Optical spectrum of the infrared source IRAS 23304+6147

Based on CCD spectra obtained with the PFES echelle spectrometer of the 6-m telescope, we have determined for the first time the effective temperature T _eff=5900 K, surface gravity logg=0.0, and detailed chemical composition of the faint star identified with the infrared source IRAS 23304+6147 by the model-atmosphere method. Its metallicity indicates that the object belongs to the old Galactic disk (the mean abundance of the iron-group elements V, Cr, and Fe for IRAS 23304+6147 is [X/H]=?0.61 dex). The stellar atmosphere exhibits an enhancement of carbon and nitrogen, [C/Fe]=+0.98, [N/Fe]=+1.36, and C/O>1. Significant overabundances of lanthanides were detected: the mean [X/Fe]=+1.04 for La, Ce, Pr, Nd, and Eu. The elemental abundances suggest that the atmospheric chemical composition of IRAS 23304+6147 was modified mainly by nucleosynthesis followed by mixing. By modeling the object's spectrum, we revealed absorption features at the positions of well-known absorption diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs). An analysis of radial-velocity and intensity measurements for these DIBs leads us to conclude that, for IRAS 23304+6147, the DIBs originate mostly in its circumstellar dust envelope expanding at a velocity of about 20 km s^?1. Molecular C₂ Swan emission bands were detected in the object's spectrum, which also originate in the circumstellar envelope. There is a close match between the object's atmospheric effective temperatures determined independently by the model-atmosphere method and by modeling its optical and infrared energy distribution, within the accuracy of the methods.     

Spectroscopy of the W Virginis star V1 (K 307 ) in the globular cluster M12

High-resolution CCD spectra have been obtained for the first time for the W Virginis star V1 (K 307) in the globular cluster M12 and its closest neighbor K 307b (m _pg=14^m; the angular distance from the W Vir star is δ<1 arcsec). We determined the fundamental parameters (T _eff=5600 K, logg=1.3, and T _eff=4200 K, logg=1.0 for the W Vir star and the neighboring star, respectively) and their detailed chemical composition. The derived metallicities of the two stars ([Fe/H]=?1.27 and ?1.22 relative to the solar value) are in good agreement with the metallicities of other cluster members. Changed CNO abundances were found in the atmosphere of the W Vir star: a small carbon overabundance, [C/Fe]=+0.30 dex, and a large nitrogen overabundance, [N/Fe]=+1.15 dex, with oxygen being underabundant, [O/Fe]≈?0.2 dex. The C/O ratio is ≥1. Na and the α-process elements Mg, Al, Si, Ca, and Ti are variously enhanced with respect to iron. We found an enhanced abundance of s-process metals relative to iron: [X/Fe]=+0.34 for Y, Zr, and Ba. The overabundance of the heavier metals La, Ce, and Nd with respect to iron is larger: [X/Fe]=+0.49. The largest overabundance was found for the r-process element europium, [Eu/Fe]=+0.82. The spectrum of the W Vir star exhibits the Hα and Hβ absorption-emission profiles and the He I λ5876 Å emission line, which are traditionally interpreted as a result of shock passage in the atmosphere. However, the radial velocities determined from absorption and emission features are in conflict with the formation pattern of a strong shock. The high luminosity log L/L _⊙ = 2.98, the chemica peculiarities, and the spectral peculiarity are consistent with the post-AGB evolution in the instability strip. The pattern of relative elemental abundances [X/Fe]in the atmosphere of the neighboring star K 307b is solar. Statistically significant differences were found only for sodium and α-process elements: the mean overabundance of light metals is [X/Fe]=+0.35.     

HD 331319: A post-AGB F supergiant with He I lines

Based on CCD spectra taken with an echelle spectrometer attached to the 6-m telescope, we have determined for the first time the fundamental parameters and detailed chemical composition of HD 331319, an optical counterpart of the infrared source IRAS 19475+3119, by the model-atmosphere method. Helium lines were detected in the spectrum of this luminous (Mυm object with the effective temperature T _eff=7200 K. This detection can be interpreted as a significant helium overabundance in the observed atmospheric layers and may be considered as a manifestation of helium synthesis during the preceding evolution. Nitrogen and oxygen were found to be overabundant, [N/Fe]_⊙=+1.30 dex and [O/Fe]_⊙=+0.64 dex, with the carbon overabundance being modest. The metallicity of the stellar atmosphere, [Fe/H]_⊙=+0.25, differs only slightly from its solar value. The s-process metals are not overabundant but most likely underabundant relative to iron: [X/Fe]_⊙=?0.68 for Y and Zr. Barium is also underabundant relative to iron: [Ba/Fe]_⊙=?0.47. The heavier elements La, Ce, Nd, and Eu are slightly enhanced relative to iron: the mean [X/Fe]_⊙=?0.16 for them. In general, the elemental abundances confirm that IRAS 19475+3119 is a post-AGB object. The metallicity in combination with the radial velocity V_r=?3.4 km s^?1 and Galactic latitude $\left| b \right| = 2_.^ \circ 7$ of the object suggest that it belongs to the Galactic disk population. The envelope expansion velocity, V _exp≈21 km s^?1, was determined from the positions of the absorption bands that originate in the circumstellar envelope. A comparison of our results for the comparison star HD 161796=IRAS 17436+5003, a typical post-AGB object, with previously published data revealed an evolutionary increase in the effective temperature of HD 161796 at a mean rate of ≥50° per year.     

Abundance Ratios in Metal-Rich Halo and Thick-Disk Stars

Recent determinations of precise abundance ratios for nearby halo and thick disk stars in the metallicity range −1.3 < [Fe/H] < −0.5 have revealed a significant cosmic spread in the abundances of oxygen, magnesium, sodium, nickel, s-process and r-process elements relative to iron. Possible explanations of these variations are reviewed. In particular, it is discussed if the differences in abundance ratios are correlated with the kinematics of the stars, and hence can be used to identify stellar populations in the Galaxy. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Abundances of metal-weak thick-disc candidates

High-resolution spectra of five candidate metal-weak thick-disc stars suggested by Beers & Sommer-Larsen are analysed to determine their chemical abundances. The low abundance of all the objects has been confirmed, with metallicity reaching [Fe/H]=−2.9. However, for three objects the astrometric data from the Hipparcos catalogue suggest they are true halo members. The remaining two, for which proper-motion data are not available, may have disc-like kinematics. It is therefore clear that it is useful to address properties of putative metal-weak thick-disc stars only if they possess full kinematic data. For CS 22894−19 an abundance pattern similar to those of typical halo stars is found, suggesting that chemical composition is not a useful discriminant between thick-disc and halo stars. CS 29529−12 is found to be C-enhanced with [C/Fe]=+1.0; other chemical peculiarities involve the s-process elements: [Sr/Fe]=−0.65 and [Ba/Fe]=+0.62, leading to a high [Ba/Sr], considerably larger than that found in more metal-rich carbon-rich stars, but similar to those in LP 706-7 and LP 625-44, discussed by Norris et al. Hipparcos data have been used to calculate the space velocities of 25 candidate metal-weak thick-disc stars, thus allowing us to identify three bona fide members, which support the existence of a metal-poor tail of the thick disc, at variance with a claim to the contrary by Ryan & Lambert.     

The first detection of cobalt in a damped Lyman alpha system

The study of elemental abundances in damped Lyman alpha systems (DLAs) at high redshift represents one of our best opportunities to probe galaxy formation and chemical evolution at early times. By coupling measurements made in high- z DLAs with our knowledge of abundances determined locally and with nucleosynthetic models, we can start to piece together the star formation histories of these galaxies. Here, we discuss the clues to galactic chemical evolution that may be gleaned from studying the abundance of Co in DLAs. We present high resolution echelle spectra of two quasi-stellar objects (QSOs), Q2206−199 and Q1223+17, both already known to exhibit intervening damped systems. These observations have resulted in the first ever detection of Co at high redshift, associated with the z _abs=1.92 DLA in the sightline towards Q2206−199. We find that the abundance of Co is approximately 1/4 solar and that there is a clear overabundance relative to iron, [Co/Fe]=+0.31±0.05 . From the abundance of Zn, we determine that this is a relatively metal-rich DLA, with a metallicity of approximately 1/3 Z_⊙ . Therefore, this first detection of Co is similar to the marked overabundance relative to Fe seen in Galactic bulge and thick-disc stars.     

A chemically decoupled nucleus and inner polar ring of the SBb galaxy NGC 4548

Our inzvestigation of the central region in NGC 4548, a bright Sb galaxy with a large-scale bar, using the Multipupil Field Spectrograph of the 6-m telescope revealed a chemically decoupled compact stellar nucleus with [Fe/H]=+0.6 and [Mg/Fe]=+0.1...+0.2 and with a mean stellar-population age of 5 Gyr. This nucleus, a probable circumnuclear disk coplanar with the global galactic disk, is embedded in the bulge whose stars are generally also young, T≈4 Gyr, although they are a factor of 2.5 more metal-poor. The bulge of NGC 4548 is triaxial and has a de Vaucouleurs surface-brightness profile; the unusual characteristics of its stellar population suggest the bulge formation or completion in the course of secular evolution in the triaxial potential of the global bar. The ionized gas within 3″ of the NGC 4548 nucleus rotates in a plane inclined to the principal symmetry plane of the galaxy, possibly, even in its polar plane, which may also result from the action of the large-scale bar.     

Chemical composition of the atmospheres of red giants with high space velocities

The results of a comparative analysis of the elemental abundances in the atmospheres of 14 red giants with high Galactic space velocities are presented. For almost all of the chemical elements considered, the their abundance trends with metallicity correspond to those constructed for thick-disk dwarfs. In the case of sodium, the main factor affecting the [Na/Fe] abundance in the stellar atmosphere for red giants is the surface gravity that characterizes the degree of development of the convective envelope. The difference between the [Na/Fe] abundances in the atmospheres of thin- and thick-disk red giants has been confirmed.     

Spectral analysis of red clump giants and their use as standard candles in the wavebands I and K

Using high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio observational data, we determined the stellar atmospheric parameters of 19 metal-poor red clump giants and their chemical abundances of the four α elements (i.e., O, Mg, Ca, Si). We discuss the variations, with the iron abundance, of the atmospheric parameters and of the α elements abundances. We examined the absolute stellar magnitudes of 58 red clump giants in the I and K wavebands as well as their relations with the iron abundance, and found that for the analysed range of iron abundance, the correlation with the iron abundance is weaker for the absolute magnitude in the K band than that in the I band, in agreement with theoretical expectations.     

Evidence for the stratification of Fe in the photosphere of G191-B2B

The presence of heavy elements in the atmospheres of the hottest H-rich DA white dwarfs has been the subject of considerable interest. While theoretical calculations can demonstrate that radiative forces, counteracting the effects of gravitational settling, can explain the detections of individual species, the predicted abundances do not accord well with observation. However, accurate abundance measurements can only be based on a thorough understanding of the physical structure of the white dwarf photospheres, which has proved elusive. Recently, the availability of new non-local thermodynamic equilibrium model atmospheres with improved atomic data has allowed self-consistent analysis of the extreme ultraviolet (EUV), far UV and optical spectra of the prototypical object G191-B2B. Even so, the predicted and observed stellar fluxes remain in serious disagreement at the shortest wavelengths (below ≈190 Å), while the inferred abundances remain largely unaltered. We show here that the complete spectrum of G191-B2B can be explained by a model atmosphere where Fe is stratified, with increasing abundance at greater depth. This abundance profile may explain the difficulties in matching observed photospheric abundances, usually obtained by analyses using homogeneous model atmospheres, to the detailed radiative levitation predictions, particularly as the latter are only strictly valid for regions deeper than where the EUV/far UV lines and continua are formed. Furthermore, the relative depletion of Fe in the outer layers of the atmosphere may be evidence for radiatively driven mass-loss in G191-B2B.     

High Resolution Spectroscopy of Halo Stars in the Near UV and Blue Region I. Spectra in the Wavelength Region 3550-5000 A

An atlas of high resolution (R = 60 000) CCD-spectra in the wavelength range 3500-5000A is presented for four objects in metallicity range -3.0 < [Fe/H] < -0.6, temperature range 4750 < Teff < 5900 K, and surface gravity range 1.6 < lgg < 5.0. We describe the calibration of the stellar atmospheric parameters using Alonso's formula based on the method of infrared flux and outline the determination of the abundances of a total number of 25 chemical elements. An analysis of the abundance determination errors for different chemical elements is carried out, and a method is provided for the observations and reduction of spectral material. Properties of the method of producing an atlas of spectra and line identifications are described.     

α-process Elements in the Galaxy: A Possible GAIA Contribution

The sensitivity of stellar spectra to α/Fe abundance changes is investigated with the aim to be detected photometrically and employed for the scientific goals of the GAIA mission. A grid of plane parallel, line blanketed, flux constant, LTE model atmospheres with different [α/Fe] ratios was calculated. As a first step, the modeled stellar energy fluxes for solar-type stars and giants were computed and intercompared. The spectral sensitivity to α/Fe abundance changes is noticeable and has to be taken into account when selecting photometric filters for GAIA. The Ca II H and K lines and Mg I b triplet are the most sensitive direct indicators ofα/Fe abundance changes. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The mid-infrared structure of the bipolar nebulae AFGL 915, AFGL 618, and AFGL 2688

We have obtained near diffraction-limited images of three bipolar PPN at UKIRT in October, 1993: AFGL 915 (the Red Rectangle), AFGL 618, and AFGL 2688 (the Egg Nebula). Images were taken at unidentified infrared (UIR) emission feature wavelengths and at several continuum wavelengths in the 10 and 20µm atmospheric windows. In all three PPN the emission is dominated by a central point source with fainter emission extending for several arcsec. In AFGL 2688, the mid-IR emission is extended in the same direction as the main optical lobes. In AFGL 915, the UIR feature emission is spatially separated from the central source. The spikes that have been observed at 2µm and give the nebula its rectangular appearance are also visible at 10µm.     

A Method of Estimating the [α/Fe] Ratios from Low-resolution Stellar Spectratwo

A method for the determination of [α/Fe] from low-resolution stellar spectra is presented. The proposed scheme includes the following three steps: firstly, the spectrum is decomposed by the multi-scale Haar wavelet, and the high-frequency components are removed to suppress the high-frequency noise; then, based on the correlation of the spectral data component with [α/Fe], the spectral features are selected by the LASSO (Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator) algorithm; finally, [α/Fe] is measured by the multiple linear regression method based on the MARCS stellar spectrum library. The effectiveness of the method is verified with the low-resolution stellar spectra of ELODIE, SDSS (Sloan Digital Sky Survey), LAMOST (Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope), and four star clusters. The systematic deviations and accuracies are as follows: (0.04 dex, 0.064 dex) for the 317 ELODIE spectra; (0.16 dex, 0.065 dex) for the 412 SDSS spectra; (0.05 dex, 0.062 dex) for the 1276 LAMOST spectra (with the signal-noise ratio in the g band (SNRG) greater than 20). The averages of [α/Fe] obtained for the likely members of the globular star clusters (M13, M15) and open star clusters (NGC2420, M67) are in agreement with the literature values.     

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.     

Characterization of the 1.2 μm M1 pyroxene band: Extracting cooling history from near‐IR spectra of pyroxenes and pyroxene‐dominated rocks

Abstract— The 1.2 μm band in near‐infrared spectra of pyroxenes results from Fe²⁺in the M1 crystallographic site. The distribution of Fe and Mg between the M1 and M2 sites is in part a function of the cooling rate and thermal history of a pyroxene. Combining near‐infrared and Mössbauer spectra for a series of compositionally controlled synthetic Mg, Fe, Ca pyroxenes, we quantify the strength of the 1.2 μm band as a function of Fe²⁺in the M1 site. Near‐infrared spectra are deconvolved into component absorptions that can be assigned to the M1 and M2 sites using the modified Gaussian model. The relative strength of the 1.2 μm band is shown to be directly related to the amount of Fe²⁺in the M1 site measured by Mössbauer spectroscopy. The strength of the 1.2 μm band relative to the combined strengths of the 1.2 and 2 μm bands, or the M1 intensity ratio, is calculated for 51 howardite, eucrite, and diogenite (HED) meteorites. Diogenites and cumulate eucrites exhibit the lowest M1 intensity ratios, consistent with their formation as slowly cooled cumulates. Basaltic eucrites exhibit a large range of M1 intensity ratios, all of which are consistently higher than the diogenites and cumulate eucrites. This example illustrates how the M1 intensity ratio can be a used as a tool for characterizing the cooling history of remotely detected pyroxene‐dominated rocks.     

Analysis of the FF Aqr spectra

We determine the atmospheric parameters of the secondary in the close binary system FF Aqr and analyze its chemical composition. A series of high-resolution spectra are taken at different orbital phases using the coude echelle spectrometer of the 1.5-m Russian-Turkish Telescope (RTT150). We show that the absorption line intensity of heavy elements varies with phase due to the spotty nature of the cool component. We determine the abundances of heavy elements in the star’s atmosphere by modelling the synthetic spectra and performing a differential analysis of the chemical composition of FF Aqr relative to the solar composition. Our analysis of the averaged spectrum of FF Aqr yielded 539 abundance estimates for 21 chemical elements. We found the metallicity of the star ([Fe/H] = −0.11 ± 0.08) to be close solar, in agreement with the hypothesis that FF Aqr should belong to the Galactic disk. The inferred chemical composition of the objects exhibits no anomalous abundances of the α-, r-, and s-process elements like those earlier found in other systems (IN Com, LW Hya, V471 Tau). The lack of such anomalies in FF Aqr must be due to the fact that the elements heavier than ¹⁶ O cannot be synthesized in the core of the primary during the last stages of its evolution.     

Properties of the population of classical Cepheids in the Galaxy

Based on our compiled catalogue of positions, velocities, ages, and abundances of nine chemical elements for 221 classical Cepheids, we analyze the dependences of the relative abundances of α-elements as well as rapid and slow neutron capture elements on metallicity, space velocity components, and Galactocentric distance. We have found that the relative abundances of all elements in Cepheids do not depend on velocity but increase with Galactocentric distance and decrease with increasing metallicity, just as in thin-disk dwarfs and giants. In Cepheids, however, the [α/Fe]-[Fe/H] relation lies below, while the [r/Fe]-[Fe/H] and [s/Fe]-[Fe/H] relations lie above the analogous sequences for dwarfs and giants. We hypothesize that upon reaching a nearly solar metallicity in the interstellar medium of the thin disk, the most massive stars ceased to explode as type II supernovae, which mostly enriched the interstellar medium with α-elements. As a result, an underabundance of α-elements and a slight overabundance of r-process elements, which are ejected into the interstellar medium by less massive (8–10 M _⊙) type II supernovae, were formed in the next generations of stars. The overabundance of s-process elements in Cepheids can be explained by the fact that some of the s-elements were produced in the weak s-process in the interiors of massive stars, which may be able to eject the upper parts of their envelopes even without any explosion like asymptotic giant branch stars. And since such massive stars, exploding as type II supernovae, also enriched the interstellar medium with a considerable amount of iron atoms, the [s/Fe] ratios (along with [r/Fe]) in the next generations of stars must be higher in their absence.     

Abundance Ratios in Extreme Metal-Poor Stars

In extremely metal-poor stars ([Fe/H]≤ − 2.5) the neutron capture elementsare characterized by a 300-fold dispersion in M/Fe ratios which decreases with increasing metallicity, the median M/Fe ratio increases with increasing [Fe/H], but the averageM/Fe number ratio is approximately constant. These observations are consistent witha highly dispersed intrinsic yield of neutron-capture elements in supernova (SN) events,and a progression to increasing metallicity by stochastic chemical evolution.The abundance trends indicate that the synthesis of elements heavier thanbarium was dominated by the r-process. The Sr/Ba ratio shows a dispersionwhich suggests a stochastic source of Sr in excess of the r-process value;possibly due to the alpha-rich freeze out.The iron-peak elements Cr, Mn, and Co show non-solar abundance ratios forextreme metal-poor stars, and no measurableintrinsic dispersion relative to iron. We discuss chemical evolution models which explain these observations. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Doppler-Zeeman mapping of the rapidly rotating magnetic CP star HD 37776

We present the results of our analysis of magnetic-field configuration and abundance anomalies on the surface of the rapidly rotating, chemically peculiar helium-strong variable B2 V star HD 37776 with unresolved Zeeman components of spectral lines. Simultaneous inversion of the observed Stokes I and V profiles, which realizes the method of Doppler-Zeeman mapping [1], has been applied for the first time. Spectroscopic observations were carried out with the Main stellar spectrograph of the 6-m Special Astrophysical Observatory telescope equipped with a Zeeman analyzer and a CCD array, which allowed spectra in right-and left-hand circularly polarized light to be taken simultaneously at a signal-to-noise ratio S/N≥200 [2]. The profile width of winged spectral lines (reaching 5 Å) is determined by Zeeman line splitting; however, the observed Zeeman components are blurred and unresolved because of the rapid stellar rotation. When solving the inverse problem, we sought for the magnetic-field configuration in the form of a combination of arbitrarily oriented dipole, quadrupole, and octupole placed at the stellar center. The observed Stokes I and V profiles for eight spectral lines of He, O II, Al III, Si III, and Fe III averaged over the visible stellar surface were used as input data. We constructed a model of the magnetic field from the condition of coincidence of magnetic maps obtained from different lines of different chemical elements and from the condition of a minimum profile residual. This model is a combination of centered coaxial dipole and quadrupole with the dominant quadrupole component at 30°<i<50°, β=40°, and a maximum surface field strength H _s=60 kG. A comparison of our abundance maps with the field configuration shows that the He concentration is at a maximum in the regions of maximum radial field, while the maximum concentrations of O, Al, Si, and Fe coincide with the regions of maximum tangential field.