scholarly journals Low-frequency photospheric and wind variability in the early-B supergiant HD 2905

2018 ◽  
Vol 612 ◽  
pp. A40 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Simón-Díaz ◽  
C. Aerts ◽  
M. A. Urbaneja ◽  
I. Camacho ◽  
V. Antoci ◽  
...  

Context. Despite important advances in space asteroseismology during the last decade, the early phases of evolution of stars with masses above ~15 M⊙ (including the O stars and their evolved descendants, the B supergiants) have been only vaguely explored up to now. This is due to the lack of adequate observations for a proper characterization of the complex spectroscopic and photometric variability occurring in these stars. Aim. Our goal is to detect, analyze, and interpret variability in the early-B-type supergiant HD 2905 (κ Cas, B1 Ia) using long-term, ground-based, high-resolution spectroscopy. Methods. We gather a total of 1141 high-resolution spectra covering some 2900 days with three different high-performance spectrographs attached to 1–2.6m telescopes at the Canary Islands observatories. We complement these observations with the hipparcos light curve, which includes 160 data points obtained during a time span of ~1200 days. We investigate spectroscopic variability of up to 12 diagnostic lines by using the zero and first moments of the line profiles. We perform a frequency analysis of both the spectroscopic and photometric dataset using Scargle periodograms. We obtain single snapshot and time-dependent information about the stellar parameters and abundances by means of the FASTWIND stellar atmosphere code. Results. HD 2905 is a spectroscopic variable with peak-to-peak amplitudes in the zero and first moments of the photospheric lines of up to 15% and 30 km s−1, respectively. The amplitude of the line-profile variability is correlated with the line formation depth in the photosphere and wind. All investigated lines present complex temporal behavior indicative of multi-periodic variability with timescales of a few days to several weeks. No short-period (hourly) variations are detected. The Scargle periodograms of the hipparcos light curve and the first moment of purely photospheric lines reveal a low-frequency amplitude excess and a clear dominant frequency at ~0.37 d−1. In the spectroscopy, several additional frequencies are present in the range 0.1–0.4 d−1. These may be associated with heat-driven gravity modes, convectively driven gravity waves, or sub-surface convective motions. Additional frequencies are detected below 0.1 d−1. In the particular case of Hα, these are produced by rotational modulation of a non-spherically symmetric stellar wind. Conclusions. Combined long-term uninterrupted space photometry with high-precision spectroscopy is the best strategy to unravel the complex low-frequency photospheric and wind variability of B supergiants. Three-dimensional (3D) simulations of waves and of convective motions in the sub-surface layers can shed light on a unique interpretation of the variability.

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Martial Amou ◽  
Amatus Gyilbag ◽  
Tsedale Demelash ◽  
Yinlong Xu

As global temperatures continue to rise unabated, episodes of heat-related catastrophes across the world have intensified. In Kenya, heatwave phenomena and their associated impacts are ignored and neglected due to several reasons, including unreliable and inconsistent weather datasets and heatwave detection metrics. Based on CHIRTS satellite infrared estimates and station blended temperature, this study investigated the spatiotemporal distribution of the heatwave events over Kenya during 1987–2016 using the Heatwave Magnitude Index daily (HWMId). The results showed that contrary to the absence of heatwave records in official national and international disaster database about Kenya, the country experienced heatwaves ranging from less severe (normal) to deadly (super-extreme) between 1987 and 2016. The most affected areas were located in the eastern parts of the country, especially in Garissa and Tana River, and in the west-northern side around the upper side of Turkana county. It was also found that the recent years’ heatwaves were more severe in magnitude, duration, and spatial extent. The highest magnitude of the heatwaves was recorded in 2015 (HWMId = 22.64) while the average over the reference period is around 6. CHIRTS and HWMId were able to reveal and capture most critical heatwave events over the study period. Therefore, they could be used respectively as data source and detection metrics, for heatwaves disaster emergency warning over short period as well as for long-term projection to provide insight for adaptation strategies.


1995 ◽  
Vol 155 ◽  
pp. 409-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen R. Pollard ◽  
P. L. Cottrell

The RV Tauri stars are semiregular pulsating variables located in the brightest part of the Cepheid II instability strip. They have a characteristic light curve of alternating deep and shallow minima. A subset of the RV Tauri stars (the RVb subclass) exhibit long-term (500 to 2600 day) light and radial velocity variations. Although it is well established that the short-term variations are due to pulsations, the long-term behaviour is not well understood.BVRI photometry and high-resolution spectra of U Mon (the brightest member of the RVb subclass) were obtained at the Mt John University Observatory (MJUO) between 1990 Aug and 1994 May. The light and colour curves obtained clearly show the long-term variation in U Mon (Fig. 1(a) and (b)). The reddest colours occur slightly later than the long-term minimum in the light curve. The short-term light and colour variations are ‘damped’ at the long-term minimum.


2019 ◽  
Vol 625 ◽  
pp. L13 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Zieba ◽  
K. Zwintz ◽  
M. A. Kenworthy ◽  
G. M. Kennedy

Aims. We search for signs of falling evaporating bodies (FEBs, also known as exocomets) in photometric time series obtained for β Pictoris after fitting and removing its δ Scuti-type pulsation frequencies. Methods. Using photometric data obtained by the TESS satellite we determined the pulsational properties of the exoplanet host star β Pictoris through frequency analysis. We then pre-whitened the 54 identified δ Scuti p-modes and investigated the residual photometric time series for the presence of FEBs. Results. We identify three distinct dipping events in the light curve of β Pictoris over a 105-day period. These dips have depths from 0.5 to 2 millimagnitudes and durations of up to 2 days for the largest dip. These dips are asymmetric in nature and are consistent with a model of an evaporating comet with an extended tail crossing the disc of the star Conclusions. We present the first broadband detections of exocomets crossing the disc of β Pictoris, complementing the predictions made 20 years earlier by Lecavelier Des Etangs et al. (1999, A&A, 343, 916). No periodic transits are seen in this time series. These observations confirm the spectroscopic detection of exocomets in calcium H and K lines that have been seen in high resolution spectroscopy.


1980 ◽  
Vol 88 ◽  
pp. 383-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas S. Hall ◽  
Jerzy M. Kreiner ◽  
Steven N. Shore

We have collected all available times of minimum, over 1650, for 23 regular, 7 short-period, and 4 long-period eclipsing RS CVn binaries using the card catalogues at the Sternberg Astronomical Institute and the Krakow Astronomical Observatory, as well as unpublished data. We examined them critically, discarded those grossly in error, and assigned weights. For AD Cap, RV Lib, and ε UMi there are virtually no data. For the remaining 31 we determined quadratic ephemerides by weighted least squares. Values of d1nP/dt are given in the Table with their errors. Roughly 2/3 are variable at greater than the 2 σ level. Significant decreases outnumber significant increases by almost 2:1. We show that light curve asymmetry produced by the distortion wave probably accounts for the relatively small, rapid fluctuations in the O-C curve but not the long-term period changes.


1980 ◽  
Vol 88 ◽  
pp. 269-270
Author(s):  
S. Kříž

RX Cas appers to be a long-period Algol-like binary with very fast mass exchange (Struve 1944). In the period 1975-1977, this star was observed photometrically by Arsenijevič, Grygar, Harmanec, Horn, Koubský, Kříž and Pavlovski at Hvar Observatory (Yugoslavia) and by Zverko at Skalnaté Pleso Observatory (Czechoslovakia). The resulting UBV light curves seem to be rather peculiar, for the following reasons:1) Combining our observations with the older ones, we obtain the following formula for the times of minima: The period increase is surprisingly high.2) The scatter of observed points is considerable (about 0.2 mag.) and cannot be caused by observational errors. It corresponds to short period light variations on the time scale of several days.3) After J.D. 24422660, the brightness of the whole system decreased in all colours. This decrease is about 0.2 mag. in V colour and 0.5 mag. in U colour. Only after J.D. 2442900 the brightness increased again. Such a behaviour confirms the reality of old observations by Gaposchkin (1944) and Martynov (1950) who found a long-term light variation with a period of approximately 500 days.4) The part of the light curve around the phase 0.75 is definitely much lower than the corresponding part around the phase 0.25. This effect is most pronounced in the ultraviolet; the depression around the phase 0.75 is much deeper than the secondary minimum. This behaviour is opposite to the behaviour of dwarf novae. Instead of a bright shoulder connected with a bright spot, we observe some darkening.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 1473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quang-Thuan Tran ◽  
Sylvie Pierre ◽  
Jacques de Sanoit ◽  
Michal Pomorski ◽  
Philippe Bergonzo

In this work, we investigate a novel approach to prepare high-performance alpha-particle solid sources fabricated on diamond thin support layers, offering the properties of diamond such as a low-Z material with corrosion and mechanical hardness. As-prepared solid sources onto boron-doped-diamond (BDD) substrate exhibited high performance of the autoradiography and spectroscopic resolution at the level of other more conventional materials such as stainless steel. A straightforward precipitation process in the Na2SO4 or NaNO3 simple electrolytes under mild experimental conditions with a low current of several mA.cm−2 were successfully developed onto BDD substrates for deposition of single 241Am as well as 239Pu, 241Am, and 244Cm mixed radionuclides. The results demonstrate that solid sources deposited onto such BDD substrates can match the performance of those prepared onto stainless steel substrates with excellent uniformity and high-resolution spectroscopy, together combining the robustness, chemical resilience, and X-ray transparence of the diamond. Alpha-particle spectra exhibiting a low full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 12.5 keV at the energy of 5.485 MeV (241Am) could be practically obtained for BDD substrates.


2019 ◽  
Vol 631 ◽  
pp. A168
Author(s):  
Bin Yang ◽  
Emmanuël Jehin ◽  
Francisco J. Pozuelos ◽  
Youssef Moulane ◽  
Yoshiharu Shinnaka ◽  
...  

Context. Main belt comets (MBCs) are a peculiar class of volatile-containing objects with comet-like morphology and asteroid-like orbits. However, MBCs are challenging targets to study remotely due to their small sizes and the relatively large distance they are from the Sun and the Earth. Recently, a number of weakly active short-period comets have been identified that might originate in the asteroid main belt. Among all of the known candidates, comet 66P/du Toit has been suggested to have one of the highest probabilities of coming from the main belt. Aims. The main goal of this study is to investigate the physical properties of 66P via spectroscopic and imaging observations to constrain its formation conditions. In particular, the isotopic abundance ratio and the ortho-to-para ratio (OPR) of gaseous species can be derived via high-resolution spectroscopy, which is sensitive to the formation temperature of the nucleus. Methods. We obtained medium and high-resolution spectra of 66P from 300–2500 nm with the X-shooter and the UVES instruments at the Very Large Telescope in July 2018. We also obtained a series of narrow-band images of 66P to monitor the gas and dust activity between May and July 2018 with TRAPPIST-South. In addition, we applied a dust model to characterize the dust coma of 66P and performed dynamical simulations to study the orbital evolution of 66P. Results. We derive the OPR of ammonia (NH3) in 66P to be 1.08 ± 0.06, which corresponds to a nuclear spin temperature of ~34 K. We compute the production rates of OH, NH, CN, C3, and C2 radicals and measure the dust proxy, Afρ. The dust analysis reveals that the coma can be best-fit with an anisotropic model and the peak dust production rate is about 55 kg s−1 at the perihelion distance of 1.29 au. Dynamical simulations show that 66P is moderately asteroidal with the capture time, tcap ~ 104 yr. Conclusions. Our observations demonstrate that the measured physical properties of 66P are consistent with typical short-period comets and differ significantly from other MBCs. Therefore, 66P is unlikely to have a main belt origin.


Author(s):  
Masanao Shinohara ◽  
Tomoaki Yamada ◽  
Hajime Shiobara ◽  
Yusuke Yamashita

Abstract Studies of very-low-frequency earthquakes and low-frequency tremors (slow earthquakes) in the shallow region of plate boundaries need seafloor broadband seismic observations. Because it is expected that seafloor spatially high-density monitoring requires numerous broadband sensors for slow earthquakes near trenches, we have developed a long-term compact broadband ocean-bottom seismometer (CBBOBS) by upgrading the long-term short-period ocean-bottom seismometer that has seismic sensors with a natural frequency of 1 Hz and is being mainly used for observation of microearthquakes. Because many long-term ocean-bottom seismometers with short-period sensors are available, we can increase the number of broadband seafloor sensors at a low cost. A short-period seismometer is exchanged for a compact broadband seismometer with a period of 20 or 120 s. Because the ocean-bottom seismometers are installed by free fall, we have no attitude control during an installation. Therefore, we have developed a new leveling system for compact broadband seismic sensors. This new leveling system keeps the same dimensions as the conventional leveling system for 1 Hz seismometers so that the broadband seismic sensor can be installed conveniently. Tolerance for leveling is less than 1°. A tilt of up to 20° is allowed for the leveling operation. A microprocessor controls the leveling procedure. Some of the newly developed ocean-bottom seismometers were deployed in the western Nankai trough, where slow earthquakes frequently occur. The data from the ocean-bottom seismometers on the seafloor were evaluated, and we confirmed that the long-term CBBOBS is suitable for observation of slow earthquakes. The developed ocean-bottom seismometer is also available for submarine volcanic observation and broadband seafloor observation to estimate deep seismic structures.


2003 ◽  
Vol 212 ◽  
pp. 243-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Szeifert ◽  
Andreas Kaufer ◽  
Paul A. Crowther ◽  
Otmar Stahl ◽  
Chris Sterken

Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs or S Dor Variables) are showing characteristic variability of very long timescales of a decade and more. During their expansion and contraction phases, they move across a wide part of the H-R diagram with dramatic changes of their stellar wind characteristics, radius and temperature. We present results of our long-term spectroscopic monitoring campaigns for the galactic star HR Car with optical spectra taken over 13 years and two minimum and maximum phases observed during this time.


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