690 research outputs found
Modeling the near-infrared lines of O-type stars
We use a grid of 30 line-blanketed unified stellar photosphere and wind
models for O-type stars; computed with the code CMFGEN in order to evaluate its
potential in the near-infrared spectral domain. The grid includes dwarfs,
giants and supergiants. We analyse the equivalent width behaviour of the 20
strongest lines of hydrogen and helium in spectral windows that can be observed
using ground-based instrumentation and compare the results with observations.
Our main findings are that: i) HeI/HeII line ratios in the J, H and K bands
correlate well with the optical ratio employed in spectral classification, and
can therefore be used to determine the spectral type; ii) in supergiant stars
the transition from the stellar photosphere to the wind follows a shallower
density gradient than the standard approach followed in our models, which can
be mimicked by adopting a lower gravity in our prescription of the density
stratification. iii) the Brackett gamma line poses a number of peculiar
problems which partly might be related to wind clumping, and iv) the Brackett
alpha line is an excellent mass-loss indicator. For the first and last item we
provide quantitative calibrations.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, accepted by A&
On multicomponent effects in stellar winds of stars at extremely low metallicity
We calculate multicomponent line-driven wind models of stars at extremely low metallicity suitable for massive first generation stars. For most of the models we find that the multicomponent wind nature is not important for either wind dynamics or for wind temperature stratification. However, for stars with the lowest metallicities we find that multicomponent effects influence the wind structure. These effects range from pure heating to possible fallback of the nonabsorbing wind component. We present a simple formula for the calculation of metallicity for which the multicomponent effects become important. We show that the importance of the multicomponent nature of winds of low metallicity stars is characterised not only by the low density of driving ions, but also by lower mass-loss rate
New predictions for radiation-driven, steady-state mass-loss and wind-momentum from hot, massive stars II. A grid of O-type stars in the Galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds
Reliable predictions of mass-loss rates are important for massive-star
evolution computations. We aim to provide predictions for mass-loss rates and
wind-momentum rates of O-type stars, carefully studying the behaviour of these
winds as functions of stellar parameters like luminosity and metallicity. We
use newly developed steady-state models of radiation-driven winds to compute
the global properties of a grid of O-stars. The self-consistent models are
calculated by means of an iterative solution to the equation of motion using
full NLTE radiative transfer in the co-moving frame to compute the radiative
acceleration. In order to study winds in different galactic environments, the
grid covers main-sequence stars, giants and supergiants in the Galaxy and both
Magellanic Clouds. We find a strong dependence of mass-loss on both luminosity
and metallicity. Mean values across the grid are
and , however we also find a somewhat stronger
dependence on metallicity for lower luminosities. Similarly, the mass
loss-luminosity relation is somewhat steeper for the SMC than for the Galaxy.
In addition, the computed rates are systematically lower (by a factor 2 and
more) than those commonly used in stellar-evolution calculations. Overall, our
results agree well with observations in the Galaxy that account properly for
wind-clumping, with empirical vs. scaling relations, and
with observations of O-dwarfs in the SMC. Our results provide simple fit
relations for mass-loss rates and wind momenta of massive O-stars stars as
functions of luminosity and metallicity, valid in the range \,K. Due to the systematically lower , our new models
suggest that new rates might be needed in evolution simulations of massive
stars.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. 16 pages, 13 figure
The Discordance of Mass-Loss Estimates for Galactic O-Type Stars
We have determined accurate values of the product of the mass-loss rate and
the ion fraction of P^{4+}, Mdot q(P^{4+}), for a sample of 40 Galactic O-type
stars by fitting stellar-wind profiles to observations of the P V resonance
doublet obtained with FUSE, ORFEUS/BEFS, and Copernicus. When P^{4+} is the
dominant ion in the wind, Mdot q(P^{4+}) approximates the mass-loss rate to
within a factor of 2. Theory predicts that P^{4+} is the dominant ion in the
winds of O7-O9.7 stars, though an empirical estimator suggests that the range
from O4-O7 may be more appropriate. However, we find that the mass-loss rates
obtained from P V wind profiles are systematically smaller than those obtained
from fits to Halpha emission profiles or radio free-free emission by median
factors of about 130 (if P^{4+} is dominant between O7 and O9.7) or about 20
(if P^{4+} is dominant between O4 and O7). These discordant measurements can be
reconciled if the winds of O stars in the relevant temperature range are
strongly clumped on small spatial scales. We use a simplified two-component
model to investigate the volume filling factors of the denser regions. This
clumping implies that mass-loss rates determined from "density squared"
diagnostics have been systematically over-estimated by factors of 10 or more,
at least for a subset of O stars. Reductions in the mass-loss rates of this
size have important implications for the evolution of massive stars and
quantitative estimates of the feedback that hot-star winds provide to their
interstellar environments.Comment: 26 pages, 4 figures; accepted for publication in Ap
STIS UV spectroscopy of early B supergiants in M31
We analyze STIS spectra in the 1150-1700 Angstrom wavelength range obtained
for six early B supergiants in the neighboring galaxy M31. Because of their
likely high (nearly solar) abundance, these stars were originally chosen to be
directly comparable to their Galactic counterparts, and represent a much-needed
addition to our current sample of B-type supergiants, in our efforts to study
the dependence of the Wind Momentum-Luminosity Relationship on spectral type
and metallicity. As a first step to determine wind momenta we fit the P-Cygni
profiles of the resonance lines of N V, Si IV and C IV with standard methods,
and derive terminal velocities for all of the STIS targets. From these lines we
also derive ionic stellar wind column densities. Our results are compared with
those obtained previously in Galactic supergiants, and confirm earlier claims
of `normal' wind line intensities and terminal velocities in M31. For half of
the sample we find evidence for an enhanced maximum turbulent velocity when
compared to Galactic counterparts.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in The
Astrophysical Journa
The IACOB project. V. Spectroscopic parameters of the O-type stars in the modern grid of standards for spectral classification
The IACOB and OWN surveys are two ambitious complementary observational
projects which have made available a large multi-epoch spectroscopic database
of optical high resolution spectra of Galactic massive O-type stars. As a first
step in the study of the full sample of (more than 350) O stars surveyed by the
IACOB/OWN projects, we have performed the quantitative spectroscopic analysis
of a subsample of 128 stars included in the modern grid of O-type standards for
spectral classification. We use semi-automatized tools to determine the set of
spectroscopic parameters that can be obtained from the optical spectrum of
O-type stars. We also benefit from the multi-epoch character of the surveys to
perform a spectroscopic variability study of the sample, accounting for
spectroscopic binarity and variability of the main wind diagnostic lines. We
provide a general overview of the stellar and wind parameters of this reference
sample, and updated recipes for the SpT\,--\,Teff/log g calibrations for
Galactic O-type stars. We evaluate our semi-automatized analysis strategy with
40 stars from the literature, and find a good agreement. The agreement
between the synthetic spectra associated with fastwind best fitting models and
the observed spectra is good for most targets, but 46 stars present a
particular behavior of the wind diagnostic lines that cannot be reproduced by
our grid of spherically symmetric unclumped models. These are potential targets
of interest for more detailed investigations of clumpy winds and/or the
existence of additional circumstellar components. Last, our variability study
has led to the detection of signatures of spectroscopic binarity in 27\% of the
stars and small amplitude radial velocity variations in the photospheric lines
of another 30\%. Additionally, 31\% of the investigated stars show variability
in the wind diagnostic lines.Comment: 20 pages, 18 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
A Medium Resolution Near-Infrared Spectral Atlas of O and Early B Stars
We present intermediate resolution (R ~ 8,000 - 12,000) high signal-to-noise
H- and K-band spectroscopy of a sample of 37 optically visible stars, ranging
in spectral type from O3 to B3 and representing most luminosity classes.
Spectra of this quality can be used to constrain the temperature, luminosity
and general wind properties of OB stars, when used in conjunction with
sophisticated atmospheric model codes. Most important is the need for
moderately high resolutions (R > 5000) and very high signal-to-noise (S/N >
150) spectra for a meaningful profile analysis. When using near-infrared
spectra for a classification system, moderately high signal-to-noise (S/N ~
100) is still required, though the resolution can be relaxed to just a thousand
or two. In the appendix we provide a set of very high quality near-infrared
spectra of Brackett lines in six early-A dwarfs. These can be used to aid in
the modeling and removal of such lines when early-A dwarfs are used for
telluric spectroscopic standards.Comment: 12 pages, 3 tables, 14 figures. AASTex preprint style. To appear in
ApJS, November 2005. All spectra are available by contacting M.M. Hanso
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