Transition probabilities in singly ionized promethium and the identification of Pm ii lines in Przybylski's star and HR 465★

The first theoretical transition probabilities are obtained for a set of 46 Pm  ii transitions of astrophysical interest. These data fill in a gap in astrophysics and will allow to establish, on a firmer basis, the presence of some lines of this radioactive element in the spectra of chemically peculiar stars and, consequently, a quantitative investigation of the stellar Pm abundance. A search for Pm  ii lines in Przybylski's star (HD 101065) and in HR 465 is reported and discussed, supporting the detection of this ion. A more detailed quantitative analysis is awaiting the availability of dedicated model atmospheres for these stars.     

High-mass X-ray binaries and the spiral structure of the host galaxy

We investigate the manifestation of the spiral structure in the distribution of high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs) over the host galaxy. We construct the simplest kinematic model. It shows that the HMXBs should be displaced relative to the spiral structure observed in such traditional star formation rate indicators as the Hα and far-infrared emissions because of their finite lifetimes. Using Chandra observations of M51, we have studied the distribution of X-ray sources relative to the spiral arms of this galaxy observed in Hα. Based on K-band data and background source number counts, we have separated the contributions from high-mass and low-mass X-ray binaries and active galactic nuclei. In agreement with model predictions, the distribution of HMXBs is wider than that of bright H II regions concentrated in the region of ongoing star formation. However, the statistical significance of this result is low, as is the significance of the concentration of the total population of X-ray sources to the spiral arms. We also predict the distribution of HMXBs in our Galaxy in Galactic longitude. The distribution depends on the mean HMXB age and can differ significantly from the distributions of such young objects as ultracompact H II regions.     

Spectroscopic Study of Multiple IRAS Galaxies

Spectroscopic observations by the 2.6 m BAO telescope of IRAS galaxies identified on the basis of the First Byurakan Survey (BIG objects) are reported. Slit spectra were obtained for 16 objects, including components of 7 multiple systems and 2 individual galaxies. The red shifts were measured, and the radial velocities, distances, absolute stellar magnitudes, and infrared and far infrared luminosities were calculated. A diagnostic diagram has been constructed based on the intensity ratios of emission lines and the activity types of the objects have been determined. Two LINERs, five galaxies with composite spectra (Comp, one of which has Sy2 features) and seven HII regions were found. Two objects are ultraluminous IR galaxies (ULIG). It is shown that all the multiple systems are physical pairs or groups. The observed high IR luminosity confirms the view that ULIG/HLIGs may be associated with interactions of galaxies.     

An electronic version of the second volume of the General Catalogue of Variable Stars with improved coordinates

We present a new electronic version of the second volume of the fourth edition of the General Catalogue of Variable Stars (GCVS), which contains data on 13480 variable stars in the constellations Cygnus-Orion (the order of constellations in the Catalogue follows the Latin alphabet). The new version takes into account the Name Lists of Variable Stars from no. 67 to 76 for the same constellations. The main distinctive feature of the new version is that it contains improved equatorial J2000.0 coordinates for 13446 stars (including those for 5052 stars with an allowance made for proper motions), based on the identifications with positional catalogs using finding charts, as well as on our new measurements. We searched for a number of stars on original plates from the collections of several observatories and using digital sky survey images. The new version also includes a file of remarks to the second and third GCVS volumes. Apart from a complete update of the positional information, we took into account several corrections that were found to be necessary after the publication of the second GCVS volume (1985). We present a list of references to new Internet resources.     

钡星系统轨道根数分布及丰度的Monte-Carlo模拟计算

采用星风质量吸积的角动量守恒模型，用Monte—Carlo方法研究了普通红巨星双星系统和钡星的轨道根数的变化规律，由于钡星系统是由普通红巨星双星系统演化而来，因此钡星系统的轨道偏心率及周期的分布显示了经过质量吸积后双星系统的最终轨道特征。计算结果表明，随着星风吸积过程的进行，在星风质量损失阶段系统轨道半长轴将增大，导致轨道周期增大，而偏心率变化不大，由此可以解释普通红巨星双星系统和钡星系统的轨道根数的分布规律和变化情况以及钡星重元素丰度分布特征。