High-resolution Spectroscopic Observations (high-resolution + spectroscopic_observation)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Nearby stars of the Galactic disk and halo.

ASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 1 2004

Abstract High-resolution spectroscopic observations of about 150 nearby stars or star systems are presented and discussed. The study of these and another 100 objects of the previous papers of this series implies that the Galaxy became reality 13 or 14 Gyr ago with the implementation of a massive, rotationally-supported population of thick-disk stars. The very high star formation rate in that phase gave rise to a rapid metal enrichment and an expulsion of gas in supernovae-driven Galactic winds, but was followed by a star formation gap for no less than three billion years at the Sun's galactocentric distance. In a second phase, then, the thin disk , our "familiar Milky Way" , came on stage. Nowadays it traces the bright side of the Galaxy, but it is also embedded in a huge coffin of dead thick-disk stars that account for a large amount of baryonic dark matter. As opposed to this, cold-dark-matter-dominated cosmologies that suggest a more gradual hierarchical buildup through mergers of minor structures, though popular, are a poor description for the Milky Way Galaxy , and by inference many other spirals as well , if, as the sample implies, the fossil records of its long-lived stars do not stick to this paradigm. Apart from this general picture that emerges with reference to the entire sample stars, a good deal of the present work is however also concerned with detailed discussions of many individual objects. Among the most interesting we mention the blue straggler or merger candidates HD 165401 and HD 137763/HD 137778, the likely accretion of a giant planet or brown dwarf on 59 Vir in its recent history, and HD 63433 that proves to be a young solar analog at , , 200 Myr. Likewise, the secondary to HR 4867, formerly suspected non-single from the Hipparcos astrometry, is directly detectable in the highresolution spectroscopic tracings, whereas the visual binary , Cet is instead at least triple, and presumably even quadruple. With respect to the nearby young stars a complete account of the UrsaMajor Association is presented, and we provide as well plain evidence for another, the "Hercules-Lyra Association", the likely existence of which was only realized in recent years. On account of its rotation, chemistry, and age we do confirm that the Sun is very typical among its G-type neighbors; as to its kinematics, it appears however not unlikely that the Sun's known low peculiar space velocity could indeed be the cause for the weak paleontological record of mass extinctions and major impact events on our parent planet during the most recent Galactic plane passage of the solar system. Although the significance of this correlation certainly remains a matter of debate for years to come, we point in this context to the principal importance of the thick disk for a complete census with respect to the local surface and volume densities. Other important effects that can be ascribed to this dark stellar population comprise (i) the observed plateau in the shape of the luminosity function of the local FGK stars, (ii) a small though systematic effect on the basic solar motion, (iii) a reassessment of the term "asymmetrical drift velocity" for the remainder (i.e. the thin disk) of the stellar objects, (iv) its ability to account for the bulk of the recently discovered high-velocity blue white dwarfs, (v) its major contribution to the Sun's ,220 km s,1 rotational velocity around the Galactic center, and (vi) the significant flattening that it imposes on the Milky Way's rotation curve. Finally we note a high multiplicity fraction in the small but volume-complete local sample of stars of this ancient population. This in turn is highly suggestive for a star formation scenario wherein the few existing single stellar objects might only arise from either late mergers or the dynamical ejection of former triple or higher level star systems. (© 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]


Optical spectroscopy of GX 339,4 during the high,soft and low,hard states , II.

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 2 2001
Line ionization, emission region
We have carried out observations of the X-ray transient GX 339,4 during its high,soft and low,hard X-ray spectral states. Our high-resolution spectroscopic observation in 1999 April suggests that the H, line has a single-peaked profile in the low,hard state as speculated in our previous paper. The He ii,4686 line, however, has a double-peaked profile in both the high,soft and low,hard states. This suggests that the line-emission mechanism is different in the two states. Our interpretation is that double-peaked lines are emitted from a temperature-inversion layer on the accretion disc surface when it is irradiatively heated by soft X-rays. Single-peaked lines may be emitted from outflow/wind matter driven by hard X-ray heating. We have constructed a simple plane-parallel model and we use it to illustrate that a temperature-inversion layer can be formed at the disc surface under X-ray illumination. We also discuss the conditions required for the formation of temperature inversion and line emission. Based on the velocity separations measured for the double-peaked lines in the high,soft state, we propose that GX 339,4 is a low-inclination binary system. The orbital inclination is about 15° if the orbital period is 14.8 h. [source]


Rotational velocities of the giants in symbiotic stars , III.

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 1 2008
Evidence of fast rotation in S-type symbiotics
ABSTRACT We have measured the projected rotational velocities (v sin i) in a number of symbiotic stars and M giants using high-resolution spectroscopic observations. On the basis of our measurements and data from the literature, we compare the rotation of mass donors in symbiotics with v sin i of field giants and find that: (i) the K giants in S-type symbiotics rotate at v sin i > 4.5 km s,1, which is 2,4 times faster than the field K giants; (ii) the M giants in S-type symbiotics rotate on average 1.5 times faster than the field M giants. Statistical tests show that these differences are highly significant , p-value <10,3 in the spectral-type bins K2III-K5III, M0III-M6III and M2III-M5III and (iii) our new observations of D'-type symbiotics also confirm that they are fast rotators. As a result of the rapid rotation, the cool giants in symbiotics should have 3,30 times larger mass-loss rates. Our results suggest also that bipolar ejections in symbiotics seem to happen in objects where the mass donors rotate faster than the orbital period. All spectra used in our series of papers can be obtained upon request from the authors. [source]


Eclipsing binaries in open clusters , III.

MONTHLY NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, Issue 3 2004
Persei, V621 Per in
ABSTRACT V621 Persei is a detached eclipsing binary in the open cluster , Persei, which is composed of an early B-type giant star and a main-sequence secondary component. From high-resolution spectroscopic observations and radial velocities from the literature, we determine the orbital period to be 25.5 d and the primary velocity semi-amplitude to be K= 64.5 ± 0.4 km s,1. No trace of the secondary star has been found in the spectrum. We solve the discovery light curves of this totally eclipsing binary and find that the surface gravity of the secondary star is log gB= 4.244 ± 0.054. We compare the absolute masses and radii of the two stars in the mass,radius diagram, for different possible values of the primary surface gravity, with the predictions of stellar models. We find that log gA, 3.55, in agreement with values found from fitting Balmer lines with synthetic profiles. The expected masses of the two stars are 12 and 6 M, and the expected radii are 10 and 3 R,. The primary component is near the blue loop stage in its evolution. [source]


Orbital eccentricity of the symbiotic star MWC 560,

ASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 3 2010
R.K. Zamanov
Abstract We present projected rotational velocity measurements of the red giant in the symbiotic star MWC 560, using the high-resolution spectroscopic observations with the FEROS spectrograph. We find that the projected rotational velocity of the red giant is v sin i = 8.2 ± 1.5 km s,1, and estimate its rotational period tobe Prot = 144,306 days. Using the theoretical predictions of tidal interaction and pseudosynchronization, we estimate the orbital eccentricity e = 0.68,0.82. We briefly discuss the connection of our results with the photometric variability of the object (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]