27 research outputs found
Double-Mode Stellar Pulsations
The status of the hydrodynamical modelling of nonlinear multi-mode stellar
pulsations is discussed. The hydrodynamical modelling of steady double-mode
(DM) pulsations has been a long-standing quest that is finally being concluded.
Recent progress has been made thanks to the introduction of turbulent
convection in the numerical hydrodynamical codes which provide detailed results
for individual models. An overview of the modal selection problem in the HR
diagram can be obtained in the form of bifurcation diagrams with the help of
simple nonresonant amplitude equations that capture the DM phenomenon.Comment: 34 pages, to appear as a chapter in Nonlinear Stellar Pulsation in
the Astrophysics and Space Science Library (ASSL), Editors: M. Takeuti & D.
Sasselov (prints double column with pstops
'2:[email protected](22.0cm,-2cm)[email protected](22.0cm,11.0cm)' in.ps out.ps
Nonlinear Beat Cepheid Models
The numerical hydrodynamic modelling of beat Cepheid behavior has been a
longstanding quest in which purely radiative models have failed miserably. We
find that beat pulsations occur naturally when turbulent convection is
accounted for in our hydrodynamics codes.
The development of a relaxation code and of a Floquet stability analysis
greatly facilitates the search for and analysis of beat Cepheid models.
The conditions for the occurrence of beat behavior can be understood easily
and at a fundamental level with the help of amplitude equations. Here a
discriminant D arises whose sign decides whether single mode or double mode
pulsations can occur in a model, and this D depends only on the values of the
nonlinear coupling coefficients between the fundamental and the first overtone
modes. For radiative models D is always found to be negative, but with
sufficiently strong turbulent convection its sign reverses.Comment: 5 pages, incl. 4 figs - apj lett, accepted may 18, 199
Hydrodynamical Survey of First Overtone Cepheids
A hydrodynamical survey of the pulsational properties of first overtone
Galactic Cepheids is presented. The goal of this study is to reproduce their
observed light- and radial velocity curves. The comparison between the models
and the observations is made in a quantitative manner on the level of the
Fourier coefficients. Purely radiative models fail to reproduce the observed
features, but convective models give good agreement.
It is found that the sharp features in the Fourier coefficients are indeed
caused by the P1/P4 = 2 resonance, despite the very large damping of the 4th
overtone. For the adopted mass-luminosity relation the resonance center lies
near a period of 4.2d +/- 0.2 as indicated by the observed radial velocity
data, rather than near 3.2d as the light-curves suggest.Comment: ApJ, 12 pages, (slightly) revise
Calibrating the Mixing Length Parameter for a Red Giant Envelope
Two-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations were made to calibrate the mixing
length parameter for modeling red giant's convective envelope. As was briefly
reported in Asida & Tuchman (97), a comparison of simulations starting with
models integrated with different values of the mixing length parameter, has
been made. In this paper more results are presented, including tests of the
spatial resolution and Large Eddy Simulation terms used by the numerical code.
The consistent value of the mixing length parameter was found to be 1.4, for a
red giant of mass 1.2 solar-mass, core mass of 0.96 solar-mass, luminosity of
200 solar-luminosities, and metallicity Z=0.001.Comment: 18 pages, 1 table, 13 figures. Accepted for publication in Ap.
Measuring The Mass Loss Evolution at The Tip of The Asymptotic Giant Branch
In the final stages of stellar evolution low- to intermediate-mass stars lose
their envelope in increasingly massive stellar winds. Such winds affect the
interstellar medium and the galactic chemical evolution as well as the
circumstellar envelope where planetary nebulae form subsequently.
Characteristics of this mass loss depend on both stellar properties and
properties of gas and dust in the wind formation region. In this paper we
present an approach towards studies of mass loss using both observations and
models, focusing on the stage where the stellar envelope is nearly empty of
mass. In a recent study we measure the mass-loss evolution, and other
properties, of four planetary nebulae in the Galactic Disk. Specifically we use
the method of integral field spectroscopy on faint halos, which are found
outside the much brighter central parts of a planetary nebula. We begin with a
brief comparison between our and other observational methods to determine
mass-loss rates in order to illustrate how they differ and complement each
other. An advantage of our method is that it measures the gas component
directly requiring no assumptions of properties of dust in the wind. Thereafter
we present our observational approach in more detail in terms of its validity
and its assumptions. In the second part of this paper we discuss capabilities
and assumptions of current models of stellar winds. We propose and discuss
improvements to such models that will allow meaningful comparisons with our
observations. Currently the physically most complete models include too little
mass in the model domain to permit a formation of winds with as high mass-loss
rates as our observations show.Comment: 7 pages, workshop in honour of Agnes Acker, Legacies of the
Macquarie/AAO/Strasbourg Halpha Planetary Nebula project, ed. Q.Parker and
D.Frew, PASA, in press; clarified some parts and added some additional
reference
The contribution of microlensing surveys to the distance scale
In the early nineties several teams started large scale systematic surveys of
the Magellanic Clouds and the Galactic Bulge to search for microlensing
effects. As a by product, these groups have created enormous time-series
databases of photometric measurements of stars with a temporal sampling
duration and accuracy which are unprecedented. They provide the opportunity to
test the accuracy of primary distance indicators, such as Cepheids, RRLyrae
stars, the detached eclipsing binaries, or the luminosity of the red clump. We
will review the contribution of the microlensing surveys to the understanding
of the physics of the primary distance indicators, recent differential studies
and direct distance determinations to the Magellanic Clouds and the Galactic
Bulge.Comment: Invited review article to appear in: `Post-Hipparcos Cosmic Candles',
A. Heck & F. Caputo (Eds), Kluwer Academic Publ., Dordrecht, in press. 21
pages; uses Kluwer's crckapb.sty LaTeX style file, enclose
Interaction Between Convection and Pulsation
This article reviews our current understanding of modelling convection
dynamics in stars. Several semi-analytical time-dependent convection models
have been proposed for pulsating one-dimensional stellar structures with
different formulations for how the convective turbulent velocity field couples
with the global stellar oscillations. In this review we put emphasis on two,
widely used, time-dependent convection formulations for estimating pulsation
properties in one-dimensional stellar models. Applications to pulsating stars
are presented with results for oscillation properties, such as the effects of
convection dynamics on the oscillation frequencies, or the stability of
pulsation modes, in classical pulsators and in stars supporting solar-type
oscillations.Comment: Invited review article for Living Reviews in Solar Physics. 88 pages,
14 figure
Asteroseismology and Interferometry
Asteroseismology provides us with a unique opportunity to improve our
understanding of stellar structure and evolution. Recent developments,
including the first systematic studies of solar-like pulsators, have boosted
the impact of this field of research within Astrophysics and have led to a
significant increase in the size of the research community. In the present
paper we start by reviewing the basic observational and theoretical properties
of classical and solar-like pulsators and present results from some of the most
recent and outstanding studies of these stars. We centre our review on those
classes of pulsators for which interferometric studies are expected to provide
a significant input. We discuss current limitations to asteroseismic studies,
including difficulties in mode identification and in the accurate determination
of global parameters of pulsating stars, and, after a brief review of those
aspects of interferometry that are most relevant in this context, anticipate
how interferometric observations may contribute to overcome these limitations.
Moreover, we present results of recent pilot studies of pulsating stars
involving both asteroseismic and interferometric constraints and look into the
future, summarizing ongoing efforts concerning the development of future
instruments and satellite missions which are expected to have an impact in this
field of research.Comment: Version as published in The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review, Volume
14, Issue 3-4, pp. 217-36