351 research outputs found
Helium Nova on a Very Massive White Dwarf -- A Light Curve Model of V445 Puppis (2000) Revised
V445 Pup (2000) is a unique object identified as a helium nova. Color indexes
during the outburst are consistent with those of free-free emission. We present
a free-free emission dominated light curve model of V445 Pup on the basis of
the optically thick wind theory. Our light curve fitting shows that (1) the
white dwarf (WD) mass is very massive (M_WD \gtrsim 1.35 M_\sun), and (2) a
half of the accreted matter remains on the WD, both of which suggest that the
increasing WD mass. Therefore, V445 Pup is a strong candidate of Type Ia
supernova progenitor. The estimated distance to V445 Pup is now consistent with
the recent observational suggestions, 3.5 < d < 6.5 kpc. A helium star
companion is consistent with the brightness of m_v=14.5 mag just before the
outburst, if it is a little bit evolved hot (\log T (K) \gtrsim 4.5) star with
the mass of M_He \gtrsim 0.8 M_\sun. We then emphasize importance of
observations in the near future quiescent phase after the thick circumstellar
dust dissipates away, especially its color and magnitude to specify the nature
of the companion star. We have also calculated helium ignition masses for
helium shell flashes against various helium accretion rates and discussed the
recurrence period of helium novae.Comment: 8 pages including 12 figures, to appear in Ap
On the angular momentum evolution of merged white dwarfs
We study the angular momentum evolution of binaries containing two white
dwarfs which merge and become cool helium-rich supergiants. Our object is to
compare predicted rotation velocities with observations of highly evolved stars
believed to have formed from such a merger, including RCrB and extreme helium
stars. The principal study involves a binary containing a 0.6 solar mass CO
white dwarf, and a 0.3 solar mass He white dwarf. The initial condition for the
angular momentum distribution is defined where the secondary fills its Roche
Lobe. We assume conservation of angular momentum to compute the angular
momentum distribution in a collisionless disk and subsequently in the giant
envelope. At the end of shell-helium burning, the giant contracts to form a
white dwarf. We derive the surface rotation velocity during this contraction.
The calculation is repeated for a range of initial mass ratios, and also for
the case of mergers between two helium white dwarfs; the latter will contract
to the helium main-sequence rather than the white dwarf sequence. Assuming
complete conservation of angular momentum, we predict acceptable angular
rotation rates for cool giants and during the initial subsequent contraction.
However such stars will only survive spin-up to reach the white dwarf sequence
(CO+He merger) if the initial mass ratio is close to unity. He+He merger
products must lose angular momentum in order to reach the helium main sequence.
Minimum observed rotation velocities in extreme helium stars are lower than our
predictions by at least one half, indicating that CO+He mergers must lose at
least one half of their angular momentum.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures, MNRAS in pres
Microstructure of Winged Beans
Microstructures of seven plant introductions of winged beans (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus) produced in Okinawa, Japan were investigated. In cotyledonary cells of winged beans, protein bodies plus numerous lipid bodies were distributed in a cytoplasmic network. Starch granules were often found in some introductions but rarely in others. All seven introductions had very thick cell walls. The high protein, fat and hemicellulose contents of winged beans are consistent with the numerous protein bodies, lipid bodies and thick cell walls in the mature cotyledonary cells. The cell walls contained a number of depressions or cavities 1 to 2 lJ m deep which frequently occurred opposite complementary pits in adjacent cells (presumably pit-pairs). Plasmodesmata traverse the cell walls in the pit-pairs. In order to determine changes during development, cultivar UPS-32 cultivated at Fukuoka-city was used. In coty ledonary cells at 30 days after flowering, cell walls which had pitpairs with plasmodesmata, developing amyloplasts with starch granules, vacuoles with dense flocculent materials, tubular rough endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria etc., were observed but no protein bodies or lipid bodies were apparent. Protein bodies and lipid bodies were, however, found at 45 days after flowering. Cotyledonary cells at 45 days contained many starch granules but mature seeds contained few, if any
Microstructural Studies of Texturized Vegetable Protein Products: Effects of Oil Addition and Transformation of Raw Materials in Various Sections of a Twin Screw Extruder
In high-temperature short- time extrusion cooking with a twin screw extruder , effects of oil addition to defatted soybean flour and microstructural transformation of full - fat soybean flour during cooking , were investigated by use of a light microscope. At levels up to 15% , soybean oil was distributed in the protein and carbohydrate matrix as small, spherical drops under the experimental conditions used in this study. However , oil contents above 15% significantly prevented formation of well-aligned fibrous structures in the extrudates . During extrusion cooking , the starting materials began to break down by shearing and kneading forces in the feed section but gross cellular structures remained up to the cooking zone. After being introduced into the cooking zone , protein and carbohydrate were plasticized and appeared to be stream-like . Passage through the breaker plate and long cooling die induced formation of a fiber-like extrudate
Evolution of Rotating Accreting White Dwarfs and the Diversity of Type Ia Supernovae
Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) have relatively uniform light curves and spectral
evolution, which make SNe Ia useful standard candles to determine cosmological
parameters. However, the peak brightness is not completely uniform, and the
origin of the diversity has not been clear. We examine whether the rotation of
progenitor white dwarfs (WDs) can be the important source of the diversity of
the brightness of SNe Ia. We calculate the structure of rotating WDs with an
axisymmetric hydrostatic code. The diversity of the mass induced by the
rotation is ~0.08 Msun and is not enough to explain the diversity of
luminosity. However, we found the following relation between the initial mass
of the WDs and their final state; i.e., a WD of smaller initial mass will
rotate more rapidly before the supernova explosion than that of larger initial
mass. This result might explain the dependence of SNe Ia on their host
galaxies.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
Carbon-Oxygen White Dwarfs Accreting CO-Rich Matter I: A Comparison Between Rotating and Non-Rotating Models
We investigate the lifting effect of rotation on the thermal evolution of CO
WDs accreting CO-rich matter. We find that rotation induces the cooling of the
accreting star so that the delivered gravitational energy causes a greater
expansion with respect to the standard non-rotating case. The increase in the
surface radius produces a decrease in the surface value of the critical angular
velocity and, therefore, the accreting WD becomes gravitationally unbound
(Roche instability). This occurrence is due to an increase in the total angular
momentum of the accreting WD and depends critically on the amount of specific
angular momentum deposited by the accreted matter. If the specific angular
momentum of the accreted matter is equal to that of the outer layers of the
accreting structure, the Roche instability occurs well before the accreting WD
can attain the physical conditions for C-burning. If the values of both initial
angular velocity and accretion rate are small, we find that the accreting WD
undergoes a secular instability when its total mass approaches 1.4 Msun. At
this stage, the ratio between the rotational and the gravitational binding
energy of the WD becomes of the order of 0.1, so that the star must deform by
adopting an elliptical shape. In this case, since the angular velocity of the
WD is as large as 1 rad/s, the anisotropic mass distribution induces the loss
of rotational energy and angular momentum via GWR. We find that, independent of
the braking efficiency, the WD contracts and achieves the physical conditions
suitable for explosive C-burning at the center so that a type Ia supernova
event is produced.Comment: 39 pages, 22 eps-figures; accepted for publication in Astrophysical
Journa
Changes in Typical Organelles in Developing Cotyledons of Soybean
Soybean cotyledonary cells harvested every 5-10 days at 15 to 60 days after flowering (OAF), were investigated by means of light and transmission electron microscopy. In the early developing stages (15-20 OAF) most of the cells were occupied by large, centrally located vacuoles while the cytoplasm was restricted to a thin layer against the cell wall and contained numerous ribosomes, mitochondria, plastids, small amounts of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and minute lipid bodies. At about 25 OAF, spherical organelles which contained protein, lipid and sugar (PLS bodies), appeared and then increased in number and in size. Vacuoles had protein deposits lining the inner surfaces of the tonoplasts. At 30-35 OAF, the PLS bodies lost their characteristic ciccular shape because of invaginations containing cytoplasmic materials and small vacuoles . Such transformed PLS bodies, fragmented vacuoles and protein bodies became difficult to distinguish from each other. At this stage, the cytoplasm contained abundant rough ER with cisternae, dictyosomes , lipid bodies and plastids . At 35-40 OAF, protein bodies which varied in size and shape were observed in ce lls a long with lipid bodies and rough ER. At about 40 OAF the plastids reached maximum size and number and then most disappeared . In the final stage ( 55-60 OAF) , protein bodies became homogeneous in electron density with completion of protein accumulation
A Wide Symbiotic Channel to Type Ia Supernovae
As a promising channel to Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), we have proposed a
symbiotic binary system consisting of a white dwarf (WD) and a low mass
red-giant (RG), where strong winds from the accreting WD play a key role to
increase the WD mass to the Chandrasekhar mass limit. Here we propose two new
evolutionary processes which make the symbiotic channel to SNe Ia much wider.
(1) We first show that the WD + RG close binary can form from a wide binary
even with such a large initial separation as . Such
a binary consists of an AGB star and a low mass main-sequence (MS) star, where
the AGB star is undergoing superwind before becoming a WD. If the superwind at
the end of AGB evolution is as fast as or slower than the orbital velocity, the
wind outflowing from the system takes away the orbital angular momentum
effectively. As a result the wide binary shrinks greatly to become a close
binary. Therefore, the WD + RG binary can form from much wider binaries than
our earlier estimate. (2) When the RG fills its inner critical Roche lobe, the
WD undergoes rapid mass accretion and blows a strong optically thick wind. Our
earlier analysis has shown that the mass transfer is stabilized by this wind
only when the mass ratio of RG/WD is smaller than 1.15. Our new finding is that
the WD wind can strip mass from the RG envelope, which could be efficient
enough to stabilize the mass transfer even if the RG/WD mass ratio exceeds
1.15. With the above two new effects (1) and (2), the symbiotic channel can
account for the inferred rate of SNe Ia in our Galaxy.Comment: 29 pages including 14 firgures, to be published in ApJ, 521, No.
The first evidence for multiple pulsation axes: a new roAp star in the Kepler field, KIC 10195926
We have discovered a new rapidly oscillating Ap star among the Kepler Mission
target stars, KIC 10195926. This star shows two pulsation modes with periods
that are amongst the longest known for roAp stars at 17.1 min and 18.1 min,
indicating that the star is near the terminal age main sequence. The principal
pulsation mode is an oblique dipole mode that shows a rotationally split
frequency septuplet that provides information on the geometry of the mode. The
secondary mode also appears to be a dipole mode with a rotationally split
triplet, but we are able to show within the improved oblique pulsator model
that these two modes cannot have the same axis of pulsation. This is the first
time for any pulsating star that evidence has been found for separate pulsation
axes for different modes. The two modes are separated in frequency by 55
microHz, which we model as the large separation. The star is an alpha^2 CVn
spotted magnetic variable that shows a complex rotational light variation with
a period of Prot = 5.68459 d. For the first time for any spotted magnetic star
of the upper main sequence, we find clear evidence of light variation with a
period of twice the rotation period; i.e. a subharmonic frequency of . We propose that this and other subharmonics are the first observed
manifestation of torsional modes in an roAp star. From high resolution spectra
we determine Teff = 7400 K, log g = 3.6 and v sin i = 21 km/s. We have found a
magnetic pulsation model with fundamental parameters close to these values that
reproduces the rotational variations of the two obliquely pulsating modes with
different pulsation axes. The star shows overabundances of the rare earth
elements, but these are not as extreme as most other roAp stars. The spectrum
is variable with rotation, indicating surface abundance patches.Comment: 17 pages; 16 figures; MNRA
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