65 research outputs found
Influence of local treatments of convection upon solar p mode excitation rates
We compute the rates P at which acoustic energy is injected into the solar
radial p modes for several solar models. The solar models are computed with two
different local treatments of convection: the classical mixing-length theory
(MLT hereafter) and Canuto et al (1996)'s formulation (CGM hereafter). Among
the models investigated here, our best models reproduce both the solar radius
and the solar luminosity at solar age and the observed Balmer line profiles.
For the MLT treatment, the rates P do depend significantly on the properties of
the atmosphere whereas for the CGM's treatment the dependence of P on the
properties of the atmosphere is found smaller than the error bars attached to
the seismic measurements. The excitation rates P for modes associated with the
MLT models are significantly underestimated compared with the solar seismic
constraints. The CGM models yield values for P closer to the seismic data than
the MLT models. We conclude that the solar p-mode excitation rates provide
valuable constraints and according to the present investigation clearly favor
the CGM treatment with respect to the MLT, although neither of them yields
values of P as close to the observations as recently found for 3D numerical
simulations.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
Exploration of the BaSeL stellar library for 9 F-type stars COROT potential targets
The Basel Stellar Library (BaSeL models) is constituted of the merging of
various synthetic stellar spectra libraries, with the purpose of giving the
most comprehensive coverage of stellar parameters. It has been corrected for
systematic deviations detected in respect to UBVRIJHKLM photometry at solar
metallicity, and can then be considered as the state-of-the-art knowledge of
the broad band content of stellar spectra. In this paper, we consider a sample
of 9 F-type stars with detailed spectroscopic analysis to investigate the Basel
Stellar Library in two photometric systems simultaneously, Johnson (B-V, U-B)
and Stromgren (b-y, m_1, and c_1). The sample corresponds to potential targets
of the central seismology programme of the COROT space experiment, which have
been recently observed at OHP. The atmospheric parameters T_eff, [Fe/H], and
log g obtained from the BaSeL models are compared with spectroscopic
determinations as well as with results of other photometric calibrations. For a
careful interpretation of the BaSeL solutions, we computed confidence regions
around the best ^2-estimates and projected them on T_eff-[Fe/H],
T_eff-log g, and log g-[Fe/H] diagrams. (Abridged)Comment: 16 pages, LaTeX2e; version accepted for publication in the new A&A
Journal: minor changes + figures in black and white for better readabilit
Abundances in Stars from the Red Giant Branch Tip to the Near the Main Sequence in M71: I. Sample Selection, Observing Strategy and Stellar Parameters
We present the sample for an abundance analysis of 25 members of M71 with
luminosities ranging from the red giant branch tip to the upper main sequence.
The spectra are of high dispersion and of high precision. We describe the
observing strategy and determine the stellar parameters for the sample stars
using both broad band colors and fits of H profiles. The derived
stellar parameters agree with those from the Yale stellar evolutionary
tracks to within 50 -- 100K for a fixed log g, which is within the level of the
uncertainties.Comment: Minor changes to conform to version accepted for publication, with
several new figures (Paper 1 of a pair
Visibilities and bolometric corrections for stellar oscillation modes observed by Kepler
Kepler produces a large amount of data used for asteroseismological analyses,
particularly of solar-like stars and red giants. The mode amplitudes observed
in the Kepler spectral band have to be converted into bolometric amplitudes to
be compared to models. We give a simple bolometric correction for the
amplitudes of radial modes observed with Kepler, as well as the relative
visibilities of non-radial modes. We numerically compute the bolometric
correction c_{K-bol} and mode visibilities for different effective temperatures
Teff within the range 4000-7500 K, using a similar approach to a recent one
from the literature (Michel et al. 2009, A&A 495, 979). We derive a law for the
correction to bolometric values: c_{K-bol} = 1 + a_1 (Teff-To) + a_2
(Teff-To)^2, with To = 5934 K, a_1 = 1.349e-4 K^{-1}, and a_2 = -3.120e-9
K^{-2} or, alternatively, as the power law c_{K-bol} = (Teff/To)^alpha with
alpha = 0.80. We give tabulated values for the mode visibilities based on
limb-darkening (LD), computed from ATLAS9 model atmospheres for Teff in
[4000,7500] K, log g in [2.5,4.5], and [M/H] in [-1.0,+1.0]. We show that using
LD profiles already integrated over the spectral band provides quick and good
approximations for visibilities. We point out the limits of these classical
visibility estimations.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, minor language edition. Published in A&
New grids of ATLAS9 atmospheres I: Influence of convection treatments on model structure and on observable quantities
We present several new sets of grids of model stellar atmospheres computed
with modified versions of the ATLAS9 code. Each individual set consists of
several grids of models with different metallicities ranging from [M/H] = -2.0
to +1.0 dex. The grids range from 4000 to 10000 K in T_eff and from 2.0 to 5.0
dex in logg. The individual sets differ from each other and from previous ones
essentially in the physics used for the treatment of the convective energy
transport, in the higher vertical resolution of the atmospheres and in a finer
grid in the (T_eff, logg) plane. These improvements enable the computation of
derivatives of color indices accurate enough for pulsation mode identification.
In addition, we show that the chosen vertical resolution is necessary and
sufficient for the purpose of stellar interior modelling. To explain the
physical differences between the model grids we provide a description of the
currently available modifications of ATLAS9 according to their treatment of
convection. Our critical analysis of the dependence of the atmospheric
structure and observable quantities on convection treatment, vertical
resolution and metallicity reveals that spectroscopic and photometric
observations are best represented when using an inefficient convection
treatment. This conclusion holds whatever convection formulation investigated
here is used, i.e. MLT(alpha=0.5), CM and CGM are equivalent. We also find that
changing the convection treatment can lead to a change in the effective
temperature estimated from Stroemgren color indices from 200 to 400 K.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures, accepted by A&
Convection, Thermal Bifurcation, and the Colors of A stars
Broad-band ultraviolet photometry from the TD-1 satellite and low dispersion
spectra from the short wavelength camera of IUE have been used to investigate a
long-standing proposal of Bohm-Vitense that the normal main sequence A- and
early-F stars may divide into two different temperature sequences: (1) a high
temperature branch (and plateau) comprised of slowly rotating convective stars,
and (2) a low temperature branch populated by rapidly rotating radiative stars.
We find no evidence from either dataset to support such a claim, or to confirm
the existence of an "A-star gap" in the B-V color range 0.22 <= B-V <= 0.28 due
to the sudden onset of convection. We do observe, nonetheless, a large scatter
in the 1800--2000 A colors of the A-F stars, which amounts to ~0.65 mags at a
given B-V color index. The scatter is not caused by interstellar or
circumstellar reddening. A convincing case can also be made against binarity
and intrinsic variability due to pulsations of delta Sct origin. We find no
correlation with established chromospheric and coronal proxies of convection,
and thus no demonstrable link to the possible onset of convection among the A-F
stars. The scatter is not instrumental. Approximately 0.4 mags of the scatter
is shown to arise from individual differences in surface gravity as well as a
moderate spread (factor of ~3) in heavy metal abundance and UV line blanketing.
A dispersion of ~0.25 mags remains, which has no clear and obvious explanation.
The most likely cause, we believe, is a residual imprecision in our correction
for the spread in metal abundances. However, the existing data do not rule out
possible contributions from intrinsic stellar variability or from differential
UV line blanketing effects owing to a dispersion in microturbulent velocity.Comment: 40 pages, 14 figures, 1 table, AAS LaTex, to appear in The
Astrophysical Journa
Some Aspects of the calculation of Balmer lines in the sun and stars
We compare the results of Balmer-line calculations using recent theory and
improved computational algorithms with those from the widely-used SYNTHE and
BALMER9 routines. The resulting profiles are mostly indistinguishable. Good
fits to the normalized solar Balmer lines H through H are
obtained (apart from the cores) using the recent unified-broadening
calculations by Barklem and his coworkers provided that some adjustment for the
continuum is performed. We discuss a surprising linearity with temperature of
the Balmer line profiles in dwarfs.Comment: Submitted to Astronomy and Astrophysics Better figures at
http://astro.lsa.umich.edu/users/cowle
Detailed analysis of Balmer lines in cool dwarf stars
An analysis of H alpha and H beta spectra in a sample of 30 cool dwarf and
subgiant stars is presented using MARCS model atmospheres based on the most
recent calculations of the line opacities. A detailed quantitative comparison
of the solar flux spectra with model spectra shows that Balmer line profile
shapes, and therefore the temperature structure in the line formation region,
are best represented under the mixing length theory by any combination of a low
mixing-length parameter alpha and a low convective structure parameter y. A
slightly lower effective temperature is obtained for the sun than the accepted
value, which we attribute to errors in models and line opacities. The programme
stars span temperatures from 4800 to 7100 K and include a small number of
population II stars. Effective temperatures have been derived using a
quantitative fitting method with a detailed error analysis. Our temperatures
find good agreement with those from the Infrared Flux Method (IRFM) near solar
metallicity but show differences at low metallicity where the two available
IRFM determinations themselves are in disagreement. Comparison with recent
temperature determinations using Balmer lines by Fuhrmann (1998, 2000), who
employed a different description of the wing absorption due to self-broadening,
does not show the large differences predicted by Barklem et al. (2000). In
fact, perhaps fortuitously, reasonable agreement is found near solar
metallicity, while we find significantly cooler temperatures for low
metallicity stars of around solar temperature.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures, to appear in A&
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