Very high resolution profiles of four diffuse interstellar bands

Ultra-high-resolution  ( R ∼ 300 000)  profiles of four diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) are presented. The λλ 5797-, 5850-, 6196- and 6379- Å DIBs were observed towards the reddened supergiant HD 24398, a line of sight free of Doppler splitting; thus the observed profiles can be considered as intrinsic to the DIB carriers. Three of the profiles show substructure which supports the hypothesis of a molecular origin for these DIBs.     

CN rotational excitation

We demonstrate, using a sample of high quality spectra, that the average equivalent width ratio of the unsaturated R(0) and R(1) lines of the CN B²Σ⁺ – X²Σ⁺ (0, 0) band near 3875 Å equals π instead of 3.73 – calculated for the CMBR temperature T = 2.725 K and the already published oscillator strengths of both transitions, i.e. the excitation temperature of CN is slightly higher than it should be expected if CMBR is the only excitation mechanism. Taking into account the saturation effects by means of profile fitting during the column density calculations does not remove the revealed temperature excess. Possible interpretations of the effect are discussed (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Analysis of optical spectra of V1357 Cyg≡Cyg X-1

Optical spectra and light curves of the massive X-ray binary V1357 Cyg are analyzed. The calculations were based on models of irradiated plane-parallel stellar atmospheres, taking into account reflection of the X-ray radiation, asphericity of the stellar surface, and deviations from LTE for several ions. Comparison of observed spectra obtained in 2004?C2005 at the Bohyunsan Observatory (South Korea) revealed variations of the depths of HI lines by up to 18% and of HeI and heavy elements lines by up to 10%. These variations are not related to the orbital motion of the star, and are probably due to variations of the stellar wind intensity. Perturbations of the thermal structure of the atmosphere due to irradiation in various states of Cyg X-1 (including outburst) do not lead to the formation of a hot photosphere with an electron temperature exceeding the effective temperature. As a result, variations of the profiles of optical lines of HI, HeI, and heavy elements due to the orbital motion of the star and variations of the irradiating X-ray flux do not exceed 1% of the residual intensities. Allowing for deviations from LTE enhances the HI and HeI lines by factors of two to three and the MgII lines by a factor of nine, and is therefore required for a fully adequate analysis of the observational data. Analysis of the HI, HeI, and HeII lines profiles yielded the following set of parameters for theOstar at the observing epoch: T _eff = 30 500±500 K, log g = 3.31±0.05, [He/H] = 0.42 ± 0.05. The observed HeI line profiles have emission components that are formed in the stellar wind and increase with the line intensity. The abundances of 11 elements in the atmospheres of V1357 Cyg and ?? Cam, which has a similar spectral type and luminosity class, are derived. The chemical composition of V1357 Cyg is characterized by a strong excess of helium, nitrogen, neon, and silicon, which is related to the binarity of the system.     

Exoplanet studies. Spectral confirmation of photometric exoplanet candidates discovered by the “Kepler” mission

We present the results of spectroscopic confirmation of exoplanet candidates from the “Kepler” space mission catalog. We used the NES spectrometer of the 6-m Russian BTA telescope to investigate the Doppler variability of the radial velocities of the host stars of KOI-974.01, KOI-2687.01/02, and KOI-2706.01. According to the derived upper limits, KOI-2706.01 has a mass significantly smaller than 12 Jupiter masses, which directly indicates its planetary nature. We show that KOI-2687.01 and KOI-2687.02, which have Earth-size or white dwarf-size radii according to photometric data, cannot be white dwarfs, and are therefore exoplanets. Radial velocity analysis for KOI-974, an F-type star, has shown noticeable variations with a half-amplitude of 400 ms^?1, which correlate poorly with the phase of its orbital rotation. This can indicate a presence of other massive planets in the system, with orbits closer or farther from the host star than the orbit of KOI-974.01, or a low mass star in a distant outer orbit. Using the method of synthetic spectra, we obtained more accurate atmospheric parameter and radius estimates for all the program host stars, which, in turn, allowed us to refine the radii of the studied exoplanet candidates.     

Search for and study of photometric variability in magnetic white dwarfs

We report the results of photometric observations of a number of magnetic white dwarfs in order to search for photometric variability in these stars. These V-band observations revealed significant variability in the classical highly magnetized white dwarf GRW+70?8247 with a likely period from several days to several dozen days and a half-amplitude of about 0_. ^m 04. Our observations also revealed the variability of the well-known white dwarf GD229. The half amplitude of its photometric variability is equal to about 0_. ^m 005, and the likely period of this degenerate star lies in the 10–20 day interval. This variability is most likely due to the rotation of the stars considered.We also discuss the peculiarities of the photometric variability in a number of other white dwarfs. We present the updated “magnetic field–rotation period” diagram for the white dwarfs.     

On bare carbon chain anions as possible carriers of the diffuse interstellar features

The recent hypothesis that some of the diffuse interstellar bands originate in bare carbon chains such as             and     is tested using echelle spectra covering the whole range of possible (i.e. found in the laboratory) transitions of these molecules. Most of the expected features are below the level of detection in astrophysical spectra, and even those observed show intensity ratios that are different from those in the laboratory. Thus the hypothesis is very unlikely to be true.     

Observational constraints on potassium synthesis during the formation of stars of the Galactic disk

The non-LTE potassium abundances in the atmospheres of 33 Galactic-disk stars are derived and the parameters of the atmospheres of 23 of the stars are determined. Neglecting departures from LTE results in a systematic overestimation of the potassium abundances and an increase in their dispersion, even for differential analyses relative to the Sun. The non-LTE corrections are significant ((?0.2)–(?0.6) dex) and depend on the surface gravities and effective temperatures of the stars. The mean potassium abundance for a sample of ten stars with [Fe/H]～0.0 is in agreement with the solar and meteoritic abundances (log ? _⊙(K)=5.12). As the stellar metallicity increases from [Fe/H]=(?1.0) to (0.2) dex, the [K/Fe] ratio decreases systematically from 0.3 dex to ?0.1 dex. The derived dependence [K/Fe]-[Fe/H] is in agreement with the results of published model calculations of the chemical evolution of the Galaxy. This indicates the dominance of explosive oxygen burning in massive type II supernovae during the synthesis of potassium in the Galactic disk.     

The atmospheric lithium abundances of solar analogues

We have analyzed the lithium abundance in the atmospheres of 20 stars that are solar analogues based on high-resolution echelle spectra using model atmospheres in a non-LTE approach. In terms of their lithium abundances, the stars (which are located in a narrow range of temperatures of 5650–5900 K) can be divided into two groups: one with low lithium abundances, as in the solar atmosphere, and one with lithium abundances that are higher than the solar value by about 1 dex (with the accuracy of the lithium abundances being 0.15 dex).     

Microvariability of line profiles in the spectra of OB stars: III. The supergiant ρ LEO

We observed the bright supergiant ρ Leo (B1 lab) in January–February 2004 using the 6-m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory (Russia) and the 1.8-m telescope of the Bohyunsan Optical Astronomy Observatory (South Korea). 47 spectra with high time resolution (4–10 min), signal-to-noise ratios 300–1000, and spectral resolutions 45 000–60 000 were obtained. We detected variability in the HeI, SiII, SiIII, and NII line profiles, which may be due to rotational modulation of the profiles and photospheric pulsations of ρ Leo. The possible influence of the stellar magnetic field on the line-profile variations is discussed.