Limited Stellar Relaxation Oscillations: Application to Multiple Rings around AGB Stars and Planetary Nebulae
We describe a new mechanism for pulsations in evolved stars: relaxation
oscillations driven by a coupling between the luminosity-dependent mass-loss
rate and the H fuel abundance in a nuclear-burning shell. When mass loss is
included, the outward flow of matter can modulate the flow of fuel into the
shell when the stellar luminosity is close to the Eddington luminosity . When the luminosity drops below , the mass outflow declines
and the shell is re-supplied with fuel. This process can be repetitive. We
demonstrate the existence of such oscillations and discuss the dependence of
the results on the stellar parameters. In particular, we show that the
oscillation period scales specifically with the mass of the H-burning
relaxation shell (HBRS), defined as the part of the H-burning shell above the
minimum radius at which the luminosity from below first exceeds the Eddington
threshold at the onset of the mass loss phase. For a stellar mass M_*\sim
0.7\Msun, luminosity L_*\sim 10^4\Lsun, and mass loss rate |\dot M|\sim
10^{-5}\Msun yr, the oscillations have a recurrence time
years , where is the timescale for
modulation of the fuel supply in the HBRS by the varying mass-loss rate. This
period agrees with the 1400-year period inferred for the spacings
between the shells surrounding some planetary nebulae, and the the predictied
shell thickness, of order 0.4 times the spacing, also agrees reasonably well.Comment: 15 pages TeX, 1 ps figure submitted to Ap
Chemical Abundances from the Continuum
The calculation of solar absolute fluxes in the near-UV is revisited,
discussing in some detail recent updates in theoretical calculations of
bound-free opacity from metals. Modest changes in the abundances of elements
such as Mg and the iron-peak elements have a significant impact on the
atmospheric structure, and therefore self-consistent calculations are
necessary. With small adjustments to the solar photospheric composition, we are
able to reproduce fairly well the observed solar fluxes between 200 and 270 nm,
and between 300 and 420 nm, but find too much absorption in the 270-290 nm
window. A comparison between our reference 1D model and a 3D time-dependent
hydrodynamical simulation indicates that the continuum flux is only weakly
sensitive to 3D effects, with corrections reaching <10% in the near-UV, and <2%
in the optical.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the conference A
Stellar Journey, a symposium in celebration of Bengt Gustafsson's 65th
birthday, June 23-27, 2008, Uppsal
Comprehensive modelling of the planetary nebula LMC-SMP 61 and its [WC]-type central star
We present a comprehensive study of the Magellanic Cloud planetary nebula SMP
61 and of its nucleus, a Wolf-Rayet type star classified [WC 5-6]. We have
performed a detailed spectral analysis of the central star, using the Potsdam
code for expanding atmospheres in non-LTE. The fluxes from the model stellar
atmosphere were used to compute photoionization models of the nebula. All the
available observations, within their error bars, were used to constrain these
models. We find that the ionizing fluxes predicted by the stellar model are
basically consistent with the fluxes needed by the photoionization model to
reproduce the nebular emission, within the error margins. However, there are
indications that the stellar model overestimates the number and hardness of
Lyman continuum photons. The photoionization models imply a clumped density
structure of the nebular material. The observed CIII] 1909/CII 4267 line ratio
implies the existence of carbon-rich clumps in the nebula. Such clumps are
likely produced by stellar wind ejecta, possibly mixed with the nebular
material. We discuss our results with regard to the stellar and nebular
post-AGB evolution.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures, Astronomy and Astrophysics in pres
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