Cepheid space distribution and the structure of the galaxy

On the basis of the PLC relation (1) or the PL relation by Van den Bergh (2) and the PC relation by Deanet al. (1978), the distances of 284 galactic cepheids with photoelectric observations have been derived. The space distribution of these cepheids with 111 additional ones without photoelectric observations, is studied. In spite of the strong influence of the absorption matter, which makes a great number of distant cepheids unknown (Figure 4), a conclusion is drawn that the cepheids do not trace spiral arms with only one possible exception: the Carina arm. The cepheidz-coordinate distribution confirms the finding of Fernie (1968) that the cepheid layer is inclined towards the formal galactic plane. On the basis of cepheid space density, a number of vast star complexes (Table I) are identified in which other young objects, together with cepheids fall. The existence of these complexes is explained by star formation in giant molecular clouds. The cepheid mean period increase towards the galactic centre is most probably connected with the existence of a ring between the Sun and the centre of the Galaxy, with the highest density of hydrogen and the highest rate of star formation.     

Amplitude ratios of several groups of variable stars

The observed positions of classical cepheids, RR Lyrae stars, Scuti stars and dwarf cepheids in the logg-logT _e plane form a continuous sequence, thereby defining the location of maximum instability. The amplitude ratio (the ratio of radial velocity amplitude to light amplitude) is small for variables at the upper end of the instability strip and increases almost linearly towards the lower end of the strip. The theory of radial pulsation predicts the trend of this correlation.     

Absolute and relative amplitudes of variations in radius of classical cepheids

On the basis of observational data for the absolute R and relative R/R amplitudes of variations in radius of galactic classical cepheids (55 stars from Balona and Stobie (1979) and 30 stars from Sollazzoet al. (1981)), four kinds of empirical linear relations are obtained: log(P V)–logR, logP–logR, log(P V)–log(R/R), and logP–log(R/R);P, R, and V are the pulsation periods, the mean stellar radii, and the amplitudes of light variations, respectively. Three groups of stars are considered: short-period cepheids (SPC)-with logP1.1; long-period cepheids (LPC)-with logP>1.1; and s-cepheids (sC). Both the R values and the R/R values increase withP andP V, for a given group of variables. A comparison is performed with our results obtained from data in other sources (Kurochkin, 1966; Gieren, 1982; etc.). The investigated relations can be applied for determining R and R/R of galactic classical cepheids, by using their observedP and V. All studied galactic classical cepheids have R/R<0.35, R<10R for SPC and 10R <R60R for LPC. The sC have smaller R and R/R values than other classical cepheids, at the same periods (the difference is about 2 times for R and 1.4–2.8 times for R/R); the studied sC have R/R in the range 0.025–0.075 and R in the range 1–3R (only Y Oph has R8R ).     

Classical cepheids with and without bumps in the light curves

By use of the photometric catalogue of Nikolov (1968), the presence or the absence of bumps in the light curves of 116 classical cepheids with periods approximately between 6 and 20 days is established and the ratio of the variables without bumps to all the stars in this range in period is determined. In the systems of evolutionary tracks of Iben (1967) and Paczyski (1970), the times for the first three crossings of the instability strip by model stars of different masses are calculated and the ratio of the time for the first crossing to the total time spent within the instability strip (taking into account the three crossings) is determined for different stellar masses and pulsation periods. The comparison of these observational and theoretical data does not support B. F. Madore's suggestion (in connection with the hypothesis of A. N. Cox and collaborators for inhomogeneous cepheid envelopes) that the classicial cepheids without bumps in this period range might cross for the first time the instability strip: the fraction of such variables is considerably larger than the theoretically expected fraction. The absence of bumps might be a consequence of a mixing due to, e.g., a differential rotation and/or the Rayleigh-Taylor instability, or a consequence of differences in luminosity, mass, effective temperature or chemical composition among cepheids of the same periods.     

Wesselink radii of 33 classical cepheids

The radii of 33 classical cepheids are determined. We have used the simultaneous radial velocity and photoelectric observation of 15 cepheids of Gieren (1981, 1982a). We have suggested that the best phase alignment between the light and the radial velocity curves in different epochs of 18 cepheids appears when the points of the phases at equal radius on the V, (B-V) diagram are transformed from a loop into a straight line. In such way we have determined the radii of 18 cepheids.     

On the pulsation amplitude of cepheid variables

On the basis of more abundant data a relation logPV/logR for cepheid variables (Fernie, 1965) is constructed. A linear relation between logP V and logR for classical cepheids is found, which perhaps has a break at R=10R . On the logR/logP diagram thes-cepheids (Efremov, 1968) show a distinct sequence. Alls-cepheids present a relative variation of the radii R/R0.075. The existence of non-s-cepheids with R/R0.075 raises a point about the evolutionary place of these stars (see Efremov, 1968). One could suppose that cepheids with logP>1.1 pulsate in the first overtone.     

Population I pulsating stars

Luminosities of Population I pulsating stars (Delta Scuti variables and classical cepheids) are investigated. From data for 80 Delta Scuti stars, semi-empirical period-luminosity-colour (P-L-C) relations and period-luminosity (P-L) relations are obtained for the four lowest modes of radial pulsations. The improvement of the accuracy of the stellar luminosity is determined when a P-L-C relation is used instead of the corresponding P-L relation. From data for 155 classical cepheids, empirical P-L relations are derived for short-period stars (logP1.1), long-period stars (logP>1.1), and s-cepheids. The comparison of the P-L relations for the two types of variable stars shows good agreement, but between them there is a gap with a dim nature.     

Period-luminosities relation of classical Cepheids

A new PL-relation (10) — Figure 2 for the Cepheids in the Galaxy, the Magellanic Clouds and M31 has been constructed. On deriving this relation both the period-radius (3) and period-colour relations (7), (8) and (9) are essentially used. The PC-relation (7) determined after the colours of 88 galactic cepheids (Table I), which are obtained from the colour-spectrum relation (6) — Figure 1, common for Cepheids and non-variable supergiants, are used also for the M31 Cepheids, whereas (8) and (9) are for the Large and Small MC Cepheids, respectively, all three PC-relations having a common slope. The comparison of the relations (8) and (9) with (7) shows that the LMC and SMC Cepheids are bluer than the galactic ones with 0^m.04 and 0^m.19, respectively, probably because of their metal-poor abundance. The places of thes-Cepheids in Figure 2 show that these Cepheids possess a dissimilar PL-relation with a different slope. The reason for such a difference is that thes-Cepheids are first harmonic pulsators. The distance moduli of the three galaxies under discussion are obtained from the PL-relation (10). The colour-coefficient of period-colour-luminosity-relation is briefly discussed. The general conclusion based on a comparison of the PL-relation in the present paper with those by other authors (Table V) is that our PL-relation differs in the zero-point by less than 0^m.2; therefore, the manner of constructing the PL-relation by means of PR and PC-relations is reasonable and useful.     

A new 75-day cepheid in M31

The light curve of the variable with a period of 75^d and amplitude of the lightA _B0 ^m .5 were obtained. It was assumed that the variable was a cepheid. Having in mind the absence of cepheids withP>50^d in M31 it is possible that the new variable is a cepheid-like variable similar to V810 Cen.     

An analytic solution for propagation of blast waves in stellar interiors

B, V observations of the eclipsing binary RS CVn have been presented. A dip around 0 ^p . I appears to be a wave minimum which fits well in the Wave minimum phase-time relation, but deviates from the Wave aplitude-time relation, derived for the RS CVn. Either, the Wave amplitude-time relation requires a modification or the amplitude of the wave minmum appears masked by the intrinsic variability of one of the components or by the Sun-spot activity of the system. The colour exhibits variation. The secondary component appears active.     

VR c photometry of dwarf cepheids (I)

In this paper, we present VRc photometric observations of four dwarf cepheids: YZ Boo (P = 0 _. ^d 104, V = 0 _. ^m 5), AD CMi (P = 0 _. ^d 123, V = 0 _. ^m 5), XX Cyg (P = 0 _. ^d 135, V = 0 _. ^m 5), EH Lib (P = 0 _. ^d 088, V = 0 _. ^m 7). The light curves were obtained at West Mountain Observatory, Provo, Utah on 14 nights from 1983 through 1986 and contain 589 data points in each of theV andR bands in the Cousin photometric system. A detailed study of these stars, based on the present light curves, will be published separately.     

Generation of ULF waves in the polar cusp region by velocity shear-driven kinetic Alfvén modes

The velocity shear of ion beams observed in the polar cusp region can drive the kinetic Alfvén modes unstable. A hot ion beam can excite both a resonant kinetic Alfvén wave instability and a nonresonant coupled Alfvén ion-acoustic wave instability. For the case of a cold ion beam only the latter instability is excited. For the altitude range of 5–7R _e , velocity shearS0.04–1.0 is needed to excite the kinetic Alfvén wave instabilities. HereS=(dV _B / _cB dx), whereV _b is the streaming velocity,and _cB is the gyrofrequency of the bean ions. The excited modes have frequencies, in the satellite frame of reference, in the ULF frequency range. The noise generated by the velocity shear-driven Alfvén modes is electromagnetic in nature. These modes have a substantial component of parallel electric fields and, therefore, they can play an important role in the ionosphere-magnetosphere coupling process occurring in the polar cusp region.     

Erratum: the 2.27 day period of WR-134 (HD 191765)

The original temporal analysis of a 12 night spectral timeseries of WR-134 has been found to be flawed and a re-analysis shows that the line profile variations are indeed periodic. When combined with a 4 night timeseries taken 45 days earlier, a period near 2.27 d is found in periodograms of the Heii 5412 line centroid,rms line width, and line skew variations. When the emission line residuals are ordered as a function of phase, a sinuous feature appears to snake about the line center with an amplitude of ± 500 km s^–1. This is 20 larger than the line centroid amplitude; the calculation of which is heavily weighted by static portions of the line profile. In addition to the snake, emission residuals appear that move away from line center on unbound trajectories and are thought to result from the interaction of a periodic driver with the unstable flow of the radiation driven wind. The nature of the periodic driver is a topic for discussion.     

Magnetic fields and flares in the region CMP 20 September 1963

The position of bright knots of 30 flares at their very beginning relative to the high-resolution isogauss maps of the longitudinal component (H ) and maps of the transverse component (H ) of magnetic field are considered for seven days during the passage of the active and large spot group in Sept. 1963 (see Table I and maps on Figures 1–8).The flare bright knots occur simultaneously in regions of opposite magnetic polarity, and the majority of these knots are adjacent to neutral line H = 0, although not coinciding precisely with this line (Figure 9). Lenticular form of flare knots and the motions of bright material of flares is restrained by transversal field H . Also flares are closely associated (83%) with so-called bifurcated regions, where specific crossing of transverse components takes place (Figures 4–5). There is well-expressed (80%) coincidence of flare knots with the strongest (positive or negative) electric currents as determined from the relation j = c/4 rot H. The relation of results obtained to some existing theories of flares is briefly discussed.U.S. Nat. Acad. of Science - U.S.S.R. Acad. Nauk. Exchange Scientist Program; now at CSIRO Division of Physics, Australia.     

Supermassive oblique rotator: Electrodynamics,evolution, observational tests

A detailed theory of high-entropy supermassive oblique rotator is developed on the basis of the results of our previous work on the structure and evolution of supermassive rotating magnetic polytropes. Particular attention is paid to the problem of transformation of rotational energy into observable radiation. It is shown that a rather long duration of the quasi-stationary phase in combination with a considerably high value of magnetic dipole radiationL _md in comparison with that of thermal radiationL _th imposes substantial limitations on the character of the model. This combination is realized in the model of an oblique rotator with a rigid rotation and a poloidal magnetic field. Moreover, the magnetic energy must be comparable, in order of magnitude, with the module of the gravitational energy.The magnitude of the torque acting on the rotator by means of the magnetic field is influenced neither by the external plasma thrown out by the low-frequency radiation pressure, nor by the plasma ejected electrostatically, nor by that flowing out due to rotational instability. For definiteness we assume below that the rotational energy is lost by the rotator in the form of a low-frequency magnetic dipole radiation though many of the conclusions drawn in this paper are also valid for the case when the energy is liberated in some other forms (for example, in magnetohydrodynamic waves).Plasma outflow under rotational instability is considered in detail. This is a pulsating outflow. Near the light cylinder the plasma spreads out and begins to interact intensively with the magnetic dipole radiation. As a result, the particles are accelerated up to relativistic energies. Accelerated electrons radiate by synchrotron mechanism with the radiation maximum in the far infra-red region (Figure 4). Compton scattering of this radiation is in the X-ray and gamma regions. The character of the non-thermal radiation calculated accounts for the essential features of the observable radiation from quasars and active galactic nuclei.A secular variation of the magnetic dipole radiation in the course of evolution of a supermassive oblique rotator (Figure 1) with the account taken of the influence of magnetic dipole losses on the value of the angle between magnetic and rotational axes is discussed in the vacuum approximation substantiated in Section 3. For a wide interval of initial values of this angle the non-thermal (synchrotron and Compton) radiation increases in the course of a quasi-static contraction of the rotator, reaches its maximum at whichL _nthL _th, and then decreases considerably due to rapprochement of the magnetic and rotational axes. Such a behaviour ofL _nth corresponds to the expected secular change of the activity of galactic and quasar nuclei as a certain flaring up, reaching the maximum of their activity and subsequent dying out.Some essential properties of quasars and quasar-like phenomena in galactic and quasar nuclei are explained on the basis of the theory presented. As an illustration, the parameters of a supermassive rotator modelling the source of activity in quasar 3C 273 are calculated (Table I). The estimate of the frequency of occurrence of rotators withL _nth>L _th andL _nthL _th is in a reasonable correspondence with the statistics of active phenomena in the nuclei of galaxies of different morphological types.Observational tests for this theory are suggested. The most important one called upon to ascertain the presence in the nuclei of galaxies and quasars of a supermassive body as a source of their activity is the variability of infra-red radiation near its spectral maximum.Similarity and difference between a supermassive oblique rotator and a pulsar, the model of a quasar nucleus as a cluster of pulsars, an axysymmetric rotator and a low-entropy configuration (disk) as stages of the evolution of an oblique rotator as well as the problems of its genesis and fate are discussed at the end of the paper (Section 9). The main results of the paper are listed in Section 10.     

The brightest blue and red stars in M31

We obtain an approximate analytic solution of a set of nonlinear model -dynamo equations. The reaction of the Lorentz force on the velocity shear which stretches and, hence, amplifies the magnetic field, is incorporated into the model. To single out the effect of the Lorentz force on the -effect, the effect of the Lorentz force on the -effect is neglected in this study. The solution represents a nonlinear oscillation with the amplitude and period determined by the dynamo numberN. The amplitude is proportional toN–1, while the period is almost exactly the same as the dissipation time of the unstable mode [proportional toN; note the linear oscillation period is proportional toN/(N–1) which is quite different for the solar situation whereN1].     

Large-amplitude low-frequency electromagnetic waves in pulsar magnetospheres

Nonlinear propagation of strong low-frequency waves, as emitted by pulsars or compact galactic nuclei at their rotation frequencies, in a magnetized plasma is investigated. It is shown that even rather small amplitude waves can drive electrons to ultrarelativistic energies. In the limit when the electrons are ultrarelativistic but the ions are immobile, two types of circularly polarized waves (i.e., ^± modes) are excited. In the wave zone of the Crab pulsar, both the electric field ( 3 V m^–1) and the wavelength (10⁸ m) of the ^- mode are larger, by an order of magnitude, than those of the ⁺ wave mode. Both ^± modes can become modulationally unstable due to their nonlinear interaction with density fluctuations induced by the electrostatic waves.     

Nebulosities around QSOs

In this paper independent evidence in favour of the hypothesis proposed by Thakur and Sapre (1979) that a QSO consists of a bright central object embedded in an extended nebulosity has been presented. _U–B and _B–V , the spectral indices in (U-B) and (B-V) colours, have been calculated for a sample of 80 QSOs with redshiftz0.76. In Figure 1 = ( _B–V – _U–V ) has been plotted against = ( _B–V + _U–B )/2. In this figure the QSOs in which detectability of neubulosities has been predicted by Thakur and Sapre (1979) occupy a separate but adjacent part of the diagram as compared to those for which such a prediction has not been made. In Figure 2 (U-B)₀ has been plotted against (B-V)₀ for the same sample of 80 QSOs, where (U-B)₀ and (B-V)₀ are the (U-B) and (B-V) colours corrected for galactic extinction. In this plot also, a similar separation of the two classes of objects is discernible. Another empirical criterion—namely, (B-V)₀0.32 for the detectability of nebulosities around QSOs—has been suggested.     

Evidence for leading spiral arm formation in NGC 7479

Azimuthal profiles of the spiral NGC 7479 in theB andI passbands have been analyzed using a subset of the azimuthal parameters proposed by Beckman and Cepa (1989), to look for the presence of shock fronts in the arms, as predicted by the density wave theory. The sign of the skewness parameter, showing that beyond the corotation radius the concave side of the southern arm shows steeper profiles in both colours, is an indicator that the arm studied is a leading structure. We also measure a colour gradient in the arm, with theB intensity peak of the profile nearer to the shock front than theI peak. The measured angular shift, when converted to time drift assuming that the bar ends near the corotation radius, is consistent with the drift expected for an ageing stellar population.     

Search for relativistic companions in ‘non-X-ray’ binary systems

Consideration is given to a search for relativistic objects in massive close binary systems without strong X-ray emission (L _x <10³⁴ erg s^–1). It is pointed out that, according to the present-day theory on the evolution of massive close binaries, the number of neutron stars and black holes in non-X-ray binary systems must be 100 times the number of the known X-ray binaries comprising OB supergiant stars; that is why, in studying non-X-ray binary systems, the chances are to detect about a hundred of black holes in the Galaxy.Criteria are formulated for the relativistic nature of companions in the binary systems, such as high spatial velocity values and height Z over the galactic plane for OB stars (runaway stars) and for Wolf-Rayet stars. As reported by Tutukov and Yungelson (1973), as well as by van den Heuvel (1976), the presence of ring-type nebulae can serve as another indication of a relativistic nature of companions in the case of Wolf-Rayet stars.Data are collected on Wolf-Rayet stars with low-mass companions (Table I), which can be relativistic objects accreting within a strong stellar wind from Wolf-Rayet stars. Presented are new findings in respect of spectral examination of the runaway OB-stars (Table II), bringing together data on eight OB stars which can represent binary systems with relativistic companions (Table III).A list of 28 OB-stars (Table IV) which offer a good chance for finding relativistic companions is given.