scholarly journals A Comparison of Luminosity Calibrations for MK Classifications of OB Stars

1979 ◽  
Vol 47 ◽  
pp. 81-86
Author(s):  
Janet Rountree Lesh

It has been apparent for some time that there is a need for a single luminosity calibration to be used with modern MK types for early-type stars, at least from 0 through middle B. The widely used calibration of Blaauw (1963) has to be replaced because the refinement of the MK system - as reflected in the large collections of spectral types by Lesh (1968), Hiltner, Garrison, and Schild (1969) and Walborn (1971) - has led to a lower mean luminosity for most main sequence subgroups of early-type stars, as the higher luminosity stars tend to move out of class V. Thus the calibrations of Lesh (1968) and Walborn (1972, 1973) are systematically fainter than Blaauw’s

1998 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 566-566
Author(s):  
C. Jaschek ◽  
A.E. Gómez

We have analysed the standards of the MK system in the B0-F5 spectral region with the help of Hipparcos parallaxes, using only stars for which the error on the absolute magnitude is ≤ 0.3 mag. The sample stars (about one hundred) were scrutinized for companions and for interstellar extinction. We find that the main sequence is a wide band and that, although in general giants and dwarfs have different absolute magnitudes, the separation between luminosity class V and III is not clear. We conclude that there is no strict relation between luminosity class and absolute magnitude. The relation is only a statistical one and has a large intrinsic dispersion. We have analysed similarly the system of standards defined by Garrison and Gray (1994) separating low and high rotational velocity standards. We find similar effects as in the original MK system.


1995 ◽  
Vol 155 ◽  
pp. 44-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paweł Moskalik

AbstractUntil very recently the physical mechanism driving oscillations in β Cep and other early type stars has been a mystery. The breakthrough came with the publication of new OPAL and OP opacity data. Model calculations with the new opacities have demonstrated that the pulsations are driven by the familiar K-mechanism, acting in the metal opacity bump at T ≈ 2 × 105K. The mechanism excites the low order p- and g-modes in the upper part of the instability strip and the high order g-modes in the lower part of the strip. The theoretical instability domains agree well with the observed domains of the β Cep and the SPB stars. In this review I present these recent theoretical results and discuss their consequences for our understanding of B stars pulsations.


2000 ◽  
Vol 175 ◽  
pp. 26-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franz-Josef Zickgraf

AbstractThe characteristics of the various types of B[e] stars are discussed and compared with those of classical Be stars. Both groups of stars are characterized by the presence of emission lines in their spectra, in particular of hydrogen. However, there are also significant differences between these classes. Classical Be stars lack hot circumstellar dust and strong forbidden low-excitation emission lines, which are typical characteristics produced by B[e]-type stars. While classical Be stars are a rather uniform group of early-type stars, B[e]-type stars form a quite heterogeneous group, very often of poorly known evolutionary status, comprising such diverse types of objects as near main-sequence objects, evolved lowmass proto-planetray nebulae and massive evolved hot supergiants. Even pre-main sequence Herbig Ae/Be stars sometimes find their way into the group of B[e] stars. However, despite these dissimilarities classical Be stars and B[e]-type stars, share a common property, namely the nonsphericity of their circumstellar envelopes.


1991 ◽  
Vol 143 ◽  
pp. 317-317
Author(s):  
R. K. Prinja ◽  
M. J. Barlow ◽  
I. D. Howarth

We argue that easily measured, reliable estimates of terminal velocities for early-type stars are provided (1) by the central velocity asymptotically approached by narrow absorption features in unsaturated UV P Cygni profiles, and (2) by the violet limit of zero residual intensity in saturated P Cygni profiles. We use these estimators and high resolution IUE data to determine terminal velocities, v∞, for 181 O stars, 70 early B supergiants, and 35 Wolf-Rayet stars. For OB stars our values are typically 15-20% smaller than the extreme violet edge velocities, vedge, while for WR stars v∞ = 0.76vedge on average. We give new mass-loss rates for WR stars which are thermal radio emitters, taking into account our new terminal velocities and recent revisions to estimates of distances and to the mean nuclear mass per electron. We examine the relationships between v∞, the surface escape velocities, and effective temperatures.


1970 ◽  
Vol 36 ◽  
pp. 209-212
Author(s):  
J. B. Hutchings

Following the detailed study of four very high luminosity OB stars, a survey has been made for spectroscopic evidence of mass loss in a number of early-type supergiants. A list of spectroscopic criteria is given and the mass loss estimates for 24 stars plotted on the HR diagram. The dependence of the phenomenon on spectral type and luminosity is discussed as well as its significance in terms of stellar evolution.


1973 ◽  
Vol 52 ◽  
pp. 263-267
Author(s):  
A. G. Davis Philip

Measures in the Strömgren four-color and Hβ systems provide an accurate way to determine color excesses of early-type stars. Fourteen areas at high galactic latitude have now been searched for faint A stars which are then measured photoelectrically to obtain the color excesses. Non-main sequence A stars, which are easily detected by means of the four-color photometry, are not included in the analysis. Within 40° of each pole, the reddening is essentially zero, Eb–y = 0.00 north of the galactic plane and Eb–y = 0.01 south of the plane.


1986 ◽  
Vol 116 ◽  
pp. 113-116
Author(s):  
Fiorella Castelli ◽  
Carlo Morossi ◽  
Roberto Stalio

The presence in the far-UV spectra of early-type stars of spectral lines of superionized atoms is argument of controversial debate among astronomers. Presently there is agreement on the non-radiative origin of these ions but not on the proposed mechanisms for their production nor on the proposed locations in the stellar atmosphere where they are abundant. Cassinelli et al. (1978) suggest that the Auger mechanism is operative in a cool wind blowing above a narrow corona to produce these ions; Lucy and White (1980) introduce radiative instabilities growing into hot blobs distributed across the stellar wind; Doazan and Thomas (1982) make these ions to be formed in both pre- and post-coronal, high temperature regions at low and high velocity respectively.


2000 ◽  
Vol 175 ◽  
pp. 344-347
Author(s):  
M. Pogodin

AbstractNew results of high-resolution spectroscopy of four pre-main sequence Ae/Be stars are presented. An analysis of parameters of lines originating in different regions of the circumstellar (CS) envelope (Hα, Hβ, He I 5876, DNal) allows to reconstruct a picture of the interaction between the star and the CS environment which can be displayed in different forms. At least two separate processes seem to impact the structural and kinematical properties of the envelope: the stellar wind from the stellar surface and the matter infall onto the star from the CS media. A possible relation between these two phenomena is discussed in the framework of different models. Some similarity between observational phenomena in Herbig Ae/Be and classical Be stars is noted in spite of their difference in evolutionary status.


2018 ◽  
Vol 620 ◽  
pp. A172 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Zari ◽  
H. Hashemi ◽  
A. G. A. Brown ◽  
K. Jardine ◽  
P. T. de Zeeuw

We study the three dimensional arrangement of young stars in the solar neighbourhood using the second release of the Gaia mission (Gaia DR2) and we provide a new, original view of the spatial configuration of the star-forming regions within 500 pc of the Sun. By smoothing the star distribution through a Gaussian filter, we construct three dimensional (3D) density maps for early-type stars (upper-main sequence, UMS) and pre-main sequence (PMS) sources. The PMS and the UMS samples are selected through a combination of photometric and astrometric criteria. A side product of the analysis is a 3D, G-band extinction map, which we use to correct our colour-magnitude diagram for extinction and reddening. Both density maps show three prominent structures, Scorpius-Centaurus, Orion, and Vela. The PMS map shows a plethora of lower-mass star-forming regions, such as Taurus, Perseus, Cepheus, Cassiopeia, and Lacerta, which are less visible in the UMS map due to the lack of large numbers of bright, early-type stars. We report the finding of a candidate new open cluster towards l, b ∼ 218.5° , − 2°, which could be related to the Orion star-forming complex. We estimate ages for the PMS sample and we study the distribution of PMS stars as a function of their age. We find that younger stars cluster in dense, compact clumps, and are surrounded by older sources, whose distribution is instead more diffuse. The youngest groups that we find are mainly located in Scorpius-Centaurus, Orion, Vela, and Taurus. Cepheus, Cassiopeia, and Lacerta are instead more evolved and less numerous. Finally, we find that the 3D density maps show no evidence for the existence of the ring-like structure which is usually referred to as the Gould Belt.


1981 ◽  
Vol 59 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Peter S. Conti

I have been asked to review the “observations” of winds in “early-type” stars. This normally means stars of spectral type OB and those of the Wolf-Rayet (WR) class. In this paper I will concentrate on the massive population I stars of these types, and primarily the O and WR classes on which most of the recent work has been done. The early B type supergiants share many of the wind properties of the O stars but the later supergiant types, Be stars, and main sequence stars may not. Stellar winds are a ubiquitous phenomenon among these early type stars (Snow and Morton 1976). We see evidence of their winds in the resonance line P Cygni profiles in the UV region, in the emission lines of Hα and λ4686 He II in the optical spectrum, and in the free-free emission from the ionized plasma as observed in the IR and radio regions of the spectrum.


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