Spectrophotometry observations of HR 8107

HR 8107, a reported new Be star, has been observed spectrophotometrically. The energy distribution curve of the star has been compared with those of other stars of similar spectral and luminosity types and model atmospheres. On the basis of comparison with model atmospheres an effective temperature has been assigned to the star     

X-ray spectroscopy of stellar coronae

Summary From the early discovery in 1948 of X-rays from the Solar corona, X-ray spectroscopy has proven to be an invaluable tool in studying hot astrophysical and laboratory plasmas. Because the emission line spectra and continua from optically thin plasmas are fairly well known, high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy has its most obvious application in the measurement of optically thin sources such as the coronae of stars. In particular X-ray observations with theEINSTEIN observatory have demonstrated that soft X-ray emitting coronae are a common feature among stars on the cool side of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, with the probable exception of single very cool giant and supergiant stars and A-type dwarfs. Observations with the spectrometers aboardEINSTEIN andEXOSAT have shown that data of even modest spectral resolution (/ = 10–100) permit the identification of coronal material at different temperatures whose existence may relate to a range of possible magnetic loop structures in the hot outer atmospheres of these stars. The higher spectral resolution of the next generation of spectrometers aboard NASA'sAXAF and ESA'sXMM will allow to fully resolve the coronal temperature structure and to enable velocity diagnostics and the determination of coronal densities, from which the loop geometry (i.e. surface filling factors and loop lengths) can be derived. In this paper various diagnostic techniques are reviewed and the spectral results fromEINSTEIN andEXOSAT are discussed. A number of spectral simulations forAXAF andXMM, especially high-resolution iron K-shell, L-shell, and2s-2p spectra in the wavelength regions around 1.9 Å, 10 Å, and 100 Å, respectively, are shown to demonstrate the capabilities for temperature, density, and velocity diagnostics. Finally, iron K-shell spectra are simulated for various types of detectors such as microcalorimeter, Nb-junction, and CCD.     

MK morphological study of Am stars at 66 Å/mm

The pseudo-luminosity effect in the metallic line A-type stars found by Abt & Morgan (1976) is confirmed in a random sample of 27 Am stars. From a morphological study of their spectra in the wavelength interval 3850-4400 Å at a reciprocal dispersion of 66 Å/mm, revised spectral types are given on the MK system for their K-line and metallic-line spectra. This shows that: (a) our segregation of weak Am from the Am stars largely agrees with that by Cowleyet al. (1969); (b) all the stars in the sample are dwarfs according to their K-line classification; (c) more than 80 per cent exhibit the pseudo-luminosity effect significantly, with their metallic-line spectra resembling a giant or even a supergiant in the violet (3850-4100 Å), and a giant rather than a dwarf in the blue region (4260-4400 Å); (d) in two-thirds of the stars under (c), the Sr n 4077 Å line is found to have a markedly brighter luminosity class compared to any region, and in more than one-third of the sample it is comparable to that in Ap stars; (e) at least five stars exhibit characteristics which might suggest a spectrum variability: among these, the most striking example is 41 Sex A which was found to show a phase-modulated spectrum variation hitherto unknown in Am stars; (f) the metallic-line spectra of another five stars appear to be similar to A-shell type in differing degrees; (g) less than 20 per cent of the sample comprises stars which do not show any significant differential luminosity effect; these stars might have been misclassified or perhaps they are in a quiescent state. We also confirm the conclusion arrived at by Böhm-Vitense & Johnson (1978) that all Am stars may vary and our observations suggest that groups may exist among them.     

EGUP与黑洞熵的修正值

目前,人们对黑洞Bekenstein-Hawking熵的量子修正值产生了极大的兴趣,尤其是黑洞熵对数修正项的系数.在广义不确定关系(GUP)的基础上,通过引入了推广的广义不确定关系(EGUP),运用面积定理计算了3类时空的黑洞熵的修正值,得到的黑洞熵的修正项的系数是正的.这种计算方法不仅对单视界时空适用,而且对有内视界的黑洞时空依然成立,并且在EGUP基础上计算出黑洞熵的修正值.相比GUP基础上得到的黑洞熵,EGUP可以应用于大尺度时空下,所以应用范围更广.此计算方法简洁明了,物理意义明确,可为黑洞熵对数修正值系数的确定提供参考.     

New 1982 — 1990 photometry of λ Andromedae and its 11-year cycle

We present photoelectric photometry of λ And never before published, obtained between February 1982 and December 1990 at 29 different observatories. Then we combine it with all other photometry available to us (previously published, contained in the I.A.U. Commission 27 Archives, and obtained with the Vanderbilt 16-inch automatic telescope but not yet published), to yield a 14.8-year data base. Analysis reveals a long-term cycle in mean brightness, with a full range of 0^m.15 and a period of 11.4 ± 0.4 years. Because most of our new photometry was concentrated in the 1983-84 observing season, we analyze that one well-defined light curve with a two-spot model. Spot A keeps a 0^m.04 amplitude throughout four rotation cycles whereas the amplitude of spot B diminishes from 0^m.09 down almost to 0^m.03. The spot rotation periods were 55^d.9 ± 0^d.6 and 520^d.8 ± 1^d.0, respectively.     

Fluctuational mechanism for the formation of proton vortices in the superfluid core of neutron stars

The Gibbs thermodynamic potential of a proton vortex interacting with the normal core of a neutron vortex of radius r << λ (λ is the penetration depth) that is parallel to it and has an outer boundary of radius b is calculated. It is shown that, under this assumption, the capture of only one vortex by the core is energetically favorable. The force acting on the proton vortex owing to the entrained current is found and it is always directed toward the core. The corresponding force for a proton antivortex is directed toward the outer boundary of the neutron vortex. The Ginzburg-Landau equation is solved for a vortex-antivortex system and its Gibbs function is calculated. It is shown that at large distances from the core, vortex-antivortex pairs can form because of fluctuations. Acted on by the entrainment current, the antivortex moves outward, while the vortex stays inside the neutron vortex. It is shown that the best conditions for fluctuational pair production, followed by separation, exist near the outer boundary. It is shown that new proton vortices can develop only in a region where the entrainment magnetic field strength H (ρ) > H_C1 (H_C1 is the lower critical field). __________ Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 51, No. 1, pp. 139–149 (February 2008).     

Molecular lines from protoplanetary nebulae: observations with ALMA

Planetary nebulae (PNe) are formed in a very fast process. In just about 1000 years, the nebula evolves from a spherical and slowly expanding AGB envelope to a PN, with usually axial symmetry and high axial velocities. Molecular lines are known to probe most of the nebular material in young PNe and protoplanetary nebulae (PPNe), and are therefore very useful to study such an impressive evolution. Many quantitative results on these objects have been so obtained, including general structure, total mass and density distribution, kinetic temperatures, velocity fields, etc. Existing observations probe both the gas accelerated by post-AGB shocks and the quiescent components. But the study of crucial regions to understand PN formation (recently shocked shells, regions heated by the stellar UV and inner rotating disks) requires observations at higher frequency and with better spatial resolution.      

Large Dust Grains Around Cometary Nuclei

Large amounts of particles ejected from the nucleus surface are present in the vicinity of the cometary nuclei when comets are near the Sun (at heliocentric distances ≤2 AU). The largest dust grains ejected may constitute a hazard for spatial vehicles. We tried to obtain the bounded orbits of those particles and to investigate their stability along several orbital periods. The model includes the solar and the cometary gravitational forces and the solar radiation pressure force. The nucleus is assumed to be spherical. The dust grains are also assumed to be spherical, and radially ejected. We include the effects of centrifugal forces owing to the comet rotation. An expression for the most heavy particles that can be lifted is proposed. Using the usual values adopted for the case of Halley’s comet, the largest grains that can be lifted have a diameter about 5 cm, and the term due to the rotation is negligible. However, that term increases the obtained value for the maximum diameter of the lifted grain in a significant amount when the rotation period is of the order of a few hours.     

Dust in the disk winds from young stars as a source of the circumstellar extinction

We consider the problem of dust grain survival in the disk winds from T Tauri and Herbig Ae stars. For our analysis, we have chosen a disk wind model in which the gas component of the wind is heated through ambipolar diffusion to a temperature of ～10⁴ K. We show that the heating of dust grains through their collisions with gas atoms is inefficient compared to their heating by stellar radiation and, hence, the grains survive even in the hot wind component. As a result, the disk wind can be opaque to the ultraviolet and optical stellar radiation and is capable of absorbing an appreciable fraction of it. Calculations show that the fraction of the wind-absorbed radiation for T Tauri stars can be from 20 to 40% of the total stellar luminosity at an accretion rate ? _a = 10^?8-10^?6 M _⊙yr^?1. This means that the disk winds from T Tauri stars can play the same role as the puffed-up inner rim in current accretion disk models. In Herbig Ae stars, the inner layers of the disk wind (r ≤ 0.5 AU) are dust-free, since the dust in this region sublimates under the effect of stellar radiation. Therefore, the fraction of the radiation absorbed by the disk wind in this case is considerably smaller and can be comparable to the effect from the puffed-up inner rim only at an accretion rate of the order of or higher than 10^?6 M _⊙yr^?1. Since the disk wind is structurally inhomogeneous, its optical depth toward the observer can be variable, which should be reflected in the photometric activity of young stars. For the same reason, moving shadows from gas and dust streams with a spiral-like shape can be observed in high-angular-resolution circumstellar disk images.     

Possible Contribution of Mature γ-ray Pulsars to Cosmic-ray Positrons

We restudy the possible contribution of mature gamma-ray pulsars to cosmic ray positrons based on the new version of outer gap model. In this model, the inclination angle and average properties of the outer gap are taken into account, and more mature pulsars can have the outer gap and emit high energy photons. Half of the primary particles in the outer gaps will flow back toward the star surface and emit synchrotron photons, which can produce electron/positron pairs by the cascade of pair production. Some of these pairs will escape from the light cylinder and be accelerated to relativistic energies in the pulsar wind driven by low-frequency electromagnetic waves. Using a Monte Carlo method, we obtain a sample of mature gamma-ray pulsars and then calculate the production of the positrons from these pulsars. The observed excess of cosmic positrons can be well explained by this model.