345 research outputs found
The Possible White Dwarf-Neutron Star Connection
The current status of the problem of whether neutron stars can form, in close
binary systems, by accretion-induced collapse (AIC) of white dwarfs is
examined. We find that, in principle, both initially cold C+O white dwarfs in
the high-mass tail of their mass distribution in binaries and O+Ne+Mg white
dwarfs can produce neutron stars. Which fractions of neutron stars in different
types of binaries (or descendants from binaries) might originate from this
process remains uncertain.Comment: 6 pages. To appear in "White Dwarfs", ed. J. Isern, M. Hernanz, and
E. Garcia-Berro (Dordrecht: Kluwer
Hsp21potentiates antifungal drug tolerance in Candida albicans
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Evolution of the number of accreting white dwarfs with shell nuclear burning and of occurrence rate of SN Ia
We analyze temporal evolution of the number of accreting white dwarfs with
shell hydrogen burning in semidetached and detached binaries. We consider a
stellar system in which star formation lasts for 10 Gyr with a constant rate,
as well as a system in which the same amount of stars is formed in a single
burst lasting for 1 Gyr. Evolution of the number of white dwarfs is confronted
to the evolution of occurrence rate of events that usually are identified with
SN Ia or accretion-induced collapses, i.e. with accumulation of Chandrasekhar
mass by a white dwarf or a merger of a pair of CO white dwarfs with total mass
not lower than the Chandrasekhar one. In the systems with a burst of star
formation, at 10 Gyr observed supersoft X-ray sources, most probably, are
not precursors of SN Ia. The same is true for an overwhelming majority of the
sources in the systems with constant star formation rate. In the systems of
both kinds mergers of white dwarfs is the dominant SN Ia scenario. In symbiotic
binaries, accreting CO-dwarfs do not accumulate enough mass for SN Ia
explosion, while ONeMg-dwarfs finish their evolution by an accretion-induced
collapse with formation of a neutron star.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, accepted by Astronomy Letter
Tune in to your emotions: a robust personalized affective music player
The emotional power of music is exploited in a personalized affective music player (AMP) that selects music for mood enhancement. A biosignal approach is used to measure listenersâ personal emotional reactions to their own music as input for affective user models. Regression and kernel density estimation are applied to model the physiological changes the music elicits. Using these models, personalized music selections based on an affective goal state can be made. The AMP was validated in real-world trials over the course of several weeks. Results show that our models can cope with noisy situations and handle large inter-individual differences in the music domain. The AMP augments music listening where its techniques enable automated affect guidance. Our approach provides valuable insights for affective computing and user modeling, for which the AMP is a suitable carrier application
The Resolved Stellar Population of the Post-Starburst Galaxy NGC 1569
We present WFPC2-HST photometry (in the F439W and F555W bands) of the
resolved stars in NGC 1569. The derived color-magnitude diagram (CMD) contains
2800 objects down to the 26th mag, and is complete down to the 23rd. Adopting
the literature distance modulus and reddening, the CMD samples stars more
massive than 4 Mo, corresponding to a look-back time of 0.15 Gyr approximately.
The data are compared to synthetic CMDs to derive the recent star formation
history in NGC 1569. It is found that the observed field has experienced a
global burst of star formation (SF) lasting at least 0.1 Gyr, and ended a few
Myr ago. During the burst, the SF rate was approximately constant, and, if
quiescent periods occurred, they lasted less than 10 Myr. The level of the SF
rate was very high: 0.5 Mo/yr for a Salpeter IMF, in stars with mass ranging
from 0.1 to 120 Mo. When scaled for the surveyed area, the SF rate is
approximately 100 times larger than found in the most active dwarf irregulars
in the Local Group. The data are consistent with a Salpeter IMF, or slightly
steeper exponents. We discuss the implications of our results in the general
context of the evolution of dwarf galaxies.Comment: 63 pages including 2 tables and 12 figures, to be published in The
Astrophysical Journa
SN 2008S: an electron capture SN from a super-AGB progenitor?
We present comprehensive photometric and spectroscopic observations of the
faint transient SN 2008S discovered in NGC 6946. SN 2008S exhibited slow
photometric evolution and almost no spectral variability during the first nine
months, implying a high density CS medium. The light curve is similar in shape
to that of SN 1998S and SN 1979C, although significantly fainter at maximum
light. Our quasi-bolometric lightcurve extends to 300 days and shows a tail
phase decay rate consistent with that of ^{56}Co. We propose that this is
evidence for an explosion and formation of ^{56}Ni (0.0015 +/- 0.0004 M_Sun).
The large MIR flux detected shortly after explosion can be explained by a light
echo from pre-exisiting dust. The late NIR flux excess is plausibly due to a
combination of warm newly-formed ejecta dust together with shock-heated dust in
the CS environment. We reassess the progenitor object detected previously in
Spitzer archive images, supplementing this discussion with a model of the MIR
spectral energy distribution. This supports the idea of a dusty, optically
thick shell around SN 2008S with an inner radius of nearly 90AU and outer
radius of 450AU, and an inferred heating source of 3000 K and luminosity of L ~
10^{4.6} L_Sun. The combination of our monitoring data and the evidence from
the progenitor analysis leads us to support the scenario of a weak electron
capture supernova explosion in a super-AGB progenitor star (of initial mass 6-8
M_sun) embedded within a thick CS gaseous envelope. We suggest that all of main
properties of the electron capture SN phenomenon are observed in SN 2008S and
future observations may allow a definitive answer.Comment: accepted for publication in MNRAS (2009 May 7
Description of the Scenario Machine
We present here an updated description of the "Scenario Machine" code. This
tool is used to carry out a population synthesis of binary stars. Previous
version of the description can be found at
http://xray.sai.msu.ru/~mystery//articles/review/contents.htmlComment: 32 pages, 3 figures. Corrected typo
The Progenitors of Core-Collapse Supernovae
We present maps of the nature of single star progenitors of supernovae and
their remnants in mass and metallicity space. We find our results are similar
to others but we have gone further in varying the amount of mixing and using
various mass-loss schemes to see how the maps change. We find that
extra-mixing, in the form of convective overshooting, moves boundaries such as
the minimum mass for a supernova or WR star to lower masses. We also find that
the pre-WR mass-loss determines the shape of our maps. We find that different
mass-loss rates lead to quite different results. We find that the rise in
luminosity at 2nd dredge-up places quite tight constraints on the masses of
some progenitors and in particular the progenitor of supernova 2003gd.Comment: Accepted by MNRAS, 25 pages, 9 figure
Evolutionary and pulsational properties of white dwarf stars
Abridged. White dwarf stars are the final evolutionary stage of the vast
majority of stars, including our Sun. The study of white dwarfs has potential
applications to different fields of astrophysics. In particular, they can be
used as independent reliable cosmic clocks, and can also provide valuable
information about the fundamental parameters of a wide variety of stellar
populations, like our Galaxy and open and globular clusters. In addition, the
high densities and temperatures characterizing white dwarfs allow to use these
stars as cosmic laboratories for studying physical processes under extreme
conditions that cannot be achieved in terrestrial laboratories. They can be
used to constrain fundamental properties of elementary particles such as axions
and neutrinos, and to study problems related to the variation of fundamental
constants.
In this work, we review the essentials of the physics of white dwarf stars.
Special emphasis is placed on the physical processes that lead to the formation
of white dwarfs as well as on the different energy sources and processes
responsible for chemical abundance changes that occur along their evolution.
Moreover, in the course of their lives, white dwarfs cross different
pulsational instability strips. The existence of these instability strips
provides astronomers with an unique opportunity to peer into their internal
structure that would otherwise remain hidden from observers. We will show that
this allows to measure with unprecedented precision the stellar masses and to
infer their envelope thicknesses, to probe the core chemical stratification,
and to detect rotation rates and magnetic fields. Consequently, in this work,
we also review the pulsational properties of white dwarfs and the most recent
applications of white dwarf asteroseismology.Comment: 85 pages, 28 figures. To be published in The Astronomy and
Astrophysics Revie
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