Infrared spectral variations of three Mira variable carbon stars with the 11.3 μm SiC feature

The spectral variations of three Mira variable carbon stars, V CrB, T Dra and V Cyg in the infrared are investigated based on ISO SWS data. It is found that either continua or molecular/dust features were variable with time in the infrared for these carbon stars during one and a half year observations. When stars were brighter the infrared continuum spectra became blue while stars were fainter the infrared continuum spectra became red. In addition, during spectral variations there were the correlation between the 3.05 μm HCN+C₂H₂ and the 5.2 μm C₃ molecular band strengths and the anti-correlation between the 3.05 μm HCN+C₂H₂ molecular band strengths and 13.7 μm C₂H₂ band strengths while during variations the 11.3 μm SiC dust emission strengths were not clearly changed.     

Massive stellar populations in Wolf-Rayet galaxies

The analysis of the long-slit spectral observations of 40 Wolf-Rayet (WR) galaxies with heavy element mass fraction ranging over two orders of magnitudes from Z_⊙/50 to 2Z_⊙ are presented. We derive the number of O stars from the luminosity of the Hβ emission line, the number of early carbon Wolf-Rayet stars (WCE) from the luminosity of the red bump (broad CIV λ5808 emission) and the number of late nitrogen Wolf-Rayet stars (WNL) from the luminosity of the blue bump (broad emission near λ4650). We identified some of weak WR emission lines, most often the N III λ4512 and Si III λ4565 lines, which have very rarely or never been seen and discussed before in WR galaxies. A new technique for deriving the number of WNL stars (WN7–WN8) from the N III λ4512 and the number of WN9–WN11 from Si III λ4565 emission lines has been proposed. This technique is potentially more precise than the blue bump method because it does not suffer from contamination of WCE and early WN (WNE) stars and nebular gaseous emission. We find that the fraction of WR stars relative to all massive stars increases with increasing metallicity, in agreement with predictions of evolutionary synthesis models. The relative number ratios N(WC)/N(WN) and the equivalent widths of the blue and red bumps derived from observations are also in satisfactory agreement with theoretical predictions, except for the most metal-deficient WR galaxies. A possible source of disagreement is too low a line emission luminosity adopted for a single WCE star in low-metallicity models.     

On the effect of emission lines on UBVR photometry

We investigate the effect on the U, B, V, R_C and R_J magnitudes of the removal of emission lines from a spectrum. We determined Δm corrections from the ratio of fluxes with and without emission lines, transmitted from the object through a photometric filter. An exact and simplified approach for operative use was applied. The effect was demonstrated for classical symbiotic stars, symbiotic novae and the classical nova V1974 Cyg. It was found that about 20–30%, 30–40%, 10% and 26/20% of the observed flux in the U, B, V and R_C/R_J filters, respectively, are radiated in the emission lines of the investigated classical symbiotic stars. The largest effect was found for symbiotic novae (RR Tel and V1016 Cyg) and the classical nova V1974 Cyg at 210 days (an average of 74%, 79%, 56% and 66/60%), because of their very strong emission line spectrum. In all cases, the line corrected flux points fit the theoretical continuum well. The difference between Δm corrections obtained by the accurate calculation and that given by our approximate formula is less than 10%. Deviations up to 30% can exist only in the U passband. Examples for practical applications are suggested.     

Flare stars: Postflare behaviour of emission lines

The problem of the postflare behaviour of chromospheric emission lines in UV Cet-type flare stars is considered. It is shown that the postflare behaviours of different emission lines differ essentially from one another. In particular, the intensity of hydrogen and helium lines must be greatest at flare peak in continuum, while the intensities of 2800 Mg_II and H and K Ca_II lines reach their maximum magnitudes in the intermediate period between two flares. Theoretical postflare light curves are derived for the most important chromospheric lines: helium, hydrogen ionized magnesium and calcium (Figures 8, 9, 11, and 16). The definite regularities in sequence of these light curves are established (Figure 17). Methods of obtaining the mass concentration,n _*, in the chromospheres of flare stars based on the analysis of hydrogen and calcium light curves are elaborated. Values ofn _* obtained for a group of UV Cet-type flare stars are listed in Table VII. The conditions of the intensification of emission lines during the flare are examined, as is the possibility of the existence of an empirical relationship between chromospheric concentration,n _* and flare frequency,f _U .     

Johnson‐Cousins magnitudes of comparison stars in the fields of ten Seyfert galaxies

We present UBVR_CI_C magnitudes of 49 comparison stars in the fields of the Seyfert galaxies Mrk 335, Mrk 79, Mrk 279, Mrk 506, 3C 382, 3C 390.3, NGC 6814, Mrk 304, Ark 564, and NGC 7469 in order to facilitate the photometric monitoring of these objects; 36 of the stars have not been calibrated before. The comparison stars are situated in 5 × 5 arcmin fields centred on the Seyfert galaxies, their V band flux ranges from 11.7 to 18.2 mag with a median value of 16.3 mag, and their B – V colour index ranges from 0.4 to 1.6 mag with a median value of 0.8 mag. The median errors of the calibrated UBVR_CI_C magnitudes are 0.08, 0.04, 0.03, 0.04, and 0.06 mag, respectively. Comparison stars were calibrated for the first time in three of the fields (Mrk 506, 3C 382, and Mrk 304). The comparison sequences in the other fields were improved in various aspects. Extra stars were calibrated in four fields (Mrk 335, Mrk 79, NGC 6814, and NGC 7469) – most of these stars are fainter and are situated closer to the Seyfert galaxies compared to the existing comparison stars. The passband coverage of the sequences in five fields (Mrk 335, Mrk 79, Mrk 279, NGC 6814, and Ark 564) was complemented with the U band. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The winds of WC10 central stars of planetary nebulae

We present the results of an analysis of the winds of two WC10 central stars of planetary nebulae, CPD-56°8032 and He 2-113. These two stars have remarkably similar spectra, although the former exhibits somewhat broader emission line widths. High resolution spectra (up to R=50 000) were obtained in May 1993 for both objects at the 3.9 m AAT, using the UCL Echelle Spectrograph. The fluxes in individual Cii auto-ionising multiplet components, many of which were blended, were derived. Lines originating from auto-ionising resonance states situated in the C²⁺ continuum are very sensitive to the electron temperature, since the population of the these levels is close to LTE. The measured widths and profile shapes of these transitions are presented and are in excellent agreement with those predicted on the basis of their calculated auto-ionising lifetimes. The wind electron temperature is derived for both stars from the ratio of the fluxes in four such transitions (T _e =18 500 K±1 500 K for CPD-56° 8032 andT _e =13 600 K±800 K for He 2-113). Optical depth effects are investigated using normal recombination lines to obtain an independent wind electron temperature estimate in excellent agreement with the dielectronic line analysis.     

Kinematic control of the inertiality of the system of Tycho-2 and UCAC2 stellar proper motions

Based on the Ogorodnikov-Milne model, we analyze the proper motions of Tycho-2 and UCAC2 stars. We have established that the model component that describes the rotation of all stars under consideration around the Galactic y axis differs significantly from zero at various magnitudes. We interpret this rotation found using the most distant stars as a residual rotation of the ICRS/Tycho-2 system relative to the inertial reference frame. For the most distant (d≈900 pc) Tycho-2 and UCAC2 stars, the mean rotation around the Galactic y axis has been found to be M ₁₃ ^? =?0.37±0.04 mas yr^?1. The proper motions of UCAC2 stars with magnitudes in the range 12–15^m are shown to be distorted appreciably by the magnitude equation in μ_α cos δ, which has the strongest effect for northern-sky stars with a coefficient of ?0.60±0.05 mas yr^?1 mag^?1. We have detected no significant effect of the magnitude equation in the proper motions of UCAC2 stars brighter than ≈11^m.     

Photometric calibration of the LASCO-C2 coronagraph for Solar System objects

We present a photometric calibration of the SOHO/LASCO-C2 coronagraph appropriate to Solar System objects based on the extensive analysis of all stars down to magnitude V=8 which transited its field-of-view during the past nine years of operation (1996-2004). An automatic procedure was developed to analyze some 143,000 images, and to detect, locate and measure those stars. Aperture photometry was performed using three different aperture sizes and the zero points of the photometric transformations between the LASCO-C2 magnitudes for its three filters (orange, blue and red) and the standard V magnitudes were determined after introducing a correction for the color of the stars. The calibration coefficients for the surface photometry of extended sources were then derived from the zero points. An analysis of their temporal evolution indicates a slight decrease of the sensitivity of LASCO-C2 at a rate of ∼0.7% per year.     

Peculiarities of the UV continuum energy distribution for T Tauri stars

In the UV spectra of BP Tau, GW Ori, T Tau, and RY Tau obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope, we detected an inflection near 2000 Å in the F _λ ^c (λ) curve that describes the continuum energy distribution. The inflection probably stems from the fact that the UV continuum in these stars consists of two components: the emission from an optically thick gas with T<8000 K and the emission from a gas with a much higher temperature. The total luminosity of the hot component is much lower than that of the cool component, but the hot-gas radiation dominates at λ<1800 Å. Previously, other authors have drawn a similar conclusion for several young stars from low-resolution IUE spectra. However, we show that the short-wavelength continuum is determined from these spectra with large errors. We also show that, for three of the stars studied (BP Tau, GW Ori, and T Tau), the accretion-shock radiation cannot account for the observed dependence F _λ ^c (λ) in the ultraviolet. We argue that more than 90% of the emission continuum in BP Tau at λ>2000 Å originates not in the accretion shock but in the inner accretion disk. Previously, a similar conclusion was reached for six more classical T Tau stars. Therefore, we believe that the high-temperature continuum can be associated with the radiation from the disk chromosphere. However, it may well be that the stellar chromosphere is its source.     

Rosat and EUVE observations of B stars

Recent observations of the X-ray and EUV emission of non-supergiant B stars are summarized. As compared with O stars, the X-rays of most of the near-main-sequence B stars are soft, and the stars show a departure from theL _x = 10^?7 L _bol relation. Using line driven wind models to provide an estimate of the density distribution, it is concluded that a major fraction of the wind emission measure is hot, whereas in shocked wind theory less than 10 percent of the wind emission measure should be hot. The X-ray observations suggest that all of the B stars are X-ray emitters with a basal X-ray luminosity of about 10^?8.5 L _bol . A hard component dominates the X-ray emission of τ Sco, and possible causes are discussed. For the Be stars, the X-ray emission is that which is expected from a normal B-star wind coming from the poles, as in the Wind Compressed Disk (WCD) model of Be stars. None of the stars, including theβ Cep stars, show noticeable variability in their X-rays.EUVE observations of∈ CMa B2 II, find it to be the brightest object in the EUV sky at 500 to 700 Å. It shows a Lyman continuum flux that is a factor of 30 higher than line blanketed model atmospheres. The continuum is seen on both sides of the He I 504 Å edge, and the discrepancy with model atmospheres is even greater shortward of 504 Å. TheEUVE spectra show emission lines both from high stages of ionization ( Feix to Fexvi) and from low stages (Heii and Oiii). The Heii Lymanα results from recombination following X-ray photoionization in the wind, and the Oiii resonance line is found to be present because of the Bowen fluorescence mechanism. Thus, there is and interesting coupling between the wind production by the EUV photospheric emission, the production of X-ray and line EUV emission by winds, and the production of fluorescence by recombination in the wind; all of these processes are now observable in B stars.     

The Nobeyama Millimeter Array Survey for protoplanetary disks around protostar candidates and T Tauri stars in Taurus

The Nobeyama Millimeter Array Survey for protoplanetary disks has been made for 19 protostellar IRAS sources in Taurus; 13 of them were optically invisible protostars and 6 were young T Tauri stars. We observed 98-GHz continuum and CS(J = 2 – 1) line emissions simultaneously with spatial resolutions of 2 _. 8-8 _. 8 (360-1,200 AU). The continuum emission was detected from 5 out of 6 T Tauri stars and 2 out of 13 protostar candidates: the emission was not spatially resolved and was consistent with being originated from compact circumstellar disks. Extended CS emission was detected around 2 T Tauri stars and 11 protostar candidates. There is a remarkable tendency for the detectability of the 98-GHz continuum emission to be small for protostar candidates. This tendency is explained if the mass of protoplanetary disks around protostars is not as large as that around T Tauri stars; the disk mass may increase with the increase of central stellar mass by dynamical accretion in the course of evolution from protostars to T Tauri stars.Paper presented at the Conference onPlanetary Systems: Formation, Evolution, and Detection held 7–10 December, 1992 at CalTech, Pasadena, California, U.S.A.     

Solar-type stars in Cepheus OB 2: Hα emission stars and IRAS point sources

A survey for emission line stars was carried out in 1980 with the Schmidt telescope of Konkoly Observatory in the region of IC 1396 (Kun, 1986a, hereafter referred to as Paper I). This work was aimed at a preliminary mapping of the probable medium mass members of the association Cepheus OB 2. The stars of the region have been followed since then with the same telescope in order to obtain a more complete view on the stellar content of this giant star-forming region. The common variability of the H emission strength makes the sense of repeating such surveys. The new survey resulted in the discovery of 65 further emission stars. Equatorial coordinates and finding charts are given for them.PhotographicBVRI photometry was carried out for all known emission stars of the field. The colourmagnitude and two-colour diagrams derived from theB, V, R, andI magnitudes show that these stars are probably F-G-type (1.5M <M<3M ), partly pre-Main-Sequence members of Cep OB 2, whereas a few of them may be distant red giants.The youngest objects of the region can be found among the IRAS point sources. Their properties are discussed on the basis of IRAS data alone.     

polarimetric and photometric observations of split comet C/2001 A2 (LINEAR)

We present the results of polarimetric and photometricobservations of split Comet C/2001 A2 (LINEAR), which wereobtained at the 70-cm telescope of the Astronomical Observatoryof Kharkiv National University between 30 June and 31 July 2001.The brightest fragment of the comet, nucleus B, was observed.Eight narrowband cometary filters in the continuum and in emissionbands and a wideband red filter have been used. The comet wasobserved through apertures of 88, 33, and 19 arcsec. Polarizationphase curves were obtained for the continuum and for the firsttime, for NH₂(0, 7, 0) emission. The degree of polarization ofthe light scattered by the dust decreases with the increase ofaperture size. An important temporal variation of the polarizationwith a rotation of the polarization plane was observed at twophase angles (26.5° and 36.2°). Molecular column densities and production rates of CN, C₂,C₃, and NH₂ species are calculated in the framework of theHaser model. A comparative analysis of the temporal variations ofthe visual magnitudes, gas and dust production rates, dust colorand polarization are presented.     

Determining the orientation parameters of the ICRS/UCAC2 system using the Kharkov catalog of absolute stellar proper motions

The absolute proper motions of about 275 million stars from the Kharkov XPM catalog have been obtained by comparing their positions in the 2MASS and USNO-A2.0 catalogs with an epoch difference of about 45 yr for northern-hemisphere stars and about 17 yr for southern-hemisphere stars. The zero point of the system of absolute proper motions has been determined using 1.45 million galaxies. The equatorial components of the residual rotation vector of the ICRS/UCAC2 coordinate system relative to the system of extragalactic sources have been determined by comparing the XPM and UCAC2 stellar proper motions: ω _x,y,z = (−0.06, 0.17, −0.84) ± (0.15, 0.14, 0.14) mas yr⁻¹. These parameters have been calculated using about 1 million faintest UCAC2 stars with magnitudes R _UCAC2 > 16 ^m and J > 14 ^m . 7, for which the color and magnitude equation effects are negligible.     

Hydrocarbon molecules in carbon stars

It is shown that the 10–13 μ band observed in the spectra of some carbon stars could arise from simple hydrocarbon molecules, especially of the type C _n H _2n . These molecules could be present in circumstellar dust shells which are responsible for the 1000 K black-body excess observed for these stars, and the emission band is produced by collisional excitation.     

A survey of emission-line stars in the perseus dark cloud

The results of an objective prism survey of H_α emission-line stars in a 5° × 5° region around NGC 1333 are presented. We have identified 25 stars as having H_α -line in emission, of which 11 have been discovered in the Lick H_α-survey. The limiting magnitude of the present survey is about 16.7 mag. in blue. These are suspected to be mainly T Tauri stars. Based on the UGR(Kiso) multiexposure plates, we have found that, on the [(G - U), (R - G)]-diagram, the domain of H_α emission line stars is fairly well delineated and separate from other stars. Some interesting features in their space distribution are also discussed briefly.     

Photometry of the bright stars inside and outside associations in the spiral arm S5 of the andromeda galaxy

Photometry of more than 1000 bright stars of 20 associations and some fields in its vicinity is made, usingUBV plates taken with a 2-m Ritchey-Chrétien telescope of the National Observatory at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences with limited magnitudes of about 20.6 inU andV, 21.6 inB. The colour-magnitudes of about 20.6 inU andV, 21.6 inB. The colour-magnitude and colour-colour diagrams of 12 associations and 8 fields are constructed and the brightest blue and red stars colour excesses, ages, and integrated luminosities of the associations are determined. The composite diagrams for all association and nonassociation measured stars are constructed too. Inside associations bright stars as well as non-stellar objects occur more often than outside. The brightest stars in S5 are withM _v7 and do not differ considerably from the brightest ones in the spiral arm S4 of M31. Approximately the same are the absolute magnitudes of the brightest stars in our Galaxy and M33. A small difference between the brightest stars of the latter galaxy with those of M31 is possible because the stars in M33 are younger. This is in agreement with the concept that Sc galaxies (for example M33) are younger than Sb ones (for example M31). The same could be the reason for the smaller ratio of blue to red supergiants in M33 than in M31. The age estimations of the associations in S5 together with those in S4 in M31 show that they are older than the associations in M33 which is in agreement with the above mentioned concept.     

Sample of Wolf-Rayet galaxies from the SLOAN digital sky survey

We have analyzed the spectra of blue compact dwarf galaxies from the SLOAN Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 7 and created a sample of 271 galaxies with Wolf-Rayet (WR) spectral features produced by high-velocity stellar winds. A blue WR feature (bump) is a blend of the N V λλ 460.5 and 462.0 nm, N III λλ 463.4 and 464.0 nm, C III λ 465.0 nm, C IV λ 465.8 nm, and He II λ 468.6 nm emission lines. A red WR feature (bump) is the broad C IV λ 580.8 nm emission. The blue WR bump is mainly due to emissions of nitrogen WR (WN) stars, while the red bump is fully produced by emissions of carbon WR (WC) stars. All the sample spectra show the blue WR bumps, whereas the red WR bumps are only identified in 50% of sample spectra. We have derived the numbers of early-type WC stars (WCE) and late-type WN stars (WNL) in the galaxies using the luminosities of single WC and WN stars in the red and blue bumps, respectively. The number of O stars is estimated using the H_β luminosity. The ratio of the overall number of WR stars of different types to the number of all massive stars N(WR)/N(O + WR) decreases with decreasing metallicity, corresponding to the evolution population synthesis models.     

A near‐infrared/optical/X‐ray survey in the centre of σ Orionis

Because of the intense brightness of the OB‐type multiple star system σ Ori, the low‐mass stellar and substellar populations close to the centre of the very young σ Orionis cluster is poorly know. I present an IJHK_s survey in the cluster centre, able to detect from the massive early‐type stars down to cluster members below the deuterium burning mass limit. The near‐infrared and optical data have been complemented with X‐ray imaging. Ten objects have been found for the first time to display high‐energy emission. Previously known stars with clear spectroscopic youth indicators and/or X‐ray emission define a clear sequence in the I vs. I – K_s diagram. I have found six new candidate cluster members that follow this sequence. One of them, in the magnitude interval of the brown dwarfs in the cluster, displays X‐ray emission and a very red J – K_s colour, indicative of a disc. Other three low‐mass stars have excesses in the K_s band as well. The frequency of X‐ray emitters in the area is 80±20 %. The spatial density of stars is very high, of up to 1.6±0.1 arcmin^–2. There is no indication of lower abundance of substellar objects in the cluster centre. Finally, I also report two cluster stars with X‐ray emission located at only 8000–11000 AU to σ Ori AB, two sources with peculiar colours and an object with X‐ray emission and near‐infrared magnitudes similar to those of previously‐known substellar objects in the cluster. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

C2 imagery of the inner coma of comet IRAS-Araki-Alcock

We analyze observations of Comet IRAS-Araki-Alcock taken on 1983 May 10 to determine the spatial molecular abundance of C₂ in the inner coma via the Δν = +1 Swan band sequence near 4690 Å; total molecular abundance for C₂ is ～6 × 10²⁷ molecules across a projected linear diameter of ～9700 km centered on the nucleus. These observations show a deficiency of C₂ emission across a projected diameter of ～2000 km centered on the peak of continuum emission. Comet imagery reveals a sunward-pointing coma suggestive of an outburst of subsurface volatile ices through a nonvolatile surface crust as predicted for periodic comets. Moreover, such imagery suggests that Haser model scale lengths for C₂ and its parent molecule, as derived from our observations, do not fit the data very well. Our results are discussed in terms of the then-developing instrument and observational constraints which applied at the time.