13,701 research outputs found
Light element abundances in He-rich stars
We present an abundance analysis of light elements in He-rich stars. The
analysis is based on both low and high resolution observations collected at
ESO, La Silla, Chile in the optical region and includes 6 standards and 21
He-rich stars. Light-element abundances display a diverse pattern: they range
from under-solar up to above-solar values.Comment: 4 pages, no figure, to appear in: Proc. of the 26th workshop of the
European Working Group on CP stars, eds. P. North, A. Schnell and J.
Ziznovsky, Contrib. Astr. Obs. Skalnate Pleso Vol. 27, No
The evolutionary state and fundamental parameters of metallic A-F giants
Using Hipparcos parallaxes, we show that the metallic A-F giants found by
Hauck (1986) on the basis of their high Delta m_2 index in Geneva photometry
are on average more evolved than their non-metallic counterparts. Their mass
distribution, rate of binaries and vsini are shown to be incompatible with
those of Am stars, so that they cannot be descendants of the latter. They might
be former normal stars going through a short metal-rich phase at the very end
of their life on the Main Sequence.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure, to appear in: Proc. of the 26th workshop of the
European Working Group on CP stars, eds. P. North, A. Schnell and J.
Ziznovsky, Contrib. Astr. Obs. Skalnate Pleso Vol. 27, No
Binaries with total eclipses in the LMC: potential targets for spectroscopy
35 Eclipsing binaries presenting unambiguous total eclipses were selected
from a subsample of the list of Wyrzykowski et al. (2003). The photometric
elements are given for the I curve in DiA photometry, as well as approximate
Teff and masses of the components. The interest of these systems is stressed in
view of future spectroscopic observations.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure; poster presented at the conference "Close binaries
in the 21st Century: new opportunities and challenges", Syros, 27-30 June
200
Evolution of magnetic fields in stars across the upper main sequence
To properly understand the physics of upper main sequence stars it is
particularly important to identify the origin of their magnetic fields.
Recently, we confirmed that magnetic fields appear in Ap stars of mass below 3
M_sun only if they have already completed at least approximately 30% of their
main-sequence lifetime. The absence of stars with strong magnetic fields close
to the ZAMS might be seen as an argument against the fossil field theories.
Here we present the results of our recent magnetic survey with FORS1 at the VLT
in polarimetric mode of a sample of A, B and Herbig Ae stars with previously
undetected magnetic fields and briefly discuss their significance for our
understanding of the origin of the magnetic fields in intermediate mass stars.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, to appear in "Magnetic Fields in the Universe:
From Laboratory and Stars to Primordial Structures", AIP Conference
Proceedings 78
The formation of the Milky Way halo and its dwarf satellites, a NLTE-1D abundance analysis. I. Homogeneous set of atmospheric parameters
We present a homogeneous set of accurate atmospheric parameters for a
complete sample of very and extremely metal-poor stars in the dwarf spheroidal
galaxies (dSphs) Sculptor, Ursa Minor, Sextans, Fornax, Bo\"otes I, Ursa Major
II, and Leo IV. We also deliver a Milky Way (MW) comparison sample of giant
stars covering the -4 < [Fe/H] < -1.7 metallicity range. We show that, in the
[Fe/H] > -3.5 regime, the non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE)
calculations with non-spectroscopic effective temperature (Teff) and surface
gravity (log~g) based on the photometric methods and known distance provide
consistent abundances of the Fe I and Fe II lines. This justifies the Fe I/Fe
II ionisation equilibrium method to determine log g for the MW halo giants with
unknown distance. The atmospheric parameters of the dSphs and MW stars were
checked with independent methods. In the [Fe/H] > -3.5 regime, the Ti I/Ti II
ionisation equilibrium is fulfilled in the NLTE calculations. In the log~g -
Teff plane, all the stars sit on the giant branch of the evolutionary tracks
corresponding to [Fe/H] = -2 to -4, in line with their metallicities. For some
of the most metal-poor stars of our sample, we hardly achieve consistent NLTE
abundances from the two ionisation stages for both iron and titanium. We
suggest that this is a consequence of the uncertainty in the Teff-colour
relation at those metallicities. The results of these work provide the base for
a detailed abundance analysis presented in a companion paper.Comment: 25 pages, 7 tables, 7 figures, A&A, accepte
CoachNet: The further development of a coordinated network for sport coaching in Europe
Leeds Metropolitan University (LMU), in partnership with the European Coaching Council (ECC), was successful in a bid to the European Commission under the Preparatory Action in the Field of Sport (EAC/18/2011). The project was designed to develop an innovative approach that would contribute to the strengthening of the organisation of sport in Europe as part of the ‘good governance, strand of the EU Preparatory Action in the Field of Sport. The primary objective was to examine ways in which the organisation of coaching could be enhanced in Europe, with a particular focus on the greater involvement of coaches in decisionmaking. In exploring ways to maximise the ‘voice of the coach’, the partnership between LMU and ECC was central to the project. ECC is the continental division of the International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE). Through its network, ECC was in a position to identify current organisational arrangements for coaching across Europe. LMU is a well established research and practice oriented university in the UK and played a lead role in coordinating the project and guiding the research methodology through its Sport Coaching and Physical Education (SCOPE) Research and Enterprise Centre. Varying arrangements for the development and management of coaching were observed through a study of European countries. Within this varied landscape, the representation of coaches was sporadic, ranging from no representative mechanism to a number of good practice examples that made provision for the tiered engagement of coaches depending on their role; sport and coaching status category. These examples included confederated models across sports; blended models across coaching status categories and single and multi-sport models for the engagement and representation of coaches. The study concluded that there is a need for a more considered approach to the involvement of coaches in decision-making, with a number of recommendations developed for consideration by member states and the European divisions of the International Federations. These recommendations proposed that the structure of ECC as the European arm of ICCE be reviewed, with the intention to more strongly engage organisations that have been established to represent the voice of coaches and leading to a re-structuring of the organisation. In this context, ICCE and ECC should play an even stronger advocacy, representative and action role in establishing coaching as a blended profession, which includes volunteer, part-time paid and full-time paid coaches. More coherent structures for the engagement of coaches in each sport and country are also recommended. This should occur as part of a wider commitment that the principle of listening to and hearing the voice of the coach should become more strongly embedded within the way in which sporting and related organisations operate. The EU is well placed to lead on this type of approach, ensuring the coaches are more fully engaged in social dialogue and in the process to further enhance the role of sport and coaching in Europe. Further research is also recommended on the nature, needs and demographics of the coaching workforce. All of these approaches need to be tempered with the realisation that coaches are individual decision-makers, operating in a wide variety of contexts and many of whom do not show a propensity for involvement in formal ‘representative’ structures. The need for alternative methods to connect with and engage coaches was, therefore, identified. These include a more segmented approach to engaging with coaches, depending on their coaching role and status, as well as the utilisation of more informal modes of web-based communication to connect directly with coaches in their daily lives. In all existing and future scenarios, the key role of federations at the national and international level in seeking, activating and allocating financial and other resources to connect with and support their coaches was highlighted. The findings have been notified to ICCE for formal consideration, leading to changes in the ways in which the voice of the coach is more clearly represented within the work of the organisation. ICCE should continue to work closely with the EU Sport Unit to ensure that the recommendations of this report are implemented and evaluated on an on-going basis
Primary aragonite and high-Mg calcite in the late Cambrian (Furongian) : Potential evidence from marine carbonates in Oman
Acknowledgements Fieldwork and sampling was funded by Petroleum Development Oman during S. Al Marjibis's Ph.D. Their help is gratefully acknowledged. We also thank colleagues at the University of Aberdeen, Julie Dougans (SUERC) for assisting with stable isotope analysis and Dr. Richard Hinton (EIMF) for assistance with ion microprobe analysis. Profs. Kiessling, Tucker, Bosence, Coleman, Dr. Dickson and an anonymous reviewer are thanked for their helpful and encouraging comments.Peer reviewedPostprin
KPD1930+2752 - a candidate Type Ia supernova progenitor
We present spectra of the pulsating sdB star KPD1930+2752 which confirm that
this star is a binary. The radial velocities measured from the H-alpha and
HeI6678 spectral lines vary sinusoidally with the same period (2h 17m) as the
ellipsoidal variability seen by Billeres et al. (2000). The amplitude of the
orbital motion (349.3+-2.7 km/s) combined with the canonical mass for sdB stars
(0.5 solar masses) implies a total mass for the binary of 1.47+-0.01 solar
masses The unseen companion star is almost certainly a white dwarf star. The
binary will merge within about 200 million years due to gravitational wave
radiation. The accretion of helium and other elements heavier than hydrogen
onto the white dwarf which then exceeds the Chandrasekhar mass (1.4 solar
masses) is a viable model for the cause of Type Ia supernovae. KPD1930+2752 is
the first star to be discovered which is a good candidate for the progenitor of
a Type Ia supernova of this type which will merge on an astrophysically
interesting timescale.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 4 pages, 2 figures. Added
Institutio
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