1,419 research outputs found
An exceptional X-ray view of the young open cluster NGC 6231: what XMM-Newton has taught us
Considered as the core of the Sco OB1 association, the young open cluster NGC
6231 harbours a rich O-type star population. In 2001, the XMM-Newton satellite
targeted the cluster for a nominal duration of about 180 ks. Thanks to the
detector sensitivity, the EPIC cameras provided an unprecedented X-ray view of
NGC 6231, revealing about 600 point-like sources. In this contribution, we
review the main results that have been obtained thanks to this unprecedented
data set. Concerning the O-type stars, we present the latest developments
related to the so-called 'canonical' Lx-Lbol relation. The dispersion around
this relation might actually be much smaller than previously thought. In our
data set, the sole mechanism that yields a significant deviation from this
scheme is wind interaction. It is also the sole mechanism that induces a
significant variation of the early-type star X-ray flux. In a second part of
this contribution, we probe the properties of the optically faint X-ray
sources. Most of them are believed to be low mass pre-main sequence stars.
Their analysis provides direct insight into the star formation history of the
cluster.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, to appear in "The X-Ray Universe 2005", ESA
Symposium held at El Escorial, Madrid (Spain), 26-30 Sep 200
The massive star binary fraction in young open clusters I. NGC 6231 revisited
We present the results of a long-term high-resolution spectroscopy campaign
on the O-type stars in NGC 6231. We revise the spectral classification and
multiplicity of these objects and we constrain the fundamental properties of
the O-star population. Almost three quarters of the O-type stars in the cluster
are members of a binary system. The minimum binary fraction is 0.63, with half
the O-type binaries having an orbital period of the order of a few days. The
eccentricities of all the short-period binaries are revised downward, and
henceforth match a normal period-eccentricity distribution. The mass-ratio
distribution shows a large preference for O+OB binaries, ruling out the
possibility that, in NGC 6231, the companion of an O-type star is randomly
drawn from a standard IMF. Obtained from a complete and homogeneous population
of O-type stars, our conclusions provide interesting observational constraints
to be confronted with the formation and early-evolution theories of O stars.Comment: 16 pages, 14 figures. Accepted by MNRA
The Struve-Sahade effect in the optical spectra of O-type binaries I. Main-sequence systems
We present a spectroscopic analysis of four massive binary systems that are
known or are good candidates to display the Struve-Sahade effect (defined as
the apparent strengthening of the secondary spectrum of the binary when the
star is approaching, and the corresponding weakening of the lines when it is
receding).
We use high resolution optical spectra to determine new orbital solutions and
spectral types of HD 165052, HD 100213, HD 159176 and DH Cep. As good knowledge
of the fundamental parameters of the considered systems is necessary to examine
the Struve-Sahade effect. We then study equivalent width variations in the
lines of both components of these binaries during their orbital cycle.
In the case of these four systems, variations appear in the equivalent widths
of some lines during the orbital cycle, but the definition given above can any
longer be valid, since it is now clear that the effect modifies the primary
spectrum as much as the secondary spectrum. Furthermore, the lines affected,
and the way in which they are affected, depend on the considered system. For at
least two of them (HD 100213 and HD 159176) these variations probably reflect
the ellipsoidal variable nature of the system.Comment: 12 pages, 20 figures, in press A&
An XMM-Newton view of the young open cluster NGC 6231 -- II. The OB star population
In this second paper, we pursue the analysis of the 180 ks XMM-Newton
campaign towards the young open cluster NGC 6231 and we focus on its rich OB
star population. We present a literature-based census of the OB stars in the
field of view with more than one hundred objects, among which 30% can be
associated with an X-ray source. All the O-type stars are detected in the X-ray
domain as soft and reasonably strong emitters. In the 0.5-10.0 keV band, their
X-ray luminosities scale with their bolometric luminosities as . Such a scaling law holds in
the soft (0.5-1.0 keV) and intermediate (1.0-2.5 keV) bands but breaks down in
the hard band. While the two colliding wind binaries in our sample clearly
deviate from this scheme, the remaining O-type objects show a very limited
dispersion (40% or 20% according to whether `cool' dwarfs are included or not),
much smaller than that obtained from previous studies. At our detection
threshold and within our sample, the sole identified mechanism that produces
significant modulations in the O star X-ray emission is related to wind
interaction. The intrinsic X-ray emission of non-peculiar O-type stars seems
thus constant for a given star and the level of its X-ray emission is
accurately related to the its luminosity or, equivalently, to its wind
properties. Among B-type stars, the detection rate is only about 25% in the
sub-type range B0-B4 and remains mostly uniform throughout the different
sub-populations while it drops significantly at later sub-types. The associated
X-ray spectra are harder than those of O-type stars. Our analysis points
towards the detected emission being associated with a physical PMS companion
>... [see paper for the complete abstract]Comment: 21 pages, 14 figures, Table 2 and Figs 2 to 5 will be available
through the CDS only, accepted for publication by MNRAS, Fig 1 not included
in the present preprint because of size limitation
The rotation rates of massive stars: the role of binary interaction through tides, mass transfer and mergers
Rotation is thought to be a major factor in the evolution of massive stars,
especially at low metallicity, with consequences for their chemical yields,
ionizing flux and final fate. Determining the natal rotation-rate distribution
of stars is of high priority given its importance as a constraint on theories
of massive star formation and as input for models of stellar populations in the
local Universe and at high redshift. Recently, it has become clear that the
majority of massive stars interact with a binary companion before they die. We
investigate how this affects the distribution of rotation rates.
For this purpose, we simulate a massive binary-star population typical for
our Galaxy assuming continuous star formation. We find that, because of binary
interaction, 20^+5_-10% of all massive main-sequence stars have projected
rotational velocities in excess of 200km/s. We evaluate the effect of uncertain
input distributions and physical processes and conclude that the main
uncertainties are the mass transfer efficiency and the possible effect of
magnetic braking, especially if magnetic fields are generated or amplified
during mass accretion and stellar mergers.
The fraction of rapid rotators we derive is similar to that observed. If
indeed mass transfer and mergers are the main cause for rapid rotation in
massive stars, little room remains for rapidly rotating stars that are born
single. This implies that spin down during star formation is even more
efficient than previously thought. In addition, this raises questions about the
interpretation of the surface abundances of rapidly rotating stars as evidence
for rotational mixing. Furthermore, our results allow for the possibility that
all early-type Be stars result from binary interactions and suggest that
evidence for rotation in explosions, such as long gamma-ray bursts, points to a
binary origin.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ., no changes
with v1 apart from fixed typos/ref
The investigation of particle acceleration in colliding-wind massive binaries with SIMBOL-X
An increasing number of early-type (O and Wolf-Rayet) colliding wind binaries
(CWBs) is known to accelerate particles up to relativistic energies. In this
context, non-thermal emission processes such as inverse Compton (IC) scattering
are expected to produce a high energy spectrum, in addition to the strong
thermal emission from the shock-heated plasma. SIMBOL-X will be the ideal
observatory to investigate the hard X-ray spectrum (above 10 keV) of these
systems, i.e. where it is no longer dominated by the thermal emission. Such
observations are strongly needed to constrain the models aimed at understanding
the physics of particle acceleration in CWB. Such systems are important
laboratories for investigating the underlying physics of particle acceleration
at high Mach number shocks, and probe a different region of parameter space
than studies of supernova remnants.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the workshop
"Simbol-X: the hard X-ray universe in focus", held in Bologna, Italy (14-16
May 2007
Evidence for a physically bound third component in HD 150136
Context. HD150136 is one of the nearest systems harbouring an O3 star.
Although this system was for a long time considered as binary, more recent
investigations have suggested the possible existence of a third component.
Aims. We present a detailed analysis of HD 150136 to confirm the triple nature
of this system. In addition, we investigate the physical properties of the
individual components of this system. Methods. We analysed high-resolution,
high signal-to-noise data collected through multi-epoch runs spread over ten
years. We applied a disentangling program to refine the radial velocities and
to obtain the individual spectra of each star. With the radial velocities, we
computed the orbital solution of the inner system, and we describe the main
properties of the orbit of the outer star such as the preliminary mass ratio,
the eccentricity, and the orbital-period range. With the individual spectra, we
determined the stellar parameters of each star by means of the CMFGEN
atmosphere code. Results. We offer clear evidence that HD 150136 is a triple
system composed of an O3V((f\ast))-3.5V((f+)), an O5.5-6V((f)), and an
O6.5-7V((f)) star. The three stars are between 0-3 Myr old. We derive dynamical
masses of about 64, 40, and 35 Msun for the primary, the secondary and the
third components by assuming an inclination of 49{\deg}. It currently
corresponds to one of the most massive systems in our galaxy. The third star
moves with a period in the range of 2950 to 5500 d on an outer orbit with an
eccentricity of at least 0.3. This discovery makes HD 150136 the first
confirmed triple system with an O3 primary star. However, because of the long
orbital period, our dataset is not sufficient to constrain the orbital solution
of the tertiary component with high accuracy.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, accepted at A&
The Struve-Sahade effect in the optical spectra of O-type binaries I. Main-sequence systems
We present a spectroscopic analysis of four massive binary systems that are
known or are good candidates to display the Struve-Sahade effect (defined as
the apparent strengthening of the secondary spectrum of the binary when the
star is approaching, and the corresponding weakening of the lines when it is
receding).
We use high resolution optical spectra to determine new orbital solutions and
spectral types of HD 165052, HD 100213, HD 159176 and DH Cep. As good knowledge
of the fundamental parameters of the considered systems is necessary to examine
the Struve-Sahade effect. We then study equivalent width variations in the
lines of both components of these binaries during their orbital cycle.
In the case of these four systems, variations appear in the equivalent widths
of some lines during the orbital cycle, but the definition given above can any
longer be valid, since it is now clear that the effect modifies the primary
spectrum as much as the secondary spectrum. Furthermore, the lines affected,
and the way in which they are affected, depend on the considered system. For at
least two of them (HD 100213 and HD 159176) these variations probably reflect
the ellipsoidal variable nature of the system.Comment: 12 pages, 20 figures, in press A&
A new investigation of the binary HD 48099
With an orbital period of about 3.078 days, the double-lined spectroscopic
binary HD 48099 is, still now, the only short-period O+O system known in the
Mon OB2 association. Even though an orbital solution has already been derived
for this system, few information are available about the individual stars. We
present, in this paper, the results of a long-term spectroscopic campaign. We
derive a new orbital solution and apply a disentangling method to recover the
mean spectrum of each star. To improve our knowledge concerning both
components, we determine their spectral classifications and their projected
rotational velocities. We also constrain the main stellar parameters of both
stars by using the CMFGEN atmosphere code and provide the wind properties for
the primary star through the study of IUE spectra. This investigation reveals
that HD 48099 is an O5.5 V((f))+O9 V binary with M_1 sin^3 i = 0.70 M_{\sun}
and M_2 sin^3 i = 0.39 M_{\sun}, implying a rather low orbital inclination.
This result, combined with both a large effective temperature and log g,
suggests that the primary star (v sini ~ 91 km s^-1) is actually a fast rotator
with a strongly clumped wind and a nitrogen abundance of about 8 times the
solar value.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, accepted by Ap
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