220 research outputs found
Theoretical analysis of the atmospheres of CP stars. Effects of the individual abundance patterns
Context. See abstract in the paper.
Aims. See abstract in the paper.
Methods. See abstract in the paper.
Results. We present a homogeneous study of model atmosphere temperature
structure, energy distribution, photometric indices in the uvbybeta and Delta_a
systems, hydrogen line profiles, and the abundance determination procedure as
it applies to CP stars. In particular, we found that Si, Cr and Fe are the main
elements to influence model atmospheres of CP stars, and thus to be considered
in order to assess the adequacy of model atmospheres with scaled solar
abundances in application to CP stars. We provide a theoretical explanation of
the robust property of the Delta_a photometric system to recognize CP stars
with peculiar Fe content. Also, the results of our numerical tests using model
atmospheres with one or several elements overabundant (Si and Fe by +1 dex, Cr
by +2 dex) suggest that the uncertainty of abundance analysis in the
atmospheres of CP stars using models with scaled abundances is less than
plus/minus 0.25 dex. If the same homogeneous models are used for the abundance
stratification analysis then we find that the uncertainty of the value of the
vertical abundance gradient is within an 0.4 dex error bar.
Conclusions. Model atmospheres with individual abundance patterns should be
used in order to match the actual anomalies of CP stars and minimize analysis
errors.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figure
Exploring the magnetic field complexity in M dwarfs at the boundary to full convection
Based on detailed spectral synthesis we carry out quantitative measurements
of the strength and complexity of surface magnetic fields in the four
well-known M-dwarfs GJ 388, GJ 729, GJ 285, and GJ 406 populating the mass
regime around the boundary between partially and fully convective stars. Very
high resolution R=100000, high signal-to-noise (up to 400) near-infrared Stokes
I spectra were obtained with CRIRES at ESO's Very Large Telescope covering
regions of the FeH Wing-Ford transitions at 1mum. The field distributions in
all four stars are characterized by three distinct groups of field components,
the data are neither consistent with a smooth distribution of different field
strengths, nor with one average field strength covering the full star. We find
evidence of a subtle difference in the field distribution of GJ 285 compared to
the other three targets. GJ 285 also has the highest average field of 3.5kG and
the strongest maximum field component of 7-7.5kG. The maximum local field
strengths in our sample seem to be correlated with rotation rate. While the
average field strength is saturated, the maximum local field strengths in our
sample show no evidence for saturation. We find no difference between the field
distributions of partially and fully convective stars. The one star with
evidence for a field distribution different to the other three is the most
active star (i.e. with largest x-ray luminosity and mean surface magnetic
field) rotating relatively fast. A possible explanation is that rotation
determines the distribution of surface magnetic fields, and that local field
strengths grow with rotation even in stars in which the average field is
already saturated.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figure
Modelling the light variability of the Ap star epsilon Ursae Majoris
We simulate the light variability of the Ap star epsUMa using the observed
surface distributions of Fe, Cr, Ca, Mn, Mg, Sr and Ti obtained with the help
of Doppler Imaging technique. Using all photometric data available we specified
light variations of epsUMa modulated by its rotation from far UV to IR. We
employed the LLmodels stellar model atmosphere code to predict the light
variability in different photometric systems. The rotational period of epsUMa
is refined to 5d088631(18). It is shown that the observed light variability can
be explained as a result of the redistribution of radiative flux from the UV
spectral region to the visual caused by the inhomogeneous surface distribution
of chemical elements. Among seven mapped elements, only Fe and Cr significantly
contribute to the amplitude of the observed light variability. In general, we
find a very good agreement between theory and observations. We confirm the
important role of Fe and Cr to the magnitude of the well-known depression
around 5200 \AA\ through the analysis of the peculiar -parameter. Finally,
we show that the abundance spots of considered elements cannot explain the
observed variability in near UV and index which are likely due to some
other causes. The inhomogeneous surface distribution of chemical elements can
explain most of the observed light variability of the A-type CP star epsUMa.Comment: Accepted in A&A, 10 pages, 9 figures, 3 table
Interferometry of chemically peculiar stars: theoretical predictions vs. modern observing facilities
By means of numerical experiments we explore the application of
interferometry to the detection and characterization of abundance spots in
chemically peculiar (CP) stars using the brightest star eps~Uma as a case
study. We find that the best spectral regions to search for spots and stellar
rotation signatures are in the visual domain. The spots can clearly be detected
already at a first visibility lobe and their signatures can be uniquely
disentangled from that of rotation. The spots and rotation signatures can also
be detected in NIR at low spectral resolution but baselines longer than 180~m
are needed for all potential CP candidates. According to our simulations, an
instrument like VEGA (or its successor e.g., FRIEND) should be able to detect,
in the visual, the effect of spots and spots+rotation, provided that the
instrument is able to measure , and/or closure phase. In
infrared, an instrument like AMBER but with longer baselines than the ones
available so far would be able to measure rotation and spots. Our study
provides necessary details about strategies of spot detection and the
requirements for modern and planned interferometric facilities essential for CP
star research.Comment: Accepted by NMRAS, 18 pages, 11 figures, 2 table
Stellar model atmospheres with magnetic line blanketing. II. Introduction of polarized radiative transfer
The technique of model atmosphere calculation for magnetic Ap and Bp stars
with polarized radiative transfer and magnetic line blanketing is presented. A
grid of model atmospheres of A and B stars are computed. These calculations are
based on direct treatment of the opacities due to the bound-bound transitions
that ensures an accurate and detailed description of the line absorption and
anomalous Zeeman splitting. The set of model atmospheres was calculated for the
field strengths between 1 and 40 kG. The high-resolution energy distribution,
photometric colors and the hydrogen Balmer line profiles are computed for
magnetic stars with different metallicities and are compared to those of
non-magnetic reference models and to the previous paper of this series. The
results of modelling confirmed the main outcomes of the previous study: energy
redistribution from UV to the visual region and flux depression at 5200A.
However, we found that effects of enhanced line blanketing when transfer for
polarized radiation takes place are smaller in comparison to those obtained in
our first paper where polarized radiative transfer was neglected. Also we found
that the peculiar photometric parameter delta_a is not able to clearly
distinguish stellar atmospheres with abundances other than solar, and is less
sensitive than delta(V_1-G) or Z to a magnetic field for low effective
temperature (Teff=8000K). Moreover we found that the back determination of the
fundamental stellar atmosphere parameters using synthetic Stromgren photometry
does not result in significant errors.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures. The final version, Sect. 3.4 revised, typos and
mistakes correcte
Orbital parameters, chemical composition, and magnetic field of the Ap binary HD 98088
HD 98088 is a synchronised, double-lined spectroscopic binary system with a
magnetic Ap primary component and an Am secondary component. We study this rare
system using high-resolution MuSiCoS spectropolarimetric data, to gain insight
into the effect of binarity on the origin of stellar magnetism and the
formation of chemical peculiarities in A-type stars. Using a new collection of
29 high-resolution Stokes VQU spectra we re-derive the orbital and stellar
physical parameters and conduct the first disentangling of spectroscopic
observations of the system to conduct spectral analysis of the individual
stellar components. From this analysis we determine the projected rotational
velocities of the stars and conduct a detailed chemical abundance analysis of
each component using both the SYNTH3 and ZEEMAN spectrum synthesis codes. The
surface abundances of the primary component are typical of a cool Ap star,
while those of the secondary component are typical of an Am star. We present
the first magnetic analysis of both components using modern data. Using
Least-Squares Deconvolution, we extract the longitudinal magnetic field
strength of the primary component, which is observed to vary between +1170 and
-920 G with a period consistent with the orbital period. There is no field
detected in the secondary component. The magnetic field in the primary is
predominantly dipolar, with the positive pole oriented approximately towards
the secondary.Comment: Accepted for publication by MNRAS, 17 pages, 12 figure
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