The Chemical Composition of Cernis 52 (BD+31 640)

We present an abundance analysis of the star Cernis 52 in whose spectrum we recently reported the napthalene cation in absorption at 6707.4 {\AA}. This star is on a line of sight to the Perseus molecular complex. The analysis of high-resolution spectra using a chi^2-minimization procedure and a grid of synthetic spectra provides the stellar parameters and the abundances of O, Mg, Si, S, Ca, and Fe. The stellar parameters of this star are found to be T_{eff} = 8350 +- 200 K, logg= 4.2 +- 0.4 dex. We derived a metallicity of [Fe/H] = -0.01 +- 0.15. These stellar parameters are consistent with a star of $\sim 2$ \Msun in a pre-main-sequence evolutionary stage. The stellar spectrum is significantly veiled in the spectral range 5150-6730 {\AA} up to almost 55 per cent of the total flux at 5150 {\AA} and decreasing towards longer wavelengths. Using Johnson-Cousins and 2MASS photometric data, we determine a distance to Cernis 52 of 231$^{+135}_{-85}$ pc considering the error bars of the stellar parameters. This determination places the star at a similar distance to the young cluster IC 348. This together with its radial velocity, v_r=13.7+-1 km/s, its proper motion and probable young age support Cernis 52 as a likely member of IC 348. We determine a rotational velocity of v\sin i=65 +- 5 km/s for this star. We confirm that the stellar resonance line of \ion{Li}{1} at 6707.8 {\AA} is unable to fit the broad feature at 6707.4 {\AA}. This feature should have a interstellar origin and could possibly form in the dark cloud L1470 surrounding all the cluster IC 348 at about the same distance.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

Binaries with total eclipses in the LMC: potential targets for spectroscopy

35 Eclipsing binaries presenting unambiguous total eclipses were selected from a subsample of the list of Wyrzykowski et al. (2003). The photometric elements are given for the I curve in DiA photometry, as well as approximate Teff and masses of the components. The interest of these systems is stressed in view of future spectroscopic observations.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure; poster presented at the conference "Close binaries in the 21st Century: new opportunities and challenges", Syros, 27-30 June 200

Resonance ionization spectroscopy of thorium isotopes - towards a laser spectroscopic identification of the low-lying 7.6 eV isomer of Th-229

In-source resonance ionization spectroscopy was used to identify an efficient and selective three step excitation/ionization scheme of thorium, suitable for titanium:sapphire (Ti:sa) lasers. The measurements were carried out in preparation of laser spectroscopic investigations for an identification of the low-lying Th-229m isomer predicted at 7.6 +- 0.5 eV above the nuclear ground state. Using a sample of Th-232, a multitude of optical transitions leading to over 20 previously unknown intermediate states of even parity as well as numerous high-lying odd parity auto-ionizing states were identified. Level energies were determined with an accuracy of 0.06 cm-1 for intermediate and 0.15 cm-1 for auto-ionizing states. Using different excitation pathways an assignment of total angular momenta for several energy levels was possible. One particularly efficient ionization scheme of thorium, exhibiting saturation in all three optical transitions, was studied in detail. For all three levels in this scheme, the isotope shifts of the isotopes Th-228, Th-229, and Th-230 relative to Th-232 were measured. An overall efficiency including ionization, transport and detection of 0.6 was determined, which was predominantly limited by the transmission of the mass spectrometer ion optics

Searching for the signatures of terrestial planets in solar analogs

We present a fully differential chemical abundance analysis using very high-resolution (R >~ 85,000) and very high signal-to-noise (S/N~800 on average) HARPS and UVES spectra of 7 solar twins and 95 solar analogs, 24 are planet hosts and 71 are stars without detected planets. The whole sample of solar analogs provide very accurate Galactic chemical evolution trends in the metalliciy range -0.3<[Fe/H]<0.5. Solar twins with and without planets show similar mean abundance ratios. We have also analysed a sub-sample of 28 solar analogs, 14 planet hosts and 14 stars without known planets, with spectra at S/N~850 on average, in the metallicity range 0.14<[Fe/H]<0.36 and find the same abundance pattern for both samples of stars with and without planets. This result does not depend on either the planet mass, from 7 Earth masses to 17.4 Jupiter masses, or the orbital period of the planets, from 3 to 4300 days. In addition, we have derived the slope of the abundance ratios as a function of the condensation temperature for each star and again find similar distributions of the slopes for both stars with and without planets. In particular, the peaks of these two distributions are placed at a similar value but with opposite sign as that expected from a possible signature of terrestial planets. In particular, two of the planetary systems in this sample, containing each of them a Super-Earth like planet, show slope values very close to these peaks which may suggest that these abundance patterns are not related to the presence of terrestial planets.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

Thermo-statistical description of gas mixtures from space partitions

The new mathematical framework based on the free energy of pure classical fluids presented in [R. D. Rohrmann, Physica A 347, 221 (2005)] is extended to multi-component systems to determine thermodynamic and structural properties of chemically complex fluids. Presently, the theory focuses on $D$-dimensional mixtures in the low-density limit (packing factor $\eta < 0.01$). The formalism combines the free-energy minimization technique with space partitions that assign an available volume $v$ to each particle. $v$ is related to the closeness of the nearest neighbor and provides an useful tool to evaluate the perturbations experimented by particles in a fluid. The theory shows a close relationship between statistical geometry and statistical mechanics. New, unconventional thermodynamic variables and mathematical identities are derived as a result of the space division. Thermodynamic potentials $\mu_{il}$, conjugate variable of the populations $N_{il}$ of particles class $i$ with the nearest neighbors of class $l$ are defined and their relationships with the usual chemical potentials $\mu_i$ are established. Systems of hard spheres are treated as illustrative examples and their thermodynamics functions are derived analytically. The low-density expressions obtained agree nicely with those of scaled-particle theory and Percus-Yevick approximation. Several pair distribution functions are introduced and evaluated. Analytical expressions are also presented for hard spheres with attractive forces due to K\^ac-tails and square-well potentials. Finally, we derive general chemical equilibrium conditions.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in Physical Review

NLTE solar irradiance modeling with the COSI code

Context. The solar irradiance is known to change on time scales of minutes to decades, and it is suspected that its substantial fluctua- tions are partially responsible for climate variations. Aims. We are developing a solar atmosphere code that allows the physical modeling of the entire solar spectrum composed of quiet Sun and active regions. This code is a tool for modeling the variability of the solar irradiance and understanding its influence on Earth. Methods. We exploit further development of the radiative transfer code COSI that now incorporates the calculation of molecular lines. We validated COSI under the conditions of local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) against the synthetic spectra calculated with the ATLAS code. The synthetic solar spectra were also calculated in non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) and compared to the available measured spectra. In doing so we have defined the main problems of the modeling, e.g., the lack of opacity in the UV part of the spectrum and the inconsistency in the calculations of the visible continuum level, and we describe a solution to these problems. Results. The improved version of COSI allows us to reach good agreement between the calculated and observed solar spectra as measured by SOLSTICE and SIM onboard the SORCE satellite and ATLAS 3 mission operated from the Space Shuttle. We find that NLTE effects are very important for the modeling of the solar spectrum even in the visual part of the spectrum and for its variability over the entire solar spectrum. In addition to the strong effect on the UV part of the spectrum, NLTE effects influence the concentration of the negative ion of hydrogen, which results in a significant change of the visible continuum level and the irradiance variability.Comment: 14 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy&Astrophysic

Evolution of genes and repeats in the Nimrod superfamily

The recently identified Nimrod superfamily is characterized by the presence of a special type of EGF repeat, the NIM repeat, located right after a typical CCXGY/W amino acid motif. On the basis of structural features, nimrod genes can be divided into three types. The proteins encoded by Draper-type genes have an EMI domain at the N-terminal part and only one copy of the NIM motif, followed by a variable number of EGF-like repeats. The products of Nimrod B-type and Nimrod C-type genes (including the eater gene) have different kinds of N-terminal domains, and lack EGF-like repeats but contain a variable number of NIM repeats. Draper and Nimrod C-type (but not Nimrod B-type) proteins carry a transmembrane domain. Several members of the superfamily were claimed to function as receptors in phagocytosis and/or binding of bacteria, which indicates an important role in the cellular immunity and the elimination of apoptotic cells. In this paper, the evolution of the Nimrod superfamily is studied with various methods on the level of genes and repeats. A hypothesis is presented in which the NIM repeat, along with the EMI domain, emerged by structural reorganizations at the end of an EGF-like repeat chain, suggesting a mechanism for the formation of novel types of repeats. The analyses revealed diverse evolutionary patterns in the sequences containing multiple NIM repeats. Although in the Nimrod B and Nimrod C proteins show characteristics of independent evolution, many internal NIM repeats in Eater sequences seem to have undergone concerted evolution. An analysis of the nimrod genes has been performed using phylogenetic and other methods and an evolutionary scenario of the origin and diversification of the Nimrod superfamily is proposed. Our study presents an intriguing example how the evolution of multigene families may contribute to the complexity of the innate immune response

Importance of Compton scattering to radiation spectra of isolated neutron stars

Model atmospheres of isolated neutron stars with low magnetic field are calculated with Compton scattering taking into account. Models with effective temperatures 1, 3 and 5 MK, with two values of surface gravity log(g)g = 13.9 and 14.3), and different chemical compositions are calculated. Radiation spectra computed with Compton scattering are softer than the computed with Thomson scattering at high energies (E > 5 keV) for hot (T_eff > 1 MK) atmospheres with hydrogen-helium composition. Compton scattering is more significant to hydrogen models with low surface gravity. The emergent spectra of the hottest (T_eff > 3 MK) model atmospheres can be described by diluted blackbody spectra with hardness factors ~ 1.6 - 1.9. Compton scattering is less important for models with solar abundance of heavy elements.Comment: Proceedings of the 363. WE-Heraeus Seminar on: Neutron Stars and Pulsars (Posters and contributed talks) Physikzentrum Bad Honnef, Germany, May.14-19, 2006, eds. W.Becker, H.H.Huang, MPE Report 291, pp.173-17

Main-Sequence and sub-giant stars in the Globular Cluster NGC6397: The complex evolution of the lithium abundance

Thanks to the high multiplex and efficiency of Giraffe at the VLT we have been able for the first time to observe the Li I doublet in the Main Sequence (MS) stars of a Globular Cluster. At the same time we observed Li in a sample of Sub-Giant (SG) stars of the same B-V colour. Our final sample is composed of 84 SG stars and 79 MS stars. In spite of the fact that SG and MS span the same temperature range we find that the equivalent widths of the Li I doublet in SG stars are systematically larger than those in MS stars, suggesting a higher Li content among SG stars. This is confirmed by our quantitative analysis. We derived the effective temperatures, from H$\alpha$ fitting, and NLTE Li abundances of the stars in our the sample, using 3D and 1D models. We find that SG stars have a mean Li abundance higher by 0.1dex than MS stars, using both 1D and 3D models. We also detect a positive slope of Li abundance with effective temperature. These results provide an unambiguous evidence that the Li abundance changes with evolutionary status. The physical mechanisms responsible for this behaviour are not yet clear, and none of the existing models seems to describe accurately these observations. Based on these conclusions, we believe that the cosmological lithium problem still remains an open question.Comment: Proceedings of the contributed talk presented at the IAU Symposium 26

The Hot Inner Disk of FU Ori

We have constructed a detailed radiative transfer disk model which reproduces the main features of the spectrum of the outbursting young stellar object FU Orionis from ~ 4000 angstrom, to ~ 8 micron. Using an estimated visual extinction Av~1.5, a steady disk model with a central star mass ~0.3 Msun and a mass accretion rate ~ 2e-4 Msun/yr, we can reproduce the spectral energy distribution of FU Ori quite well. With the mid-infrared spectrum obtained by the Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) on board the Spitzer Space Telescope, we estimate that the outer radius of the hot, rapidly accreting inner disk is ~ 1 AU using disk models truncated at this outer radius. Inclusion of radiation from a cooler irradiated outer disk might reduce the outer limit of the hot inner disk to ~ 0.5 AU. In either case, the radius is inconsistent with a pure thermal instability model for the outburst. Our radiative transfer model implies that the central disk temperature Tc > 1000 K out to ~ 0.5 - 1 AU, suggesting that the magnetorotational instability (MRI) can be supported out to that distance. Assuming that the ~ 100 yr decay timescale in brightness of FU Ori represents the viscous timescale of the hot inner disk, we estimate the viscosity parameter (alpha) to be ~ 0.2 - 0.02 in the outburst state, consistent with numerical simulations of MRI in disks. The radial extent of the high mass accretion region is inconsistent with the model of Bell & Lin, but may be consistent with theories incorporating both gravitational instability and MRI.Comment: 32 pages, 10 figures, to appear in the Astrophysical Journa