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Direct Measurement of the Ratio of Carbon Monoxide to Molecular Hydrogen in the Diffuse Interstellar Medium
We have used archival far-ultraviolet spectra from observations made byHST STIS and FUSE to determine the column densities and rotationalexcitation temperatures for carbon monoxide and molecular hydrogen,respectively, along 23 sight lines to Galactic O and B stars. Thereddening values range from E(B-V)=0.07 to 0.62, sampling the diffuse totranslucent interstellar medium (ISM). We find that the H2column densities range from 5×1018 to8×1020 cm-2 and the CO from upper limitsaround 2×1012 cm-2 to detections as high as1.4×1016 cm-2. CO increases with increasingH2, roughly following a power law of factor ~2. TheCO/H2 column density ratio is thus not constant, ranging from10-7 to 10-5, with a mean value of3×10-6. The sample segregates into ``diffuse'' and``translucent'' regimes, the former with molecular fraction <~0.25and AV/d<1 mag kpc-1. The mean CO/H2for these two regimes are 3.6×10-7 and9.3×10-6, respectively, significantly lower than thecanonical dark cloud value of 10-4. Six sight lines show theisotopic variant 13CO, and the isotopic ratio we observe(~50-70) is consistent with, if perhaps a little below, the average12C/13C for the ISM at large. The averageH2 rotational excitation temperature is 74+/-24 K, agreeingwell with previous studies, and the average CO temperature is 4.1 K,with some sight lines showing temperatures as high as 6.4 K. The higherexcitation CO is observed with higher column densities, consistent withthe effects of photon trapping in clouds with densities in the 20-100cm-3 range. We discuss the implications for the structure ofthe diffuse/translucent regimes of the ISM and the estimation ofmolecular mass in galaxies.
| The Interstellar N/O Abundance Ratio: Evidence for Local Infall?
Sensitive measurements of the interstellar gas-phase oxygen abundancehave revealed a slight oxygen deficiency (~15%) toward stars within 500pc of the Sun as compared to more distant sight lines. Recent FUSEobservations of the interstellar gas-phase nitrogen abundance indicatelarger variations, but no trends with distance were reported due to thesignificant measurement uncertainties for many sight lines. Byconsidering only the highest quality (>=5 σ) N/O abundancemeasurements, we find an intriguing trend in the interstellar N/O ratiowith distance. Toward the seven stars within ~500 pc of the Sun, theweighted mean N/O ratio is 0.217 +/- 0.011, while for the six starsfarther away the weighted mean value (N/O = 0.142 +/- 0.008) iscuriously consistent with the current solar value (N/O =0.138+0.20-0.18). It is difficult to imagine ascenario invoking environmental (e.g., dust depletion or ionization)variations alone that explains this abundance anomaly. Is the enhancednitrogen abundance localized to the solar neighborhood or evidence of amore widespread phenomenon? If it is localized, then recent infall oflow-metallicity gas in the solar neighborhood may be the bestexplanation. Otherwise, the N/O variations may be best explained bylarge-scale differences in the interstellar mixing processes for AGBstars and Type II supernovae.Based on data obtained by the NASA-CNES-CSA Far UltravioletSpectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) mission operated by the Johns HopkinsUniversity. Financial support to US participants has been provided byNASA contract NAS5-32985.
| Phosphorus in the diffuse interstellar medium
We present FUSE and HST/STIS measurements of the P ii column densitytoward Galactic stars. We analyzed P ii through the profile fitting ofthe unsaturated λ1125 and λ1533 lines and derived columndensities integrated along the sightlines as well as in individualresolved components. We find that phosphorus is not depleted along thosesightlines sampling the diffuse neutral gas. We also investigate thecorrelation existing between P ii and O i column densities and find thatthere is no differential depletion between these two specie.Furthermore, the ratio N(P ii)/N(O i) is consistent with the solar P/Ovalue, implying that P ii and O i coexist in the same gaseous phase andare likely to evolve in parallel. We argue that phosphorus, as traced byP ii, is an excellent neutral oxygen tracer in various physicalenvironments, except when ionization corrections are a significantissue. Thus, P ii lines (observable with FUSE, HST/STIS, or withVLT/UVES for the QSO sightlines) are particularly useful as a proxy forO i lines when these are saturated or blended.
| Bright OB stars in the Galaxy. II. Wind variability in O supergiants as traced by Hα
We investigate the line-profile variability (lpv) of Hα for alarge sample of O-type supergiants (15 objects between O4 and O9.7), inan objective, statistically rigorous manner. We employed the TemporalVariance Spectrum (TVS) analysis, developed for the case of photosphericabsorption lines and modified by us to take into account the effects ofwind emission. By means of a comparative analysis we place constraintson the properties of this variability - quantified in terms of a meanand a newly defined fractional amplitude of deviations - as a functionof stellar and wind parameters. The results of our analysis show thatall the stars in the sample show evidence of significant lpv inHα, mostly dominated by processes in the wind. The variationsoccur between zero and 0.3 v_&infy; (i.e., below 1.5 R_star ), in goodagreement with results from similar studies. A comparison between theobservations and corresponding line-profile simulations indicates thatfor stars with intermediate wind densities the properties of theHα variability can be explained by simple models consisting ofcoherent or broken shells (blobs) uniformly distributed over the windvolume, with an intrinsic scatter in the maximum density contrast ofabout a factor of two. For stars at lower and higher wind densities, onthe other hand, we found certain inconsistencies between theobservations and our predictions, most importantly concerning the meanamplitude and the symmetry properties of the TVS. This disagreementmight be explained by the presence of coherent large-scale structures,partly confined in a volume close to the star. Interpreted in terms of avariable mass-loss rate, the observed variations of Hα indicatechanges of ±4% with respect to the mean value of dot M for starswith stronger winds and of ± 16% for stars with weaker winds. Theeffect of these variations on the corresponding wind momenta is ratherinsignificant (less than 0.16 dex), increasing only the local scatterwithout affecting the Wind Momentum Luminosity Relationship.
| On the Hipparcos parallaxes of O stars
We compare the absolute visual magnitude of the majority of bright Ostars in the sky as predicted from their spectral type with the absolutemagnitude calculated from their apparent magnitude and the Hipparcosparallax. We find that many stars appear to be much fainter thanexpected, up to five magnitudes. We find no evidence for a correlationbetween magnitude differences and the stellar rotational velocity assuggested for OB stars by Lamers et al. (1997, A&A, 325, L25), whosesmall sample of stars is partly included in ours. Instead, by means of asimulation we show how these differences arise naturally from the largedistances at which O stars are located, and the level of precision ofthe parallax measurements achieved by Hipparcos. Straightforwardlyderiving a distance from the Hipparcos parallax yields reliable resultsfor one or two O stars only. We discuss several types of bias reportedin the literature in connection with parallax samples (Lutz-Kelker,Malmquist) and investigate how they affect the O star sample. Inaddition, we test three absolute magnitude calibrations from theliterature (Schmidt-Kaler et al. 1982, Landolt-Börnstein; Howarth& Prinja 1989, ApJS, 69, 527; Vacca et al. 1996, ApJ, 460, 914) andfind that they are consistent with the Hipparcos measurements. AlthoughO stars conform nicely to the simulation, we notice that some B stars inthe sample of \citeauthor{La97} have a magnitude difference larger thanexpected.
| New Runaway O-stars Based on Data from HIPPARCOS
12 new runaway O-stars are identified using an analysis of their propermotions based on data from HIPPARCOS. The peculiar tangential and totaltransverse velocities of these stars are determined. A list of theobserved runaway stars is given.
| NLTE models of line-driven stellar winds. I. Method of calculation and first results for O stars
New numerical models of line-driven stellar winds of late O stars arepresented. Statistical equilibrium (NLTE) equations of the most abundantelements are solved. Properly obtained occupation numbers are used tocalculate consistent radiative force and radiative heating terms. Winddensity, velocity and temperature are calculated as a solution of modelhydrodynamical equations. Contrary to other published models we accountfor a multicomponent wind nature and do not simplify the calculation ofthe radiative force (e.g. using force multipliers). We discuss theconvergence behaviour of our models. The ability of our models topredict correct values of mass-loss rates and terminal velocities ofselected late O stars (mainly giants and supergiants) is demonstrated.The systematic difference between predicted and observed terminalvelocities reported in the literature has been removed. Moreover, wefound good agreement between the theoretical wind momentum-luminosityrelationship and the observed one for Cyg OB2 supergiants.Appendices A, B and C are only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org
| HD 108: The mystery deepens with XMM-Newton observations
In 2001, using a large spectroscopic dataset from an extensivemonitoring campaign, we discovered that the peculiar Of star HD 108displayed extreme line variations. This strange behaviour could beattributed to a variety of models, and an investigation of the highenergy properties of HD 108 was needed to test the predictions fromthese models. Our dedicated XMM-Newton observation of HD 108 shows thatits spectrum is well represented by a two temperature thermal plasmamodel with kT10.2 keV and kT21.4 keV. Inaddition, we find that the star does not display any significantshort-term changes during the XMM-Newton exposure. Compared to previousEinstein and ROSAT detections, it also appears that HD 108 does notpresent long-term flux variations either. While the line variationscontinue to modify HD 108's spectrum in the optical domain, the X-rayemission of the star appears thus surprisingly stable: no simple modelis for the moment able to explain such an unexpected behaviour. Thanksto its high sensitivity, the XMM-Newton observatory has also enabled theserendipitous discovery of 57 new X-ray sources in the field of HD 108.Their properties are also discussed in this paper.Based on observations collected at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence(France) and with XMM-Newton, an ESA Science Mission with instrumentsand contributions directly funded by ESA Member States and the USA(NASA).
| A Galactic O Star Catalog
We have produced a catalog of 378 Galactic O stars with accuratespectral classifications that is complete for V<8 but includes manyfainter stars. The catalog provides cross-identifications with othersources; coordinates (obtained in most cases from Tycho-2 data);astrometric distances for 24 of the nearest stars; optical (Tycho-2,Johnson, and Strömgren) and NIR photometry; group membership,runaway character, and multiplicity information; and a Web-based versionwith links to on-line services.
| Bright OB stars in the Galaxy. I. Mass-loss and wind-momentum rates of O-type stars: A pure H\alpha analysis accounting for line-blanketing
We study mass-loss and wind momentum rates of 29 Galactic O-type starswith luminosity classes I, III and V by means of a pure H\alpha profileanalysis and investigate to what extent the results compare to thoseoriginating from a state-of-the-art, complete spectral analysis. Ourinvestigation relies on the approximate method developed by\citet{Puls96} which we have modified to account for the effects ofline-blanketing. Effective temperatures and gravities needed to obtainquantitative results from such a simplified approach have been derivedby means of calibrations based on most recent spectroscopic NLTEanalyses and models of Galactic stars by \citet{Repo03} and\citet{Martins02}. Comparing (i) the derived wind-densities to thosedetermined by \citet{Repo03} for eleven stars in common and (ii) theWind-momentum Luminosity Relationship (WLR) for our sample stars tothose derived by other investigations, we conclude that our approximateapproach is actually able to provide consistent results. Additionally,we studied the consequences of ``fine tuning'' some of the direct andindirect parameters entering the WLR, especially by accounting fordifferent possible values of stellar reddening and distances. Combiningour data set with the corresponding data provided by \citet{Herrero02}and \citet{Repo03} we finally study the WLR for the largest sample ofGalactic O-type stars gathered so far, including an elaborate errortreatment. The established disagreement between the theoreticalpredictions and the ``observed'' WLRs being a function of luminosityclass is suggested to be a result of wind clumping. Different strategiesto check this hypothesis are discussed, particularly by comparing theH\alpha mass-loss rates with the ones derived from radio observations.
| A study of RV in Galactic O stars from the 2MASS catalogue
We present new measurements of the interstellar reddening parameterRV=AV/E(B-V) towards 185 O stars, using J, H,Ks photometry from the 2MASS project. The results arecombined with data from the literature of 95 stars where RVhas been derived with the same technique, 22 of which in common with ourpresent sample from the 2MASS project catalogue. The averageRV from these 258 O stars is of 3.19 +/- 0.50. All objectswhose RV departs from this value by more than 2 sigma havebeen recognized. Ten objects have RV higher than this valueand two lower. It is found that anomalous RV can scarcely beassociated with anomalies in the general interstellar medium, e.g. withdifferent behaviour in different spiral arms. They are clearly linked tolocal cloud effect. In the Cygnus region RV values follow thebehaviour of the general interstellar medium, while in the Carina arm,in spite of the relatively larger distance, local cloud effects prevail.An explanation for this is suggested. The relatively few stars of oursample whose Hipparcos parallaxes are reliable, are found to havedistances systematically smaller than the distances derived by thespectroscopic parallaxes. We argue that this effect is consistent withthe recently claimed discovery of grey extinction towards OB stars.This publication makes use of data products from the Two Micron All SkySurvey (2MASS), which is a joint project of the University ofMassachusetts and the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center/CaliforniaInstitute of Technology, funded by the National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration and the National Science Foundation.Tables 1 and 2 are only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/410/905
| Potential Variations in the Interstellar N I Abundance
We present Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) and SpaceTelescope Imaging Spectrograph observations of the weak interstellar N Iλ1160 doublet toward 17 high-density sight lines[N(Htot)>=1021 cm-2]. When combinedwith published data, our results reveal variations in the fractional N Iabundance showing a systematic deficiency at large N(Htot).At the FUSE resolution (~20 km s-1), the effects ofunresolved saturation cannot be conclusively ruled out, although O Iλ1356 shows little evidence of saturation. We investigated thepossibility that the N I variability is due to the formation ofN2 in our mostly dense regions. The 0-0 band of thec'41Σ+u-X1Σ+gtransition of N2 at 958 Å should be easily detected inour FUSE data; for 10 of the denser sight lines, N2 is notobserved at a sensitivity level of a few times 1014cm-2. The observed N I variations are suggestive of anincomplete understanding of nitrogen chemistry.Based on observations made with the NASA-CNES-CSA Far UltravioletSpectroscopic Explorer, which is operated for NASA by the Johns HopkinsUniversity under NASA contract NAS 5-32985, and the NASA/ESA HubbleSpace Telescope, obtained from the Multimission Archive at the SpaceTelescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association ofUniversities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under the NASA contractNAS 5-26555.
| Oxygen Gas-Phase Abundance Revisited
We present new measurements of the interstellar gas-phase oxygenabundance along the sight lines toward 19 early-type Galactic stars atan average distance of 2.6 kpc. We derive O I column densities fromHubble Space Telescope/Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (HST/STIS)observations of the weak 1355 Å intersystem transition. We derivetotal hydrogen column densities [N(HI)+2N(H2)] using HST/STISobservations of Lyα and Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer(FUSE) observations of molecular hydrogen. The molecular hydrogencontent of these sight lines ranges fromf(H2)=2N(H2)/[N(HI)+2N(H2)]=0.03 to0.47. The average of6.3×1021 cm-2 mag-1 with astandard deviation of 15% is consistent with previous surveys. The meanoxygen abundance along these sight lines, which probe a wide range ofGalactic environments in the distant interstellar medium, is106 (O/H)gas=408+/-13 (1 σ in the mean). Wesee no evidence for decreasing gas-phase oxygen abundance withincreasing molecular hydrogen fraction, and the relative constancy of(O/H)gas suggests that the component of dust containing theoxygen is not readily destroyed. We estimate that, if 60% of the dustgrains are resilient against destruction by shocks, the distantinterstellar total oxygen abundance can be reconciliated with the solarvalue derived from the most recent measurements of 106(O/H)gassolar=517+/-58 (1 σ). We note thatthe smaller oxygen abundances derived for the interstellar gas within500 pc or from nearby B star surveys are consistent with a localelemental deficit.
| Highly Ionized Gas in the Galactic Halo: A FUSE Survey of O VI Absorption toward 22 Halo Stars
Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) spectra of 22 Galactichalo stars are studied to determine the amount of O VI in the Galactichalo between ~0.3 and ~10 kpc from the Galactic midplane. Strong O VIλ1031.93 absorption was detected toward 21 stars, and a reliable3 σ upper limit was obtained toward HD 97991. The weaker member ofthe O VI doublet at 1037.62 Å could be studied toward only sixstars because of stellar and interstellar blending problems. Themeasured logarithmic total column densities vary from 13.65 to 14.57with =14.17+/-0.28 (1 σ). The observed columns arereasonably consistent with a patchy exponential O VI distribution with amidplane density of 1.7×10-8 cm-3 and scaleheight between 2.3 and 4 kpc. We do not see clear signs of stronghigh-velocity components in O VI absorption along the Galactic sightlines, which indicates the general absence of high-velocity O VI within2-5 kpc of the Galactic midplane. This result is in marked contrast tothe findings of Sembach et al., who reported high-velocity O VIabsorption toward ~60% of the complete halo sight lines observed byFUSE. The line centroid velocities of the O VI absorption do not reflectGalactic rotation well. The O VI velocity dispersions range from 33 to78 km s-1, with an average of =45+/-11 kms-1 (1 σ). These values are much higher than the valueof ~18 km s-1 expected from thermal broadening for gas atT~3×105 K, the temperature at which O VI is expected toreach its peak abundance in collisional ionization equilibrium.Turbulence, inflow, and outflow must have an effect on the shape of theO VI profiles. Kinematical comparisons of O VI with Ar I reveal thateight of 21 sight lines are closely aligned in LSR velocity(|ΔVLSR|<=5 km s-1), while nine of 21exhibit significant velocity differences(|ΔVLSR|>=15 km s-1). This dual behaviormay indicate the presence of two different types of O VI-bearingenvironments toward the Galactic sight lines. The correlation betweenthe H I and O VI intermediate-velocity absorption is poor. We couldidentify the known H I intermediate-velocity components in the Ar Iabsorption but not in the O VI absorption in most cases. Comparison of OVI with other highly ionized species suggests that the high ions areproduced primarily by cooling hot gas in the Galactic fountain flow andthat turbulent mixing also has a significant contribution. The role ofturbulent mixing varies from negligible to dominant. It is mostimportant toward sight lines that sample supernova remnants like Loops Iand IV. The average N(C IV)/N(O VI) ratios for the nearby halo (thiswork) and complete halo (Savage et al.) are similar (~0.6), but thedispersion is larger in the sample of nearby halo sight lines. We areable to show that the O VI enhancement toward the Galactic center regionthat was observed in the FUSE survey of complete halo sight lines(Savage et al.) is likely associated with processes occurring near theGalactic center by comparing the observations toward the nearby HD177566 sight line to those toward extragalactic targets.
| Spectroscopic and photometric observations of the short-period RS CVn star RT And
Spectroscopic observations in the range 6500-6700 Å and BVRIphotometry of the eclipsing short-period RS CVn-star RT And arepresented. We determined K1=130 km s-1 andK2=175.8 km s-1 by measurement of the doubleprofiles of the lines Hα and FeI 6678, and obtained the mass ratioq=0.74 and masses of the star components M1=1.23Msun and M2=0.91 Msun. It wasestablished that the emission activity of RT And is associated with itssecondary component. The relative contribution of the secondary star isstronger in the FeI 6678 line than in Hα. A strong emissionfeature between the two profiles of FeI 6678 at phase 0.73 was detectedthat is probably due to the appearance of extended emitting structure.The multicolor light curve of RT And is fitted by two cool spots on theprimary star with equal sizes 21o and temperatures 4980 K andlocated at middle latitudes and longitudes symmetrical to the lineconnecting the star centers. Both spectral and photometric data lead tothe conclusion that the secondary star of RT And is oversized for itsmass.
| Multicomponent radiatively driven stellar winds. II. Gayley-Owocki heating in multitemperature winds of OB stars
We show that the so-called Gayley-Owocki (Doppler) heating is importantfor the temperature structure of the wind of main sequence stars coolerthan the spectral type O6. The formula for Gayley-Owocki heating isderived directly from the Boltzmann equation as a direct consequence ofthe dependence of the driving force on the velocity gradient. SinceGayley-Owocki heating deposits heat directly on the absorbing ions, wealso investigated the possibility that individual components of theradiatively driven stellar wind have different temperatures. This effectis negligible in the wind of O stars, whereas a significant temperaturedifference takes place in the winds of main sequence B stars for starscooler than B2. Typical temperature differences between absorbing ionsand other flow components for such stars is of the order 103K. However, in the case when the passive component falls back onto thestar, the absorbing component reaches temperatures of order106 K, which allows for emission of X-rays. Moreover, wecompare our computed terminal velocities with the observed ones. Wefound quite good agreement between predicted and observed terminalvelocities. The systematic difference coming from the using of the socalled ``cooking formula'' has been removed.
| Catalogue of Apparent Diameters and Absolute Radii of Stars (CADARS) - Third edition - Comments and statistics
The Catalogue, available at the Centre de Données Stellaires deStrasbourg, consists of 13 573 records concerning the results obtainedfrom different methods for 7778 stars, reported in the literature. Thefollowing data are listed for each star: identifications, apparentmagnitude, spectral type, apparent diameter in arcsec, absolute radiusin solar units, method of determination, reference, remarks. Commentsand statistics obtained from CADARS are given. The Catalogue isavailable in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcar?J/A+A/367/521
| BVR Photometry of RS CVn Type Binary RT Andromedae
Not Available
| A Study of Abundances above the Perseus Arm: the HD218915 sightline
We present absorption line data for the sightline toward HD218915, anO9.5Iab star at l=108° , b=-6.89° , & d=2.1 kpc thatprobes material approximately 300 pc away from the mid-plane of thePerseus spiral arm. The E140H STIS data (at 3.5 km s-1resolution) shows distinct absorption due to S 3, Cl 1,P 2, Mg 2, Mn 2, Ga 2, Ge 2,Cu 2, & Ni 2 at -50 km s-1 resulting fromPerseus Arm gas. Data from FUSE add information about Fe 2,Si 2, & Ar 1, allowing us to determine gas and dustphase abundances for wide range of depleted species. Also present alongthis sightline are two low column density intermediate velocitycomponents at -70 and +42 km s-1, seen in the strongest metallines. We look for evidence of grain processing by energetic events inthe Perseus arm and compare the results with previous determinations ofwarm and halo cloud depletion patterns. This work is based on dataobtained for the Guaranteed Time Team by the NASA-CNES-CSA FUSE missionoperated by the Johns Hopkins University. Financial support has beenprovided by NASA contract NAS5-32985 and STScI Grant GO 07270.02.
| The Abundance of Interstellar Boron
We use new Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) and archivalGoddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) observations to studyinterstellar B II λ1362 and O I λ1355 absorption alongseven sight lines. Our new column density measurements, combined withmeasurements of four sight lines from the literature, allow us to studythe relative B/O abundances over a wide range of interstellarenvironments. We measure sight-line-integrated relative gas-phaseabundances in the range [B/O]=-1.00 to -0.17, and our data show that theB/O abundances are anticorrelated with average sight line densities overthe range log~-1.3 to +0.7. Detailed comparisons ofthe B II and O I line shapes show that the B/O ratio is significantlyhigher in warm interstellar clouds than in cool clouds. These resultsare consistent with the incorporation of boron into dust grains in thediffuse ISM. Since boron is likely incorporated into grains, we derive alower limit to the present-day total (gas+dust) interstellar boronabundance of B/H>~(2.5+/-0.9)×10-10. The effects ofdust depletion and ionization differences from element to element willmake it very difficult to reliably determine11B/10B along most interstellar sight lines. Basedon observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtainedfrom the data archive at the Space Telescope Science Institute. STScI isoperated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy,Inc. under NASA contract NAS 5-26555.
| CCD Times of Minima of Eclipsing Binary Systems
We present several CCD minima observations of 22 eclipsing binaries.
| Active eclipsing binary RT Andromedae revisited
All available photometric and spectroscopic data of the short-period RSCVn-like binary RT And have been reanalyzed in a homogeneous way. Thelong-term orbital period change is explained by two period jumps, acontinuous period decrease combined with the light-time orbit or twolight-time orbits. UBVRIJK light curves without maculation effectstogether with the radial velocities of both components were analysedwith the Wilson-Devinney program to compute the photometric andspectroscopic elements and derive the masses of the components:m1 = 1.10+/-0.02 Msun and m2 =0.83+/-0.02 Msun. The high orbital inclination i = 87.6degr+/- 0.1degr was confirmed by photoelectric observations of the secondaryminimum. The mean observed U light curve shows additional light duringthe secondary minimum. The small eccentricity found by several authorsfrom the light-curve analysis cannot be ruled out. The face-to-faceposition of the spots on the surface of both components in 1971indicates the possibility of a mass transfer from the primary to thesecondary component through a magnetic bridge connecting both activeregions. Analysis of all available light curves suggests a randomposition of starspots and does not confirm the idea of active longitudebelts. The absolute parameters of the binary together with maximalapparent V brightness set the distance of RT And to 83+/-2 pc, close tothe Hipparcos value of 75+/-6 pc.
| Background and Scattered-Light Subtraction in the High-Resolution Echelle Modes of the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph
We present a simple, effective approach for estimating the on-orderbackgrounds of spectra taken with the highest resolution modes of theSpace Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) on board the Hubble SpaceTelescope. Our scheme for determining the on-order background spectrumfor STIS E140H and E230H observations uses moderate-order polynomialfits to the interorder scattered light visible in the two-dimensionalSTIS MAMA images. We present a suite of high-resolution STIS spectra todemonstrate that our background-subtraction routine produces the correctoverall zero point as judged by the small residual flux levels in thecenters of strongly saturated interstellar absorption lines. Althoughthere are multiple sources of background light in STIS echelle modedata, this simple approach works very well for wavelengths longward ofLyα (λ>~1215 Å). At shorter wavelengths, thesmaller order separation and generally lower signal-to-noise ratios ofthe data can reduce the effectiveness of our background estimationprocedure. Slight artifacts in the background-subtracted spectrum can beseen in some cases, particularly at wavelengths of <~1300 Å.Most of these are caused by echelle scattering of strong spectralfeatures into the interorder light. We discuss the limitations ofhigh-resolution STIS data in light of the uncertainties associated withour background-subtraction procedure. We compare ourbackground-subtracted STIS spectra with the Goddard High ResolutionSpectrograph (GHRS) Ech-A observations of the DA white dwarf G191-B2Band the GHRS first-order G160M observations of the early-type star HD218915. We find no significant differences between the GHRS data and theSTIS data reduced with our method in either case. Based on observationsmade with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained from the dataarchive at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated bythe Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., underNASA contract NAS 5-26555.
| CCD Minima of Selected Eclipsing Binaries in 1999
Not Available
| A Second Catalog of Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2 Filter Photometry: Ultraviolet Photometry of 614 Stars
Ultraviolet photometry from the Wisconsin Experiment Package on theOrbiting Astronomical Observatory 2 (OAO 2) is presented for 614 stars.Previously unpublished magnitudes from 12 filter bandpasses withwavelengths ranging from 1330 to 4250 Å have been placed on thewhite dwarf model atmosphere absolute flux scale. The fluxes wereconverted to magnitudes using V=0 for F(V)=3.46x10^-9 ergs cm^-2 s^-1Å^-1, or m_lambda=-2.5logF_lambda-21.15. This second catalogeffectively doubles the amount of OAO 2 photometry available in theliterature and includes many objects too bright to be observed withmodern space observatories.
| 1-m spectroscopy of normal OB stars
We have obtained spectra of 70 normal OB stars in the near-IR I(1-μm) band. The strongest features are those due to lines of thehydrogen Paschen series and neutral and ionized helium, which are, forthe most part, in absorption. The information content in this spectralrange is sufficient for only a rough classification of hot stars into`early O', `late O' and `B' types. Curiously, the leading He i tripletline, He i λ1.0830 μm, is usually not detectable, although ina few stars it is in emission; its behaviour generally correlates withthe leading helium singlet line, He i λ 2.058 μ m. These twofeatures appear to be present in emission only in stars with extremes ofmass loss or wind extension.
| Photoelectric and CCD times of minima of several eclipsing binary systems
We present several photoelectric and CCD minima observations of severaleclipsing binaries. Most of them are apsidal motion stars (or at leastcandidate ones).
| UBV beta Database for Case-Hamburg Northern and Southern Luminous Stars
A database of photoelectric UBV beta photometry for stars listed in theCase-Hamburg northern and southern Milky Way luminous stars surveys hasbeen compiled from the original research literature. Consisting of over16,000 observations of some 7300 stars from over 500 sources, thisdatabase constitutes the most complete compilation of such photometryavailable for intrinsically luminous stars around the Galactic plane.Over 5000 stars listed in the Case-Hamburg surveys still lackfundamental photometric data.
| ICCD speckle observations of binary stars. XIX - an astrometric/spectroscopic survey of O stars
We present the results of a speckle interferometric survey made with theCHARA speckle camera and 4 m class telescopes of Galactic O-type starswith V less than 8. We can detect with the speckle camera binaries inthe angular separation range 0.035-1.5 arcsec with delta M less than 3,and we have discovered 15 binaries among 227 O-type systems. We combinedour results on visual binaries with measurements of wider pairs from theWashington Double Star Catalog and fainter pairs from the HipparcosCatalog, and we made a literature survey of the spectroscopic binariesamong the sample. We then investigated the overall binary frequency ofthe sample and the orbital characteristics of the known binaries.Binaries are common among O stars in clusters and associations but lessso among field and especially runaway stars. There are many triplesystems among the speckle binaries, and we discuss their possible rolein the ejection of stars from clusters. The period distribution of thebinaries is bimodal in log P, but we suggest that binaries with periodsof years and decades may eventually be found to fill the gap. The massratio distribution of the visual binaries increases toward lower massratios, but low mass ratio companions are rare among close,spectroscopic binaries. We present distributions of the eccentricity andlongitude of periastron for spectroscopic binaries with ellipticalorbits, and we find strong evidence of a bias in the longitude ofperiastron distribution.
| UV Spectral Classification of O and B Stars in the Small Magellanic =
We present an ultraviolet classification system for 0 and B stars of theSmall Magellanic Cloud (SMC). This system is defined by a set ofstandard, low resolution, International Ultraviolet Explorer (JUE)spectra. This UV classification system results from the development ofspectral sequences demonstrating systematic patterus of UV spectralfeatures. These spectral sequences yield Uv classifications for 133 0and B stars of the SMC, which we also present here. Although independentof the MK System, our UV classifications show general agreement withthose deduced from visual data. This UV classification system isdesigned to be applicable to 0 and B stars in other nearby galaxies ofmetallicity comparable to the SMC. The classification technique itselfis applicable to any UV dataset of sufficient size and quality, and canbe used to extend our UV classification system to other galactic metalabundances. These UV classification systems will be essential foranalysis of datasets from new spaceborne instrumentation such as theSpace Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS), which will be capable ofobserving stars in external galaxies for which no opticalclassifications exist. 0 1997 American Astronomical Society.[S0004-6256(97)0231 1-X]
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Andromeda |
| Right ascension: | 23h11m06.95s |
| Declination: | +53°03'29.6" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 7.222 |
| Distance: | 2083.333 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | -2.4 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -6.8 |
| B-T magnitude: | 7.185 |
| V-T magnitude: | 7.219 |
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