On density and temperature-dependent ground-state and continuum effects in the equation of state for stellar interiors -- A Comment on the paper by S. Arndt, W. Dappen and A. Nayfonov 1998, ApJ 498, 349

Misunderstandings have occurred regarding the conclusions of the paper by S. Arndt, W. Dappen and A. Nayfonov 1998, ApJ 498, 349. At occasions, its results were interpreted as if it had shown basic flaws in the general theory of dynamical screening. The aim of this comment is to emphasize in which connection the conclusions of the paper have to be understood in order to avoid misinterpretations.Comment: Astrophysical Journal (to appear 1 May 1999), 5 page

Inconsistency in Fermi's probability of the quantum states

We point out an important hidden inconsistency in Fermi's probability of the quantum states that engendered inconsistent/inaccurate equations-of-state extensively used in the literature to model nonideal plasma systems. The importance of this amendment goes beyond rectifying our comprehension and foundation of an important physical problem to influencing contemporary research results.Comment: Accepted for Publicatio

Quantum Langevin molecular dynamics determination of the solar-interior equation of state

The equation of state (EOS) of the solar interior is accurately and smoothly determined from \textit{ab initio} simulations named quantum Langevin molecular dynamics (QLMD) in the pressure range of $58 \leq P \leq 4.6\times10^5$ Mbar at the temperature range of $1 \leq T \leq 1500$ eV. The central pressure is calculated, and compared with other models. The effect of heavy elements such as carbon and oxygen on the EOS is also discussed.Comment: to publish in AP

New Insights into the Problem of the Surface Gravity Distribution of Cool DA White Dwarfs

We review at length the longstanding problem in the spectroscopic analysis of cool hydrogen-line (DA) white dwarfs (Teff < 13,000 K) where gravities are significantly higher than those found in hotter DA stars. The first solution that has been proposed for this problem is a mild and systematic helium contamination from convective mixing that would mimic the high gravities. We constrain this scenario by determining the helium abundances in six cool DA white dwarfs using high-resolution spectra from the Keck I 10-m telescope. We obtain no detections, with upper limits as low as He/H = 0.04 in some cases. This allows us to put this scenario to rest for good. We also extend our model grid to lower temperatures using improved Stark profiles with non-ideal gas effects from Tremblay & Bergeron and find that the gravity distribution of cool objects remains suspiciously high. Finally, we find that photometric masses are, on average, in agreement with expected values, and that the high-log g problem is so far unique to the spectroscopic approach.Comment: 44 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Spectroscopic Analysis of DA White Dwarfs: Stark Broadening of Hydrogen Lines Including Non-Ideal Effects

We present improved calculations for the Stark broadening of hydrogen lines in dense plasmas typical of white dwarf atmospheres. Our new model is based on the unified theory of Stark broadening from Vidal, Cooper, & Smith. For the first time, we account for the non-ideal effects in a consistent way directly inside the line profile calculations. The Hummer & Mihalas theory is used to describe the non-ideal effects due to perturbations on the absorber from protons and electrons. We use a truncation of the electric microfield distribution in the quasi-static proton broadening to take into account the fact that high electric microfields dissociate the upper state of a transition. This approach represents a significant improvement over previous calculations that relied on the use of an ad hoc parameter to mimic these non-ideal effects. We obtain the first model spectra with line profiles that are consistent with the equation of state. We revisit the properties of DA stars in the range 40,000 K > Teff > 13,000 K by analyzing the optical spectra with our improved models. The updated atmospheric parameters are shown to differ substantially from those published in previous studies, with a mean mass shifted by +0.034 Msun. We also show that these revised atmospheric parameters yield absolute visual magnitudes that remain in excellent agreement with trigonometric parallax measurements.Comment: 44 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

A comparison of Rosseland-mean opacities from OP and OPAL

Monochromatic opacities from the Opacity Project (OP) (Seaton et al.) have been augmented by hitherto missing inner-shell contributions (Badnell & Seaton). OP Rosseland-mean opacities are compared with results from OPAL (Iglesias & Rogers) for the elements H, He, C, O, S and Fe. Overall, there is good agreement between OP and OPAL Rosseland-mean opacities for the 6-elements, but there are some differences. In particular, recent work (Bahcall et al.) has shown that helioseismology measurements give a very accurate value for the depth of the solar convection zone and that solar models give agreement with that value only if opacities there are about 7% larger than OPAL values. For the 6-element mix, here, we obtain Rosseland-mean opacities to be larger than OPAL by 5%.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures, submitted to MNRAS, uses personal Latex style fil

New Insights into White-Light Flare Emission from Radiative-Hydrodynamic Modeling of a Chromospheric Condensation

(abridged) The heating mechanism at high densities during M dwarf flares is poorly understood. Spectra of M dwarf flares in the optical and near-ultraviolet wavelength regimes have revealed three continuum components during the impulsive phase: 1) an energetically dominant blackbody component with a color temperature of T $\sim$ 10,000 K in the blue-optical, 2) a smaller amount of Balmer continuum emission in the near-ultraviolet at lambda $<$ 3646 Angstroms and 3) an apparent pseudo-continuum of blended high-order Balmer lines. These properties are not reproduced by models that employ a typical "solar-type" flare heating level in nonthermal electrons, and therefore our understanding of these spectra is limited to a phenomenological interpretation. We present a new 1D radiative-hydrodynamic model of an M dwarf flare from precipitating nonthermal electrons with a large energy flux of $10^{13}$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$. The simulation produces bright continuum emission from a dense, hot chromospheric condensation. For the first time, the observed color temperature and Balmer jump ratio are produced self-consistently in a radiative-hydrodynamic flare model. We find that a T $\sim$ 10,000 K blackbody-like continuum component and a small Balmer jump ratio result from optically thick Balmer and Paschen recombination radiation, and thus the properties of the flux spectrum are caused by blue light escaping over a larger physical depth range compared to red and near-ultraviolet light. To model the near-ultraviolet pseudo-continuum previously attributed to overlapping Balmer lines, we include the extra Balmer continuum opacity from Landau-Zener transitions that result from merged, high order energy levels of hydrogen in a dense, partially ionized atmosphere. This reveals a new diagnostic of ambient charge density in the densest regions of the atmosphere that are heated during dMe and solar flares.Comment: 50 pages, 2 tables, 13 figures. Accepted for publication in the Solar Physics Topical Issue, "Solar and Stellar Flares". Version 2 (June 22, 2015): updated to include comments by Guest Editor. The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11207-015-0708-

Improved synthetic spectra of helium-core white dwarf stars

We examine the emergent fluxes from helium-core white dwarfs following their evolution from the end of pre-white dwarf stages down to advanced cooling stages. For this purpose, we include a detailed treatment of the physics of the atmosphere, particularly an improved representation of the state of the gas by taking into account non-ideal effects according to the so-called occupation probability formalism. The present calculations also incorporate hydrogen line opacity from Lyman, Balmer and Paschen series, pseudo-continuum absorptions and new updated induced-dipole absorption from H$_2$-H$_2$, H$_2$-He and H-He pairs. We find that the non-ideal effects and line absorption alter the appearance of the stellar spectrum and have a significant influence upon the photometric colours in the UBVRI-JHKL system. This occurs specially for hot models T_{\rm eff}\ga 8000 due to line and pseudo-continuum opacities, and for cool models T_{\rm eff}\la 4000 where the perturbation of atoms and molecules by neighbour particles affects the chemical equilibrium of the gas. In the present study, we also include new cooling sequences for helium-core white dwarfs of very low mass (0.160 and 0.148 M$_\odot$) with metallicity $Z=0.02$. These computations provide theoretical support to search for and identify white dwarfs of very low mass, specially useful for recent and future observational studies of globular cluster, where these objects have began to be detected.Comment: 15 pages. Accepted for publication in MNRA