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Computed Hβ indices from ATLAS9 model atmospheres
Aims.Grids of Hβ indices based on updated (new-ODF) ATLAS9 modelatmospheres were computed for solar and scaled solar metallicities[+0.5], [+0.2], [0.0], [ -0.5] , [ -1.0] , [ -1.5] , [ -2.0] , [ -2.5]and for α enhanced compositions [+0.5a], [0.0a], [ -0.5a] , [-1.0a] , [ -1.5a] , [ -2.0a] , [ -2.5a] , and [ -4.0a] . Methods:.Indices for T_eff > 5000 K were computed with the same methods asdescribed by Lester et al. (1986, LGK86) except for a differentnormalization of the computed natural system to the standard system.LGK86 used special ODFs to compute the fluxes. For T_eff ≤ 5000 K wecomputed the fluxes using the synthetic spectrum method. In order toassess the accuracy of the computed indices comparisons were made withthe indices computed by Smalley & Dworetsky (1995, A&A, 293,446, MD95) and with the empirical relations T_eff-Hβ given byAlonso et al. (1996, A&A, 313, 873) for several metallicities.Furthermore, for cool stars, temperatures inferred from the computedindices were compared with those of the fundamental stars listed byMD95. The same kind of comparison was made between gravities for B-typestars. Results: .The temperatures from the computed indices are ingood agreement, within the error limits, with the literature values for4750 K ≤ T_eff ≤ 8000 K, while the gravities agree for T_eff> 9000 K. The computed Hβ indices for the Sun and for Procyonare very close to the observed values. The comparison between theobserved and computed Hβ indices as function of the observedHβ has shown a very small trend which almost completely disappearswhen only stars hotter than 10 000 K are considered. The trend due tothe cool stars is probably related with the low accuracy of thefundamental T_eff which are affected by large errors for most of thestars.
| Observations of Hα, iron, and oxygen lines in B, Be, and shell stars
We carried out a spectroscopic survey of several B, Be, and shell starsin optical and near-infrared regions. Line profiles of the Hα lineand of selected Fe II and O I lines are presented.
| Evolution of interacting binaries with a B type primary at birth
We revisited the analytical expression for the mass ratio distributionfor non-evolved binaries with a B type primary. Selection effectsgoverning the observations were taken into account in order to comparetheory with observations. Theory was optimized so as to fit best withthe observed q-distribution of SB1s and SB2s. The accuracy of thistheoretical mass ratio distribution function is severely hindered by theuncertainties on the observations. We present a library of evolutionarycomputations for binaries with a B type primary at birth. Some liberalcomputations including loss of mass and angular momentum during binaryevolution are added to an extensive grid of conservative calculations.Our computations are compared statistically to the observeddistributions of orbital periods and mass ratios of Algols. ConservativeRoche Lobe Over Flow (RLOF) reproduces the observed distribution oforbital periods but fails to explain the observed mass ratios in therange q in [0.4-1]. In order to obtain a better fit the binaries have tolose a significant amount of matter, without losing much angularmomentum.
| Surface abundances of light elements for a large sample of early B-type stars - IV. The magnesium abundance in 52 stars - a test of metallicity
From high-resolution spectra a non-local thermodynamic equilibriumanalysis of the MgII 4481.2-Åfeature is implemented for 52 earlyand medium local B stars on the main sequence (MS). The influence of theneighbouring line AlIII 4479.9-Åis considered. The magnesiumabundance is determined; it is found that logɛ(Mg) = 7.67 +/-0.21 on average. It is shown that uncertainties in the microturbulentparameter Vt are the main source of errors inlogɛ(Mg). When using 36 stars with the most reliableVt values derived from OII and NII lines, we obtain the meanabundance logɛ(Mg) = 7.59 +/- 0.15. The latter value isprecisely confirmed for several hot B stars from an analysis of the MgII7877-Åweak line. The derived abundance logɛ(Mg) = 7.59 +/-0.15 is in excellent agreement with the solar magnesium abundancelogɛsolar (Mg) = 7.55 +/- 0.02, as well as with theproto-Sun abundance logɛps(Mg) = 7.62 +/- 0.02. Thus,it is confirmed that the Sun and the B-type MS stars in ourneighbourhood have the same metallicity.
| Catalog of Galactic β Cephei Stars
We present an extensive and up-to-date catalog of Galactic β Cepheistars. This catalog is intended to give a comprehensive overview ofobservational characteristics of all known β Cephei stars, coveringinformation until 2004 June. Ninety-three stars could be confirmed to beβ Cephei stars. We use data from more than 250 papers publishedover the last nearly 100 years, and we provide over 45 notes onindividual stars. For some stars we reanalyzed published data orconducted our own analyses. Sixty-one stars were rejected from the finalβ Cephei list, and 77 stars are suspected to be β Cepheistars. A list of critically selected pulsation frequencies for confirmedβ Cephei stars is also presented.We analyze the β Cephei stars as a group, such as the distributionsof their spectral types, projected rotational velocities, radialvelocities, pulsation periods, and Galactic coordinates. We confirm thatthe majority of the β Cephei stars are multiperiodic pulsators. Weshow that, besides two exceptions, the β Cephei stars with highpulsation amplitudes are slow rotators. Those higher amplitude starshave angular rotational velocities in the same range as thehigh-amplitude δ Scuti stars (Prot>~3 days).We construct a theoretical HR diagram that suggests that almost all 93β Cephei stars are main-sequence objects. We discuss theobservational boundaries of β Cephei pulsation and the physicalparameters of the stars. We corroborate that the excited pulsation modesare near to the radial fundamental mode in frequency and we show thatthe mass distribution of the stars peaks at 12 Msolar. Wepoint out that the theoretical instability strip of the β Cepheistars is filled neither at the cool nor at the hot end and attempt toexplain this observation.
| Observed Orbital Eccentricities
For 391 spectroscopic and visual binaries with known orbital elementsand having B0-F0 IV or V primaries, we collected the derivedeccentricities. As has been found by others, those binaries with periodsof a few days have been circularized. However, those with periods up toabout 1000 or more days show reduced eccentricities that asymptoticallyapproach a mean value of 0.5 for the longest periods. For those binarieswith periods greater than 1000 days their distribution of eccentricitiesis flat from 0 to nearly 1, indicating that in the formation of binariesthere is no preferential eccentricity. The binaries with intermediateperiods (10-100 days) lack highly eccentric orbits.
| Determining the Physical Properties of the B Stars. II. Calibration of Synthetic Photometry
We present a new calibration of optical (UBV, Strömgren uvbyβ,and Geneva) and near-IR (Johnson RIJHK and Two Micron All Sky Survey)photometry for B and early A stars derived from Kurucz ATLAS9 modelatmospheres. Our sample of stars consists of 45 normal nearby B andearly A stars that have high-quality, low-resolution IUE spectra andaccurate Hipparcos parallaxes. The calibration is unique because itrelies only on the UV spectral energy distributions, the absolute fluxcalibration of the V filter, and the Hipparcos distances to determinethe appropriate model atmospheres for the program stars. These modelsare then used to calibrate the synthetic photometry. We compare ourresults with previous well-accepted results and provide a thoroughdiscussion of the random errors and systematic effects affecting thecalibration. In particular, we demonstrate the influence of vsini onsurface gravities derived from fitting model atmospheres. Finally, wediscuss some of our intended applications of this new calibration.
| B Star Rotational Velocities in h and χ Persei: A Probe of Initial Conditions during the Star Formation Epoch?
Projected rotational velocities (vsini) have been measured for 216 B0-B9stars in the rich, dense h and χ Persei double cluster and comparedwith the distribution of rotational velocities for a sample of fieldstars having comparable ages (t~12-15 Myr) and masses (M~4-15Msolar). For stars that are relatively little evolved fromtheir initial locations on the zero-age main sequence (ZAMS) (those withmasses M~4-5 Msolar), the mean vsini measured for the h andχ Per sample is slightly more than 2 times larger than the meandetermined for field stars of comparable mass, and the cluster and fieldvsini distributions differ with a high degree of significance. Forsomewhat more evolved stars with masses in the range 5-9Msolar, the mean vsini in h and χ Per is 1.5 times thatof the field; the vsini distributions differ as well, but with a lowerdegree of statistical significance. For stars that have evolvedsignificantly from the ZAMS and are approaching the hydrogen exhaustionphase (those with masses in the range 9-15 Msolar), thecluster and field star means and distributions are only slightlydifferent. We argue that both the higher rotation rates and the patternof rotation speeds as a function of mass that differentiatemain-sequence B stars in h and χ Per from their field analogs werelikely imprinted during the star formation process rather than a resultof angular momentum evolution over the 12-15 Myr cluster lifetime. Wespeculate that these differences may reflect the effects of the higheraccretion rates that theory suggests are characteristic of regions thatgive birth to dense clusters, namely, (1) higher initial rotationspeeds; (2) higher initial radii along the stellar birth line, resultingin greater spin-up between the birth line and the ZAMS; and (3) a morepronounced maximum in the birth line radius-mass relationship thatresults in differentially greater spin-up for stars that become mid- tolate-B stars on the ZAMS.
| High-resolution spectroscopic observations of B-type stars from the Edinburgh-Cape Survey - III. Completion of a magnitude range limited survey
High spectral resolution (R~ 40000) and signal-to-noise ratioobservations of five high Galactic latitude early-type stars taken fromthe Edinburgh-Cape (EC) Faint Blue Object Survey are presented. Thesewere required to complete a magnitude range-limited survey of youngB-type objects with 11 < V < 15. Of the five stars, four wererejected on the grounds that they are either subluminous (subdwarf orhorizontal branch), were part of a binary system or possessed colourslater than the (U-B) =-0.5 cut-off employed. The remaining star in thedata set, EC 19596-5356, is found to exhibit normal young B-type stellarproperties. A kinematic analysis reveals that an origin in the Galacticdisc appears likely for all the stars in the sample. Some statistics aredrawn about the number density of young stars in the Galactic halo.
| Surface abundances of light elements for a large sample of early B-type stars - III. An analysis of helium lines in spectra of 102 stars
Non-local thermodynamic equilibrium analysis of He I lines in spectraof 102 B stars is implemented in order to derive the helium abundanceHe/H, the microturbulent parameter Vt and the projectedrotation velocity v sini. A simultaneous determination of He/H andVt for the stars is effected by analysing equivalent widthsof the 4471- and 4922-Å lines primarily as indicators of He/H andthe 4713-, 5016-, 5876- and 6678-Å lines primarily as indicatorsof Vt. The rotation velocities v sini are found from profilesof the same lines. It is shown that, when Vt > 7 kms-1, the Vt(He I) values determined from He Ilines are systematically overestimated as compared with theVt(OII, NII) values derived from OII and NII lines. Thisdiscrepancy is especially appreciable for hot evolved B giants withVt(He I) = 16-23 km s-1 and may indicate a failureof classical model atmospheres to represent the strong He I lines forthese stars.Two programme stars, HR 1512 and 7651, are found to be helium-weakstars. The remaining 100 stars are divided into three groups accordingto their masses M. The microturbulent parameter Vt(He I) islow for all stars of group A (M= 4.1-6.9 Msolar) and for allstars with the relative ages t/tMS < 0.8 of group B (M=7.0-11.2 Msolar). Their Vt(He I) values are withinthe 0 to 5 km s-1 range, as a rule; the mean value isVt= 1.7 km s-1. Only evolved giants of group B,which are close to the termination of the main-sequence (MS)evolutionary phase (t/tMS > 0.8), show Vt(He I)up to 11 km s-1. The helium abundance He/H is correlated withthe relative age t/tMS in both groups; the averaged He/Henhancement during the MS phase is 26 per cent. For group C, containingthe most massive stars (M= 12.4-18.8 Msolar), theVt(He I) values display a correlation with t/tMS,varying from 4 to 23 km s-1. The He/H determination for hotevolved B giants of the group with Vt(He I) > 15 kms-1 depends on a choice between the Vt(He I) andVt(OII, NII) scales. The mean He/H enrichment by 67 per centduring the MS phase is found, if the abundances He/H are based on theVt(OII, NII) scale; however, two evolved giants withespecially high v sini, HR 7446 and 7993, show the He/H enhancement byabout a factor of 2.5. When using the same Vt scale, we founda trend of He/H with projected rotational velocities v sini a largedispersion for v sini > 150 km s-1 can result fromdifferences in masses M.A comparison with the stellar model computations with rotationallyinduced mixing shows that the observed helium enrichment during the MSphase can be explained by rotation with initial velocities 250-400 kms-1. The He/H distribution on M and v sini based on theVt(OII, NII) scale seems to be in better agreement with thetheory than one based on the Vt(He I) scale. The mean valueHe/H = 0.10 derived for stars in the zero age main sequence (ZAMS)vicinity can be adopted as the typical initial helium abundance forearly B stars in the solar neighbourhood.
| Early-type stars in the Galactic halo from the Palomar-Green survey-III. Completion of a magnitude range limited sample
High-resolution (R~ 40000) echelle spectroscopic observations of 13high-latitude early-type stars are presented. These stars comprise thefinal part of a complete magnitude range limited sample based onlow-resolution spectroscopy of targets drawn from the Palomar-Greensurvey. The magnitude range under consideration is 13<=BPG<= 14.6, corresponding to an approximate distancelimit for main-sequence B-type objects of 5 <=d<= 40 kpc. Threestars are found to be apparently normal, young stars, based on theirpositions on the (Teff, log g) diagram, normal abundancepatterns and relatively large projected rotational velocities. A furtherstar, PG 1209+263, was found to belong to the chemically peculiar (CP)silicon star class of objects. The remainder are evolved subluminousstars lying on post-horizontal branch (post-HB) tracks, with theexception of PG 2120+062, which appears to be in a post-asymptotic giantbranch evolutionary stage. For the young stars in the sample, we havederived distance and age estimates through comparison of the atmosphericparameters with recent theoretical evolutionary models. We discussformation scenarios by comparing times-of-flight and evolutionarytime-scales. It is found that all stars could have formed in theGalactic disc and been ejected from there soon after their birth, withthe exception of PG 1209+263. The adopted proper motion is found to be acrucial factor in the kinematical analysis. We also present some numberdensities for young B-type halo stars, which indicate that they areextremely scarce objects.
| Heavy Element Abundances in Late-B and Early-A Stars. I. Co-Added IUE Spectra of HgMn Stars
Very heavy elements (Pt, Au, Hg, Tl, and Bi) are found to be enhanced inthe atmospheres of the chemically peculiar stars of the upper mainsequence by up to a million times the solar system levels. Suchenhancements are believed to result from atmospheric dynamics (i.e.,diffusion) rather than scenarios that dredge up nuclear-processedmaterial to the surface or transfer processed material between binarycompanions. However, the theoretical framework needs to be furtherconstrained by observations beyond the realm of the spectral types forwhich such abundance enhancements are observed at optical wavelengths.The International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite collected spectraof bright stars for which chemical peculiarities have been derived fromground-based data. For several elements the abundance enhancements haveonly been recently measured using Hubble Space Telescope data and havetherefore not yet been exploited in the IUE data. We have initiated aprogram to analyze IUE high-dispersion spectra to more fullycharacterize the pattern of very heavy element enhancement for manymercury-manganese (HgMn) stars and to potentially extend the spectralclass (effective temperature) boundaries over which these abundanceanomalies are known to exist. The abundances of very heavy elements inchemically normal B and A-type stars provide a base level that may becompared with the solar system abundances. These early spectral typestars may therefore reveal clues for galactic chemical evolution studiessince they were formed at a later epoch than the Sun in the history ofthe Galaxy. This first paper presents the motivation for the analyses tofollow, outlines our spectral co-addition technique for IUE spectra, anddiscusses the choice of model atmospheres and the synthetic spectrumprocedures, while initiating the study by highlighting the abundance ofgold in several HgMn stars.
| The Indo-US Library of Coudé Feed Stellar Spectra
We have obtained spectra for 1273 stars using the 0.9 m coudéfeed telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. This telescope feedsthe coudé spectrograph of the 2.1 m telescope. The spectra havebeen obtained with the no. 5 camera of the coudé spectrograph anda Loral 3K×1K CCD. Two gratings have been used to provide spectralcoverage from 3460 to 9464 Å, at a resolution of ~1 Å FWHMand at an original dispersion of 0.44 Å pixel-1. For885 stars we have complete spectra over the entire 3460 to 9464 Åwavelength region (neglecting small gaps of less than 50 Å), andpartial spectral coverage for the remaining stars. The 1273 stars havebeen selected to provide broad coverage of the atmospheric parametersTeff, logg, and [Fe/H], as well as spectral type. The goal ofthe project is to provide a comprehensive library of stellar spectra foruse in the automated classification of stellar and galaxy spectra and ingalaxy population synthesis. In this paper we discuss thecharacteristics of the spectral library, viz., details of theobservations, data reduction procedures, and selection of stars. We alsopresent a few illustrations of the quality and information available inthe spectra. The first version of the complete spectral library is nowpublicly available from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory(NOAO) via ftp and http.
| Tidal Effects in Binaries of Various Periods
We found in the published literature the rotational velocities for 162B0-B9.5, 152 A0-A5, and 86 A6-F0 stars, all of luminosity classes V orIV, that are in spectroscopic or visual binaries with known orbitalelements. The data show that stars in binaries with periods of less thanabout 4 days have synchronized rotational and orbital motions. Stars inbinaries with periods of more than about 500 days have the samerotational velocities as single stars. However, the primaries inbinaries with periods of between 4 and 500 days have substantiallysmaller rotational velocities than single stars, implying that they havelost one-third to two-thirds of their angular momentum, presumablybecause of tidal interactions. The angular momentum losses increase withdecreasing binary separations or periods and increase with increasingage or decreasing mass.
| Empirical Absolute Magnitudes, Luminosities and Effective Temperatures of SPB Variables and the Problem of Variability Classification of Monoperiodic Stars
We derive semi--empirical log L/Lodot for 27 stars classifiedas SPB on the basis of Hipparcos photometry and we plot these stars onthe log Teff-log L/Lodot diagram. We confirmpulsations of HIP 63210 and HIP 108348 and show that luminosities andmasses derived from photometry are of limited use for asteroseismology.For HIP 69174 and 77227, two SB2 systems with an SPB primary, we computethe age of the systems, the orbital inclination - i, the large semi-axis- a, and the masses, radii, log Teff, log g and logL/Lodot of the components.We discover five new multiperiodic stars classified in the literature asSPB, namely, HIP 5161, 20963, 26243, 26464 and 44996. One of thesestars, HIP 26243, shows periods on the time-scales of days and hours.Finally, we discuss classification of monoperiodic SPBs and show thatphotometry combined with evolutionary models can be helpful inpreselecting tentative pulsators.
| Statistics of the Instability Strip of β Cephei Stars
We present a study of the β Cephei instability strip based on asample of 49 stars of this type. After deriving their effectivetemperatures and luminosities from their observed (B-V), (U-B) colorsand parallaxes we find their positions in the HR diagram to be mostlyconfined to the main sequence, and their masses to lie between 7Mȯ and 30 Mȯ. Their distribution on theHR diagram matches well with our previous theoretical instability stripwhich has an upper bound in the luminosity and rather tight boundariesin the effective temperature.
| Catalogue of averaged stellar effective magnetic fields. I. Chemically peculiar A and B type stars
This paper presents the catalogue and the method of determination ofaveraged quadratic effective magnetic fields < B_e > for 596 mainsequence and giant stars. The catalogue is based on measurements of thestellar effective (or mean longitudinal) magnetic field strengths B_e,which were compiled from the existing literature.We analysed the properties of 352 chemically peculiar A and B stars inthe catalogue, including Am, ApSi, He-weak, He-rich, HgMn, ApSrCrEu, andall ApSr type stars. We have found that the number distribution of allchemically peculiar (CP) stars vs. averaged magnetic field strength isdescribed by a decreasing exponential function. Relations of this typehold also for stars of all the analysed subclasses of chemicalpeculiarity. The exponential form of the above distribution function canbreak down below about 100 G, the latter value representingapproximately the resolution of our analysis for A type stars.Table A.1 and its references are only available in electronic form atthe CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/407/631 and Tables 3 to 9are only available in electronic form at http://www.edpsciences.org
| Elemental abundance analyses with the EBASIM spectrograph of the 2.1-m CASLEO Observatory Telescope. I. The late B and early A stars vec xi Octantis, alpha Sextantis, and 68 Tauri
We used data from the EBASIM spectrograph of the 2.1-m CASLEO telescopeto study three rather sharp-lined late B to early A stars xi Oct (B6IV), alpha Sex (B9.5 III), and 68 Tau (A2 IV). These measurements arecompared with those from the Anglo-Austrialian Telescope for the firststar and to those from the coudé spectrograph of the 1.22-mtelescope of the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (DAO) for the othertwo stars. The equivalent width scales of the EBASIM and the DAO dataare similar. Thus for the latter two stars the DAO data is also used inthe analyses. Both xi Oct and alpha Sex generally have abundancesclose to those of the Sun in the range of values found for other normalstars with similar effective temperatures. The abundance pattern for 68Tau is that of a metallic-lined star as is well known.Tables 5 to 7 are only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/406/987
| Metallicities of the SPB stars from the IUE ultraviolet spectra
We derived the stellar parameters (angular diameters, effectivetemperatures, metallicities) and interstellar reddenings for 20 SPB and34 reference stars observed during the IUE satellite mission. Theparameters were derived by means of an algorithmic procedure of fittingtheoretical flux distributions to the low-resolution IUE spectra andoptical spectrophotometric observations. Since the metallicity [m/H] hasa special importance for pulsating B type stars, we focused ourattention on that parameter. We found that the mean value of themetallicity of the considered SPB and reference stars amounts to [m/H] ~-0.20. The results only slightly depend on the reduction procedure usedfor the IUE images (NEWSIPS and INES). The metal abundances obtained inthis paper are in accordance with the average value of -0.2 dex forstars in the solar neighborhood recently reported by otherinvestigators.Tables 3-7 are only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/404/689
| The Asiago Database on Photometric Systems (ADPS). II. Band and reddening parameters
The Asiago Database on Photometric Systems (ADPS) is a compilation ofbasic information and reference data on 201 photometric systems (bothground-based and space-born), available in printed form (Moro &Munari \cite{Moro00}, hereafter Paper I) and electronically(http://ulisse.pd.astro.it/ADPS). Seventeen new systems have been addedto ADPS since its publication, bringing the total to 218. In this PaperII, band and reddening parameters are homogeneously computed viasynthetic photometry for the censed photometric systems with known bandtransmission profiles (179 systems). Band parameters include varioustypes of wavelengths (mean, peak, Gaussian, and effective according to aseries of representative spectral types), widths (width at half maximum,at 80% and 10% of transmission's peak, FWHM of the fitting Gaussian,equivalent, and effective for representative spectral types), moment ofthe 2nd order, skewness and kurtosis indices, and polynomial expressionsfor the behavior of effective wavelength and effective width as functionof black-body temperature. Reddening parameters include A(lambda )/A(V)for three reddening laws (characterized by RV=5.0, 3.1 and2.1) and its range of variability over the HR diagram, the Cardelli etal. (\cite{Cardelli89}) a(x) and b(x) coefficients, second order fits toA(lambda )/ EB-V for three representative spectral types, andpolynomial expressions for the behavior of effective wavelength andeffective width as function of reddening (for the RV=3.1law).Figures 9-187 are only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/401/781}\fnmsep\thanks{Thesource spectra used in the computations are available via the webinterface to ADPS: http://ulisse.pd.astro.it/ADPS/}
| Quantitative Stellar Spectral Classification. II. Early Type Stars
The method developed by Stock & Stock (1999) for stars of spectraltypes A to K to derive absolute magnitudes and intrinsic colors from theequivalent widths of absorption lines in stellar spectra is extended toB-type stars. Spectra of this type of stars for which the Hipparcoscatalogue gives parallaxes with an error of less than 20% were observedwith the CIDA one-meter reflector equipped with a Richardsonspectrograph with a Thompson 576×384 CCD detector. The dispersionis 1.753 Å/pixel using a 600 lines/mm grating in the first order.In order to cover the spectral range 3850 Å to 5750 Å thegrating had to be used in two different positions, with an overlap inthe region from 4800 Å to 4900 Å . A total of 116 stars wasobserved, but not all with both grating positions. A total of 12measurable absorption lines were identified in the spectra and theirequivalent widths were measured. These were related to the absolutemagnitudes derived from the Hipparcos catalogue and to the intrinsiccolors (deduced from the MK spectral types) using linear and secondorder polynomials and two or three lines as independent variables. Thebest solutions were obtained with polynomials of three lines,reproducing the absolute magnitudes with an average residual of about0.40 magnitudes and the intrinsic colors with an average residual of0.016 magnitudes.
| Surface abundances of light elements for a large sample of early B-type stars - II. Basic parameters of 107 stars
Effective temperatures Teff, surface gravities logg andinterstellar extinctions AV are found for 107 B stars.Distances d of the stars, which are based on the derivedTeff, logg and AV values, show good agreement withthose obtained from the Hipparcos parallaxes. Comparing theTeff and logg values with evolutionary computations, we infermasses, radii, luminosities, ages and relative ages of the stars.Empirical relations between the Teff and logg parameters, onthe one hand, and the photometric indices Q, [c1] and β,on the other hand, are constructed; these relations give a fast methodfor the Teff and logg estimation of early and medium B stars.Inclusion of the infrared J, H and K colours into the Teff,logg and AV determination shows that (i) the Teffand logg parameters are altered only slightly; (ii) the AVvalue is rather sensitive to these colours, so an accuracy better than0.05mag in the JHK data is necessary for precise AVevaluation.
| Metallicity Determinations from Ultraviolet-Visual Spectrophotometry. I. The Test Sample
New visual spectrophotometric observations of non-supergiant solarneighborhood stars are combined with IUE Newly Extracted Spectra (INES)energy distributions in order to derive their overall metallicities,[M/H]. This fundamental parameter, together with effective temperatureand apparent angular diameter, is obtained by applying the flux-fittingmethod while surface gravity is derived from the comparison withevolutionary tracks in the theoretical H-R diagram. Trigonometricparallaxes for the stars of the sample are taken from the HipparcosCatalogue. The quality of the flux calibration is discussed by analyzinga test sample via comparison with external photometry. The validity ofthe method in providing accurate metallicities is tested on a selectedsample of G-type stars with well-determined atmospheric parameters fromrecent high-resolution spectral analysis. The extension of the overallprocedure to the determination of the chemical composition of all theINES non-supergiant G-type stars with accurate parallaxes is planned inorder to investigate their atmospheric temperature structure. Based onobservations collected at the INAOE ``G. Haro'' Observatory, Cananea(Mexico).
| Rotational Velocities of B Stars
We measured the projected rotational velocities of 1092 northern B starslisted in the Bright Star Catalogue (BSC) and calibrated them againstthe 1975 Slettebak et al. system. We found that the published values ofB dwarfs in the BSC average 27% higher than those standards. Only 0.3%of the stars have rotational velocities in excess of two-thirds of thebreakup velocities, and the mean velocity is only 25% of breakup,implying that impending breakup is not a significant factor in reducingrotational velocities. For the B8-B9.5 III-V stars the bimodaldistribution in V can be explained by a set of slowly rotating Ap starsand a set of rapidly rotating normal stars. For the B0-B5 III-V starsthat include very few peculiar stars, the distributions in V are notbimodal. Are the low rotational velocities of B stars due to theoccurrence of frequent low-mass companions, planets, or disks? Therotational velocities of giants originating from late B dwarfs areconsistent with their conservation of angular momentum in shells.However, we are puzzled by why the giants that originate from the earlyB dwarfs, despite having 3 times greater radii, have nearly the samerotational velocities. We find that all B-type primaries in binarieswith periods less than 2.4 days have synchronized rotational and orbitalmotions; those with periods between 2.4 and 5.0 days are rotating withina factor 2 of synchronization or are ``nearly synchronized.'' Thecorresponding period ranges for A-type stars are 4.9 and 10.5 days, ortwice as large. We found that the rotational velocities of the primariesare synchronized earlier than their orbits are circularized. The maximumorbital period for circularized B binaries is 1.5 days and for Abinaries is 2.5 days. For stars of various ages from 107.5 to1010.2 yr the maximum circularized periods are a smoothexponential function of age.
| A highly sensitive search for magnetic fields in B, A and F stars
Circular spectropolarimetric observations of 74 stars were obtained inan attempt to detect magnetic fields via the longitudinal Zeeman effectin their spectral lines. The sample observed includes 22 normal B, A andF stars, four emission-line B and A stars, 25 Am stars, 10 HgMn stars,two lambda Boo stars and 11 magnetic Ap stars. Using the Least-SquaresDeconvolution multi-line analysis approach (Donati et al.\cite{donati97etal}), high precision Stokes I and V mean signatures wereextracted from each spectrum. We find absolutely no evidence formagnetic fields in the normal, Am and HgMn stars, with upper limits onlongitudinal field measurements usually considerably smaller than anypreviously obtained for these objects. We conclude that if any magneticfields exist in the photospheres of these stars, these fields are notordered as in the magnetic Ap stars, nor do they resemble the fields ofactive late-type stars. We also detect for the first time a field in theA2pSr star HD 108945 and make new precise measurements of longitudinalfields in five previously known magnetic Ap stars, but do not detectfields in five other stars classified as Ap SrCrEu. We also report newresults for several binary systems, including a new vsin i for therapidly rotating secondary of the Am-delta Del SB2 HD 110951. Based onobservations obtained using the MuSiCoS spectropolarimeter on theBernard Lyot telescope, l'Observatoire du Pic du Midi, France.
| The ISO-SWS post-helium atlas of near-infrared stellar spectra
We present an atlas of near-infrared spectra (2.36 mu m-4.1 mu m) of ~300 stars at moderate resolution (lambda /delta lambda ~ 1500-2000). Thespectra were recorded using the Short-Wavelength Spectrometer aboard theInfrared Space Observatory (ISO-SWS). The bulk of the observations wereperformed during a dedicated observation campaign after the liquidhelium depletion of the ISO satellite, the so-called post-heliumprogramme. This programme was aimed at extending the MK-classificationto the near-infrared. Therefore the programme covers a large range ofspectral types and luminosity classes. The 2.36 mu m-4.05 mu m region isa valuable spectral probe for both hot and cool stars. H I lines(Bracket, Pfund and Humphreys series), He I and He II lines, atomiclines and molecular lines (CO, H2O, NH, OH, SiO, HCN,C2H2, ...) are sensitive to temperature, gravityand/or the nature of the outer layers of the stellar atmosphere(outflows, hot circumstellar discs, etc.). Another objective of theprogramme was to construct a homogeneous dataset of near-infraredstellar spectra that can be used for population synthesis studies ofgalaxies. At near-infrared wavelengths these objects emit the integratedlight of all stars in the system. In this paper we present the datasetof post-helium spectra completed with observations obtained during thenominal operations of the ISO-SWS. We discuss the calibration of the SWSdata obtained after the liquid helium boil-off and the data reduction.We also give a first qualitative overview of how the spectral featuresin this wavelength range change with spectral type. The dataset isscrutinised in two papers on the quantitative classification ofnear-infrared spectra of early-type stars ({Lenorzer} et al.\cite{lenorzer:2002a}) and late-type stars (Vandenbussche et al., inprep). Based on observations with ISO, an ESA project with instrumentsfunded by ESA Members States (especially the PI countries France,Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom) and with theparticipation of ISAS and NASA. The full atlas is available inelectronic form at www.edpsciences.org Table 1 is only available inelectronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr(130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?/A+A/390/1033
| An atlas of 2.4 to 4.1 mu m ISO/SWS spectra of early-type stars
We present an atlas of spectra of O- and B-type stars, obtained with theShort Wavelength Spectrometer (SWS) during the Post-Helium program ofthe Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). This program is aimed at extendingthe Morgan & Keenan classification scheme into the near-infrared.Later type stars will be discussed in a separate publication. Theobservations consist of 57 SWS Post-Helium spectra from 2.4 to 4.1 μm, supplemented with 10 spectra acquired during the nominal mission witha similar observational setting. For B-type stars, this sample providesample spectral coverage in terms of subtype and luminosity class. ForO-type stars, the ISO sample is coarse and therefore is complementedwith 8 UKIRT Larcmin -band observations. In terms of the presence ofdiagnostic lines, the Larcmin -band is likely the most promising of thenear-infrared atmospheric windows for the study of the physicalproperties of B stars. Specifically, this wavelength interval containsthe Bralpha , Pfgamma , and other Pfund lines which are probes ofspectral type, luminosity class and mass loss. Here, we present simpleempirical methods based on the lines present in the 2.4 to 4.1 mu minterval that allow the determination of i) the spectral type of Bdwarfs and giants to within two subtypes; ii) the luminosity class of Bstars to within two classes; iii) the mass-loss rate of O stars and Bsupergiants to within 0.25 dex. Based on observations with ISO, an ESAproject with instruments funded by ESA Member States (especially the PIcountries: France, Germany, The Netherlands and the UK) and with theparticipation of ISAS and NASA. The appendix is only available inelectronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr(130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin.qcat?J/A+A/384/473
| Boron Abundances in Early B Stars: Results from the B III Resonance Line in IUE Data
We have used archival International Ultraviolet Explorer high-dispersionSWP spectra to study the B III resonance line at 2065.8 Å in 44early B stars. We find a median boron abundance about half that of solarsystem meteoritic material, consistent with the values found fromprevious studies of boron in early B stars. About one-third of the starsstudied appear to have boron abundances that are a factor of 4 or morelower than this median. Many of these are stars with enhanced nitrogenabundances, confirming the belief that deep envelope mixing can occur inmain-sequence B stars. A few stars with low boron abundances have normalN/C ratios. It is unclear whether all of these can be explained as starswhere mixing depleted the boron but did not go deep enough to bringCN-processed material to the surface or if some stars were actuallyformed with an unusually low boron abundance.
| Activity in the SPB star 53 Piscium
New spectroscopic observations of the star 53 Psc are presented. Acorrelation technique has been used to derive the radial velocity curveswith a high accuracy. Four frequencies have been detected in the radialvelocity variations using four frequency analysis algorithms. Threefrequencies (1.81, 1.22 and 1.57 cd-1) are typical SPB starfrequencies, the last one being close to our detection threshold. Theyare associated to low amplitude velocities, of the order of 1-2 kms-1. So we classify 53 Psc in the SPBs class in agreementwith its position in the HR diagram. Line equivalent width and centraldepth variations are also observed. Two phenomena appear: first, asmooth variation, present in all lines with a time scale of 10 days,could be related to the stellar rotation and a magnetic field. Second,on two consecutive nights, a sudden and important increase (20%) ofequivalent widths and central depths of Hdelta and He I lines could bedue to an outburst similar to the ones present in some Be stars. Thevariation in the equivalent widths is mainly due to the increase of thecentral depth of the quoted lines. This suggests the existence of NLTEeffects due to a hot low density plasma in the upper layers of theatmosphere of 53 Psc. An additional frequency is pointed out around 0.11cd-1. The best interpretation is an SPB frequency shifted byrotation. Based on observations obtained at the Observatoire deHaute-Provence.
| Early type stars at high galactic latitudes. II. Four evolved B-type stars of unusual chemical composition
We present the result of differential spectral analyses of a furtherfour apparently normal B-type stars. Abundance anomalies (e.g. He, C, Nenrichment), slow rotation and/or high gravities suggest that theprogramme stars are evolved low-mass B-type stars. In order to tracetheir evolutionary status several scenarios are discussed. Post-AGBevolution can be ruled out. PG 0229+064 and PG 1400+389 could behorizontal branch (HB) stars, while HD 76431 and SB 939 have alreadyevolved away from the extreme HB (EHB). The low helium abundance of HD76431 is consistent with post-EHB evolution. The enrichment in helium,carbon and nitrogen can be explained either by deep mixing of nuclearlyprocessed material to the surface or by diffusion processes modified bymagnetic fields and/or stellar winds. A kinematic study of theirgalactic orbits indicates that the stars belong to an old diskpopulation. Based on observations obtained at the W. M. KeckObservatory, which is operated by the Californian Association forResearch in Astronomy for the California Institute of Technology and theUniversity of California. Based on observations collected at theGerman-Spanish Astronomical Center (DSAZ), Calar Alto, operated by theMax-Planck-Institut für Astronomie Heidelberg jointly with theSpanish National Commission for Astronomy. Based on observationscollected at the European Southern Observatory (ESO proposal No.65.H-0341(A)).
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Ηρακλής |
| Right ascension: | 17h39m27.90s |
| Declination: | +46°00'23.0" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 3.8 |
| Distance: | 151.976 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | -9.1 |
| Proper motion Dec: | 3.2 |
| B-T magnitude: | 3.581 |
| V-T magnitude: | 3.763 |
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INHABITED SKY
