The evolutionary nature of RV Tauri stars in the SMC and LMC

Based on their stellar parameters and the presence of a mid-IR excess due to circumstellar dust, RV Tauri stars have been classified as post-AGB stars. Our recent studies, however, reveal diverse SEDs among RV Tauri stars, suggesting they may occupy other evolutionary channels as well. The aim of this paper is to present the diverse SED characteristics of RV Tauri stars and investigate their evolutionary nature as a function of their SEDs. We carried out a systematic study of RV Tauri stars in the SMC and LMC because of their known distances and hence luminosities. Their SEDs were classified in three groups: dusty (disc-type), non-dusty (non-IR) and uncertain. A period-luminosity- colour (PLC) relation was calibrated. The luminosities from the PLC were complemented with the ones found using their SEDs and the stars were placed on the HR-diagram. The four main results from this study are: 1) RV Tauri stars with a clear IR-excess have disc-type SEDs, which indicates that the dust is trapped in a stable disc. Given the strong link between disc-type SEDs and binarity in the Galaxy, we postulate that these are binaries as well. These cover a range of luminosities and we argue that the more luminous ones are post-AGB stars while the lower luminosity ones are likely post-Red Giant Branch (post-RGB) stars. 2) Two of these objects have variable mean brightness with periods of 916 and 850 days, respectively, caused by variable extinction during orbital motion. 3) The non-dusty RV Tauri stars and the objects with an uncertain SED evolve such that the circumstellar dust has dispersed. If they are single stars, they are post-AGB objects of low initial mass ($<$ 1.25 M$_\odot$), while if they are binaries, the low-luminosity part of the sample are likely post-RGB stars. 4) We find that RV Tauri stars with dust are on average more luminous than the rest of the sample.Comment: 32 Pages, Accepted to be published in A&

A binary with a δ\delta~Scuti star and an oscillating red giant: orbit and asteroseismology of KIC9773821

We study the $\delta$ Scuti -- red giant binary KIC9773821, the first double-pulsator binary of its kind. It was observed by \textit{Kepler} during its four-year mission. Our aims are to ascertain whether the system is bound, rather than a chance alignment, and to identify the evolutionary state of the red giant via asteroseismology. An extension of these aims is to determine a dynamical mass and an age prior for a $\delta$ Sct star, which may permit mode identification via further asteroseismic modelling. We determine spectroscopic parameters and radial velocities (RVs) for the red giant component using HERMES@Mercator spectroscopy. Light arrival-time delays from the $\delta$ Sct pulsations are used with the red-giant RVs to determine that the system is bound and to infer its orbital parameters, including the binary mass ratio. We use asteroseismology to model the individual frequencies of the red giant to give a mass of $2.10^{+0.20}_{-0.10}$ M$_{\odot}$ and an age of $1.08^{+0.06}_{-0.24}$ Gyr. We find that it is a helium-burning secondary clump star, confirm that it follows the standard $\nu_{\rm max}$ scaling relation, and confirm its observed period spacings match their theoretical counterparts in the modelling code MESA. Our results also constrain the mass and age of the $\delta$ Sct star. We leverage these constraints to construct $\delta$ Sct models in a reduced parameter space and identify four of its five pulsation modes.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA

Geographical migration and fitness dynamics of Streptococcus pneumoniae

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a leading cause of pneumonia and meningitis worldwide. Many different serotypes co-circulate endemically in any one location1,2. The extent and mechanisms of spread and vaccine-driven changes in fitness and antimicrobial resistance remain largely unquantified. Here using geolocated genome sequences from South Africa (n = 6,910, collected from 2000 to 2014), we developed models to reconstruct spread, pairing detailed human mobility data and genomic data. Separately, we estimated the population-level changes in fitness of strains that are included (vaccine type (VT)) and not included (non-vaccine type (NVT)) in pneumococcal conjugate vaccines, first implemented in South Africa in 2009. Differences in strain fitness between those that are and are not resistant to penicillin were also evaluated. We found that pneumococci only become homogenously mixed across South Africa after 50 years of transmission, with the slow spread driven by the focal nature of human mobility. Furthermore, in the years following vaccine implementation, the relative fitness of NVT compared with VT strains increased (relative risk of 1.68; 95% confidence interval of 1.59–1.77), with an increasing proportion of these NVT strains becoming resistant to penicillin. Our findings point to highly entrenched, slow transmission and indicate that initial vaccine-linked decreases in antimicrobial resistance may be transient

Ancient dreams : a spectroscopic study of variable stars in binary systems.

This thesis presents the results of the orbital and asteroseismological analysis of three variable stars in binary systems: HD 182640, a system with a candidate γ Doradus primary; HD 3112, a system with a bona fide δ Scuti primary; and HD 147787, a system with a candidate Doradus primary. Approximately 2500 spectra of all three stars were obtained from the HERCULES spectrograph, attached to the 1-metre telescope at the University of Canterbury Mount John Observatory. The raw spectra were reduced to radial velocity line profiles through cross-correlation with synthetic spectra. Orbital analysis of HD 182640 characterised it as a long period (1256 d) binary with an eccentric orbit (e = 0.43). A total of 18 pulsational frequencies, explaining 42.9% of the variation across the line profiles, were identified. These frequencies were all characterised as high degree ( ℓ; > 4) modes. Orbital analysis of HD3112 characterised it as a short period (7 d) binary with an effectively circular orbit (e = 0.01). A total of 17 pulsational frequencies, explaining 46.3% of the variation across the line profiles, were identified. The mode of the primary pulsation frequency ( ƒ1 = 20.2802 d⁻¹) was the only one that was able to be identified. Previously identified ellipsoidal variations may have hindered mode identification efforts. Orbital analysis of HD 147787 characterised it as a moderate period (40 d) binary with an eccentric orbit (e = 0.25). A total of 9 pulsational frequencies, explaining 48.1% of the variation across the line profiles, were identified. The modes of 6 out of the 9 pulsational frequencies, all low-degree ( ℓ; ≤ 3) modes, were able to be identified. The 3 unidentified frequencies are abnormally low for a γ Doradus star. Previously unidentified ellipsoidal variations may have hindered mode identification efforts

The evolutionary nature of RV Tauri stars in the SMC and LMC

© 2018 ESO. Context. Based on their stellar parameters and the presence of a mid-IR excess due to circumstellar dust, RV Tauri stars have been classified as post-AGB stars. Our recent studies, however, reveal diverse spectral energy distributions (SEDs) among RV Tauri stars, suggesting they may occupy other evolutionary channels as well. Aims. The aim of this paper is to present the diverse SED characteristics of RV Tauri stars and investigate their evolutionary nature as a function of their SEDs. Methods. We carried out a systematic study of RV Tauri stars in the SMC and LMC because of their known distances and hence luminosities. Their SEDs were classified into three groups: dusty (disc-type), non-dusty (non-IR), and uncertain. A period-luminosity-colour (PLC) relation was calibrated. The luminosities from the PLC were complemented with those found using their SEDs and the stars were placed on a Hertzsprung-Russell diagram (HRD). I-band time series were used to search for period changes via (O-C) analyses to identify period changes. Results. The four main results from this study are: (1) RV Tauri stars with a clear IR excess have disc-type SEDs, which indicates that the dust is trapped in a stable disc. Given the strong link between disc-type SEDs and binarity in the Galaxy, we postulate that these are binaries as well. These cover a range of luminosities and we argue that the more luminous binaries are post-AGB stars while the lower luminosity binaries are likely post-red giant branch (post-RGB) stars. (2) Two of these objects have variable mean brightness with periods of 916 and 850 days, respectively, caused by variable extinction during orbital motion. (3) Non-dusty RV Tauri stars and objects with an uncertain SED evolve such that the circumstellar dust has dispersed. If they are single stars, they are post-AGB objects of low initial mass (<1.25 M·), while if they are binaries, the low-luminosity portion of the sample are likely post-RGB stars. (4) We find that RV Tauri stars with dust are on average more luminous than the rest of the sample.status: publishe

Bottom-up dust nucleation theory in oxygen-rich evolved stars

Context. Aluminium oxide (alumina; Al2O3) is a promising candidate as a primary dust condensate in the atmospheres of oxygen-rich evolved stars. Therefore, alumina 'seed' particles might trigger the onset of stellar dust formation and of stellar mass loss in the wind. However, the formation of alumina dust grains is not well understood. Aims. We aim to shed light on the initial steps of cosmic dust formation (i.e. nucleation) in oxygen-rich environments via a quantum-chemical bottom-up approach. Methods. Starting with an elemental gas-phase composition, we construct a detailed chemical-kinetic network that describes the formation and destruction of aluminium-bearing molecules and dust-forming (Al2O3)n clusters up to the size of dimers (n = 2) coagulating to tetramers (n = 4). Intermediary species include the prevalent gas-phase molecules AlO and AlOH as well as AlxOy clusters with x = 1-5, y = 1-6. The resulting extensive network is applied to two model stars, which represent a semi-regular variable and a Mira type, and to different circumstellar gas trajectories, including a non-pulsating outflow and a pulsating model. The growth of larger-sized (Al2O3)n clusters with n = 4-10 is described by the temperature-dependent Gibbs free energies of the most favourable structures (i.e. the global minima clusters) as derived from global optimisation techniques and calculated via density functional theory. We provide energies, bond characteristics, electrostatic properties, and vibrational spectra of the clusters as a function of size, n, and compare these to corundum, which corresponds to the crystalline bulk limit (n →∞). Results. The circumstellar aluminium gas-phase chemistry in oxygen-rich giants is primarily controlled by AlOH and AlO, which are tightly coupled by the reactions AlO+H2, AlO+H2O, and their reverse. Models of semi-regular variables show comparatively higher AlO abundances, as well as a later onset and a lower efficiency of alumina cluster formation when compared to Mira-like models. The Mira-like models exhibit an efficient cluster production that accounts for more than 90% of the available aluminium content, which is in agreement with the most recent ALMA observations. Chemical equilibrium calculations fail to predict both the alumina cluster formation and the abundance trends of AlO and AlOH in the asymptotic giant branch dust formation zone. Furthermore, we report the discovery of hitherto unreported global minimum candidates and low-energy isomers for cluster sizes n = 7, 9, and 10. A homogeneous nucleation scenario, where Al2O3 monomers are successively added, is energetically viable. However, the formation of the Al2O3 monomer itself represents an energetic bottleneck. Therefore, we provide a bottom-up interpolation of the cluster characteristics towards the bulk limit by excluding the monomer, approximately following an n−1∕3 dependence

Spectroscopic binaries RV Tauri and DF Cygni

status: publishe

Spectroscopic binaries RV Tauri and DF Cygni

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