Optical and near-infrared spectrophotometric properties of Long Period Variables and other luminous red stars

Based on a new and large sample of optical and near-infrared spectra obtained at the Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories (Lancon & Wood 1998; Lancon & Wood, in preparation), spectrophotometric properties of cool oxygen- and carbon-rich Long Period Variables and supergiants are presented. Temperatures of oxygen-rich stars are assigned by comparison with synthetic spectra computed from up-to-date oxygen-rich model atmosphere grids. The existence of reliable optical and near-infrared temperature indicators is investigated. A narrow relation between the bolometric correction BC(I) and the broad-band colour I-J is obtained for oxygen-rich cool stars. The ability of specific near-infrared indices to separate luminosity classes, atmospheric chemistry or variability subtypes is discussed. Some comments are also given on extinction effects, water band strengths in Long Period Variables and the evaluation of 12CO/13CO ratio in red giants.Comment: 14 pages, 21 figures, Latex, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics main journal. Also available at http://www-astro.ulb.ac.be/~ralvarez

Envelope tomography of long-period variable stars: I. The Schwarzschild mechanism and the Balmer emission lines

This paper is the first one in a series devoted to the study of the dynamics of the atmospheres of long-period variable stars. Results from a two-month-long monitoring of the Mira variables RT Cyg and X Oph around maximum light with the ELODIE spectrograph at the Haute-Provence Observatory are presented. The monitoring covers phases 0.80 to 1.16 for RT Cyg and phases 0.83 to 1.04 for X Oph. The cross-correlation profile of the spectrum of RT Cyg with a K0 III mask confirms that the absorption lines of RT Cyg in the optical domain appear double around maximum light. No line doubling was found in the optical spectrum of X Oph around maximum light, indicating that this feature is not common to all long-period variables. This paper also presents the application to RT Cyg of a new tomographic technique deriving the velocity field across the atmosphere by cross-correlating the optical spectrum with numerical masks constructed from synthetic spectra and probing layers of increasing depths. This technique reveals that both the temporal evolution of the line doubling, and its variation with depth in the atmosphere of RT Cyg, are consistent with the ``Schwarzschild scenario''. This scenario relates the temporal evolution of the red and blue peaks of the double absorption lines to the progression of a shock wave in the atmosphere. The temporal evolution of the Balmer Halpha, H beta, Hgamma and Hdelta emission lines around maximum light is also presented for RT Cyg and X Oph. The velocity variations of Halpha and of the absorption lines are discussed in the framework of two competing models for the formation of Balmer emission lines in long-period variable stars.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, Latex, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics main journal. Also available at http://www-astro.ulb.ac.be/Html/ps.htm

Recognizing the First Radiation Sources Through Their 21-cm Signature

At the beginning of the reionization epoch, radiation sources produce fluctuations in the redshifted 21-cm background. We show that different types of sources (such as miniquasars, Pop II and III stars, supernovae, etc.) produce distinct signatures in the 21-cm signal radial profiles and statistical fluctuations, through which they can be identified. Further, we show that the 21-cm signal from X-ray emitting sources is much easier to observe than was expected, due to a previously neglected pumping mechanism.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted by ApJ

Powering AGNs with super-critical black holes

We propose a novel mechanism for powering the central engines of Active Galactic Nuclei through super-critical (type II) black hole collapse. In this picture, ~$10^3 M_\odot$ of material collapsing at relativistic speeds can trigger a gravitational shock, which can eject a large percentage of the collapsing matter at relativistic speeds, leaving behind a "light" black hole. In the presence of a poloidal magnetic field, the plasma collimates along two jets, and the associated electron synchrotron radiation can easily account for the observed radio luminosities, sizes and durations of AGN jets. For Lorentz factors of order 100 and magnetic fields of a few hundred $\mu G$, synchrotron electrons can shine for $10^6$ yrs, producing jets of sizes of order 100 kpc. This mechanism may also be relevant for Gamma Ray Bursts and, in the absence of magnetic field, supernova explosions.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Structure and three-body decay of 9^9Be resonances

The complex-rotated hyperspherical adiabatic method is used to study the decay of low-lying $^9$Be resonances into one neutron and two $\alpha$-particles. We investigate the six resonances above the break-up threshold and below 6 MeV: $1/2^\pm$, $3/2^\pm$ and $5/2^\pm$. The short-distance properties of each resonance are studied, and the different angular momentum and parity configurations of the $^8$Be and $^5$He two-body substructures are determined. We compute the branching ratio for sequential decay via the $^8$Be ground state which qualitatively is consistent with measurements. We extract the momentum distributions after decay directly into the three-body continuum from the large-distance asymptotic structures. The kinematically complete results are presented as Dalitz plots as well as projections on given neutron and $\alpha$-energy. The distributions are discussed and in most cases found to agree with available experimental data.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures. To appear in Physical Review