4,136 research outputs found
UV observations of blue stragglers and population 2 K dwarfs
Blue stragglers are stars, found usually in either open or globular clusters, that appear to lie on the main sequence, but are brighter and bluer than the cluster turn-off. Currently, two rival models are invoked to explain this apparently pathological behavior: internal mixing (so that fresh fuel is brought into the stellar core); and mass transfer (by which a normal main sequence star acquires mass from an evolving nearby companion and so moves up the main sequence). The latter model predicts that in the absence of complete mass transfer (i.e., coalescence), blue stragglers should be binary systems with the fainter star in a post-main sequence evolutionary state. It is important to ascertain the cause of this phenomenon since stellar evolution models of main sequence stars play such a vital role in astronomy. If mass transfer is involved, one may easily exclude binaries from age determinations of clusters, but if mixing is the cause, our age determinations will be much less accurate unless we can determine whether all stars or only some mix, and what causes the mixing to occur at all
Rotation and Macroturbulence in Metal-poor Field Red Giant and Red Horizontal Branch Stars
We report the results for rotational velocities, Vrot sin i, and
macroturbulence dispersion, zeta(RT), for 12 metal-poor field red giant branch
stars and 7 metal-poor field red horizontal branch stars. The results are based
on Fourier transform analyses of absorption line profiles from high-resolution
(R ~ 120,000), high-S/N (~ 215 per pixel) spectra obtained with the Gecko
spectrograph at CFHT. We find that the zeta(RT) values for the metal-poor RGB
stars are very similar to those for metal-rich disk giants studied earlier by
Gray and his collaborators. Six of the RGB stars have small rotational values,
less than 2.0 km/sec, while five show significant rotation, over 3 km/sec. The
fraction of rapidly rotating RHB stars is somewhat lower than found among BHB
stars. We devise two empirical methods to translate the line-broadening results
obtained by Carney et al. (2003, 2008) into Vrot sin i for all the RGB and RHB
stars they studied. Binning the RGB stars by luminosity, we find that most
metal-poor field RGB stars show no detectable sign, on average, of rotation.
However, the most luminous stars, with M(V) <= -1.5, do show net rotation, with
mean values of 2 to 4 km/sec, depending on the algorithm employed, and these
stars also show signs of radial velocity jitter and mass loss.Comment: accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journa
Particle Dark Energy
We explore the physics of a gas of particles interacting with a condensate
that spontaneously breaks Lorentz invariance. The equation of state of this gas
varies from 1/3 to less than -1 and can lead to the observed cosmic
acceleration. The particles are always stable. In our particular class of
models these particles are fermions with a chiral coupling to the condensate.
They may behave as relativistic matter at early times, produce a brief period
where they dominate the expansion with w<0 today, and behave as matter at late
time. There are no small parameters in our models, which generically lead to
dark energy clustering and, depending on the choice of parameters, smoothing of
small scale power.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures; minor update with added refs; version appearing
in Phys. Rev.
Rubidium and Lead Abundances in Giant Stars of the Globular Clusters M4 and M5
We present measurements of the neutron-capture elements Rb and Pb for bright giants in the globular clusters M4 and M5. The clusters are of similar metallicity ([Fe/H] ≃ -1.2), but M4 is decidedly s-process enriched relative to M5: [Ba/Fe] = +0.6 for M
Speckle Interferometry of Metal-Poor Stars in the Solar Neighborhood. I
We report the results of speckle-interferometric observations of 109 high
proper-motion metal-poor stars made with the 6-m telescope of the Special
Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences. We resolve eight
objects -- G102-20, G191-55, BD+19~1185A, G89-14, G87-45, G87-47,
G111-38, and G114-25 -- into individual components and we are the first to
astrometrically resolve seven of these stars. New resolved systems included two
triple (G111-38, G87-47) and one quadruple (G89-14) star. The ratio of
single-to-binary-to-triple-to-quadruple systems among the stars of our sample
is equal to 71:28:6:1.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted to Astrophysical Bulleti
Blue Horizontal Branch Stars in Old, Metal-Rich Stellar Systems
Twenty years ago, Burstein et al. (1984)suggested that strong CN and Hbeta absorption meant younger ages among globular clusters in the Andromeda galaxy (M31), unless blue stars above the main-sequence turnoff or on the horizontal branch were uncommonly prominent. Here we test these suggestions by fitting the detailed mid-ultraviolet (2280-3120A) and optical (3850-4750A) spectra of one moderately metal-rich M31 globular cluster, G1. We explore the effects of a wide range of non-solar temperatures and abundance ratios, by combining a small set of theoretical stellar spectra like those of Peterson et al. (2001) that were calculated using extensively updated atomic-line constants. To match the mid-UV fluxes of G1, we find that hot components with Teff >= 8000K must be included. We obtain a very good fit with cool and hot blue horizontal branch (BHB) stars, but less satisfactory fits for blue straggler stars, those hotter than the main-sequence turnoff. The G1 color-magnitude diagram does show cool BHB stars, and the color of its giant branch supports the metallicity of one-sixth the solar value that we deduce. The turnoff temperature of the best-fit model is consistent with that of turnoff stars in galactic globular clusters and the field halo, indicating G1 is comparably old. Because metal-rich cool BHB and extremely blue HB stars have now been found within our own Galaxy, we suggest that these hot horizontal-branch stars be considered in fitting spectra of metal-rich populations such as the Andromeda globular clusters, to avoid possible underestimates of their ages. We plan to make the relevant spectral calculations available as part of our Hubble Treasury Program
BVRIJK light curves and radial velocity curves for selected Magellanic Cloud Cepheids
We present high precision and well sampled BVRIJK light curves and radial
velocity curves for a sample of five Cepheids in the SMC. In addition we
present radial velocity curves for three Cepheids in the LMC. The low
metallicity (Fe/H ~ -0.7) SMC stars have been selected for use in a
Baade-Wesselink type analysis to constrain the metallicity effect on the
Cepheid Period-Luminosity relation. The stars have periods of around 15 days so
they are similar to the Cepheids observed by the Extragalactic Distance Scale
Key Project on the Hubble Space Telescope. We show that the stars are
representative of the SMC Cepheid population at that period and thus will
provide a good sample for the proposed analysis. The actual Baade-Wesselink
analysis are presented in a companion paper.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, 23 pages, 10 figures, data tables
will be made available electronically from the CD
Rubidium and lead abundances in giant stars of the globular clusters M4 and M5
We present measurements of the neutron-capture elements Rb and Pb for bright
giants in the globular clusters M4 and M5. The clusters are of similar
metallicity ([Fe/H] = -1.2) but M4 is decidedly s-process enriched relative to
M5: [Ba/Fe] = +0.6 for M4 but 0.0 for M5. The Rb and Pb abundances were derived
by comparing synthetic spectra with high-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio
spectra obtained with MIKE on the Magellan telescope. Abundances of Y, Zr, La,
and Eu were also obtained. In M4, the mean abundances from 12 giants are
[Rb/Fe] = 0.39 +/- 0.02 (sigma = 0.07), [Rb/Zr] = 0.17 +/- 0.03 (sigma = 0.08),
and [Pb/Fe] = 0.30 +/- 0.02 (sigma = 0.07). In M5, the mean abundances from two
giants are [Rb/Fe] = 0.00 +/- 0.05 (sigma = 0.06), [Rb/Zr] = 0.08 +/- 0.08
(sigma = 0.11), and [Pb/Fe] = -0.35 +/- 0.02 (sigma = 0.04). Within the
measurement uncertainties, the abundance ratios [Rb/Fe], [Pb/Fe] and [Rb/X] for
X = Y, Zr, La are constant from star-to-star in each cluster and none of these
ratios are correlated with O or Na abundances. While M4 has a higher Rb
abundance than M5, the ratios [Rb/X] are similar in both clusters indicating
that the nature of the s-products are very similar for each cluster but the gas
from which M4's stars formed had a higher concentration of these products.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
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