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CASSOWARY20: a wide separation Einstein Cross identified with the X-shooter spectrograph
We have used spectra obtained with X-shooter, the triple armoptical-infrared spectrograph recently commissioned on the Very LargeTelescope of the European Southern Observatory, to confirm thegravitational lens nature of the CAmbridge Sloan Survey Of Wide ARcs inthe skY (CASSOWARY) candidate CSWA20. This system consists of a luminousred galaxy at redshift zabs = 0.741, with a very highvelocity dispersion, ?lens ~= 500kms-1,which lenses a blue star-forming galaxy at zem = 1.433 intofour images with a mean separation of ~6arcsec. The source shares manyof its properties with those of UV-selected galaxies at z = 2-3: it isforming stars at a rate SFR ~= 25Msolaryr-1, has ametallicity of ~1/4 solar and shows nebular emission from two componentsseparated by 0.4arcsec (in the image plane), possibly indicating amerger. It appears that foreground interstellar material within thegalaxy has been evacuated from the sightline along which we observe thestarburst, giving an unextinguished view of its stars and HII regions.CSWA20, with its massive lensing galaxy producing a high magnificationof an intrinsically luminous background galaxy, is a promising targetfor future studies at a variety of wavelengths.Based on public data from the X-shooter commissioning observationscollected at the European Southern Observatory VLT/Melipal telescope,Paranal, Chile.E-mail: pettini@ast.cam.ac.uk
| FUSE Measurements of Far-Ultraviolet Extinction. III. The Dependence on R(V) and Discrete Feature Limits from 75 Galactic Sightlines
We present a sample of 75 extinction curves derived from Far UltravioletSpectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) far-ultraviolet spectra supplemented byexisting International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) spectra. Theextinction curves were created using the standard pair method based on anew set of dereddened FUSE+IUE comparison stars. Molecular hydrogenabsorption features were removed using individualized H2models for each sightline. The general shape of the FUSE extinction (8.4μm-1 < λ-1 < 11μm-1) was found to be broadly consistent withextrapolations from the IUE extinction (3.3 μm-1< λ-1 < 8.6 μm-1)curve. Significant differences were seen in the strength of the far-UVrise and the width of the 2175 Å bump. All the FUSE+IUE extinctioncurves had positive far-UV slopes giving no indication that the far-UVrise was turning over at the shortest wavelengths. The dependence ofA(λ)/A(V) versus R(V)-1 in the far-UV using thesightlines in our sample was found to be stronger than tentativelyindicated by previous work. We present an updated R(V)-dependentrelationship for the full UV wavelength range (3.3μm-1 <= λ-1 <= 11μm-1). Finally, we searched for discrete absorptionfeatures in the far-ultraviolet. We found a 3σ upper limit of~0.12A(V) on features with a resolution of 250 (~4 Å width) and3σ upper limits of ~0.15A(V) for λ-1 <9.6 μm-1 and ~0.68A(V) forλ-1>9.6 μm-1 on featureswith a resolution of 104 (~0.1 Å width).
| The Extension of the Transition Temperature Plasma into the Lower Galactic Halo
Column densities for H I, Al III, Si IV, C IV, and O VI toward 109 starsand 30 extragalactic objects have been assembled to study the extensionsof these species away from the Galactic plane into the Galactic halo. HI and Al III mostly trace the warm neutral and warm ionized medium,respectively, while Si IV, C IV, and O VI trace a combination of warmphotoionized and collisionally ionized plasmas. The much larger objectsample compared to previous studies allows us to consider and correctfor the effects of the sample bias that has affected earlier but smallersurveys of the gas distributions. We find that Si IV and C IV havesimilar exponential scale heights of 3.2(+1.0, -0.6) and 3.6(+1.0,-0.8) kpc. The scale height of O VI is marginally smaller with h =2.6 ± 0.6 kpc. The transition temperature gas is ~3 times moreextended than the warm ionized medium traced by Al III with h =0.90(+0.62, -0.33) kpc and ~12 times more extended than the warmneutral medium traced by H I with h = 0.24 ± 0.06 kpc. There is afactor of 2 decrease in the dispersion of the log of the column densityratios for transition temperature gas for lines of sight in the Galacticdisk compared to extragalactic lines of sight through the entire halo.The observations are compared to the predictions of the various modelsfor the production of the transition temperature gas in the halo. Theappendix presents a revision to the electron scale height of Gaensler etal.'s 2008 study based on electron dispersion measures.
| A FUSE Survey of the Rotation Rates of Very Massive Stars in the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds
We present projected rotational velocity values for 97 Galactic, 55 SMC,and 106 LMC O-B type stars from archival FUSE observations. The evolvedand unevolved samples from each environment are compared through theKolmogorov-Smirnov test to determine if the distribution of equatorialrotational velocities is metallicity dependent for these massiveobjects. Stellar interior models predict that massive stars with SMCmetallicity will have significantly reduced angular momentum loss on themain sequence compared to their Galactic counterparts. Our results findsome support for this prediction but also show that even at Galacticmetallicity, evolved and unevolved massive stars have fairly similarfractions of stars with large Vsin i values. Macroturbulent broadeningthat is present in the spectral features of Galactic evolved massivestars is lower in the LMC and SMC samples. This suggests the processesthat lead to macroturbulence are dependent upon metallicity.
| Large HI Structures linked to southern O-type stars
In our search for interstellar bubbles around massive stars we analyzethe environs of the O-type stars HD 38666, HD 124979, HD 163758, and HD171589. The location of the stars, far from the galactic plane, favorsthe formation of large wind bubbles. We investigate the distribution ofthe neutral and ionized gas based on HI, CO, and radio continuum data,and that of the interstellar dust based on far infrared IRIS images.Here we report the discovery of neutral gas cavities and slowlyexpanding shells associated with the four massive stars. IR and opticalcounterparts were also detected for some of the stars. We discuss theprobability that the features have originated by the action of stellarwinds on the surrounding gas.
| The ISM around southern O-type stars
The structure and kinematics of the interstellar medium (ISM) arestrongly modified by the action of stellar winds from massive starswhich create interstellar bubbles. These structures can be detected asslowly expanding neutral shells in the HIemission distribution around Oand WR stars (e.g. Cappa & Benaglia 1998; Cappa 2006).
| The Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer Survey of O VI Absorption in the Disk of the Milky Way
To probe the distribution and physical characteristics of interstellargas at temperatures T~3×105 K in the disk of the MilkyWay, we have used the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) toobserve absorption lines of O VI λ1032 toward 148 early-typestars situated at distances >1 kpc. After subtracting off a mildexcess of O VI arising from the Local Bubble, combining our new resultswith earlier surveys of O VI, and eliminating stars that showconspicuous localized X-ray emission, we find an average O VI midplanedensity n0=1.3×10-8 cm-3. Thedensity decreases away from the plane of the Galaxy in a way that isconsistent with an exponential scale height of 3.2 kpc at negativelatitudes or 4.6 kpc at positive latitudes. Average volume densities ofO VI along different sight lines exhibit a dispersion of about 0.26 dex,irrespective of the distances to the target stars. This indicates that OVI does not arise in randomly situated clouds of a fixed size anddensity, but instead is distributed in regions that have a very broadrange of column densities, with the more strongly absorbing cloudshaving a lower space density. Line widths and centroid velocities aremuch larger than those expected from differential Galactic rotation, butthey are nevertheless correlated with distance and N(O VI), whichreinforces our picture of a diverse population of hot plasma regionsthat are ubiquitous over the entire Galactic disk. The velocity extremesof the O VI profiles show a loose correlation with those of very stronglines of less ionized species, supporting a picture of a turbulent,multiphase medium churned by shock-heated gas from multiple supernovaexplosions.
| New Estimates of the Solar-Neighborhood Massive Star Birthrate and the Galactic Supernova Rate
The birthrate of stars of masses >=10 Msolar is estimatedfrom a sample of just over 400 O3-B2 dwarfs within 1.5 kpc of the Sunand the result extrapolated to estimate the Galactic supernova ratecontributed by such stars. The solar-neighborhood Galactic-plane massivestar birthrate is estimated at ~176 stars kpc-3Myr-1. On the basis of a model in which the Galactic stellardensity distribution comprises a ``disk+central hole'' like that of thedust infrared emission (as proposed by Drimmel and Spergel), theGalactic supernova rate is estimated at probably not less than ~1 normore than ~2 per century and the number of O3-B2 dwarfs within the solarcircle at ~200,000.
| A Galactic O Star Catalog
We have produced a catalog of 378 Galactic O stars with accuratespectral classifications that is complete for V<8 but includes manyfainter stars. The catalog provides cross-identifications with othersources; coordinates (obtained in most cases from Tycho-2 data);astrometric distances for 24 of the nearest stars; optical (Tycho-2,Johnson, and Strömgren) and NIR photometry; group membership,runaway character, and multiplicity information; and a Web-based versionwith links to on-line services.
| Catalog of Galactic OB Stars
An all-sky catalog of Galactic OB stars has been created by extendingthe Case-Hamburg Galactic plane luminous-stars surveys to include 5500additional objects drawn from the literature. This work brings the totalnumber of known or reasonably suspected OB stars to over 16,000.Companion databases of UBVβ photometry and MK classifications forthese objects include nearly 30,000 and 20,000 entries, respectively.
| Synthetic High-Resolution Line Spectra of Star-forming Galaxies below 1200 Å
We have generated a set of far-ultraviolet stellar libraries usingspectra of OB and Wolf-Rayet stars in the Galaxy and the Large and SmallMagellanic Cloud. The spectra were collected with the Far UltravioletSpectroscopic Explorer and cover a wavelength range from 1003.1 to1182.7 Å at a resolution of 0.127 Å. The libraries extendfrom the earliest O to late-O and early-B stars for the Magellanic Cloudand Galactic libraries, respectively. Attention is paid to the complexblending of stellar and interstellar lines, which can be significant,especially in models using Galactic stars. The most severe contaminationis due to molecular hydrogen. Using a simple model for the H2line strength, we were able to remove the molecular hydrogen lines in asubset of Magellanic Cloud stars. Variations of the photospheric andwind features of C III λ1176, O VI λλ1032, 1038, PV λλ1118, 1128, and S IV λλ1063, 1073, 1074are discussed as a function of temperature and luminosity class. Thespectral libraries were implemented into the LavalSB and Starburst99packages and used to compute a standard set of synthetic spectra ofstar-forming galaxies. Representative spectra are presented for variousinitial mass functions and star formation histories. The valid parameterspace is confined to the youngest ages of less than ~=10 Myr for aninstantaneous burst, prior to the age when incompleteness of spectraltypes in the libraries sets in. For a continuous burst at solarmetallicity, the parameter space is not limited. The suite of models isuseful for interpreting the rest-frame far-ultraviolet in local andhigh-redshift galaxies. Based on observations made with theNASA-CNES-CSA Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer. FUSE is operatedfor NASA by the Johns Hopkins University under NASA contract NAS5-32985.
| The total-to-selective extinction ratio determined from near IR photometry of OB stars
The paper presents an extensive list of the total to selectiveextinction ratios R calculated from the infrared magnitudes of 597 O andB stars using the extrapolation method. The IR magnitudes of these starswere taken from the literature. The IR colour excesses are determinedwith the aid of "artificial standards" - Wegner (1994). The individualand mean values of total to selective extinction ratios R differ in mostcases from the average value R=3.10 +/-0.05 - Wegner (1993) in differentOB associations. The relation between total to selective extinctionratios R determined in this paper and those calculated using the "methodof variable extinction" and the Cardelli et al. (1989) formulae isdiscussed. The R values presented in this paper can be used to determineindividual absolute magnitudes of reddened OB stars with knowntrigonometric parallaxes.
| Atlas of Interstellar Extinction Curves of OB Stars Covering the Whole Available Wavelength Range
The paper presents a collection of 436 extinction curves covering thewhole available range of wavelengths from satellite UV to near-IR. Thedata were taken from the ANS photometric catalogue and from thecompilations of IR photometric measurements. The data curves have beenobtained with the aid of ``artificial standards": Papaj et al. (1993)and Wegner (1994, 1995). The visual magnitudes and spectralclassifications of O and B type stars with EB-V>= 0.05were taken from the SIMBAD database. The curves are given in the form ofplots and tables E{lambda - V} / EB-V versus1/λ. The observed variety of extinction laws among slightlyreddened stars is apparently due to the various physical parameters ofinterstellar clouds.
| IUE Absorption-Line Observations of the Moderately and Highly Ionized Interstellar Medium toward 164 Early-Type Stars
We present measurements of Galactic interstellar Al III, Si IV, and C IVabsorption recorded in high-resolution archival ultraviolet spectra of164 hot early-type stars observed by the International UltravioletExplorer (IUE) satellite. The objects studied were drawn from the listof hot stars scheduled to be observed with the Far UltravioletSpectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) satellite as part of observing programsdesigned to investigate absorption by O VI in the Galactic disk andhalo. Multiple IUE echelle-mode integrations have been combined toproduce a single ultraviolet (1150-1900 Å) spectrum of each starwith a spectral resolution of ~25 km s-1 (FWHM). Selectedabsorption-line profiles are presented for each star along with plots ofthe apparent column density per unit velocity for each line of the AlIII, Si IV, and C IV doublets. We report absorption-line equivalentwidths, absorption velocities, and integrated column densities based onthe apparent optical depth method of examining interstellar absorptionlines. We also determine column densities and Doppler parameters fromsingle-component curve-of-growth analyses. The scientific analysis ofthese observations will be undertaken after the FUSE satellite producessimilar measurements for absorption by interstellar O IV, Fe III, S III,and other ions. Based on archival data from observations obtained withthe International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) satellite sponsored byNASA, SERC, and ESA.
| Five-colour photometry of OB-stars in the Southern Hemisphere
Observations of OB-stars, made in 1959 and 1960 at the Leiden SouthernStation near Hartebeespoortdam, South Africa, with the VBLUW photometerattached to the 90 cm light-collector, are given in this paper. They arecompared with photometry obtained by \cite[Graham (1968),]{gra68}\cite[Walraven & Walraven (1977),]{wal77} \cite[Lub & Pel(1977)]{lub77} and \cite[Van Genderen et al. (1984).]{gen84} Formulaefor the transformation of the present observations to those of\cite[Walraven & Walraven (1977)]{wal77} and \cite[Lub & Pel(1977)]{lub77} are given. Table 4 is only available in electronic format the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) orvia http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| The spur-like radio feature in Centaurus
We present a study of the radio emission of the Centaurus region atgalactic latitudes 2(deg) <= b <= 18(deg) , using pre-existing408MHz continuum data and results of new 1.42GHz continuum and neutralhydrogen line observations. It is shown that the extensive spur-likeradio feature visible in this region has a non-thermal nature and isactually formed by several previously unidentified individual sources.Five new supernova remnant (SNR) candidates have been detected atrelatively high latitudes. Three of them, as well as two formercandidates reported by Duncan et al. (1995), were confirmed through thecomputation of their spectral indices. One of the new SNRs, G315.4+12.9,might be associated with the open cluster NGC 5460.
| UBV beta Database for Case-Hamburg Northern and Southern Luminous Stars
A database of photoelectric UBV beta photometry for stars listed in theCase-Hamburg northern and southern Milky Way luminous stars surveys hasbeen compiled from the original research literature. Consisting of over16,000 observations of some 7300 stars from over 500 sources, thisdatabase constitutes the most complete compilation of such photometryavailable for intrinsically luminous stars around the Galactic plane.Over 5000 stars listed in the Case-Hamburg surveys still lackfundamental photometric data.
| ICCD speckle observations of binary stars. XIX - an astrometric/spectroscopic survey of O stars
We present the results of a speckle interferometric survey made with theCHARA speckle camera and 4 m class telescopes of Galactic O-type starswith V less than 8. We can detect with the speckle camera binaries inthe angular separation range 0.035-1.5 arcsec with delta M less than 3,and we have discovered 15 binaries among 227 O-type systems. We combinedour results on visual binaries with measurements of wider pairs from theWashington Double Star Catalog and fainter pairs from the HipparcosCatalog, and we made a literature survey of the spectroscopic binariesamong the sample. We then investigated the overall binary frequency ofthe sample and the orbital characteristics of the known binaries.Binaries are common among O stars in clusters and associations but lessso among field and especially runaway stars. There are many triplesystems among the speckle binaries, and we discuss their possible rolein the ejection of stars from clusters. The period distribution of thebinaries is bimodal in log P, but we suggest that binaries with periodsof years and decades may eventually be found to fill the gap. The massratio distribution of the visual binaries increases toward lower massratios, but low mass ratio companions are rare among close,spectroscopic binaries. We present distributions of the eccentricity andlongitude of periastron for spectroscopic binaries with ellipticalorbits, and we find strong evidence of a bias in the longitude ofperiastron distribution.
| A Radial Velocity Database for Stephenson-Sanduleak Southern Luminous Stars
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1997AJ....113..823R&db_key=AST
| Cross-correlation characteristics of OB stars from IUE spectroscopy
We present a catalogue of homogeneous measures of the linewidthparameter, v_esin i, for 373 O-type stars and early B supergiants(including the separate components of 25 binary and three triplesystems), produced by cross-correlating high-resolution,short-wavelength IUE spectra against a `template' spectrum of tauSco. Wealso tabulate terminal velocities. There are no O supergiants in oursample with v_esin i<65 km s^-1, and only one supergiant earlier thanB5 has v_esin i<50 km s^-1, confirming that an important linebroadening mechanism in addition to rotation must be present in theseobjects. A calibration of the area under the cross-correlation peakagainst spectral type is used to obtain estimates of continuum intensityratios of the components in 28 spectroscopically binary or multiplesystems. At least seven SB2 systems show evidence for the `Struve-Sahadeeffect', a systematic variation in relative line strength as a functionof orbital phase. The stellar wind profiles of the most rapid rotator inour sample, the O9III:n* star HD 191423 (v_esin i=436km s^-1), show itto have a `wind-compressed disc' similar to that of HD 93521; this starand other rapid rotators are good candidates for studies of non-radialpulsation.
| Projected Rotational Velocities of O-Type Stars
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1996ApJ...463..737P&db_key=AST
| Vitesses radiales. Catalogue WEB: Wilson Evans Batten. Subtittle: Radial velocities: The Wilson-Evans-Batten catalogue.
We give a common version of the two catalogues of Mean Radial Velocitiesby Wilson (1963) and Evans (1978) to which we have added the catalogueof spectroscopic binary systems (Batten et al. 1989). For each star,when possible, we give: 1) an acronym to enter SIMBAD (Set ofIdentifications Measurements and Bibliography for Astronomical Data) ofthe CDS (Centre de Donnees Astronomiques de Strasbourg). 2) the numberHIC of the HIPPARCOS catalogue (Turon 1992). 3) the CCDM number(Catalogue des Composantes des etoiles Doubles et Multiples) byDommanget & Nys (1994). For the cluster stars, a precise study hasbeen done, on the identificator numbers. Numerous remarks point out theproblems we have had to deal with.
| A spectroscopic database for Stephenson-Sanduleak Southern Luminous Stars
A database of published spectral classifications for objects in theStepenson-Sanduleak Luminous Stars in the Southern Milky Way catalog hasbeen compiled from the literature. A total of 6182 classifications for2562 stars from 139 sources are incorporated.
| The Spacelab-1 Very Wide Field Survey of UV-excess objects. IV. The performance of the instrument in combination with optical photometry as a means of identifying stars with peculiar properties.
UV (195 nm) and Stroemgren uvby photometry of a 110 square degree fieldat high southern galactic latitudes are analyzed through a comparison ofi) UV magnitudes for 57 stars of various types common to the publishedTD1 catalogue and the Very Wide Field Camera (VWFC); and ii) observedand theoretical two-colour diagrams. The higher sensitivity of the VWFC(=~0.5magnitude) and its more complete survey are exemplified by thedetection and UV measurement of a series of objects with moderateUV-excess in addition to detection of some very blue objects of variousnature down to fainter than 12th magnitude in the optical domain. Adeeper survey with a VWFC-type instrument could provide a completesample for studies of the group properties of faint blue stars. Duringthe uvby reductions it was found that the usual procedure of plottingresiduals as functions of declination, hour angle and airmass can be apowerful and diagnostic test of photometer rigidity.
| An IUE survey of interstellar H I LY alpha absorption. 1: Column densities
We measure Galactic interstellar neutral hydrogen column densities byanalyzing archival interstellar Ly alpha absorption line data toward 554B2 and hotter stars observed at high resolution with the IUE satellite.This study more than doubles the number of lines of sight with measuresof N(H I) based on Ly alpha. We have included the scattered lightbackground correction algorithm of Bianchi and Bohlin in our datareduction. We use the correlation between the Balmer discontinuity(c1) index and the stellar Ly alpha absorption in order toassess the effects of stellar Ly alpha contamination. Approximately 40%of the B stars with measured (c1) index, exhibit seriousstellar Ly alpha contamination. One table contains the derived values ofthe interstellar N(H I) for 393 stars with at most small amounts ofstellar contamination. Another lists the observed values of total N(H I)for 161 stars with suspected stellar Ly alpha contamination and/oruncertain stellar parameters.
| Synthetic UV Lines of Si IV, C IV, and He II from a Population of Massive Stars in Starburst Galaxies
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1993ApJ...418..749R&db_key=AST
| The Diffuse Ionized Interstellar Medium: Structures Resulting from Ionization by O Stars
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1993ApJ...417..579M&db_key=AST
| Photospheric Absorption Lines in the Ultraviolet Spectra of O-Stars and B-Stars
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1990MNRAS.246..392P&db_key=AST
| Terminal velocities for a large sample of O stars, B supergiants, and Wolf-Rayet stars
It is argued that easily measured, reliable estimates of terminalvelocities for early-type stars are provided by the central velocityasymptotically approached by narrow absorption features and by theviolet limit of zero residual intensity in saturated P Cygni profiles.These estimators are used to determine terminal velocities, v(infinity),for 181 O stars, 70 early B supergiants, and 35 Wolf-Rayet stars. For OBstars, the values are typically 15-20 percent smaller than the extremeviolet edge velocities, v(edge), while for WR stars v(infinity) = 0.76v(edge) on average. New mass-loss rates for WR stars which are thermalradio emitters are given, taking into account the new terminalvelocities and recent revisions to estimates of distances and to themean nuclear mass per electron. The relationships between v(infinity),the surface escape velocities, and effective temperatures are examined.
| The spectral energy distribution of early-type stars. II - The extinction law towards O-type stars
Photometric measurements through different pass-bands are used todetermine the color-excess E(B-V) for O-type stars in the UV and IRspectral regions. The results are used to examine the extinctioncharacter of the stars. It is found that, in the UV, each O-type starhas its own extinction character. In general, the visual and NIRextinction in the direction of O-type stars are normal.
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Centaure |
| Right ascension: | 14h18m11.94s |
| Declination: | -51°30'13.9" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 8.563 |
| Distance: | 657.895 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | -11 |
| Proper motion Dec: | 4.8 |
| B-T magnitude: | 8.591 |
| V-T magnitude: | 8.566 |
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INHABITED SKY
