33 research outputs found
On the Sodium versus Iron Correlation in Late B-Type Stars
With an aim to study whether the close correlation between [Na/H] and [Fe/H]
recently found in A-type stars further persists in the regime of B-type stars,
the abundances of Na were determined for 30 selected sharp-lined late B-type
stars (10000K < T_eff < 14000K) from the Na I 5890/5896 doublet. These Na
abundances were then compared with the O and Fe abundances (derived from the O
I 6156-8 and Fe II 6147/6149 lines) showing anti-correlated peculiarities. It
turned out that, unlike the case of A-type stars, [Na/H] is roughly constant at
a slightly subsolar level ([Na/H] ~ -0.2 (+/-0.2)) without any significant
correlation with [Fe/H] which shows considerable dispersion ranging from ~ -0.6
to ~ +1.0. This may serve as an important observational constraint for
understanding the abundance peculiarities along with the physical mechanism of
atomic diffusion in upper main-sequence stars of late A through late B-type
including Am and HgMn stars.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Publ. Astron. Soc.
Japan (Vol. 66, No. 1, 2014
Beryllium Abundances of Solar-Analog Stars
An extensive beryllium abundance analysis was conducted for 118 solar analogs
(along with 87 FGK standard stars) by applying the spectrum synthesis technique
to the near-UV region comprising the Be II line at 3131.066 A, in an attempt to
investigate whether Be suffers any depletion such as the case of Li showing a
large diversity. We found that, while most of these Sun-like stars are
superficially similar in terms of their A(Be) (Be abundances) around the solar
value within ~ +/- 0.2dex, 4 out of 118 samples turned out strikingly
Be-deficient (by more than ~2 dex) and these 4 stars belong to the group of
lowest v_e sin i (projected rotation velocity). Moreover, even for the other
majority showing an apparent similarity in Be, we can recognize a tendency that
A(Be) gradually increases with an increase in v_e sin i. These observational
facts suggest that any solar analog star (including the Sun) generally suffers
some kind of Be depletion during their lives, where the rotational velocity (or
the angular momentum) plays an important role in the sense that depletion tends
to be enhanced by slower rotation. Hence, our findings require that the
occasionally stated view "G-type dwarfs with T_eff ~< 6000 K are essentially
homogeneous in Be with their original composition retained" should be revised.
Also, our analysis indicates that the difference of ~0.2 dex in A(Be) between
the solar photosphere and the meteorite really exists, implying that "UV
missing opacity" is irrelevant at least for this Be II line.Comment: 18 pages, 12 figures, 3 tables and 3 electronic tables (included as
ancillary files), accepted for publication in Publ. Astron. Soc. Japan (2011,
Vol. 63, No. 4
Evidence for a companion to BM Gem, a silicate carbon star
Balmer and Paschen continuum emission as well as Balmer series lines of P
Cygni-type profile from H_gamma through H_23 are revealed in the violet spectra
of BM Gem, a carbon star associated with an oxygen-rich circumstellar shell
(`silicate carbon star') observed with the high dispersion spectrograph (HDS)
on the Subaru telescope. The blue-shifted absorption in the Balmer lines
indicates the presence of an outflow, the line of sight velocity of which is at
least 400 km s^-1, which is the highest outflow velocity observed to date in a
carbon star. We argue that the observed unusual features in BM Gem are strong
evidence for the presence of a companion, which should form an accretion disk
that gives rise to both an ionized gas region and a high velocity, variable
outflow. The estimated luminosity of ~0.2 (0.03-0.6) L_sun for the ionized gas
can be maintained by a mass accretion rate to a dwarf companion of ~10^-8 M_sun
yr^-1, while ~10^-10 M_sun yr^-1 is sufficient for accretion to a white dwarf
companion. These accretion rates are feasible for some detached binary
configurations on the basis of the Bond-Hoyle type accretion process. We
concluded that the carbon star BM Gem is in a detached binary system with a
companion of low mass and low luminosity. However, we are unable to determine
whether this companion object is a dwarf or a white dwarf. The upper limits for
binary separation are 210 AU and 930 AU for a dwarf and a white dwarf,
respectively. We also note that the observed features of BM Gem mimic those of
Mira (omi Cet), which may suggest actual similarities in their binary
configurations and circumstellar structures.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in Ap