53 research outputs found
Visual/infrared interferometry of Orion Trapezium stars: Preliminary dynamical orbit and aperture synthesis imaging of the Theta 1 Orionis C system
Located in the Orion Trapezium cluster, Theta 1 Orionis C is one of the
youngest and nearest high-mass stars (O5-O7) and also known to be a close
binary system. Using new multi-epoch visual and near-infrared bispectrum
speckle interferometric observations obtained at the BTA 6 m telescope, and
IOTA near-infrared long-baseline interferometry, we trace the orbital motion of
the Theta 1 Ori C components over the interval 1997.8 to 2005.9, covering a
significant arc of the orbit. Besides fitting the relative position and the
flux ratio, we apply aperture synthesis techniques to our IOTA data to
reconstruct a model-independent image of the Theta 1 Ori C binary system.
The orbital solutions suggest a high eccentricity (e approx. 0.91) and
short-period (P approx. 10.9 yrs) orbit. As the current astrometric data only
allows rather weak constraints on the total dynamical mass, we present the two
best-fit orbits. From these orbital solutions one can be favoured, implying a
system mass of 48 M_sun and a distance to the Trapezium cluster of 434 pc. When
also taking the measured flux ratio and the derived location in the HR-diagram
into account, we find good agreement for all observables, assuming a spectral
type of O5.5 for Theta 1 Ori C1 (M=34.0 M_sun) and O9.5 for C2 (M=15.5 M_sun).
We find indications that the companion C2 is massive itself, which makes it
likely that its contribution to the intense UV radiation field of the Trapezium
cluster is non-negligible. Furthermore, the high eccentricity of the
preliminary orbit solution predicts a very small physical separation during
periastron passage (approx. 1.5 AU, next passage around 2007.5), suggesting
strong wind-wind interaction between the two O stars.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, Accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
XMM-Newton observations of a superbubble in N 158 in the LMC
Aims: We study the diffuse X-ray emission observed in the field of view of
the pulsar B 0540-69 in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) by XMM-Newton. We want
to understand the nature of this soft diffuse emission, which coincides with
the superbubble in the HII region N 158, and improve our understanding of the
evolution of superbubbles. Methods: We analyse the XMM-Newton spectra of the
diffuse emission. Using the parameters obtained from the spectral fit, we
perform calculations of the evolution of the superbubble. The mass loss and
energy input rates are based on the initial mass function (IMF) of the observed
OB association inside the superbubble. Results: The analysis of the spectra
shows that the soft X-ray emission arises from hot shocked gas surrounded by a
thin shell of cooler, ionised gas. We show that the stellar winds alone cannot
account for the energy inside the superbubble, but the energy release of 2 - 3
supernova explosions in the past ~1 Myr provides a possible explanation.
Conclusions: The combination of high sensitivity X-ray data, allowing spectral
analysis, and analytical models for superbubbles bears the potential to reveal
the evolutionary state of interstellar bubbles, if the stellar content is
known.Comment: 7 pages. Accepted for publication in A&
PPAK Integral Field Spectroscopy survey of the Orion Nebula: Data Release
We present a low-resolution spectroscopic survey of the Orion nebula which
data we release for public use. In this article, we intend to show the possible
applications of this dataset analyzing some of the main properties of the
nebula. We perform an integral field spectroscopy mosaic of an area of ~5' X 6'
centered on the Trapezium region of the nebula, including the ionization front
to the south-east. The analysis of the line fluxes and line ratios of both the
individual and integrated spectra allowed us to determine the main
characteristics of the ionization throughtout the nebula.The final dataset
comprises 8182 individual spectra, which sample each one a circular area of
\~2.7" diameter. The data can be downloaded as a single row-stacked spectra
fits file plus a position table or as an interpolated datacube with a final
sampling of 1.5"/pixel. The integrated spectrum across the field-of-view was
used to obtain the main integrated properties of the nebula, including the
electron density and temperature, the dust extinction, the Halpha integrated
flux (after correcting for dust reddening), and the main diagnostic line
ratios. The individual spectra were used to obtain line intensity maps of the
different detected lines. These maps were used to study the distribution of the
ionized hydrogen, the dust extinction, the electron density and temperature,
and the helium and oxygen abundance...Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publishing in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
Tracing the young massive high-eccentricity binary system Theta 1 Orionis C through periastron passage
The nearby high-mass star binary system Theta 1 Orionis C is the brightest
and most massive of the Trapezium OB stars at the core of the Orion Nebula
Cluster, and it represents a perfect laboratory to determine the fundamental
parameters of young hot stars and to constrain the distance of the Orion
Trapezium Cluster. Between January 2007 and March 2008, we observed T1OriC with
VLTI/AMBER near-infrared (H- and K-band) long-baseline interferometry, as well
as with bispectrum speckle interferometry with the ESO 3.6m and the BTA 6m
telescopes (B'- and V'-band). Combining AMBER data taken with three different
3-telescope array configurations, we reconstructed the first VLTI/AMBER
closure-phase aperture synthesis image, showing the T1OriC system with a
resolution of approx. 2 mas. To extract the astrometric data from our
spectrally dispersed AMBER data, we employed a new algorithm, which fits the
wavelength-differential visibility and closure phase modulations along the H-
and K-band and is insensitive to calibration errors induced, for instance, by
changing atmospheric conditions. Our new astrometric measurements show that the
companion has nearly completed one orbital revolution since its discovery in
1997. The derived orbital elements imply a short-period (P=11.3 yrs) and
high-eccentricity orbit (e=0.6) with periastron passage around 2002.6. The new
orbit is consistent with recently published radial velocity measurements, from
which we can also derive the first direct constraints on the mass ratio of the
binary components. We employ various methods to derive the system mass
(M_system=44+/-7 M_sun) and the dynamical distance (d=410+/-20 pc), which is in
remarkably good agreement with recently published trigonometric parallax
measurements obtained with radio interferometry.Comment: 15 pages, 15 figures, accepted by A&
High-resolution imaging of Galactic massive stars with AstraLux. I. 138 fields with delta > -25 degrees
CONTEXT. Massive stars have high-multiplicity fractions, and many of them
have still undetected components, thus hampering the study of their properties.
AIMS. I study a sample of massive stars with high angular resolution to better
characterize their multiplicity. METHODS. I observed 138 fields that include at
least one massive star with AstraLux, a lucky imaging camera at the 2.2 m Calar
Alto telescope. I also used observations of 3 of those fields with ACS/HRC on
HST to obtain complementary information and to calibrate the AstraLux data. The
results were compared with existing information from the Washington Double Star
Catalog, Tycho-2, 2MASS, and other literature results. RESULTS. I discover 16
new optical companions of massive stars, the majority of which are likely to be
physically bound to their primaries. I also improve the accuracy for the
separation and magnitude difference of many previously known systems. In a few
cases the orbital motion is detected when comparing the new data with existing
ones and constraints on the orbits are provided. CONCLUSIONS. The analysis
indicate that the majority of the AstraLux detections are bound pairs. For a
range of separations of 0.1"-14" and magnitude differences lower than 8, I find
that the multiplicity fraction for massive stars is close to 50%. When objects
outside those ranges are included, the multiplicity fraction should be
considerably higher.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in Astronomy
& Astrophysics
A catalogue of young runaway Hipparcos stars within 3kpc from the Sun
Traditionally runaway stars are O and B type stars with large peculiar
velocities.We want to extend this definition to young stars (up to ~50 Myr) of
any spectral type and identify those present in the Hipparcos catalogue
applying different selection criteria such as peculiar space velocities or
peculiar one-dimensional velocities. Runaway stars are important to study the
evolution of multiple star systems or star clusters as well as to identify
origins of neutron stars. We compile distances, proper motions, spectral types,
luminosity classes, V magnitudes and B-V colours and utilise evolutionary
models from different authors to obtain star ages and study a sample of 7663
young Hipparcos stars within 3 kpc from the Sun. Radial velocities are obtained
from the literature. We investigate the distributions of the peculiar spatial
velocity, the peculiar radial velocity as well as the peculiar tangential
velocity and its one-dimensional components and obtain runaway star
probabilities for each star in the sample. In addition, we look for stars that
are situated outside any OB association or OB cluster and the Galactic plane as
well as stars of which the velocity vector points away from the median velocity
vector of neighbouring stars or the surrounding local OB association/ cluster
although the absolute velocity might be small. We find a total of 2547 runaway
star candidates (with a contamination of normal Population I stars of 20 per
cent at most). Thus, after subtraction of those 20 per cent, the runaway
frequency among young stars is about 27 per cent. We compile a catalogue of
runaway stars which will be available via VizieR.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figures, 7 tables, accepted for publication in MNRAS old
version replaced due to change of the title after journal proof-readin
Long-term monitoring of theta1 OriC: the spectroscopic orbit and an improved rotational period
The young O-type star theta1 OriC, the brightest star of the Trapezium
cluster in Orion, is one of only two known magnetic rotators among the O stars.
However, not all spectroscopic variations of this star can be explained by the
magnetic rotator model. We present results from a long-term monitoring to study
these unexplained variations and to improve the stellar rotational period. We
want to study long-term trends of the radial velocity of theta1 OriC, to search
for unusual changes, to improve the established rotational period and to check
for possible period changes. We combine a large set of published spectroscopic
data with new observations and analyze the spectra in a homogeneous way. We
study the radial velocity from selected photo-spheric lines and determine the
equivalent width of the Halpha and HeII4686 lines. We find evidence for a
secular change of the radial velocity of theta1 OriC that is consistent with
the published interferometric orbit. We refine the rotational period of theta1
OriC and discuss the possibility of detecting period changes in the near
future.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in A&
On the origin of the O and B-type stars with high velocities II Runaway stars and pulsars ejected from the nearby young stellar groups
We use milli-arcsecond accuracy astrometry (proper motions and parallaxes)
from Hipparcos and from radio observations to retrace the orbits of 56 runaway
stars and nine compact objects with distances less than 700 pc, to identify the
parent stellar group. It is possible to deduce the specific formation scenario
with near certainty for two cases. (i) We find that the runaway star zeta
Ophiuchi and the pulsar PSR J1932+1059 originated about 1 Myr ago in a
supernova explosion in a binary in the Upper Scorpius subgroup of the Sco OB2
association. The pulsar received a kick velocity of about 350 km/s in this
event, which dissociated the binary, and gave zeta Oph its large space
velocity. (ii) Blaauw & Morgan and Gies & Bolton already postulated a common
origin for the runaway-pair AE Aur and mu Col, possibly involving the massive
highly-eccentric binary iota Ori, based on their equal and opposite velocities.
We demonstrate that these three objects indeed occupied a very small volume
\sim 2.5Myr ago, and show that they were ejected from the nascent Trapezium
cluster.
We identify the parent group for two more pulsars: both likely originate in
the 50 Myr old association Per OB3, which contains the open cluster alpha
Persei. At least 21 of the 56 runaway stars in our sample can be linked to the
nearby associations and young open clusters. These include the classical
runaways 53 Arietis (Ori OB1), xi Persei (Per OB2), and lambda Cephei (Cep
OB3), and fifteen new identifications, amongst which a pair of stars running
away in opposite directions from the region containing the lambda Ori cluster.
Other currently nearby runaways and pulsars originated beyond 700 pc, where our
knowledge of the parent groups is very incomplete.Comment: Accepted for publication in the A&A. 29 pages, 19 figure
The most plausible explanation of the cyclical period changes in close binaries: the case of the RS CVn-type binary WW Dra
We searched the orbital period changes in 182 EA-type (including the 101
Algol systems used by \cite{hal89}), 43 EB-type and 53 EW-type binaries with
known both the mass ratio and the spectral type of their secondary components.
We reproduced and improved the same diagram as Hall's (1989) according to the
new collected data. Our plots do not support the conclusion derived by
\cite{hal89} that all cases of cyclical period changes are restricted to
binaries having the secondary component with spectral types later than F5. The
presence of period changes also among stars with secondary component of early
type indicates that the magnetic activity is one cause, but not the only one,
for the period variation. It is discovered that cyclic period changes, likely
due to the presence of a third body are more frequent in EW-type binaries among
close binaries. Therefore, the most plausible explanation of the cyclical
period changes is the LTTE via the presence of a third body. By using the
century-long historical record of the times of light minimum, we analyzed the
cyclical period change in the Algol binary WW Dra. It is found that the orbital
period of the binary shows a cyclic variation
with an amplitude of . The cyclic oscillation
can be attributed to the LTTE via a third body with a mass no less than . However, no spectral lines of the third body were discovered
indicating that it may be a candidate black hole. The third body is orbiting
the binary at a distance shorter than 14.4 AU and it may play an important role
in the evolution of this system.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, published by MNRA
Chandra Observations of Variable Embedded X-ray sources in Orion. Paper I: Resolving Orion Trapezium
We used the High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (HETGS) onboard the
Chandra X-ray Observatory to perform two observations, separated by three
weeks, of the Orion Trapezium region. The zeroth order images on the Advanced
CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) provide spatial resolution of 0.5" and moderate
energy resolution. Within a 160"x140" region around the Orion Trapezium we
resolve 111 X-ray sources with luminosities between 7x10^{28} ergs/s and
2x10^{32} ergs/s. We do not detect any diffuse emission. Many sources appear
much more heavily absorbed, with N_H in the range of 10^22 to 10^23 cm^-2. The
main objective of this paper is to study the Orion Trapezium and its close
vicinity. Most spectra of the very early type members can be fit with a
two-temperature thermal spectrum with a soft component of kT ~ 0.8 keV and a
hard component of kT ~ 2 to 3 keV. We discuss these results in the context of
stellar wind models. We detect eight additional, mostly variable X-ray sources
in the close vicinity of the Trapezium. Five of these X-rays sources are
identified with proplyds and we argue that the X-ray emission originates from
class I, II and III protostars at the cores of the proplyds.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical
Journa
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