Non-LTE Abundances of Magnesium, Aluminum and Sulfur in OB Stars Near the Solar Circle

Non-LTE abundances of magnesium, aluminum and sulfur are derived for a sample of 23 low-v \sin i stars belonging to six northern OB associations of the Galactic disk within 1 kpc of the Sun. The abundances are obtained from the fitting of synthetic line profiles to high resolution spectra. A comparison of our results with HII region abundances indicates good agreement for sulfur while the cepheid abundances are higher. The derived abundances of Mg show good overlap with the cepheid results. The aluminum abundances for OB stars are significantly below the cepheid values. But, the OB star results show a dependence with effective temperature and need further investigation. The high Al abundances in the cepheids could be the result of mixing. A discussion of the oxygen abundance in objects near the solar circle suggests that the current mean galactic oxygen abundance in this region is 8.6-8.7 and in agreement with the recently revised oxygen abundance in the solar photosphere. Meaningful comparisons of the absolute S, Al and Mg abundances in OB stars with the Sun must await a reinvestigation of these elements, as well as the meteoritic reference element Si, with 3D hydrodynamical model atmospheres for the Sun. No abundance gradients are found within the limited range in galactocentric distances in the present study. Such variations would be expected only if there were large metallicity gradients in the disk.Comment: 3 figures, accepted for publication in A&A, needs aa.st

Surface abundances of light elements for a large sample of early B-type stars - IV. The magnesium abundance in 52 stars - a test of metallicity

From high-resolution spectra a non-LTE analysis of the MgII 4481.2 A feature is implemented for 52 early and medium local B stars on the main sequence (MS). The influence of the neighbouring line AlIII 4479.9 A is considered. The magnesium abundance is determined; it is found that log e(Mg) = 7.67 +- 0.21 on average. It is shown that uncertainties in the microturbulent parameter Vt are the main source of errors in log e(Mg). When using 36 stars with the most reliable Vt values derived from OII and NII lines, we obtain the mean abundance log e(Mg) = 7.59 +- 0.15. The latter value is precisely confirmed for several hot B stars from an analysis of the MgII 7877 A weak line. The derived abundance log e(Mg) = 7.59 +- 0.15 is in excellent agreement with the solar magnesium abundance log e_sun(Mg) = 7.55 +- 0.02, as well as with the proto-Sun abundance log e_ps(Mg) = 7.62 +- 0.02. Thus, it is confirmed that the Sun and the B-type MS stars in our neighbourhood have the same metallicity.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures. Has been accepted for publication at MNRA

A cosmic abundance standard: chemical homogeneity of the solar neighbourhood and the ISM dust-phase composition

A representative sample of unevolved early B-type stars in nearby OB associations and the field is analysed to unprecedented precision using NLTE techniques. The resulting chemical composition is found to be more metal-rich and much more homogeneous than indicated by previous work. A rms scatter of ~10% in abundances is found for the six stars (and confirmed by six evolved stars), the same as reported for ISM gas-phase abundances. A cosmic abundance standard for the present-day solar neighbourhood is proposed, implying mass fractions for hydrogen, helium and metals of X=0.715, Y=0.271 and Z=0.014. Good agreement with solar photospheric abundances as reported from recent 3D radiative-hydrodynamical simulations of the solar atmosphere is obtained. As a first application we use the cosmic abundance standard as a proxy for the determination of the local ISM dust-phase composition, putting tight observational constraints on dust models.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Radial velocity measurements of B stars in the Scorpius-Centaurus association

We derive single-epoch radial velocities for a sample of 56 B-type stars members of the subgroups Upper Scorpius, Upper Centaurus Lupus and Lower Centaurus Crux of the nearby Sco-Cen OB association. The radial velocity measurements were obtained by means of high-resolution echelle spectra via analysis of individual lines. The internal accuracy obtained in the measurements is estimated to be typically 2-3 km/s, but depends on the projected rotational velocity of the target. Radial velocity measurements taken for 2-3 epochs for the targets HD120307, HD142990 and HD139365 are variable and confirm that they are spectroscopic binaries, as previously identified in the literature. Spectral lines from two stellar components are resolved in the observed spectra of target stars HD133242, HD133955 and HD143018, identifying them as spectroscopic binaries.Comment: accepted for publication in A&

Projected Rotational Velocities and Stellar Characterization of 350 B Stars in the Nearby Galactic Disk

Projected rotational velocities (vsini) are presented for a sample of 350 early B-type main sequence stars in the nearby Galactic disk. The stars are located within ~1.5 kpc from the Sun, and the great majority within 700 pc. The analysis is based on high-resolution spectra obtained with the MIKE spectrograph on the Magellan Clay 6.5-m telescope at the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile.Spectral types were estimated based on relative intensities of some key line absorption ratios and comparisons to synthetic spectra. Effective temperatures were estimated from the reddening-free Q index, and projected rotational velocities were then determined via interpolation on a published grid that correlates the synthetic full width at half maximum of the He I lines at 4026, 4388 and 4471 A with vsini. As the sample has been selected solely on the basis of spectral types it contains an selection of B stars in the field, in clusters, and in OB associations. The vsini distribution obtained for the entire sample is found to be essentially flat for vsini values between 0-150 km/s, with only a modest peak at low projected rotational velocities. Considering subsamples of stars, there appears to be a gradation in the vsini distribution with the field stars presenting a larger fraction of the slow rotators and the cluster stars distribution showing an excess of stars with vsini between 70 and 130 km/s. Furthermore, for a subsample of potential runaway stars we find that the vsini distribution resembles the distribution seen in denser environments, which could suggest that these runaway stars have been subject to dynamical ejection mechanisms.Comment: 38 pages, 11 figures. Complete sample table. AJ accepte

Sulfur Abundances in the Orion Association B Stars

Sulfur abundances are derived for a sample of ten B main-sequence star members of the Orion association. The analysis is based on LTE plane-parallel model atmospheres and non-LTE line formation theory by means of a self-consistent spectrum synthesis analysis of lines from two ionization states of sulfur, SII and SIII. The observations are high-resolution spectra obtained with the ARCES spectrograph at the Apache Point Observatory. The abundance distribution obtained for the Orion targets is homogeneous within the expected errors in the analysis: A(S)=7.15+/-0.05. This average abundance result is in agreement with the recommended solar value (both from modelling of the photospheres in 1-D and 3-D, and meteorites) and indicates that little, if any, chemical evolution of sulfur has taken place in the last ~4.5 billion years. The sulfur abundances of the young stars in Orion are found to agree well with results for the Orion nebulae, and place strong constraints on the amount of sulfur depletion onto grains as being very modest or nonexistent. The sulfur abundances for Orion are consistent with other measurements at a similar galactocentric radius: combined with previous results for other OB-type stars produce a relatively shallow sulfur abundance gradient with a slope of -0.037+/-0.012 dex/kpc.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journa

Chemical abundances of fast-rotating massive stars. I. Description of the methods and individual results

Aims: Recent observations have challenged our understanding of rotational mixing in massive stars by revealing a population of fast-rotating objects with apparently normal surface nitrogen abundances. However, several questions have arisen because of a number of issues, which have rendered a reinvestigation necessary; these issues include the presence of numerous upper limits for the nitrogen abundance, unknown multiplicity status, and a mix of stars with different physical properties, such as their mass and evolutionary state, which are known to control the amount of rotational mixing. Methods: We have carefully selected a large sample of bright, fast-rotating early-type stars of our Galaxy (40 objects with spectral types between B0.5 and O4). Their high-quality, high-resolution optical spectra were then analysed with the stellar atmosphere modelling codes DETAIL/SURFACE or CMFGEN, depending on the temperature of the target. Several internal and external checks were performed to validate our methods; notably, we compared our results with literature data for some well-known objects, studied the effect of gravity darkening, or confronted the results provided by the two codes for stars amenable to both analyses. Furthermore, we studied the radial velocities of the stars to assess their binarity. Results: This first part of our study presents our methods and provides the derived stellar parameters, He, CNO abundances, and the multiplicity status of every star of the sample. It is the first time that He and CNO abundances of such a large number of Galactic massive fast rotators are determined in a homogeneous way.Comment: accepted for publication by A&

Brazilian music for youth choir by FUNARTE: exploring issues of pedagogy and authenticity in Brazilian choral music

The purpose of this study is to stimulate the dissemination of Brazilian choral repertoire, especially the pieces from the series Brazilian Music for Youth Choir by FUNARTE, and provide accurate interpretative information for authentic performance and effective teaching. Musical and pedagogical analyses of three of the pieces from the series by FUNARTE (2009) were done as means to the purpose of the study. In addition, ethnographic interview were held with the composers of each of those pieces, Paulo Malaguti, Leandro Maia, and Caio Senna, and the technical-pedagogical coordinator of the series, Eduardo Lakschevitz. Through the interviews with the composers it was possible to identify musical and pedagogical approaches relevant to accurate performance of Brazilian choral music, as well as to raise the discussion about authenticity in Brazilian music, which seemed to be a taboo among Brazilian musicians. The interview with the technical-pedagogical coordinator helped to understand the purpose of FUNARTE and the Choral Project. This study found that choral music in Brazil is a multifaceted phenomenon that does not fit the categories folk, popular, or classical music alone; so, it can be considered a style apart. The composers’ opinion about authenticity proves that it is flexible and that Brazilian musicians are open to new interpretations of Brazilian music. Complementary materials such as translation and IPA version of the pieces, and suggested reading and recording are provided to support music educators on an accurate and authentic performance of Brazilian choral repertoire