Contents
Images
Upload your image
DSS Images Other Images
Related articles
B-type supergiants in the Small Magellanic Cloud: rotational velocities and implications for evolutionary models
High-resolution spectra for 24 SMC and Galactic B-type supergiants havebeen analysed to estimate the contributions of both macroturbulence androtation to the broadening of their metal lines. Two differentmethodologies are considered, viz. goodness-of-fit comparisons betweenobserved and theoretical line profiles and identifying zeros in theFourier transforms of the observed profiles. The advantages andlimitations of the two methods are briefly discussed with the lattertechniques being adopted for estimating projected rotational velocities(v sin i) but the former being used to estimate macroturbulentvelocities. The projected rotational velocity estimates range fromapproximately 20 to 60 km s-1, apart from one SMC supergiant,Sk 191, with a v sin i ≃ 90 km s-1. Apart from Sk 191,the distribution of projected rotational velocities as a function ofspectral type are similar in both our Galactic and SMC samples withlarger values being found at earlier spectral types. There is marginalevidence for the projected rotational velocities in the SMC being higherthan those in the Galactic targets but any differences are only of theorder of 5-10 km s-1, whilst evolutionary models predictdifferences in this effective temperature range of typically 20 to 70 kms-1. The combined sample is consistent with a linearvariation of projected rotational velocity with effective temperature,which would imply rotational velocities for supergiants of 70 kms-1 at an effective temperature of 28 000 K (approximately B0spectral type) decreasing to 32 km s-1 at 12 000 K (B8spectral type). For all targets, the macroturbulent broadening wouldappear to be consistent with a Gaussian distribution (although otherdistributions cannot be discounted) with an 1/e half-width varying fromapproximately 20 km s-1 at B8 to 60 km s-1 at B0spectral types.
| Macroturbulent and rotational broadening in the spectra of B-type supergiants
The absorption-line spectra of early B-type supergiants show significantbroadening that implies that an additional broadening mechanism(characterized here as `macroturbulence') is present in addition torotational broadening. Using high-resolution spectra withsignal-to-noise ratios of typically 500, we have attempted to quantifythe relative contributions of rotation and macroturbulence, but evenwith data of this quality significant problems were encountered.However, for all our targets, a model where macroturbulence dominatesand rotation is negligible is acceptable; the reverse scenario leads topoor agreement between theory and observation. Additionally, there ismarginal evidence for the degree of broadening increasing with linestrength, possibly a result of the stronger lines being formed higher inthe atmosphere. Acceptable values of the projected rotational velocityare normally less than or equal to 50 km s-1, which may alsobe a typical upper limit for the rotational velocity. Our best estimatesfor the projected rotational velocity are typically 10-20 kms-1 and hence compatible with this limit. These values arecompared with those predicted by single star evolutionary models, whichare initially rapidly rotating. It is concluded that either these modelsunderestimate the rate of rotational breaking or some of the targets maybe evolving through a blue loop or are binaries.
| The wind momentum-luminosity relationship of galactic A- and B-supergiants
The Balmer lines of four A Ia-supergiants (spectral type A0 to A3) andfourteen B Ia and Ib-supergiants (spectral type B0 to B3) in the solarneighbourhood are analyzed by means of NLTE unified model atmospheres todetermine the properties of their stellar winds, in particular theirwind momenta. As in previous work for O-stars (Puls et al. \cite{pul96})a tight relationship between stellar wind momentum and luminosity(``WLR'') is found. However, the WLR varies as function of spectraltype. Wind momenta are strongest for O-supergiants, then decrease fromearly B (B0 and B1) to mid B (B1.5 to B3) spectral types and becomestronger again for A-supergiants. The slope of the WLR appears to besteeper for A- and mid B-supergiants than for O-supergiants. Thespectral type dependence is interpreted as an effect of ionizationchanging the effective number and the line strength distributionfunction of spectral lines absorbing photon momentum around the stellarflux maximum. This interpretation needs to be confirmed by theoreticalcalculations for radiation driven winds. The ``Pistol-Star'' in theGalactic Centre, an extreme mid B-hypergiant recently identified as oneof the most luminous stars (Figer et al. \cite{fig99}) is found tocoincide with the extrapolation of the mid B-supergiant WLR towardshigher luminosities. However, the wind momentum of the Luminous BlueVariable P Cygni, a mid B-supergiant with extremely strong mass-loss, is1.2 dex higher than the WLR of the ``normal'' supergiants. Thissignificant difference is explained in terms of the well-known stellarwind bi-stability of supergiants very close to the Eddinton-limit inthis particular range of effective temperatures. A-supergiants in M31observed with HIRES at the Keck telescope have wind momenta compatiblewith their galactic counterparts. The potential of the WLR as a new,independent extragalactic distance indicator is discussed. It isconcluded that with ten to twenty objects, photometry with HST andmedium resolution spectroscopy with 8m-telescopes from the grounddistance moduli can be obtained with an accuracy of about 0fm1 out tothe Virgo and Fornax clusters of galaxies.
| Galactic B-supergiants: A non-LTE model atmosphere analysis to estimate atmospheric parameters and chemical compositions
A non-LTE model atmosphere analysis of moderate resolution (R ~ 5 000)spectra of 46 Galactic B-type supergiants is presented. Standardtechniques are adopted, viz. plane-parallel geometry and radiative andhydrostatic equilibrium. Spectroscopic atmospheric parameters (T_eff,log g & v_turb) and chemical abundances (He, C, N, O, Mg & Si)are estimated, both as a test of the validity of such an approach and inan attempt to provide consistent results for supergiants covering asignificant range of spectral types. The values of the estimatedatmospheric parameters and their dependence on the physics adopted inthe model atmospheres calculations are discussed. The absolute metalabundances are compared to those of main sequence B-type stars and, ingeneral, their chemical compositions appear to be similar. Theabundances for He, C, N & O are considered in some detail and arediscussed in the context of possible evolutionary histories for thisstellar sample. Specifically, it is found that the supergiant sample canbe subdivided into a number of evolutionarily distinct groups. The lowermass objects are predominantly chemically near-normal i.e. theirphotospheres show little or no evidence for chemical processing, whereasthe higher mass supergiants have CNO ratios which are indicative of CNand possibly NO-cycle burning. An attempt is made to quantify thedifference in nitrogen and carbon abundances between the high and lowmass targets but this is hampered by theoretical uncertainties. Thepossibilities that the most highly processed supergiants may have eitherlarger rotational velocities or have undergone mass transfer within abinary system are discussed.
| 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.
| Kinematic signatures of violent formation of galactic OB associations from HIPPARCOS measurements
Proper motions measured by Hipparcos confirm the large anomalousvelocities of the OB associations located around the Cygnus Superbubble(Cygnus OB1, OB3, OB7, and OB9), and reveal a clearly organizedexpanding pattern in Canis Major OB1. At the distances of theseassociations, the organized velocity patterns imply LSR velocities of upto ~ 60 km s(-1) for the associations in Cygnus, and about ~ 15 km s(-1)in Canis Major OB1. The magnitude and spatial arrangement of theexpanding motions suggests that very energetic phenomena are responsiblefor the formation of the present OB associations. This is independentlysupported by observations of the associated interstellar medium carriedout in other wavelengths. The gravitational instability scenarioproposed by Comeron & Torra 1994 (ApJ 423, 652) to account for theformation of the stars in the Cygnus Superbubble region is reviewed inthe light of the new kinematic data. It is found that the energeticrequirements set by the highest velocities on the OB associationpowering the Superbubble, Cygnus OB2, are too large by orders ofmagnitude. However, the scenario can still account for the formation ofmost of the stars if, as can be reasonably expected, the stars with thehighest measured velocities are actually runaways from Cygnus OB2itself. As for Canis Major OB1, we consider their formation in asupernova remnant, as suggested by Herbst & Assousa 1977 (ApJ, 217,473). The detection of a new runaway star, HIC 35707 (=HD 57682), whosemotion is directed away from the derived center of expansion, supportsthis scenario and provides an independent age for the supernova remnant,assuming that the runaway star was the binary companion of thesupernova. Based on a number of arguments, however, we find it unlikelythat the stars are a direct consequence of instabilities in theexpanding shell. We propose instead that their formation was triggeredin preexisting clouds, accelerated and compressed by the supernovaexplosion.
| 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.
| 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.
| Anomalous Proper-Motions in the Cygnus Super Bubble Region
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1993A&AS..101...37C&db_key=AST
| Galactic B-supergiants. II - Line strengths in the visible: Evidence for evolutionary effects?
Following the discovery by Lennon et al. (1992) of anomalously weakcarbon lines in the Galactic B-supergiants, a search was conducted forthe signatures of CNO processed material in the atmospheres of thesestars. It was found that the NII line strengths around spectral type B2correlate with luminosity, but exhibit a clear anticorrelation with theCII lines. It is suggested that this trend may be evidence for CNOprocessed material contaminating the atmospheres of the most luminousstars. The CNO processing signature was found to be most pronounced inthe more luminous supergiants, in qualitative agreement with stellarevolution calculations (provided that such stars have passed through aprevious red-supergiant phase of evolution).
| Galactic B-supergiants. I - an atlas of O9-B9 supergiant spectra from 3950 A to 4950 A
CCD spectra are presented for supergiants of spectral types O9-B9 andluminosity subclasses Ia and Ib. They cover the wavelength region fromapproximately 3950 A to 4950 A at a resolution of 0.8 A, and normallyhave a signal-to-noise in excess of 150 at 4600 A. The spectra arediscussed in respect to their classification. A number of stars showclear evidence of the 'filling in' of hydrogen lines by emission fromthe stellar wind, while HD 190603, a B1.5 Ia(+) hypergiant, exhibits anH-beta P-Cygni type line-profile. Also reported is the finding of a newnitrogen weak star, HD 13866, in the Per OB1 association which isclassified here as BC2 Ib.
| An Einstein Observatory SAO-based catalog of B-type stars
About 4000 X-ray images obtained with the Einstein Observatory are usedto measure the 0.16-4.0 keV emission from 1545 B-type SAO stars fallingin the about 10 percent of the sky surveyed with the IPC. Seventy-fourdetected X-ray sources with B-type stars are identified, and it isestimated that no more than 15 can be misidentified. Upper limits to theX-ray emission of the remaining stars are presented. In addition tosummarizing the X-ray measurements and giving other relevant opticaldata, the present extensive catalog discusses the reduction process andanalyzes selection effects associated with both SAO catalog completenessand IPC target selection procedures. It is concluded that X-rayemission, at the level of Lx not less than 10 exp 30 ergs/s, is quitecommon in B stars of early spectral types (B0-B3), regardless ofluminosity class, but that emission, at the same level, becomes lesscommon, or nonexistent, in later B-type stars.
| H-alpha as a tracer of mass loss from OB stars
This paper investigates the use of the H-alpha emission from stellarwinds of OB stars to determine the stellar mass-loss rate. The power inH-alpha emitted by the wind can be parameterized in terms of thetemperature and the density field of the wind. A simple expression isderived which relates the observed H-alpha luminosity to the stellarmass-loss rate, the stellar radius, the velocity law, and the stellareffective temperature. This expression is calibrated for the influenceof the velocity law using a sample of Galactic OB stars with UVmass-loss rates. Consequently, the results depend on the validity of theUV rates. The derived velocity law for O stars turns out to be inagreement with the radiation-pressure-driven wind theory. There isevidence for a dependence of the velocity-law gradient on spectral type.The results for B stars, however, are more uncertain due to thedependence on the adopted mass accretion rate/L relation. Application ofthe calibrated H-alpha luminosity/mass-loss rate relation to a sample of149 galactic OB stars shows that mass accretion rate can be reliablydetermined from H-alpha. Due to the moderate amount of observing timerequired to derive mass accretion rate from H-alpha, this method may beapplied successfully to investigate mass-loss effects in extra-Galacticstars.
| Properties of blue stragglers in young OB associations
The properties of the blue stragglers (BS) belonging to the associationsSco OB1, Cyg OB1, Car OB1, Cen OB1, and Per OB1 as well as of the earlyO stars belonging to Cas OB6 are studied on the basis of an extensivesurvey of the literature. Eleven of the thirteen BS for which therelevant information exists show an enhanced atmospheric abundance of N,which is interpreted as supporting the view (Maeder, 1987) that BS areprobably quasi-homogeneously evolved stars where the products of the CNOcycle have become observable at the surface. The mechanism inducing theturbulent diffusion responsible for the homogeneization of the stellarinterior does not clearly appear from the existing data. Tidal forces inclose binaries may play a role in some cases, but except in the case ofPer OB1 there is no convincing evidence that single BS have abnormallylarge rotational velocities. Finally the scenario of quasi-homogeneousevolution of the BS is not in contradiction with the observed propertiesof their likely descendents, the Wolf-Rayet stars, which are present inthe associations under consideration. The results presented in thispaper point toward the need for more observational data.
| Catalog of O-B stars observed with Tokyo Meridian Circle
A catalog of the O-B stars, selected from 'Blaauw-Parenago' list andRubin's catalog, has been compiled on the FK4 system by the observationsmade with Gautier 8-inch Meridian Circle at the Tokyo AstronomicalObservatory during the period, 1971 to 1979. It contains 1059 stars andwas compiled for the future establishment of high precision propermotions of O-B stars.
| Mass loss rates for northern OB-stars
A mass loss survey of 44 O- and early B-type stars in northern OBassociations is presented. For 22 stars mass loss rates were derivedfrom H-alpha equivalent widths using the method of Klein and Castor(1978). For 15 stars upper limits of the mass loss rates were estimated.For the remaining 7 stars H-alpha and H-beta equivalent width values aregiven but no quantitative evaluation of M-dot was possible. The resultsare compared with present ideas concerning the relation between massloss and other basic stellar parameters.
| Distribution of OB stars and absorbing matter in the region around P CYG
The results of spectrophotometric observations of 277 OB stars in a 7 x7-deg region around P Cyg, obtained in 8-sec, 45-sec, and 8-minexposures on ORWO ZU-21 plates with a 4-deg 272-A/mm-dispersionobjective prism on the 40-in. Schmidt telescope at BiurakanAstrophysical Observatory on October 14-19, 1979, are presented intables and graphs and characterized. Data reported include 400-480-nmabsolute spectrophotometric gradients, color excesses, and distances. Itis found that concentrations of OB stars with associated absorbingmatter exist toward the associations Cyg OB9 (two concentrations at 800and 1800 pc), Cyg OB3 (three concentrations at 1.4, 2.5, and 3.7 kpc),OB1 (at 1.6 kpc), Cyg OB8 (at 1.5 kpc), and over the entire observedregion at a distance of about 500 pc.
| Studies of luminous stars in nearby galaxies. I. Supergiants and O stars in the Milky Way.
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1978ApJS...38..309H&db_key=AST
| Spectral classification of early-type stars. Calibration using a TV-vidicon multichannel system.
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1976RMxAA...2...13B&db_key=AST
| Equivalent widths and rotational velocities of southern early-type stars
Not Available
| Steps toward the Hubble constant. II. The brightest stars in late-type spiral galaxies.
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1974ApJ...191..603S
| Photometric data for 139 supergiants.
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1972AJ.....77..150F&db_key=AST
| Further Observations of HD 193516
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1971PASP...83..648L
| Some Spectroscopic Characteristics of the OB Stars: an Investigation of the Space Distribution of Certain OB Stars and the Reference Frame of the Classification
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1971ApJS...23..257W&db_key=AST
| The space distribution and kinematics of supergiants
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1970AJ.....75..602H&db_key=AST
| Catalogue d'etoiles O et B.
Not Available
| Troisième catalogue de l'Observatoire de Besançon comprenant 764 étoiles réduites à 1950, 0 sans mouvement propre et 326 étoiles FK3 pour l'époque moyenne d'observation
Not Available
| Spectrophotometric Temperatures, Absolute Magnitudes, and Intrinsic Color Indices of Wolf-Rayet Stars
Not Available
| Photoelectric measures of the 4430 A diffuse interstellar band
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1963MNRAS.125..141W&db_key=AST
| Structure de la galaxie dans la région de P Cygni
Not Available
|
Submit a new article
Related links
Submit a new link
Member of following groups:
|
Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Cygnus |
| Right ascension: | 20h17m22.76s |
| Declination: | +38°14'08.4" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 7.008 |
| Distance: | 1639.344 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | -3.1 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -5 |
| B-T magnitude: | 7.46 |
| V-T magnitude: | 7.046 |
Catalogs and designations:
|
INHABITED SKY
