Temperature, gravity and bolometric correction scales for non-supergiant OB stars

Context. Precise and accurate determinations of effective temperature and surface gravity are mandatory to derive reliable chemical abundances and fundamental parameters like distances, masses, radii, luminosities of OB stars. Aims. Atmospheric parameters recently determined at high precision with several independent spectroscopic indicators in NLTE are employed to calibrate photometric relationships. Methods. Temperatures and gravities of 30 calibrators are compared to reddening-independent quantities of the Johnson and Stroemgren photometric systems. We also examine the spectral and luminosity classification of the star sample and compute bolometric corrections. Results. Calibrations of temperatures and gravities are proposed for various photometric indices and spectral types. Effective temperatures can be determined at a precision of ~400 K for luminosity classes III/IV and ~800 K for luminosity class V. Surface gravities can reach internal uncertainties as low as ~0.08 dex when using our calibration to the Johnson Q-parameter. Similar precision is achieved for gravities derived from the beta-index and the precision is lower for both atmospheric parameters when using the Stroemgren indices c1 and [u-b]. Our uncertainties are smaller than typical differences among other methods in the literature, reaching values up to ~2000 K for temperature and ~0.25 dex for gravity, and in extreme cases, ~6000 K and ~0.4 dex, respectively. A parameter calibration for sub-spectral types is also proposed. We present a new bolometric correction relation to temperature based on our empirical data. Conclusions. The photometric calibrations presented here are useful tools to estimate effective temperatures and surface gravities of non-supergiant OB stars in a fast manner. We recommend to use these calibrations as a first step, with subsequent refinements based on spectroscopy (abridged).Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures, accepted to be published in A&

Present-day cosmic abundances. A comprehensive study of nearby early B-type stars and implications for stellar and Galactic evolution and interstellar dust models

Aims. A sample of early B-type stars in OB associations and the field within the solar neighbourhood is studied comprehensively. Present-day abundances for the astrophysically most interesting chemical elements are derived. Methods. High-resolution and high-S/N spectra of early B-type stars are analysed in NLTE. Atmospheric parameters are derived from the simultaneous establishment of independent indicators, from multiple ionization equilibria and the hydrogen Balmer lines. Results. Teff is constrained to 1-2% and logg to less than 15% uncertainty. Absolute values for metal abundances are determined to better than 25% uncertainty. The synthetic spectra match the observations reliably over almost the entire visual spectral range. Conclusions. A present-day cosmic abundance standard is established. Our results i) resolve the discrepancy between a chemical homogeneous local gas-phase ISM and a chemically inhomogeneous young stellar component, ii) facilitate the amount of heavy elements locked up in the interstellar dust to be constrained precisely: carbonaceous dust is largely destroyed inside the Orion HII region, unlike the silicates, and that graphite is only a minority species in interstellar dust -, iii) show that the mixing of CNO-burning products in the course of massive star evolution follows tightly the predicted nuclear path, iv) provide reliable present-day reference points for anchoring Galactic chemical evolution models to observation, and v) imply that the Sun has migrated outwards from the inner Galactic disk over its lifetime from a birthplace at a distance around 5-6 kpc from the Galactic Centre; a cancellation of the effects of Galactic chemical evolution and abundance gradients leads to the similarity of solar and present-day cosmic abundances in the solar neighbourhood, with a telltaling signature of the Sun's origin left in the C/O ratio. (ABRIDGED)Comment: 20 pages, 11 figures, published in A&A. A complete version (57 pages, 17 figures) including online material can be downloaded from http://www.sternwarte.uni-erlangen.de/~nieva/8158.pd

A non-LTE spectral analysis of the 3He and 4He isotopes in the HgMn star kappa Cancri

We present a pilot study on non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) line-formation computations for the isotopes 3He and 4He in the mercury-manganese star kappa Cancri. The impact of NLTE effects on the determination of isotopic abundances and the vertical stratification of helium in the atmosphere is investigated. Modern NLTE line-formation computations were employed to analyse a high-resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio ESO-VLT/UVES spectrum of kap Cnc. The atmospheric parameters were determined from fitting the hydrogen Balmer lines and the spectral energy distribution. Multiple HeI lines were investigated, including HeI 4921A and 6678A, which show the widest isotopic splits. Half of the observed HeI lines in the spectrum of kap Cnc show significant NLTE strengthening, the effects are strongest in the red lines HeI 5875A and HeI 6678A. NLTE abundances from individual HeI lines are up to a factor of about 3 lower than LTE values. Helium is found to be stratified in the atmosphere of kap Cnc. While the LTE analysis indicates a step-like profile of the helium abundance, a gradual decrease with height is indicated by the NLTE analysis. A 3He/4He ratio of about 0.25-0.30 is found. With the available data it cannot be decided whether the two isotopes follow the same stratification profile, or not. This work implies that NLTE effects may be ubiquitous in the atmospheres of HgMn stars and may have a significant impact on abundance determinations and the interpretation of the vertical abundance stratification of elements.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figure

Improving stellar parameter and abundance determinations of early B-type stars

In the past years we have made great efforts to reduce the statistical and systematic uncertainties in stellar parameter and chemical abundance determinations of early B-type stars. Both the construction of robust model atoms for non-LTE line-formation calculations and a novel self-consistent spectral analysis methodology were decisive to achieve results of unprecedented precision. They were extensively tested and applied to high-quality spectra of stars from OB associations and the field in the solar neighbourhood, covering a broad parameter range. Initially, most lines of hydrogen, helium and carbon in the optical/near-IR spectral range were reproduced simultaneously in a consistent way for the first time, improving drastically on the accuracy of results in published work.By taking additional ionization equilibria of oxygen, neon, silicon and iron into account, uncertainties as low as ~1% in effective temperature, ~10% in surface gravity and ~20% in elemental abundances are achieved - compared to ~5-10%, ~25% and a factor ~2-3 using standard methods. Several sources of systematic errors have been identified when comparing our methods for early B-type stars with standard techniques used in the nineties and also recently (e.g. VLT-FLAMES survey of massive stars). Improvements in automatic analyses are strongly recommended for meaningful comparisons of spectroscopic stellar parameters and chemical abundances ('observational constrains') with predictions of stellar and galactochemical evolution models.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures. To appear in "Hot And Cool: Bridging Gaps in Massive Star Evolution", C. Leitherer, Ph. D. Bennett, P. W. Morris & J. Th. van Loon, eds., APS Conf. Se

Fundamental properties of nearby single early B-type stars

Fundamental parameters of a sample of 26 apparently slowly-rotating single early B-type stars in the solar neighbourhood are presented and compared to high-precision data from detached eclipsing binaries (DEBs). The data are used to discuss the evolutionary status of the stars in context of the most recent Geneva grid of models. Evolutionary masses plus radii and luminosities are determined to better than typically 5%, 10%, and 20% uncertainty, respectively, facilitating the mass-radius and mass-luminosity relationships to be recovered with a similar precision as derived from DEBs. Good agreement between evolutionary and spectroscopic masses is found. Absolute visual and bolometric magnitudes are derived to typically 0.15-0.20mag uncertainty. Metallicities are constrained to better than 15-20% uncertainty and tight constraints on evolutionary ages of the stars are provided. Signatures of mixing with CN-cycled material are found in 1/3 of the sample stars. Typically, these are consistent with the amount predicted by the new Geneva models with rotation. A few objects are possibly the product of binary evolution. In particular, the unusual characteristics of tau Sco point to a blue straggler nature, due to a binary merger. The accuracy and precision achieved in the determination of fundamental stellar parameters from the quantitative spectroscopy of single early B-type stars comes close (within a factor 2-4) to data derived from DEBs. However, significant systematic differences with data from the astrophysical reference literature are found. Masses are about 10-20% and radii about 25% lower then the recommended values for luminosity class V, resulting in the stars being systematically fainter than assumed usually, by about 0.5mag in absolute visual and bolometric magnitude. (abstract abridged)Comment: 11 pages, 11 figure

A new method for an objective, χ2\chi^2-based spectroscopic analysis of early-type stars

A precise quantitative spectral analysis - encompassing atmospheric parameter and chemical elemental abundance determination - is time consuming due to its iterative nature and the multi-parameter space to be explored, especially when done "by eye". A robust automated fitting technique that is as trustworthy as traditional methods would allow for large samples of stars to be analyzed in a consistent manner in reasonable time. We present a semi-automated quantitative spectral analysis technique for early-type stars based on the concept of $\chi^2$ minimization. The method's main features are: far less subjective than typical "by eye" methods, correction for inaccurate continuum normalization, consideration of the whole useful spectral range, simultaneous sampling of the entire multi-parameter space (effective temperature, surface gravity, microturbulence, macroturbulence, projected rotational velocity, radial velocity, elemental abundances) to find the global best solution, applicable also to composite spectra. The method is fast, robust and reliable as seen from formal tests and from a comparison with previous analyses. Consistent quantitative spectral analyses of large samples of early-type stars can be performed quickly with very high accuracy.Comment: 32 pages, 4 figures, Astronomy and Astrophysics, accepte

A cosmic abundance standard: chemical homogeneity of the solar neighbourhood and the ISM dust-phase composition

A representative sample of unevolved early B-type stars in nearby OB associations and the field is analysed to unprecedented precision using NLTE techniques. The resulting chemical composition is found to be more metal-rich and much more homogeneous than indicated by previous work. A rms scatter of ~10% in abundances is found for the six stars (and confirmed by six evolved stars), the same as reported for ISM gas-phase abundances. A cosmic abundance standard for the present-day solar neighbourhood is proposed, implying mass fractions for hydrogen, helium and metals of X=0.715, Y=0.271 and Z=0.014. Good agreement with solar photospheric abundances as reported from recent 3D radiative-hydrodynamical simulations of the solar atmosphere is obtained. As a first application we use the cosmic abundance standard as a proxy for the determination of the local ISM dust-phase composition, putting tight observational constraints on dust models.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Testing common classical LTE and NLTE model atmosphere and line-formation codes for quantitative spectroscopy of early-type stars

It is generally accepted that the atmospheres of cool/lukewarm stars of spectral types A and later are described well by LTE model atmospheres, while the O-type stars require a detailed treatment of NLTE effects. Here model atmosphere structures, spectral energy distributions and synthetic spectra computed with ATLAS9/SYNTHE and TLUSTY/SYNSPEC, and results from a hybrid method combining LTE atmospheres and NLTE line-formation with DETAIL/SURFACE are compared. Their ability to reproduce observations for effective temperatures between 15000 and 35000 K are verified. Strengths and weaknesses of the different approaches are identified. Recommendations are made as to how to improve the models in order to derive unbiased stellar parameters and chemical abundances in future applications, with special emphasis on Gaia science.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures; accepted for publication in Journal of Physics: Conference Series, GREAT-ESF Workshop: Stellar Atmospheres in the Gaia Er