Microvariability of line profiles in the spectrum of the star ι Her

We present the results of a search for and analysis of line-profile variations in the spectrum of the star ι Her. The observations were acquired with the 1.8 m telescope of the Bohyunsan Optical Astronomy Observatory (Republic of Korea) in May–June 2004. We obtained 69 spectra of the star with signal-to-noise ratios ≈300 and a time resolution of 5–7 min. Profile variability was revealed for six lines of HI, HeI, and SiIII, in the central parts of the lines. The variability amplitude is ≈(1–2)% in units of the intensity of the adjacent continuum. Evidence was found for cyclic variations of the lines, with periods from ≈7^h to ≈2.9^d. We conclude that ι Her belongs to the group of slowly pulsating stars.     

Evolution of stress fields in the Por’ya Guba dike field (Kandalaksha Gulf, White Sea)

The tectonic evolution of the Por’ya Guba segment of the White Sea Rift System began in the late Paleoproterozoic, i.e., soon after completion of the Svecofennian collision. The fracture system that controlled localization of the lamproite dike complex was formed under conditions of horizontal compression combined with shear. Subsequently, this system predetermined the location of a rift-graben segment that formed as a result of simple shear. The reactivation of the rift system in the Middle Paleozoic proceeded in two stages. The first stage, when strike-slip movements along previously formed faults predominated, resulted in formation of quartz-carbonate veins bearing base-metal mineralization. The veins that filled the shear fractures opened owing to local reorientation of the stress field. The second stage fitted the transtension conditions, and the Late Devonian alkaline ultramafic dikes of this stage introded into the already existing fracture system, which was oriented at a roughly right angle to the predominant stress orientation.     

The chemical composition of HR 1512, a peculiar helium-weak star

We have used high-resolution spectra to study the chemical composition of HR 1512, a star with effective temperature T _eff = 15 200 K, atmospheric gravity log g = 3.52, microturbulence parameter V _t = 1.5 km/s, and rotation rate v sin i = 17 km s^?1. We confirm the presence of a helium deficiency (?0.6 dex), indicating that HR 1512 is a helium-weak star. Its considerable phosphorus excess (1.6 dex) testifies that the star belongs to the PGa subtype. We suggest that the He and P abundances increase with height; i.e., that there is stratification of He and P in the star’s atmosphere. Among the CNO elements, nitrogen demonstrates an underabundance of ?0.4 dex, while the abundances of carbon and oxygen are solar. Deficits of about ?0.5 or ?0.6 dex were also found for Mg, Si, and S. A neon excess of 0.4 dex was derived from our non-LTE analysis of NeI lines. The largest excess among the iron-peak elements (Cr, Mn, Fe, and Ni) is 0.6 dex, for manganese; the abundances of chromium and nickel display excesses of 0.5 and 0.3 dex, respectively, while the iron abundance is almost normal. The chemical anomalies of HR 1512 generally agree with those for mercury-manganese stars. This supports the hypothesis that PGa stars represent an extension of HgMn stars to higher temperatures.