Stellar Fluxes as Probes of Convection in Stellar Atmospheres

Convection and turbulence in stellar atmospheres have a significant effect on the emergent flux from late-type stars. The theoretical advancements in convection modelling over recent years have proved challenging for the observers to obtain measurements with sufficient precision and accuracy to allow discrimination between the various predictions. An overview of the current observational techniques used to evaluate various convection theories is presented, including photometry, spectrophotometry, and spectroscopy. The results from these techniques are discussed, along with their successes and limitations. The prospects for improved observations of stellar fluxes are also given.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure; to appear in Convection in Astrophysics, Proc. IAUS 239, F.Kupka, I.W. Roxburgh, K.L. Chan ed

Different convection models in ATLAS

Convection is an important phenomenon in the atmospheres of A-type and cooler stars. A description of convection in ATLAS models is presented, together with details of how it is specified in model calculations. The effects of changing the treatment of convection on model structures and how this affects observable quantities are discussed. The role of microturbulence is examined, and its link to velocity fields within the atmosphere. Far from being free parameters, mixing-length and microturbulence should be constrained in model calculations.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures. To appear in the proceedings of the Workshop "ATLAS 12 and related codes", Trieste, July 11-15, 200

Observations of convection in A-type stars

Convection and turbulence in stellar atmospheres have a significant effect on the emergent flux from A-type stars. The recent theoretical advancements in convection modelling have proved a challenge to the observers to obtain measurements with sufficient precision and accuracy to allow discrimination between the various predictions. A discussion of the current observational techniques used to evaluate the various convection theories is presented. These include filter photometry, spectrophotometry, hydrogen lines, and metal lines. The results from these techniques are given, along with the successes and limitations.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, Invited Lecture at IAU Symposium 224 "The A Star Puzzle", 7-13 July 2004, Poprad, Slovaki

Asteroseismology with SuperWASP

The highly successful SuperWASP planetary transit finding programme has surveyed a large fraction of both the northern and southern skies. There now exists in the its archive over 420 billion photometric measurements for more than 31 million stars. SuperWASP provides good quality photometry with a precision exceeding 1% per observation in the approximate magnitude range 9 < V < 12. The archive enables long-baseline, high-cadence studies of stellar variability to be undertaken. An overview of the SuperWASP project is presented, along with results which demonstrate the survey's asteroseismic capabilities.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. To appear in proceedings of IAU Symposium 301, Precision Asteroseismology, August 2013, Wroc{\l}aw, Polan

Ideal black hole gas

The concept of a primordial blackhole fluid with intrinsic spin density is examined along with its consequence for supercluster-sized, i.e., large scale voids, and the missing mass question

Microprocessor-based multichannel flutter monitor using dynamic strain gage signals

Two microprocessor-based multichannel monitors for monitoring strain gage signals during aerodynamic instability (flutter) testing in production type turbojet engines were described. One system monitors strain gage signals in the time domain and gives an output indication whenever the signal amplitude of any gage exceeds a pre-set alarm or abort level for that particular gage. The second system monitors the strain gage signals in the frequency domain and therefore is able to use both the amplitude and frequency information. Thus, an alarm signal is given whenever the spectral content of the strain gage signal exceeds, at any point, its corresponding amplitude vs. frequency limit profiles. Each system design is described with details on design trade-offs, hardware, software, and operating experience

Use of elastomeric elements in control of rotor instability

The dynamic characteristics of elastomeric supports are discussed. Stiffness and damping characteristics for elastomers of various geometries including O-rings, buttons loaded in compression, and rectangular elements loaded in shear are presented. The effects of frequency, temperature, and amplitude are illustrated, as well as the effects of material and geometry. Empirical design methods are illustrated, and several examples are presented where elastomers have successfully controlled both synchronous and nonsynchronous vibrations

SuperWASP observations of pulsating Am stars

We have studied over 1600 Am stars at a photometric precision of 1 mmag with SuperWASP photometric data. Contrary to previous belief, we find that around 200 Am stars are pulsating δ Sct and γ Dor stars, with low amplitudes that have been missed in previous, less extensive studies. While the amplitudes are generally low, the presence of pulsation in Am stars places a strong constraint on atmospheric convection, and may require the pulsation to be laminar. While some pulsating Am stars have been previously found to be δ Sct stars, the vast majority of Am stars known to pulsate are presented in this paper. They will form the basis of future statistical studies of pulsation in the presence of atomic diffusion

Eclipsing binaries in open clusters

Accurate physical parameters have been determined for two early-type detached eclipsing binaries in the open cluster h Persei (NGC 869). Masses accurate to 1.5% are derived from high-resolution spectroscopy and radii accurate to 4--6% have been obtained from fitting the existing light curves. The four stars are placed in the mass radius plane and compared to the theoretical stellar models of the Granada Group. The best-fitting models have a low metallicity of approximately Z=0.01 and a high helium abundance of Y=0.34. This is the first determination of the bulk metallicity of the Perseus Double Cluster. Recent studies have assumed a solar metallicity so their results should be reviewed.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures. To appear in Spectroscopically and Spatially Resolving the Components of Close Binary Stars, ASP Conf. Series, 200