Lithium enrichment on the single active K1-giant DI Piscium -- Possible joint origin of differential rotation and Li enrichment

We investigate the surface spot activity of the rapidly rotating, lithium-rich active single K-giant DI Psc to measure the surface differential rotation and understand the mechanisms behind the Li-enrichment. Doppler imaging was applied to recover the surface temperature distribution of DI Psc in two subsequent rotational cycles using the individual mapping lines Ca I 6439, Fe I 6430, Fe I 6421 and Li I 6708. Surface differential rotation was derived by cross-correlation of the subsequent maps. Difference maps are produced to study the uniformity of Li-enrichment on the surface. These maps are compared with the rotational modulation of the Li I 6708 line equivalent width. Doppler images obtained for the Ca and Fe mapping lines agree well and reveal strong polar spottedness, as well as cool features at lower latitudes. Cross-correlating the consecutive maps yields antisolar differential rotation with shear coefficient -0.083 +- 0.021. The difference of the average and the Li maps indicates that the lithium abundance is non-activity related. There is also a significant rotational modulation of the Li equivalent width.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, accepted in A&

Magnitude-range brightness variations of overactive K giants

We study three representative, overactive spotted K giants (IL Hya, XX Tri, and DM UMa) known to exhibit V-band light variations between 0.65-1.05 mags. Our aim is to find the origin of their large brightness variation. We employ long-term phase-resolved multicolor photometry, mostly from automatic telescopes, covering 42 yr for IL Hya, 28 yr for XX Tri, and 34 yr for DM UMa. For one target, IL Hya, we present a new Doppler image from NSO data taken in late 1996. Effective temperatures for our targets are determined from all well-sampled observing epochs and are based on a V-I_C color-index calibration. The effective temperature change between the extrema of the rotational modulation for IL Hya and XX Tri is in the range 50-200 K. The bolometric flux during maximum of the rotational modulation, i.e., the least spotted states, varied by up to 39% in IL Hya and up to 54% in XX Tri over the course of our observations. We emphasize that for IL Hya this is just about half of the total luminosity variation that can be explained by the photospheric temperature (spots/faculae) changes, while for XX Tri it is even about one third. The long-term, 0.6 mag V-band variation of DM UMa is more difficult to explain because little or no B-V color index change is observed on the same timescale. Placing the three stars with their light and color variations into H-R diagrams, we find that their overall luminosities are generally too low compared to predictions from current evolutionary tracks. A change in the stellar radius due to strong and variable magnetic fields during activity cycles likely plays a role in explaining the anomalous brightness and luminosity of our three targets. At least for IL Hya, a radius change of about 9% is suggested from m_bol and T_eff, and is supported by independent vsin(i) measurements.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, accepted in A&

Time-series Doppler images and surface differential rotation of the effectively-single rapidly-rotating K-giant KU Pegasi

According to most stellar dynamo theories, differential rotation (DR) plays a crucial role for the generation of toroidal magnetic fields. Numerical models predict surface differential rotation to be anti-solar for rapidly-rotating giant stars, i.e., their surface angular velocity could increase with stellar latitude. However, surface differential rotation has been derived only for a handful of individual giant stars to date. The spotted surface of the K-giant KU Pegasi is investigated in order to detect its time evolution and quantify surface differential rotation. We present altogether 11 Doppler images from spectroscopic data collected with the robotic telescope STELLA between 2006--2011. All maps are obtained with the surface reconstruction code iMap. Differential rotation is extracted from these images by detecting systematic (latitude-dependent) spot displacements. We apply a cross-correlation technique to find the best differential rotation law. The surface of KU Peg shows cool spots at all latitudes and one persistent warm spot at high latitude. A small cool polar spot exists for most but not all of the epochs. Re-identification of spots in at least two consecutive maps is mostly possible only at mid and high latitudes and thus restricts the differential-rotation determination mainly to these latitudes. Our cross-correlation analysis reveals solar-like differential rotation with a surface shear of $\alpha=+0.040\pm0.006$, i.e., approximately five times weaker than on the Sun. We also derive a more accurate and consistent set of stellar parameters for KU Peg including a small Li abundance of ten times less than solar.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in A&

A new sdO+dM binary with extreme eclipses and reflection effect

We report the discovery of a new totally-eclipsing binary (RA=06:40:29.11; Dec=+38:56:52.2; J=2000.0; Rmax=17.2 mag) with an sdO primary and a strongly irradiated red dwarf companion. It has an orbital period of Porb=0.187284394(11) d and an optical eclipse depth in excess of 5 magnitudes. We obtained two low-resolution classification spectra with GTC/OSIRIS and ten medium-resolution spectra with WHT/ISIS to constrain the properties of the binary members. The spectra are dominated by H Balmer and He II absorption lines from the sdO star, and phase-dependent emission lines from the irradiated companion. A combined spectroscopic and light curve analysis implies a hot subdwarf temperature of Teff(spec) = 55 000 +/- 3000K, surface gravity of log g(phot) = 6.2 +/- 0.04 (cgs) and a He abundance of log(nHe/nH) = -2.24 +/- 0.40. The hot sdO star irradiates the red-dwarf companion, heating its substellar point to about 22 500K. Surface parameters for the companion are difficult to constrain from the currently available data: the most remarkable features are the strong H Balmer and C II-III lines in emission. Radial velocity estimates are consistent with the sdO+dM classification. The photometric data do not show any indication of sdO pulsations with amplitudes greater than 7mmag, and Halpha-filter images do not provide evidence of the presence of a planetary nebula associated with the sdO star.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures; accepted for publication in Ap

Investigating magnetic activity in very stable stellar magnetic fields: long-term photometric and spectroscopic study of the fully convective M4 dwarf V374 Peg

The ultrafast-rotating ($P_\mathrm{rot}\approx0.44 d$) fully convective single M4 dwarf V374 Peg is a well-known laboratory for studying intense stellar activity in a stable magnetic topology. As an observable proxy for the stellar magnetic field, we study the stability of the light curve, and thus the spot configuration. We also measure the occurrence rate of flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs). We analyse spectroscopic observations, $BV(RI)_C$ photometry covering 5 years, and additional $R_C$ photometry that expands the temporal base over 16 years. The light curve suggests an almost rigid-body rotation, and a spot configuration that is stable over about 16 years, confirming the previous indications of a very stable magnetic field. We observed small changes on a nightly timescale, and frequent flaring, including a possible sympathetic flare. The strongest flares seem to be more concentrated around the phase where the light curve indicates a smaller active region. Spectral data suggest a complex CME with falling-back and re-ejected material, with a maximal projected velocity of $\approx$675km/s. We observed a CME rate much lower than expected from extrapolations of the solar flare-CME relation to active stars.Comment: 15 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in A&

Deriving photospheric parameters and elemental abundances for a sample of stars showing the FIP effect

One puzzling question in solar physics is the difference between elemental abundances in the photosphere and the corona. Elements with low first ionization potential (FIP) can be overabundant in the corona compared to the photosphere under certain circumstances. The same phenomenon has been observed on a handful of stars, while a few of them show the inverse effect. But not all the stars in the original sample had precise photospheric abundances derived from optical spectra, so for some the solar values were adopted. In this work we make homogeneous abundance measurements from optical spectroscopy. We collected spectra of 16 stars showing the FIP effect with the 1-m RCC telescope of Konkoly Observatory, with resolution of λ / Δ λ ˜ 21 000. We determine the fundamental astrophysical parameters (Teff, log g, [M/H], ξmic, v sin i) and individual elemental abundances with the SME spectral synthesis code using MARCS2012 model atmosphere and spectral line parameters from the Vienna Atomic Line Database (VALD)

An extensive photometric study of the Blazhko RR Lyrae star RZ Lyr

The analysis of recent, extended multicolour CCD and archive photoelectric, photographic and visual observations has revealed several important properties of RZ Lyr, an RRab-type variable exhibiting large-amplitude Blazhko modulation. On the time-base of \sim110 yr, a strict anticorrelation between the pulsation and modulation period changes is established. The light curve of RZ Lyr shows a remarkable bump on the descending branch in the small-amplitude phase of the modulation, similarly to the light curves of bump Cepheids. We speculate that the stellar structure temporally suits a 4:1 resonance between the periods of the fundamental and one of the higher-order radial modes in this modulation phase. The light-curve variation of RZ Lyr can be correctly fitted with a two-modulation-component solution; the 121 d period of the main modulation is nearly but not exactly four times longer than the period of the secondary modulation component. Using the inverse photometric method, the variations in the pulsation-averaged values of the physical parameters in different phases of both modulation components are determined.Comment: 15 pages, 14 figures, 8 tables. Published in MNRAS, 2012. [v3]: Only change: title correcte

Exploring the transient sky with the Fly's Eye Camera System

To study astrophysical transit phenomena we follow an alternative strategy for getting high-cadence observations of the field. This can be achieved with our new Fly’s Eye Camera System that monitors the entire sky above 30◦horizontal altitude. With this instrument one can observe all phenomena brighter than∼15min Sloan r-band (u’, g’,i’ and z’ filters are also available). If we stack together a few hour of images we can observe∼17mfaint sources. This small-sized instrument is designed for time-domain astronomy with its150 sec cadence. Due to the hexapod-based motion control, the instrument can be installed anywhere without any modifications, it can accomplish sky tracking automatically. These parallel robots have 6 degrees of freedom (DoF), but since any kind of rotation can be done by using only 3 DoF, the tracking with hexapods is independent from the geographical coordinates. Even polar alignment is not required, because Fly’s Eye can calibrate itself based on its own observed data. The system is optimal for time-domain astronomy: detecting novae, supernovae, optical afterglows of gamma-ray bursts and other bright, fast transients, and, from the observation database such data can be obtained - even from before the discovery of the transient event. In the future when the direction of the gravitational waves will be defined precisely we will be able to detect their first multiwaveband counterparts. In addition the Fly’s Eye will support the “Transient Astrophysical Objects”project which will use two new 80 cm robotic telescopes for follow-up observations of transients