Tidal Flows in asynchronous binaries: The beta-factor

We discuss the potential role that tidal flows in asynchronous binary stars may play in transporting chemically enriched material from deep layers towards the surface and the corresponding observational consequences of these processes. We suggest that the time-dependent velocity field induced by asynchronous rotation may contribute significantly to the mixing, thus providing a channel for the formation of chemically enriched slowly rotating massive stars.Comment: in Setting New Standards in Binary Star Research, A. Tkachenko & K. Pavlovski (eds), EAS Publication Series, in Pres

Long uninterrupted photometric observations of the Wolf-Rayet star EZ CMa by the Toronto {\em{BRITE}} satellite reveal a very fast apsidal motion

Context. The variability of the Wolf-Rayet star EZ CMa has been documented for close to half a century, and a clear periodicity of $\sim$3.7 days is established. However, all attempts to prove that it is a binary have failed because the photometric, spectroscopic, and polarimetric variations are not coherent over more than a few orbital cycles. Aims. In this letter we show that the lack of coherence in the variability can be explained with a very rapid apsidal motion in a binary orbit.} Methods. We measured the times of minima in a recently published exceptionally long photometric light curve obtained by the Toronto {\emph{BRITE}} satellite. The apsidal motion and the system eccentricity are determined from the length of the time intervals between these minima, which alternate in their duration, following a pattern that is clearly associated with apsidal motion. These minima are superposed on brightness enhancements of the emission from a shock zone, which occur at about the times of periastron phases. Results. We determine the orbital periodicity, $P_{a}=3.63\,$d, and the period of the apsidal motion, $U\simeq 100\,$d, which together yield an average sidereal period of $P_{s}=3.77\,$d. The eccentricity is found to be close to 0.1. The rate of periapsis retreat changes significantly over the period of observation and is determined to be $-16^\circ\,\mathrm{P}^{-1}_a$ at the beginning of the observing period and $-10^\circ\,\mathrm{P}^{-1}_a$ at the end. Conclusions. We demonstrate that by introducing a fast apsidal motion, the basic photometric variability is very well explained. The binary nature of EZ CMa is now established. This might imply that other apparently single Wolf-Rayet stars that emit hard X-rays, similar to EZ CMa, are also binaries.Comment: A&A Letter in press, 5 pages, 3 figure

FUSE observations of HD 5980: The wind structure of the eruptor

HD 5980 is a unique system containing one massive star (star A) that is apparently entering the luminous blue variable phase, and an eclipsing companion (star B) that may have already evolved beyond this phase to become a Wolf-Rayet star. In this paper we present the results from FUSE observations obtained in 1999, 2000, and 2002 and one far-UV observation obtained by ORFEUS/BEFS in 1993 shortly before the first eruption of HD 5980. The eight phase-resolved spectra obtained by FUSE in 2002 are analyzed in the context of a wind-eclipse model. This analysis shows that the wind of the eruptor obeyed a very fast velocity law in 2002, which is consistent with the line-driving mechanism. Large amplitude line-profile variations on the orbital period are shown to be due to the eclipse of star B by the wind of star A, although the eclipse due to gas flowing in the direction of star B is absent. This can only be explained if the wind of star A is not spherically symmetric, or if the eclipsed line radiation is "filled-in" by emission originating from somewhere else in the system, e.g., in the wind-wind collision region. Except for a slightly lower wind speed, the ORFEUS/BEFS spectrum is very similar to the spectrum obtained by FUSE at the same orbital phase: there is no indication of the impending eruption. However, the trend for decreasing wind velocity suggests the occurrence of the "bi-stability" mechanism, which in turn implies that the restructuring of the circumbinary environment caused by the transition from "fast, rarefied wind" to "slow, dense wind" was observed as the eruptive event. The underlying mechanism responsible for the long-term decrease in wind velocity that precipitated this change remains an open issue.Comment: 19 pages, 13 figure

Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi : Rede zu der ... Feier der 100. Wiederkehr seines Geburtstages ... 1904 / neu hrsg. von Gabriele Dörflinger, Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg

Gedenkrede auf den Mathematiker Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi (1804-1851), der die Grundlagen der Theorie der elliptischen Funktionen schuf, im Rahmen des III. Internationalen Mathematiker-Kongresses in Heidelberg 1904. Der Neuausgabe wurde ein Bildnis Jacobis beigegeben

First detection of phase-dependent colliding wind X-ray emission outside the Milky Way

After having reported the detection of X-rays emitted by the peculiar system HD5980, we assess here the origin of this high-energy emission from additional X-ray observations obtained with XMM-Newton. This research provides the first detection of apparently periodic X-ray emission from hot gas produced by the collision of winds in an evolved massive binary outside the Milky Way. It also provides the first X-ray monitoring of a Luminous Blue Variable only years after its eruption and shows that the dominant source of the X-rays is not associated with the ejecta.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures and 1 table, accepted for publication in ApJ (letters

Festreden in der Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften / gehalten von Leo Koenigsberger. Neu hrsg. von Gabriele Dörflinger

Leo Koenigsberger (1837-1921), der an der Gründung der Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften im Jahr 1909 aktiv beteiligt war, war 1909, 1911 und 1913 geschäftsführender Sekretär der Akademie. Seine Rede in der Eröffnungssitzung befasst sich mit den Aufgaben der Akademie; die Rede 1911 erinnert an den Heidelberger Philosophieprofessor Jakob Fries (1773-1843); seine letzte Rede 1913 thematisiert die Einordnung der Mathematik in die Wissenschaften

Marte y Venus: Guerra y relaciones internacionales de la Casa de Austria

-

Planet heating prevents inward migration of planetary cores

Planetary systems are born in the disks of gas, dust and rocky fragments that surround newly formed stars. Solid content assembles into ever-larger rocky fragments that eventually become planetary embryos. These then continue their growth by accreting leftover material in the disc. Concurrently, tidal effects in the disc cause a radial drift in the embryo orbits, a process known as migration. Fast inward migration is predicted by theory for embryos smaller than three to five Earth masses. With only inward migration, these embryos can only rarely become giant planets located at Earth's distance from the Sun and beyond, in contrast with observations. Here we report that asymmetries in the temperature rise associated with accreting infalling material produce a force (which gives rise to an effect that we call "heating torque") that counteracts inward migration. This provides a channel for the formation of giant planets and also explains the strong planet-metallicity correlation found between the incidence of giant planets and the heavy-element abundance of the host stars.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figure