16,387 research outputs found
Projected rotational velocities of WD1614+136 and WD1353+409 - implications for the rate of galactic Type Ia supernovae
The white dwarf stars WD1614+136 and WD1353+409 are not sufficiently massive
to have formed through single star evolution. However, observations to date
have not yet found any evidence for binarity. It has therefore been suggested
that these stars are the result of a merger. In this paper we place an upper
limit of approximately 50kms on the projected rotational velocities of both
stars. This suggests that, if these stars are the results of a merger,
efficient angular momentum loss with accompanying mass loss must have occurred.
If the same process occurs following the merging of more massive white dwarf
stars, the predicted rate of Type Ia supernovae due to merging white dwarfs may
have been greatly over-estimated. Further observations to determine binarity in
WD1614+136 and WD1353+409 are therefore encouraged.Comment: 3 pages. 1 figur
KPD1930+2752 - a candidate Type Ia supernova progenitor
We present spectra of the pulsating sdB star KPD1930+2752 which confirm that
this star is a binary. The radial velocities measured from the H-alpha and
HeI6678 spectral lines vary sinusoidally with the same period (2h 17m) as the
ellipsoidal variability seen by Billeres et al. (2000). The amplitude of the
orbital motion (349.3+-2.7 km/s) combined with the canonical mass for sdB stars
(0.5 solar masses) implies a total mass for the binary of 1.47+-0.01 solar
masses The unseen companion star is almost certainly a white dwarf star. The
binary will merge within about 200 million years due to gravitational wave
radiation. The accretion of helium and other elements heavier than hydrogen
onto the white dwarf which then exceeds the Chandrasekhar mass (1.4 solar
masses) is a viable model for the cause of Type Ia supernovae. KPD1930+2752 is
the first star to be discovered which is a good candidate for the progenitor of
a Type Ia supernova of this type which will merge on an astrophysically
interesting timescale.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 4 pages, 2 figures. Added
Institutio
The population of hot subdwarf stars studied with Gaia II. The Gaia DR2 catalogue of hot subluminous stars
Based on data from the ESA Gaia Data Release 2 (DR2) and several
ground-based, multi-band photometry surveys we compiled an all-sky catalogue of
hot subluminous star candidates selected in Gaia DR2 by means of
colour, absolute magnitude and reduced proper motion cuts. We expect the
majority of the candidates to be hot subdwarf stars of spectral type B and O,
followed by blue horizontal branch stars of late B-type (HBB), hot post-AGB
stars, and central stars of planetary nebulae. The contamination by cooler
stars should be about . The catalogue is magnitude limited to Gaia
and covers the whole sky. Except within the Galactic plane
and LMC/SMC regions, we expect the catalogue to be almost complete up to about
. The main purpose of this catalogue is to serve as input
target list for the large-scale photometric and spectroscopic surveys which are
ongoing or scheduled to start in the coming years. In the long run, securing a
statistically significant sample of spectroscopically confirmed hot subluminous
stars is key to advance towards a more detailed understanding of the latest
stages of stellar evolution for single and binary stars.Comment: 13 pages, A&A, accepte
KIC 2856960: the impossible triple star
KIC 2856960 is a star in the Kepler field which was observed by Kepler for 4
years. It shows the primary and secondary eclipses of a close binary of 0.258d
as well as complex dipping events that last for about 1.5d at a time and recur
on a 204d period. The dips are thought to result when the close binary passes
across the face of a third star. In this paper we present an attempt to model
the dips. Despite the apparent simplicity of the system and strenuous efforts
to find a solution, we find that we cannot match the dips with a triple star
while satisfying Kepler's laws. The problem is that to match the dips the
separation of the close binary has to be larger than possible relative to the
outer orbit given the orbital periods. Quadruple star models can get round this
problem but require the addition of a so-far undetected intermediate period of
order 5 -- 20d that has be a near-perfect integer divisor of the outer 204d
period. Although we have no good explanation for KIC 2856960, using the full
set of Kepler data we are able to update several of its parameters. We also
present a spectrum showing that KIC 2856960 is dominated by light from a K3- or
K4-type star.Comment: 11 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS August 21,
201
Competitive partitioning of rotational energy in gas ensemble equilibration
A wide-ranging computational study of equilibration in binary mixtures of diatomic gases reveals the existence of competition between the constituent species for the orbital angular momentum and energy available on collision with the bath gas. The ensembles consist of a bath gas AB(v;j), and a highly excited minor component CD(v';j'), present in the ratio AB:CD = 10:1. Each ensemble contains 8000 molecules. Rotational temperatures (T(r)) are found to differ widely at equilibration with T(r)(AB)/T(r)(CD) varying from 2.74 to 0.92, indicating unequal partitioning of rotational energy and angular momentum between the two species. Unusually, low values of T(r) are found generally to be associated with diatomics of low reduced mass. To test effects of the equi-partition theorem on low T(r) we undertook calculations on HF(6;4) in N(2)(0;10) over the range 100-2000 K. No significant change in T(r)(N2)/T(r)(HF) was found. Two potential sources of rotational inequality are examined in detail. The first is possible asymmetry of -Δj and +Δj probabilities for molecules in mid- to high j states resulting from the quadratic dependence of rotational energy on j. The second is the efficiency of conversion of orbital angular momentum, generated on collision with bath gas molecules, into molecular rotation. Comparison of these two possible effects with computed T(r)(AB)/T(r)(CD) shows the efficiency factor to be an excellent predictor of partitioning between the two species. Our finding that T(r) values for molecules such as HF and OH are considerably lower than other modal temperatures suggests that the determination of gas ensemble temperatures from Boltzmann fits to rotational distributions of diatomics of low reduced mass may require a degree of caution
Evidence for bimodal orbital separations of white dwarf-red dwarf binary stars
We present the results of a radial velocity survey of 20 white dwarf plus M
dwarf binaries selected as a follow up to a \textit{Hubble Space Telescope}
study that aimed to spatially resolve suspected binaries. Our candidates are
taken from the list of targets that were spatially unresolved with
\textit{Hubble}. We have determined the orbital periods for 16 of these compact
binary candidates. The period distribution ranges from 0.14 to 9.16\,d and
peaks near 0.6\,d. The original sample therefore contains two sets of binaries,
wide orbits (\,au) and close orbits (\,au), with
no systems found in the \,au range. This observational evidence
confirms the bimodal distribution predicted by population models and is also
similar to results obtained in previous studies. We find no binary periods in
the months to years range, supporting the post common envelope evolution
scenario. One of our targets, WD\,1504+546, was discovered to be an eclipsing
binary with a period of 0.93\,d
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