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Atomic and Molecular Carbon as a Tracer of Translucent Clouds
Using archival, high-resolution far-ultraviolet Hubble SpaceTelescope/Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph spectra of 34 Galactic Oand B stars, we measure C I column densities and compare them withmeasurements from the literature of CO and H2 with regard tounderstanding the presence of translucent clouds along the line ofsight. We find that the CO/H2 and CO/C I ratios provide gooddiscriminators for the presence of translucent material, and bothincrease as a function of molecular fraction, fN =2N(H2)/N(H). We suggest that sightlines with values belowCO/H2 ?10-6 and CO/C I ?1 containmostly diffuse molecular clouds, while those with values above sampleclouds in the transition region between diffuse and dark. Thesediscriminating values are also consistent with the change in slope ofthe CO versus H2 correlation near the column density at whichCO shielding becomes important, as evidenced by the change inphotochemistry regime studied by Sheffer et al. Based on the lack ofcorrelation of the presence of translucent material with traditionalmeasures of extinction, we recommend defining "translucent clouds" basedon the molecular content rather than line-of-sight extinctionproperties.
| A systematic study of variability among OB-stars based on HIPPARCOS photometry
Context: Variability is a key factor for understanding the nature of themost massive stars, the OB stars. Such stars lie closest to the unstableupper limit of star formation. Aims: In terms of statistics, thedata from the HIPPARCOS satellite are unique because of time coverageand uniformity. They are ideal to study variability in this large,uniform sample of OB stars. Methods: We used statisticaltechniques to determine an independant threshold of variabilitycorresponding to our sample of OB stars, and then applied an automaticalgorithm to search for periods in the data of stars that are locatedabove this threshold. We separated the sample stars into 4 maincategories of variability: 3 intrinsic and 1 extrinsic. The intrinsiccategories are: OB main sequence stars (~2/3 of the sample), OBe stars(~10%) and OB Supergiant stars (~1/4).The extrinsic category refers toeclipsing binaries. Results: We classified about 30% of the wholesample as variable, although the fraction depends on magnitude level dueto instrumental limitations. OBe stars tend to be much more variable(≈80%) than the average sample star, while OBMS stars are belowaverage and OBSG stars are average. Types of variables include αCyg, β Cep, slowly pulsating stars and other types from the generalcatalog of variable stars. As for eclipsing binaries, there arerelatively more contact than detached systems among the OBMS and OBestars, and about equal numbers among OBSG stars.
| 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 Unified Representation of Gas-Phase Element Depletions in the Interstellar Medium
A study of gas-phase element abundances reported in the literature for17 different elements sampled over 243 sight lines in the local part ofour Galaxy reveals that the depletions into solid form (dust grains) areextremely well characterized by trends that employ only three kinds ofparameters. One is an index that describes the overall level ofdepletion applicable to the gas in any particular sight line, and theother two represent linear coefficients that describe how to derive eachelement's depletion from this sight-line parameter. The information fromthis study reveals the relative proportions of different elements thatare incorporated into dust at different stages of grain growth. Anextremely simple scheme is proposed for deriving the dust contents andmetallicities of absorption-line systems that are seen in the spectra ofdistant quasars or the optical afterglows of gamma-ray bursts. Contraryto presently accepted thinking, the elements sulfur and krypton appearto show measurable changes in their depletions as the general levels ofdepletions of other elements increase, although more data are needed toascertain whether or not these findings are truly compelling. Nitrogenappears to show no such increase. The incorporation of oxygen into solidform in the densest gas regions far exceeds the amounts that can takethe form of silicates or metallic oxides; this conclusion is based ondifferential measurements of depletion and thus is unaffected byuncertainties in the solar abundance reference scale.Based in large part on published observations from (1) the NASA/ESAHubble Space Telescope obtained at the Space Telescope ScienceInstitute, which is operated by the Association of Universities forResearch in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555, (2) theFar Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) mission operated by JohnsHopkins University, supported by NASA contract NAS5-32985, and (3) TheCopernicus satellite, supported by NASA grant NAGW-77 to PrincetonUniversity.
| Ultraviolet Survey of CO and H2 in Diffuse Molecular Clouds: The Reflection of Two Photochemistry Regimes in Abundance Relationships
We carried out a comprehensive far-UV survey of 12CO andH2 column densities along diffuse molecular Galactic sightlines. This sample includes new measurements of CO from HST spectraalong 62 sight lines and new measurements of H2 from FUSEdata along 58 sight lines. In addition, high-resolution optical datawere obtained at the McDonald and European Southern Observatories,yielding new abundances for CH, CH+, and CN along 42 sightlines to aid in interpreting the CO results. These new sight lines wereselected according to detectable amounts of CO in their spectra andprovide information on both lower density (<=100 cm-3) andhigher density diffuse clouds. A plot of logN(CO) versuslogN(H2) shows that two power-law relationships are neededfor a good fit of the entire sample, with a break located atlogN(CO,cm-2)=14.1 and logN(H2)=20.4,corresponding to a change in production route for CO in higher densitygas. Similar logarithmic plots among all five diatomic molecules revealadditional examples of dual slopes in the cases of CO versus CH (breakat logN=14.1, 13.0), CH+ versus H2 (13.1, 20.3),and CH+ versus CO (13.2, 14.1). We employ both analytical andnumerical chemical schemes in order to derive details of the molecularenvironments. In the denser gas, where C2 and CN moleculesalso reside, reactions involving C+ and OH are the dominantfactor leading to CO formation via equilibrium chemistry. In thelow-density gas, where equilibrium chemistry studies have failed toreproduce the abundance of CH+, our numerical analysis showsthat nonequilibrium chemistry must be employed for correctly predictingthe abundances of both CH+ and CO.
| Interstellar Krypton Abundances: The Detection of Kiloparsec-scale Differences in Galactic Nucleosynthetic History
We present an analysis of Kr I λ1236 line measurements from 50sight lines in the Hubble Space Telescope Space Telescope ImagingSpectrograph and Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph data archives thathave sufficiently high resolution and signal-to-noise ratio to permitreliable krypton-to-hydrogen abundance ratio determinations. Thedistribution of Kr/H ratios in this sample is consistent with a singlevalue for the ISM within 5900 pc of the Sun, log10(Kr/H)=-9.02+/-0.02,apart from a rough annulus from between ~600 and 2500 pc distant. TheKr/H ratio toward stars within this annulus is elevated by approximately0.11 dex, similar to previously noted elevations of O/H and Cu/Hgas-phase abundances beyond ~800 pc. A significant drop in the gas-phaseN/O ratio in the same region suggests that this is an artifact ofnucleosynthetic history. Since the physical scale of the annulus' inneredge is comparable to the radius of the Gould Belt and the outer limitof heliocentric distances where the D/H abundance ratio is highlyvariable, these phenomena may be related to the Gould Belt's origins.Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope (HST) andthe NASA-CNES-CSA Far-Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE). HSTspectra were obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which isoperated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy,Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555 FUSE is operated for NASA by theJohn Hopkins University under NASA contract NAS-32985.
| Tomographic Separation of Composite Spectra. XI. The Physical Properties of the Massive Close Binary HD 100213 (TU Muscae)
We present the results of a Doppler tomographic reconstruction of the UVspectra of the double-lined, O binary HD 100213 based on observationsmade with the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE). We usedcross-correlation methods to obtain radial velocities, confirm theorbital elements, estimate the UV flux ratio, and determine projectedrotational velocities. The individual component spectra are classifiedas O7 V + O8 V using UV criteria defined by Penny, Gies, & Bagnuolo.We present a model fit of the eclipsing light curve from observationsfrom the Hipparcos satellite and published observations of Andersen& Gronbech. We derive an orbital inclination,i=77.7deg+/-1.0deg. This analysis indicates thatboth stars are currently experiencing Roche lobe overflow (RLOF), whichconfirms earlier results that this is one of only a few massive contactbinaries. Our derived masses, Mp/Msolar=16.7+/-0.4and Ms/Msolar=10.4+/-0.4, are significantly lowerthan those computed from the Doppler shifts of lines in the opticalspectrum. We suggest that the difference occurs because mutualirradiation decreases the upper atmospheric temperature gradient in theinward-facing hemispheres of both stars, which makes lower excitationlines appear weaker there and shifts their center of light away from thecenter of mass. We compare the current state of HD 100213 with predictedoutcomes of massive close binary evolutionary models, and suggest thatthe system is currently in a very slow case AA mass transfer stage.
| 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 catalogue of blue stragglers in open clusters
We present a catalogue of blue-straggler candidates in galactic openclusters. It is based on the inspection of the colour-magnitude diagramsof the clusters, and it updates and supersedesthe first version(Ahumada & Lapasset 1995). A new bibliographical search was made foreach cluster, and the resulting information is organised into twotables. Some methodological aspects have been revised, in particularthose concerning the delimitation of the area in the diagrams where thestragglers are selected.A total of 1887 blue-straggler candidates have been found in 427 openclusters of all ages, doubling the original number. The catalogued starsare classified into two categories mainly according to membershipinformation.The whole catalogue (Tables 8, 9, notes, and references) is onlyavailable in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/463/789
| Pulkovo compilation of radial velocities for 35495 stars in a common system.
Not Available
| 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.
| The origin of massive O-type field stars: II. Field O stars as runaways
In two papers we try to confirm that all Galactic high-mass stars areformed in a cluster environment, by excluding that O-type stars found inthe Galactic field actually formed there. In de Wit et al. (2004) wepresented deep K-band imaging of 5 arcmin fields centred on 43 massiveO-type field stars that revealed that the large majority of theseobjects are single objects. In this contribution we explore thepossibility that the field O stars are dynamically ejected from youngclusters, by investigating their peculiar space velocity distribution,their distance from the Galactic plane, and their spatial vicinity toknown young stellar clusters. We (re-)identify 22 field O-type stars ascandidate runaway OB-stars. The statistics show that 4 ± 2% ofall O-type stars with V<8m can be considered as formedoutside a cluster environment. Most are spectroscopically singleobjects, some are visual binaries. The derived percentage for O-typestars that form isolated in the field based on our statistical analysesis in agreement with what is expected from calculations adopting auniversal cluster richness distribution with power index of β= 1.7,assuming that the cluster richness distribution is continuous down tothe smallest clusters containing one single star.
| On the Hipparcos parallaxes of O stars
We compare the absolute visual magnitude of the majority of bright Ostars in the sky as predicted from their spectral type with the absolutemagnitude calculated from their apparent magnitude and the Hipparcosparallax. We find that many stars appear to be much fainter thanexpected, up to five magnitudes. We find no evidence for a correlationbetween magnitude differences and the stellar rotational velocity assuggested for OB stars by Lamers et al. (1997, A&A, 325, L25), whosesmall sample of stars is partly included in ours. Instead, by means of asimulation we show how these differences arise naturally from the largedistances at which O stars are located, and the level of precision ofthe parallax measurements achieved by Hipparcos. Straightforwardlyderiving a distance from the Hipparcos parallax yields reliable resultsfor one or two O stars only. We discuss several types of bias reportedin the literature in connection with parallax samples (Lutz-Kelker,Malmquist) and investigate how they affect the O star sample. Inaddition, we test three absolute magnitude calibrations from theliterature (Schmidt-Kaler et al. 1982, Landolt-Börnstein; Howarth& Prinja 1989, ApJS, 69, 527; Vacca et al. 1996, ApJ, 460, 914) andfind that they are consistent with the Hipparcos measurements. AlthoughO stars conform nicely to the simulation, we notice that some B stars inthe sample of \citeauthor{La97} have a magnitude difference larger thanexpected.
| SB9: The ninth catalogue of spectroscopic binary orbits
The Ninth Catalogue of Spectroscopic Binary Orbits(http://sb9.astro.ulb.ac.be) continues the series of compilations ofspectroscopic orbits carried out over the past 35 years by Batten andcollaborators. As of 2004 May 1st, the new Catalogue holds orbits for2386 systems. Some essential differences between this catalogue and itspredecessors are outlined and three straightforward applications arepresented: (1) completeness assessment: period distribution of SB1s andSB2s; (2) shortest periods across the H-R diagram; (3)period-eccentricity relation.
| WX Cen (≡ WR 48c) - a possible Type Ia supernova progenitor
We confirm the orbital period of WX Cen ≡ WR 48c determined byDiaz & Steiner and refined its value to Porb= 0.4169615(+/-22) d. The light curve of this object has a peak-to-peak variationof approximately 0.32 mag. It is non-sinusoidal in the sense that it hasa V-shaped narrow minimum, similar to the ones seen in V Sge, V617 Sgrand in compact binary supersoft sources (CBSS).Most of the emission lines in the optical spectrum are due to Balmer,HeII, CIV, NV, OV and OVI. An analysis of the HeII Pickering seriesdecrement shows that the system has significant amount of hydrogen. Theemission lines of HeII 4686 Å became weaker between the 1991 and2000/2002 observations, indicating distinct levels of activity. Thespectra of WX Cen show variable absorption features in the Balmer lineswith V=-2900 km s-1 and in emission with V=+/-3500 kms-1. These highly variable features remind us of thesatellite emission lines found in the spectra of CBSS.We estimate the colour excess as E(B-V) = 0.63 on the basis of theobserved diffuse interstellar band at 5780 Å. Given thedistance-colour excess relation in the direction of WX Cen, this impliesa distance of 2.8 +/- 0.3 kpc. Interstellar absorption of the NaI Dlines show components at -4.1 km s-1, which corresponds tothe velocity of the Coalsack, and three other components at -23.9, -32.0and -39.0 km s-1. These components are also seen with similarstrengths in field stars that have distances between 1.8 and 2.7 kpc.The intrinsic colour of WX Cen is (B-V)0=-0.2 and theabsolute magnitude is MV=-0.5.Extended red wings in the strong emission lines are seen. A possibleexplanation is that the system has a spill-over stream similar to whatis seen in V617 Sgr. We predict that when observed in opposite phase,blue wings would be observed. A puzzling feature that remains to beexplained is the highly variable red wing (V~ 700 km s-1) ofthe OVI emission lines as well as of the red wings of the H and Helines.The velocity of the satellite-like feature is consistent with the ideathat the central star is a white dwarf with a mass of M~ 0.9Msolar. With the high accretion rate under consideration, thestar may become a Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) in a time-scale of 5 ×106 yr.
| 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.
| A Compact Array imaging survey of southern bright-rimmed clouds
We have carried out a radio-wavelength imaging survey of 45bright-rimmed clouds (BRCs), using the Australia Telescope Compact Arrayto characterise the physical properties in their ionised boundarylayers. We detected radio emission from a total of 25 clouds and using acombination of Digitised Sky Survey and mid-infrared MSX 8 \mum imagesclassified the emission into that associated with the ionised cloudrims, that associated with embedded possible massive YSOs and thatunlikely to be associated with the clouds at all. A total of 18 cloudsdisplay radio emission clearly associated with the cloud rim and wedetermine the ionising photon flux illuminating these clouds and theelectron density and pressure of their ionised boundary layers. Using aglobal estimate for the interior molecular pressure of these clouds weshow that the majority are likely to be in pressure equilibrium andhence are currently being shocked by photoionisation-induced shocks. Weidentify those clouds where the predicted ionising photon flux isinconsistent with that derived from the observations and show thateither the spectral types of the stars illuminating the BRCs are earlierthan previously thought or that there must be additional ionisingsources within the HII regions. Finally, we identify the radio sourcesembedded within the clouds with infrared stellar clusters and show thatthey contain late O and early B-type stars, demonstrating that a numberof BRCs are intimately involved with high to intermediate-mass starformation.Full Figs. \ref{fig:images} and \ref{fig:sfo86dss} are only available inelectronic form at http://www.edpsciences.org
| Wolf-Rayet Stars, Black Holes, and Gamma-Ray Bursters in Close Binaries
We consider the evolutionary status of observed close binary systemscontaining black holes and Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars. When the componentmasses and the orbital period of a system are known, the reason for theformation of a WR star in an initial massive system of two main-sequencestars can be established. Such WR stars can form due to the action ofthe stellar wind from a massive OB star (M OB≥50M ȯ),conservative mass transfer between components with close initial masses,or the loss of the common envelope in a system with a large (up to25) initial component mass ratio. The strong impact ofobservational selection effects on the creation of samples of closebinaries with black holes and WR stars is demonstrated. We estimatetheoretical mass-loss rates for WR stars, which are essential for ourunderstanding the observed ratio of the numbers of carbon and nitrogenWR stars in the Galaxy . We also estimate the minimum initial masses ofthe components in close binaries producing black holes and WR stars tobe 25M ȯ. The spatial velocities of systems with black holesindicate that, during the formation of a black hole from a WR star, themass loss reaches at least several solar masses. The rate of formationof rapidly rotating Kerr black holes in close binaries in the Galaxy is3×10-6 yr-1. Their formation may be accompanied by a burst ofgamma radiation, possibly providing clues to the nature of gamma-raybursts. The initial distribution of the component mass ratios for closebinaries is dNdq=dM 2/M 1 in the interval 0.04≲q 0≤1,suggesting a single mechanism for their formation.
| 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.
| A critical comparison of spectroscopic and evolutionary masses for O-type binary systems
We have embarked on a program to directly compare spectroscopic andevolutionary masses with those obtained from a combination ofspectroscopic and photometric orbital solutions for O-type binarysystems. The ability to directly determine the spectroscopic masses ofthe individual components of O-type binary systems has been difficult,because of the severe line blending that is present in these systems. Doppler tomography is an iterative scheme, that uses an ensemble ofspectra to reconstruct the individual component spectra. Theseindividual spectra can then be analyzed.
| Masses and other parameters of massive binaries
Binary stars provide us with the means to measure stellar mass. Here Ipresent several lists of known O-type stars with reliable mass estimatesthat are members of eclipsing, double-lined spectroscopic binaries. Themasses of young, unevolved stars in binaries are suitable for testingthe predictions of evolutionary codes, and there is good agreementbetween the observed and predicted masses (based upon temperature andluminosity) if the lower temperature scale from line-blanketed modelatmospheres is adopted. A final table lists masses for systems in awide variety of advanced evolutionary stages.
| Ultra-high-resolution observations of CH in Southern Molecular Cloud envelopes
We present a mini-survey of ultrahigh-resolution spectroscopy (UHRS) ofCH towards three southern molecular cloud envelopes. The sightlines areselected to probe physically similar gas in different Galacticenvironments. With a velocity resolution of ~0.5kms-1(R=575000) these observations resolve most kinematic components of theabsorption lines. We do, however, detect one line component in the Lupusregion, which is not resolved and for which an upper limit ofb<0.3kms-1 is found. We find a correlation betweendistance of the absorbing gas from the Galactic mid-plane and thefractional abundance of CH. We show that this correlation can beexplained as being a result of a fall-off in the ultraviolet radiationfield intensity and propose that CH observations in carefully selectedsightlines might allow a mapping of the variations in the interstellarradiation field.
| Tomographic Separation of Composite Spectra. IX. The Massive Close Binary HD 115071
We present the first orbital elements for the massive close binary HD115071, a double-lined spectroscopic binary in a circular orbit with aperiod of 2.73135+/-0.00003 days. The orbital semiamplitudes indicate amass ratio of M2/M1=0.58+/-0.02, and yet the starshave similar luminosities. We used a Doppler tomography algorithm toreconstruct the individual component optical spectra, and we appliedwell-known criteria to arrive at classifications of O9.5 V and B0.2 IIIfor the primary and secondary, respectively. We present models of theHipparcos light curve of the ellipsoidal variations caused by the tidaldistortion of the secondary, and the best-fit model for a Roche-fillingsecondary occurs for an inclination of i=48.7d+/-2.1d. The resultingmasses are 11.6+/-1.1 and 6.7+/-0.7Msolar for the primary andsecondary, respectively, so both stars are very overluminous for theirmass. The system is one of only a few known semidetached, Algol-typebinaries that contain O stars. We suggest that the binary has recentlyemerged from extensive mass transfer (possibly through a delayed contactand common-envelope process).
| 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.
| Research Note The evolutionary status of the early-type binary HD 115071
An analysis of the Hipparcos photometry of HD 115071 shows that it is anellipsoidal variable with a period of 2.73126 days, twice that suggestedpreviously. Modelling the light curve combined with the available radialvelocities suggests that the more massive, hotter component is smallerand less luminous than the cooler component, which is probably fillingits Roche lobe. The likely age of the system indicates that it is a MS +MS blue straggler, created by Case A mass exchange.
| 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 74th Special Name-list of Variable Stars
We present the Name-list introducing GCVS names for 3153 variable starsdiscovered by the Hipparcos mission.
| 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.
| Wolf-Rayet stars and O-star runaways with HIPPARCOS. II. Photometry
Abundant {HIPPARCOS photometry over 3 years of 141 O and Wolf-Rayetstars, including 8 massive X-ray binaries, provides a magnificentvariety of light curves at the sigma ~ 1-5% level. Among the mostinteresting results, we mention: optical outbursts in HD 102567 (MXRB),coinciding with periastron passages; drastic changes in the light curveshape of HD 153919 (MXRB); previously unknown long-term variability ofHD 39680 (O6V:[n]pe var) and WR 46 (WN3p); unusual flaring of HDE 308399(O9V); ellipsoidal variations of HD 64315, HD 115071 and HD 160641;rotationally modulated variations in HD 66811=zeta Pup (O4Inf) and HD210839=lambda Cep (O6I(n)fp); dust formation episode in WR 121 (WC9). Ina statistical sense, the incidence of variability is slightly higheramong the WR stars, which might be explained by the higher percentage ofknown binary systems. Among the presumably single WR stars, thecandidate runaways appear to be more variable then the rest. Based ondata from the ESA Hipparcos astrometry satellite
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Centaurus |
| Right ascension: | 13h16m04.80s |
| Declination: | -62°35'01.5" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 7.977 |
| Distance: | 10000000 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | -4.1 |
| Proper motion Dec: | 0.2 |
| B-T magnitude: | 8.18 |
| V-T magnitude: | 7.994 |
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INHABITED SKY
