33 research outputs found
The mass and radius of the M dwarf companion to GD 448
We present spectroscopy and photometry of GD 448, a detached white dwarf - M dwarf binary with a period of 2.47 h. We find that the Na I 8200-Å feature is composed of narrow emission lines, owing to irradiation of the M dwarf by the white dwarf, within broad absorption lines that are essentially unaffected by heating. Combined with an improved spectroscopic orbit and gravitational redshift measurement from spectra of the Hα line, we are able to derive masses for the white dwarf and M dwarf directly (0.41 ± 0.01 and 0.096 ± 0.004 M⊙, respectively). We use a simple model of the Ca II emission lines to establish the radius of the M dwarf assuming the emission from its surface to be proportional to the incident flux per unit area from the white dwarf. The radius derived is 0.125 ± 0.020 R⊙. The M dwarf appears to be a normal main-sequence star in terms of its mass and radius, and is less than half the size of its Roche lobe. The thermal time-scale of the M dwarf is much longer than the cooling age of the white dwarf, so we conclude that the M dwarf was unaffected by the common-envelope phase. The anomalous width of the Hα emission from the M dwarf remains to be explained, but the strength of the line may be due to X-ray heating of the M dwarf owing to accretion on to the white dwarf from the M dwarf wind
Reanalysis of two eclipsing binaries: EE Aqr and Z Vul
We study the radial-velocity and light curves of the two eclipsing binaries
EE Aqr and Z Vul. Using the latest version of the Wilson & Van Hamme (2003)
model, absolute parameters for the systems are determined. We find that EE Aqr
and Z Vul are near-contact and semi-detached systems, respectively. The primary
component of EE Aqr fills about 96% of its 'Roche lobe', while its secondary
one appears close to completely filling this limiting volume. In a similar way,
we find fill-out proportions of about 72 and 100% of these volumes for the
primary and secondary components of Z Vul respectively. We compare our results
with those of previous authors.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, 10 table
The Large Magellanic Cloud and the Distance Scale
The Magellanic Clouds, especially the Large Magellanic Cloud, are places
where multiple distance indicators can be compared with each other in a
straight-forward manner at considerable precision. We here review the distances
derived from Cepheids, Red Variables, RR Lyraes, Red Clump Stars and Eclipsing
Binaries, and show that the results from these distance indicators generally
agree to within their errors, and the distance modulus to the Large Magellanic
Cloud appears to be defined to 3% with a mean value of 18.48 mag, corresponding
to 49.7 Kpc. The utility of the Magellanic Clouds in constructing and testing
the distance scale will remain as we move into the era of Gaia.Comment: 23 pages, accepted for publication in Astrophysics and Space Science.
From a presentation at the conference The Fundamental Cosmic Distance Scale:
State of the Art and the Gaia Perspective, Naples, May 201
Ultra Long Period Cepheids: a primary standard candle out to the Hubble flow
The cosmological distance ladder crucially depends on classical Cepheids
(with P=3-80 days), which are primary distance indicators up to 33 Mpc. Within
this volume, very few SNe Ia have been calibrated through classical Cepheids,
with uncertainty related to the non-linearity and the metallicity dependence of
their period-luminosity (PL) relation. Although a general consensus on these
effects is still not achieved, classical Cepheids remain the most used primary
distance indicators. A possible extension of these standard candles to further
distances would be important. In this context, a very promising new tool is
represented by the ultra-long period (ULP) Cepheids (P \geq 80 days), recently
identified in star-forming galaxies. Only a small number of ULP Cepheids have
been discovered so far. Here we present and analyse the properties of an
updated sample of 37 ULP Cepheids observed in galaxies within a very large
metallicity range of 12+log(O/H) from ~7.2 to 9.2 dex. We find that their
location in the colour(V-I)-magnitude diagram as well as their Wesenheit (V-I)
index-period (WP) relation suggests that they are the counterparts at high
luminosity of the shorter-period (P \leq 80 days) classical Cepheids. However,
a complete pulsation and evolutionary theoretical scenario is needed to
properly interpret the true nature of these objects. We do not confirm the
flattening in the studied WP relation suggested by Bird et al. (2009). Using
the whole sample, we find that ULP Cepheids lie around a relation similar to
that of the LMC, although with a large spread (~0.4 mag).Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space
Scienc
An analysis of the FIR/RADIO Continuum Correlation in the Small Magellanic Cloud
The local correlation between far-infrared (FIR) emission and radio-continuum
(RC) emission for the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is investigated over scales
from 3 kpc to 0.01 kpc. Here, we report good FIR/RC correlation down to ~15 pc.
The reciprocal slope of the FIR/RC emission correlation (RC/FIR) in the SMC is
shown to be greatest in the most active star forming regions with a power law
slope of ~1.14 indicating that the RC emission increases faster than the FIR
emission. The slope of the other regions and the SMC are much flatter and in
the range of 0.63-0.85. The slopes tend to follow the thermal fractions of the
regions which range from 0.5 to 0.95. The thermal fraction of the RC emission
alone can provide the expected FIR/RC correlation. The results are consistent
with a common source for ultraviolet (UV) photons heating dust and Cosmic Ray
electrons (CRe-s) diffusing away from the star forming regions. Since the CRe-s
appear to escape the SMC so readily, the results here may not provide support
for coupling between the local gas density and the magnetic field intensity.Comment: 19 pages, 7 Figure
Star clusters near and far; tracing star formation across cosmic time
© 2020 Springer-Verlag. The final publication is available at Springer via https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-020-00690-x.Star clusters are fundamental units of stellar feedback and unique tracers of their host galactic properties. In this review, we will first focus on their constituents, i.e.\ detailed insight into their stellar populations and their surrounding ionised, warm, neutral, and molecular gas. We, then, move beyond the Local Group to review star cluster populations at various evolutionary stages, and in diverse galactic environmental conditions accessible in the local Universe. At high redshift, where conditions for cluster formation and evolution are more extreme, we are only able to observe the integrated light of a handful of objects that we believe will become globular clusters. We therefore discuss how numerical and analytical methods, informed by the observed properties of cluster populations in the local Universe, are used to develop sophisticated simulations potentially capable of disentangling the genetic map of galaxy formation and assembly that is carried by globular cluster populations.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio
Observations of Nova IV Cephei 1971
Spectrographic and three-color photometric observations of Nova IV Cephei 1971 are presented. A stationary circumstellar helium shell visible spectroscopically during the nova's early decline may be evidence of an earlier outburst from this star.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye