781 research outputs found
VLTI/MIDI observations of 7 classical Be stars
We measured the mid-infrared extension of the gaseous disk surrounding seven
Be stars in order to constrain the geometry of their circumstellar environments
and to try to infer physical parameters characterizing these disks. We used the
VLTI/MIDI instrument with baselines up to 130 m to obtain an angular resolution
of about 15 mas in the N band and compared our results with previous K band
measurements obtained with the VLTI/AMBER instrument and/or the CHARA
interferometer. We obtained one calibrated visibility measurement for each of
the four stars, p Car, zeta Tau, kappa CMa, and alpha Col, two for delta Cen
and beta CMi, and three for alpha Ara. Almost all targets remain unresolved
even with the largest VLTI baseline of 130m, evidence that their circumstellar
disk extension is less than 10 mas. The only exception is alpha Ara, which is
clearly resolved and well-fitted by an elliptical envelope with a major axis
a=5.8+-0.8mas and an axis ratio a/b=2.4+-1 at 8 microns. This extension is
similar to the size and flattening measured with the VLTI/AMBER instrument in
the K band at 2 microns. The size of the circumstellar envelopes for these
classical Be stars does not seem to vary strongly on the observed wavelength
between 8 and 12microns. Moreover, the size and shape of Alpha Ara's disk is
almost identical at 2, 8, and 12microns
Spectro-interferometric observations of interacting massive stars with VEGA/CHARA
We obtained spectro-interferometric observations in the visible of
Lyrae and Sgr using the instrument VEGA of the CHARA interferometric
array. For Lyrae, the dispersed fringe visibilities and differential
phases were obtained in spectral regions containing the H and HeI 6678
lines and the H and HeI 4921 lines. Whereas the source is unresolved in
the continuum, the source of the emission lines is resolved and the photocenter
of the bulk of the H emission exhibits offsets correlated with the
orbital phase. For Sgr, both the continuum and H sources are
resolved, but no clear binary signal is detected. The differential phase shift
across the line reveals that the bulk of the H emission is clearly
offset from the primary
Online Bin Stretching with Three Bins
Online Bin Stretching is a semi-online variant of bin packing in which the
algorithm has to use the same number of bins as an optimal packing, but is
allowed to slightly overpack the bins. The goal is to minimize the amount of
overpacking, i.e., the maximum size packed into any bin.
We give an algorithm for Online Bin Stretching with a stretching factor of
for three bins. Additionally, we present a lower bound of for Online Bin Stretching on three bins and a lower bound of
for four and five bins that were discovered using a computer search.Comment: Preprint of a journal version. See version 2 for the conference
paper. Conference paper split into two journal submissions; see
arXiv:1601.0811
Analysis of complex samples using multidimensional gas chromatography and selective detection
Janssen, J.G.M. [Promotor]Brinkman, U.A.Th. [Promotor
Resolving the dusty circumstellar environment of the A[e] supergiant HD 62623 with the VLTI/MIDI
B[e] stars are hot stars surrounded by circumstellar gas and dust responsible
for the presence of emission lines and IR-excess in their spectra. How dust can
be formed in this highly illuminated and diluted environment remains an open
issue. HD 62623 is one of the very few A-type supergiants showing the B[e]
phenomenon. We obtained nine calibrated visibility measurements using the
VLTI/MIDI instrument in SCI-PHOT mode and PRISM spectral dispersion mode with
projected baselines ranging from 13 to 71 m and with various position angles.
We used geometrical models and physical modeling with a radiative transfer code
to analyze these data. The dusty circumstellar environment of HD 62623 is
partially resolved by the VLTI/MIDI even with the shortest baselines. The
environment is flattened and can be separated into two components: a compact
one whose extension grows from 17 mas at 8 microns to 30 mas at 9.6 microns and
stays almost constant up to 13 microns, and a more extended one that is
over-resolved even with the shortest baselines. Using the radiative transfer
code MC3D, we managed to model HD 62623's circumstellar environment as a dusty
disk with an inner radius of 3.85+-0.6 AU, an inclination angle of 60+-10 deg,
and a mass of 2x10^-7Mo. It is the first time that the dusty disk inner rim of
a supergiant star exhibiting the B[e] phenomenon is significantly constrained.
The inner gaseous envelope likely contributes up to 20% to the total N band
flux and acts like a reprocessing disk. Finally, the hypothesis of a stellar
wind deceleration by the companion's gravitational effects remains the most
probable case since the bi-stability mechanism does not seem to be efficient
for this star.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures. A&A accepted pape
Equatorial mass loss from Be stars
Be stars are thought to be fast rotating stars surrounded by an equatorial
disc. The formation, structure and evolution of the disc are still not well
understood. In the frame of single star models, it is expected that the surface
of an initially fast rotating star can reach its keplerian velocity (critical
velocity). The Geneva stellar evolution code has been recently improved, in
order to obtain some estimates of the total mass loss and of the mechanical
mass loss rates in the equatorial disc during the whole critical rotation
phase. We present here the first results of the computation of a grid of fast
rotating B stars evolving towards the Be phase, and discuss the first estimates
we obtained.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures To appear in the proceedings of the IAUS 272 on
"Active OB stars: structure, evolution, mass loss and critical limits
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