Spectral observations using a BTA telescope of chemically peculiar stars in the spectral region near the Li I (6708 Å) resonance doublet

New spectral observations of chemically peculiar (CP) magnetic stars were obtained using an NES echelle spectrometer with a BTA telescope in the Special Astrophysical Observatory (Russian Academy of Sciences). Several stars were shown to have anomalous Li abundances. Testing and monitoring the stars with Doppler shifts Vsini > 10 km/s indicated that the lithium 6708 Å line was variable in the spectra of some roaAP-CP stars. To distinguish variable features in the spectra, the dispersogram technique was used. The most peculiar among the stars studied is HD 12098. The strong and variable lithium 6708 Å line was detected in the spectrum of this star. The star has been shown to have greatly different lithium abundances in two rotation phases corresponding to opposite surface areas. As mentioned earlier, a similar behavior of the Li blend was found in the spectra of HD 83368 and HD 60435 which have lithium spots on their surface. Spectral observations of slowly rotating CP stars with the Doppler shifts Vsini < 10 km/s revealed the strong and nonvariable lithium 6708 Å line in the spectra of these stars. Quantitative spectral analysis using the Li I 6708 Å resonance doublet and the Li I 6103 Å line shows the lithium abundance, as determined by the 6103 Å line, to be somewhat greater than that determined by the 6708 Å line. A higher ratio of ⁶Li/⁷Li amounting to ～0.3–0.5 was found in these stars. ⁶Li production is assumed to be due to spallation reactions on the surface of magnetic CP stars; this isotope ratio remained in strong magnetic fields.     

Lithium in chemically peculiar CP stars with magnetic fields

The problem of lithium in chemically peculiar Ap-CP stars has been the subject of debate for many years. The main reason for this is a lack of spectral observations of Ap stars in the neighborhood of the lithium resonance doublet Li I 6708 Å. An international cooperation project on “Lithium in cool CP stars with magnetic fields” was started in 1996. Systematic observations of CP stars in spectral regions of the 6708 Å and 6103 Å lines at the ZTSh (CrAO), CAT (ESO), Feros (ESO), and the 74″ telescope of the Mount Stromlo Observatory (Australia) have been used to analyze spectra of several CP stars studied by the way the 6708 Å lithium line varies with the stars’ rotational phase. Monitoring of the spectra of the oscillating CP stars (group I) HD 83368, HD 60435, and HD 3980, for which significant Doppler shifts of the Li I 6708 Å line are observed led to the discovery of “lithium spots” on the surface of these stars whose positions are related to the magnetic field structure. Models of the surfaces of these stars with the special program “ROTATE” based on the profiles of the Li I 6708 Å line are used to estimate the size of the spots, their positions on the stars’ surface, and the lithium abundances in these spots. A detailed analysis and modelling of the spectra of slowly rotating oscillating CP stars with strong, invariant lithium 6708 Å emission, including blending with lines of the rare earth elements, reveals an enhanced lithium abundance, with the abundance determined from the lithium 6103 Å line being higher than that determined from the 6708 Å line for all the stars. This may indicate vertical stratification of lithium in the atmospheres of CP stars with an anomalous isotopic composition (⁶Li/⁷Li = 0.2–0.5). HD 101065, an ultraslow rotator (vsini ≈ 1.5) visible from the poles and with powerful oscillations which cause pulsating line broadening in its spectrum, is unique among these stars. The amount of lithium in the atmosphere of HD 101065 logN(Li) = 3.1 on a scale of logN(H) = 12.0 and the isotope ratio ⁶Li/⁷Li ≈ 0.3. The high estimates of ⁶Li/⁷Li may be explained by the production of lithium in spallation reactions and the preservation of surface ⁶Li and ⁷Li by strong magnetic fields in the upper layers of the atmosphere near the magnetic poles. __________ Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 50, No. 3, pp. 463–492 (August 2007).     

HD 12098 and other results from Nainital-Cape Survey

Nainital-Cape Survey was started with an aim to search for new rapidly oscillating Ap stars in the northern hemisphere. We discovered one new mono-periodic roAp star HD 12098. The frequency separation of HD 12098 suggests a rotation period of 5.5 days for the star. We summarize here the observations of HD 12098 and briefly discuss the results of the multi-site observation campaign organized to resolve the ambiguity in the determination of the rotation period of HD 12098. Other interesting results like non-oscillating Ap stars discovered and two candidate stars in which roAp periodicity is seen but not confirmed are also discussed.     

Identification of absorption lines of rare-earth elements in the region of the spectrum λλ 610.25–610.57 nm roAp stars,HD 101065, HD 134214, HD 137949, and HD 24712

In the spectral region λλ = 610.25−610.57 nm of the roAp star HD 101065, we performed the identification of the rare-earth element absorption lines absent from the atomic spectral line databases VALD and DREAM. The identified lines were used for calculating the synthetic spectra of the roAp stars HD 137949, HD 134214, and HD 24712. The upper limit of the identified line estimates was determined. The rotation/pulsation parameter νsini and magnetic field modulus were determined using the lines Nd III 669.083 nm and Ca I 616.217 nm. The element abundance in the roAp stars HD 134214 and HD 24712 was determined for the first time using Nd III lines. Calculations were carried out with the help of the code SynthM developed by S.A. Khan.     

Abundance analysis and searching for nonradial pulsations in the atmosphere of the chemically peculiar star HD 115708

We present the results of our abundance analysis for the magnetic chemically peculiar star HD 115708 based on high-resolution spectra. The atmospheric chemical composition of HD 115708 (T _eff = 7550 K) is shown to be typical of cool Ap stars with a significant ionization disequilibrium for the first and second rare earth ions, which is commonly observed in the atmospheres of pulsating Ap (roAp) stars. Our study of the vertical distribution of elements has shown that Mg, Ca, Cr, and Fe concentrate in deeper atmospheric layers, with their abundances decreasing sharply in the upper layers. The jumps in abundance are 1.5–3 orders of magnitude. Silicon is distributed in depth almost uniformly in the atmosphere of HD 115708. The derived empirical Cr and Fe distributions agree qualitatively with the results of diffusion calculations. Since the atmospheric chemical peculiarities in HD 115708 correspond to roAp stars, we have performed a spectroscopic monitoring to find nonradial pulsations. We have been able to determine only an upper limit for the amplitude of the possible radial velocity pulsations, ～100 m s^?1, due to the insufficient temporal resolution and instability of the main stellar spectrograph (MSS) of the 6-m telescope.     

Analysis of the lithium lines in the atmosphere of the roAp star HD 24712

We use the synthetic spectrum technique to analyze two lithium lines in the spectrum of the roAp star HD 24712. The synthetic spectra are calculated in the ranges λλ 610.2–610.4 nm and 670.5–670.8 nm. We take into account the magnetic splitting of the lines and their blending by the lines of rare-earth elements. The effect of the magnetic field on absorption lines is estimated by the synthetic spectrum software SynthM developed by S.A. Khan. The upper limit for the lithium abundance turns out to be log N/N _tot = ?10.0.     

The Dushak-Erekdag survey of roAp stars

The search of roAp stars at Mt. Dushak-Erekdag Observatory was started in 1992 using the 0.8 m Odessa telescope equipped with a two-star high-speed photometer. We have observed more than a dozen stars so far and discovered HD 99563 as roAp star while BD+8087 is suspected to have rapid oscillations. Negative results of our observations for the search of rapid oscillations in four stars in NGC 752 are also discussed.     

Discovery of 30-min oscillations in the Ap Sr(EuCr) star HD 75425

The Ap Sr(CrEu) star HD 75425 is shown to be pulsating with a 30- min period. This is unusually short for a δ Scuti star and about double the period of any known roAp star. The star is shown to be constant at the level of 0.35 mmag in the normal frequency regime of roAp pulsation (900≤ν≤ 2500 μHz). The pulsations in HD 75425 are modulated in amplitude, but the frequencies causing this modulation cannot be identified with the data in hand. HD 75425 is a very close visual double with an insecure Ap classification which needs to be reexamined. If the Ap classification of HD 75425 is correct, and the pulsations can be linked to the peculiar star, then this δ Scuti-like variability is of considerable interest. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Lithium Abundance of Metal－poor Stars

High-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio spectra have been obtained for 32 metal-poor stars. The equivalent widths of Li A6708 A were measured and the lithium abundances were derived. The average lithium abundance of 21 stars on the lithium plateau is 2.33±0.02 dex. The Lithium plateau exhibits a marginal trend along metallicity, dA(Li)/d[Fe/H] ?0.12±0.06, and no clear trend with the effective temperature. The trend indicates that the abundance of lithium plateau may not be primordial and that a part of the lithium was produced in Galactic Chemical Evolution (GCE).     

Detection of lithium in the spectrum of the symbiotic Mira star V407 Cygni

We detected the resonance lithium doublet, ⁷LiI λ6708, in the spectra of the symbiotic Mira V407 Cyg (P≈763^d) obtained with a resolution R = λ/Δλ ≈ 18 500. The line equivalent width is ～0.34 Å. The presence of lithium in the atmosphere of the Mira, which, judging by its period, appreciably ascended the asymptotic giant branch (AGB), can be explained by the penetration of its convective envelope into the hot-bottom-burning (HBB) hydrogen-shell source. At the same time, the spectrum of V407 Cyg does not reveal the ZrO λ5551, 6474 absorption bands, which are used to classify S-type stars from low-resolution spectra. We found only weak ZrO λ5718, 6412 bands, which are, however, invisible in low-resolution spectra. Thus, the Mira star V407 Cyg should be classified as being of the spectral type M. In general, the spectrum of V407 Cyg is similar to the spectrum of the red giant in the symbiotic star CH Cyg, but the latter exhibits no lithium lines. The switch-on of the HBB process without any significant enrichment of the atmosphere of an AGB star with s-process elements implies that the third dredge-up is not efficient for some of these stars.     

Stars resembling the Sun

Summary. This review is primarily directed to the question whether photometric solar analogues remain such when subjected to detailed spectroscopic analyses and interpreted with the help of internal stucture models. In other words, whether the physical parameters: mass, chemical composition, age (determining effective temperature and luminosity), chromospheric activity, equatorial rotation, lithium abundance, velocity fields etc., we derive from the spectral analysis of a photometric solar analogue, are really close to those of the Sun. We start from 109 photometric solar analogues extracted from different authors. The stars selected had to satisfy three conditions: i) their colour index must be contained in the interval: –0.69, ii) they must possess a trigonometric parallax, iii) they must have undergone a high resolution detailed spectroscopic analysis. First, this review presents photometric and spectrophotometric researches on solar analogues and recalls the pionneering work on these stars by the late Johannes Hardorp. After a brief discussion on low and high resolution spectroscopic researches, a comparison is made between effective temperatures as obtained, directly, from detailed spectral analyses and those obtained, indirectly, from different photometric relations. An interesting point in this review is the discussion on the tantalilizing value of the of the Sun, and the presentation of a new reliable value of this index. A short restatement of the kinematic properties of the sample of solar analogues is also made. And, finally, the observational diagram, obtained with 99 of the initially presented 109 analogues, is compared to a theoretical diagram. This latter has been constructed with a grid of internal structure models for which, (very important for this investigation), the Sun was used as gauge. In analysing the position, with respect to the Sun, of each star we hoped to find a certain number of stars tightly neighbouring the Sun in mass, chemical composition and state of evolution. The surprising result is that the stars occupy in this HR Diagram a rather extended region around the Sun, many of them seem more evolved and older than the Sun, and only 4 of the evolved stars seem younger. The age of some stars in the sample is also discussed in terms of chromospheric activity and Li-content. Our conclusion is much the same as that contained in previous papers we have written on the subject: in spite of a much larger number of stars, we have not been able to nominate a single star of the sample for a “perfect good solar twin”. Another aim in beginning, 25 years ago, this search for solar analogues, was to have ready a bunch of stars resembling the Sun and analysed spectroscopically in detail, in order that, when planets hunters of solar type stars, finally would have found such a specimen, we would have been able to immediately compare the physical parameters of this star to those of the Sun. We have been lucky enough: one of the good solar analogues we present herewith, is 51 Pegasi (HD 217014) which, according to the very recent observations by Mayor and Queloz (1995), has a planet orbiting around it. And what is more: two other stars possessing planets: 47 Ursae Majoris (HD 95128) and 70 Virginis (HD 117176), have just been discovered by Marcy and Butler (187 Meeting of the AAS, January 1996). One of them, 47 Ursae Majoris, is also included in the list of photometric solar analogues. The other star, 70 Virginis, has only been included after the “Planets News”, because the colour index of this star is slightly higher than the prescribted limit of the selection, (, instead, 0.69). It would have been a pity to leave the third ” planet star out of the competition.     

The Evolution of the Angular Momentum Distribution during Star Formation

We have estimated the ages of eight late-type Vega-like stars by using standard age-dating methods for single late-type stars, e.g., location on the color-magnitude diagram, Li lambda6708 absorption, Ca ii H and K emission, X-ray luminosity, and stellar kinematic population. With the exception of the very unusual pre-main-sequence star system HD 98800, all the late-type Vega-like stars are the same age as the Hyades cluster (600-800 Myr) or older.     

Lithium in black hole binaries: the case of X-ray Nova Muscae 1991

We report the detection of the LiI λ6708 resonance line in the K4V secondary of the black-hole binary Nova Muscae 1991. The LiI feature changes with orbital phase, being stronger (EW ∼ 400 mÅ) around φ = 0.0 (observing the dark side of the secondary) and weaker (EW ≤ 190 mÅ) around φ = 0.5 (observing the side facing the compact object). This effect is interpreted as LiI ionization induced by UV/X-ray illumination of the inner hemisphere of the companion star. From the strength of the LiI feature observed around φ = 0.0 we infer a photospheric lithium abundance of logN(Li) ∼ 3. This value should be considered in fact as a lower limit to the true Li abundance because we have not fully corrected for the LiI overionization expected from UV/X-ray illumination.High lithium abundances are becoming a common feature in the secondaries of black hole binaries. After the Li detections in V404 Cyg, A0620-00 and GS2000 + 25, our observations of Nova Muscae not only add a new case to the list, but also demonstrate the impact of irradiation on the formation of the LiI line for the first time. The LiI features observed in the other black hole binaries are probably also affected by irradiation, although not as strongly as in Nova Muscae, and their Li abundances are higher than previously thought.The most attractive scenario for explaining the origin of the high Li abundances in black hole binaries appears to be nucleosynthesis during the explosive accretion events that characterize these objects. We argue that our LiI detection in the secondary of X-ray Nova Muscae 1991, and the transient γ-ray narrow emission feature at 476 keV observed during the 1991 outburst, are both signatures of Li production around the black hole. We propose that the γ-ray emission line was due to ⁷Be electron capture which yielded excited ⁷Li atoms. This reaction is able to account for the central energy, narrow width and time scale of the observed γ-ray emission feature. The presence of Li on the surface of the secondary shows that Li atoms created during the outburst can escape and enrich the interstellar medium.Shrinivas Kulkarni     

Time-series spectroscopy of the rapidly oscillating Ap star HR 3831

We present time-series spectroscopy of the rapidly oscillating Ap (roAp) star HR 3831. This star has a dominant pulsation period of 11.7 min and a rotation period of 2.85 d. We have analysed 1400 intermediate-resolution spectra of the wavelength region 6100–7100 Å obtained over one week, using techniques similar to those we applied to another roAp star, α  Cir.
We confirm that the H α velocity amplitude of HR 3831 is modulated with rotation phase. Such a modulation was predicted by the oblique pulsator model, and rules out the spotted pulsator model. However, further analysis of H α and other lines reveals rotational modulations that cannot easily be explained using the oblique pulsator model. In particular, the phase of the pulsation as measured by the width of the H α line varies with height in the line.
The variation of the H α bisector shows a very similar pattern to that observed in α Cir, which we have previously attributed to a radial node in the stellar atmosphere. However, the striking similarities between the two stars, despite the much shorter period of α Cir (6.8 min), argues against this interpretation unless the structure of the atmosphere is somewhat different between the two stars. Alternatively, the bisector variation is a signature of the degree ℓ of the mode and not the overtone value n .
High-resolution studies of the metal lines in roAp stars are needed to understand fully the form of the pulsation in the atmosphere.     

Metallicity and photospheric abundances in field K and M dwarfs

Elemental abundances in late-type stars are of interest in several ways: they determine the location of the stars in the HR diagram and therefore their ages, as well as the atmospheric structure in their middle and upper photospheres. Especially in the case of chromospherically active late-type stars the question arises to what degree the upper photosphere is influenced by the nearby chromosphere. Analysing S/N ∼ 200 and Δλ/λ ∼ 20 000 data, we found a mean metallicity index [M/H] = −0.2 for programme K and M field stars based on an analysis of spectra in the region 5500–9000 Å. We also found that the Ca  I 6162-Å transition is a potential surface gravity indicator for K-type stars. For the chromospheric activity interval 4.4 < log  F _{Mg II}  < 6.6 we did not find any chromospheric activity impact on photospheric and upper photospheric transitions. With the derived metallicity, we confirmed the Li abundance from our previous paper and thus its dependence on the Mg  II chromospheric activity index. The nature of the spectrum for the active M-type star Gl 896A is explained by pure rotation of 14 km s⁻¹. As far as the lithium–rotation relation is concerned, the spectrum of Gl 517 is rotationally broadened as well, by 12 km s⁻¹, and the Li abundance is the second highest in our sample of stars. However, there is no link between very high Li abundance, 2.2 dex, in the K dwarf star Gl 5 and stellar rotation.     

HD 101065, the most peculiar star: First results from precise radial velocity study

In this paper we discuss the prospects for asteroseismology with spatial resolution and motivate studies of the most chemically peculiar roAp star HD 101065. We present the first results from a high-precision radial velocity (RV) study of HD 101065 based on data spanning four nights that were acquired using the HARPS echelle-spectrometer at the ESO 3.6 m telescope. The analysis of individual nights showed the amplitude and phase modulation of the dominant mode. The analysis of the whole data set showed the presence of multi-periodic oscillations with two groups of equally-spaced modes. We find Δυ = 65.2μHz and δυ = 7.3μHz for the large and the small spacing, respectively. HD 101065 is the only roAp star to show the existence of two groups ofl = 0, 2 andl = 1, 3 excited modes.     

Some properties of the He-w star HD 35502

This is a preliminary study of the star HD 35502. Its magnetic field has been measured in different phases of its period. Preliminary values of the magnetic field parameters have been obtained based on a central quadrupole model. The effective magnetic field Be varies over 0-5000 G, the average surface magnetic field ranges over 6300-6700 G, the field at the poles is Bp=7000 G, and the angle between the quadrupole axis and the axis of rotation is β = 80o. As a first approximation, the surface helium is concentrated around the (negative) pole and for τ > 1 its abundance is reduced by approximately 2-4 dex, which confirms the hypothesis of helium diffusion under the action of gravitation and wind in a stable atmosphere. The chemical elements Si and Cr are concentrated in four spots on the magnetic equator between the magnetic poles, or in a ring coincident with the magnetic equator; precisely which is not clear at present.     

Observing Boron in Metal-Poor Stars

A new sample of 7 stars ranging in metallicity from [Fe/H] = −2.0 to [Fe/H] = −0.75 has been analyzed in the boron spectral region. The targets were selected according to the availability (in the literature) of their lithium and beryllium abundances, because the simultaneous knowledge of LiBeB in the same targets is a powerful diagnostic for testing depletion and internal mixing predicted by different stellar structure models. Two stars (HD 94028 and HD 194598), characterized by similar Li contents, are found to have also similar B abundances, despite a 0.3 dex difference in their Be abundances claimed by Thorburn and Hobbs (1996). Four stars out of 7 are characterized by strongly depleted Li and Be abundances: 2 of them (HD 2665 and HD 3795) are also significantly B-depleted, while two others (HD 106516 and HD 221377) have near normal B abundances despite being depleted by a factor ≥ 10 in both Li and Be abundances. These stars place strong constraints on the nature and depth of the mixing processes responsible for their light element abundances. The 7th star (HD 160617) shows the remarkable aspect of deficient B, probably deficient Be, and completely normal Li. No stellar destruction mechanism can explain this. Rather, chemical inhomogeneities in the halo could be the cause. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The rapidly oscillating Ap star HD 99563 and its distorted dipole pulsation mode

We undertook a time-series photometric multisite campaign for the rapidly oscillating Ap (roAp) star HD 99563 and also acquired mean light observations over four seasons. The pulsations of the star, which show flatter light maxima than minima, can be described with a frequency quintuplet centred on 1557.653 μHz and some first harmonics of it. The amplitude of the pulsation is modulated with the rotation period of the star that we determine with 2.91179 ± 0.00007 d from the analysis of the stellar pulsation spectrum and of the mean light data. We break up the distorted oscillation mode into its pure spherical harmonic components and find it is dominated by the ℓ= 1 pulsation, and also has a notable ℓ= 3 contribution, with weak ℓ= 0 and 2 components. The geometrical configuration of the star allows us to see both pulsation poles for about the same amount of time; HD 99563 is only the fourth roAp star for which both pulsation poles are seen and only the third where the distortion of the pulsation modes has been modelled. We point out that HD 99563 is very similar to the well-studied roAp star HR 3831. Finally, we note that the visual companion of HD 99563 is located in the δ Scuti instability strip and may thus show pulsation. We show that if the companion was physical, the roAp star would be a 2.03-M_⊙, object, seen at a rotational inclination of 44°, which then predicts a magnetic obliquity     .     

Spectroscopic binaries near the north Galactic pole paper 24: HD 106104, 109281, 109463 and 110743

The four stars treated in this paper have been under observation with photoelectric radial-velocity spectrometers for many years. They have proved to be binaries with periods of 30, 1828, 1514 and 822 days respectively; the orbits are of modest eccentricity apart from that of HD 110743 which is indistinguishable from a circle. The mass functions are small, and no companion has been observed for any of the stars. HD 110743, a K dwarf, is much the nearest of the four, and its orbit is of short enough period for the photocentric motion to have been recognized byHipparcos. An eleventh-magnitude star rather more than 1≈ away from HD 106104 is shown to be a genuine physical companion, with practically identical radial velocity, proper motion and distance modulus, although the projected separation is about 13,000 AU.