The metal-poor post-AGB star HD 46703 is shown to be a single-line spectroscopic binary with a period of 600 days, a high velocity of -94 km/s, and an orbital eccentricity of 0.3. Light curve studies show that it also pulsates with a period of 29 days. High-resolution, high signal-to-noise spectra were used for a new abundance study. The atmospheric model determined is T(eff) = 6250 K, log(g) = 1.0, V(t) = 3.0 km/s, and a metal abundance of [M/H] = -1.5. A low carbon abundance and lack of s-process element enhancement indicate that the star has not experienced third dredge-up on the AGB. The sulfur and zinc abundances are high compared with iron, and the chemical abundances show a clear anti-correlation with condensation temperature. The abundance depletion pattern is similar to that seen in other post-AGB binaries, and, like them, is attributed to the chemical fractionation of refractory elements onto dust stored in a circumbinary disk and the re-accretion of volatiles in the stellar atmosphere. The infrared excess is small but the excess energy distribution is very similar to what can expected from a disk. HD 46703 joins the growing list of depleted, post-AGB stars which are likely surrounded by a dusty and stable circumbinary disk.
We are currently studying carbon based dust types of relevance for carbon-rich AGB stars, to obtain a better understanding of the influence of the optical and chemical properties of the grains on the mass loss of the star. An investigation of the complex interplay between hydrodynamics,radiative transfer and chemistry has to be based on a better knowledge of the micro-physics of the relevant dust species.
We analyse public domain time-series photometric observations of 30 known and candidate binary post-AGB stars for measuring pulsation and orbital periods. We derive periodicities for 17 stars for the first time in the literature. Besides identifying five new RV Tauri type pulsating variables (three with the RVb phenomenon, i.e. long-term changes of the mean brightness), we find multiply periodic (or possibly irregular) post-AGB stars on the two edges of the instability strip. The temperature dependence of the peak-to-peak light curve amplitudes clearly indicates the changes in excitation as po…
For determining distance and mass of pulsating stars a new, purely photometric method is described in which radial velocity observations are not needed. The method is compared with the Baade-Wesselink method. As an example the RR Lyrae variable SU Dra is given.
Pulsation influences atmospheric structures of variable AGB stars (Miras) considerably. Spectral lines of the CO dv=3 vibration-rotation bands (at 1.6mue) therefore have a very characteristic appearance in time series of high-resolution spectra. Coupled to the light cycle they can be observed blue- or red-shifted, for some phases even line doubling is found. This is being explained by radial pulsations and shock fronts emerging in the atmospheres. Based on dynamic model atmospheres synthetic CO line profiles were calculated consistently, reproducing this scenario qualitatively.
To study the effect of metallicity on the mass-loss of AGB stars, we have conducted mid-infrared photometric measurements of AGB stars in the Sagittarius and Fornax Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies ([Fe/H]=-1.1 and -1.3) with the 10-micron camera of VISIR at the VLT. These observations combined with previous near-infrared photometric measurements allow us to estimate mass-loss rates in these galaxies. We show here that the observed AGB display dust-driven mass-loss. Dust mass-loss rate are found to be in the range 0.2$\times10^{-10}-1.3\times10^{-8}$ M$_{\odot}$yr$^{-1}$ for the observed AGB stars in…
Deep K' images with 0.1 arcsec angular resolution, obtained with ALTAIR+NIRI on Gemini North, are used to investigate photometric variablity among the brightest asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars in the central regions of M32. Based on a comparison with brightnesses obtained from the K-band data discussed by Davidge et al. (2000, ApJ, 545, L89), it is concluded that (1) at least 60% of bright AGB stars near the center of M32 are photometrically variable, and (2) the amplitudes of the light variations are similar to those of long period variables in the Galactic bulge. We do not find evidence …
A small fraction of subluminous B stars show short-period, multiperiodic light variations and form the new class of pulsating star known as EC 14026 variables, after the prototype. The Multi-Site Spectroscopic Telescope (MSST) is a virtual instrument and is also the name of a collaboration that aims to open up a new observational window to provide access to a mode identification for and an asteroseismological analysis of the pulsating sdB star PG 1605+072. Although the primary aim is to obtain time resolved spectroscopy it also includes the most extended photometric monitoring campaign for PG …
The recently discovered new class of sdB pulsators (sdBV) offers a powerful possibility for the investigation of their interior and thus their evolutionary history. The first step towards applying asteroseismologic tools is the identification of pulsation modes. We reoport on simultaneous spectroscopic and multi-band photometric time series observations of PG 1605+072 and analyse its radial velocity and light curve.
We report the discovery of a long-period g-mode oscillation in the previously known short-period p-mode sdB pulsator HS 0702+6043. This makes this star an extraordinary object, unique as a member of the family of sdB pulsators, and one of the very few known pulsating stars overall exhibiting excited modes along both the acoustic and gravity branches of the nonradial pulsation spectrum. Because p-modes and g-modes probe different regions of a pulsating star, HS 0702+6043 holds a tremendous potential for future detailed asteroseismological investigations.
A photoelectric monitoring program has been applied, during the last four years, to five central stars of planetary nebulae (PNNs) with strong O\,VI $λ$ 3811--34 Å\hspace{0.1mm} emission. NGC\,6905 and, marginally, NGC\,2452, show intrinsic luminosity variations, while NGC\,7026, IC\,2003 and NGC\,1501 have constant luminosity within a few mmag. Photometric data have been analyzed with the best available packages for power--spectra reductions. Both pulsators have periods and physical characteristics well encompassed by the theoretical pulsational models relative to these stars.
We have imaged five 7\arcmin \x 7\arcmin\ fields in M31 spanning galactocentric radii from 4 to 32 kpc along the SW-major axis. The fields were observed through two broad-band (\V\ and \I) and two narrow-band (\CN\ and \TiO) filters. The broad-band data were used to construct \IvsVI\ color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) and, in some of our fields, we found significant numbers of stars in the Cepheid instability strip. A distance modulus for the Cepheids in the middle field was found that agreed well with other values in the literature values. The width of the giant branch (GB) in the \IvsVI\ CMD of…
We present an analysis of high-speed spectroscopy of the pulsating subdwarf B star PG 1605+072. Periodic radial motions are detected at frequencies similar to those reported for photometric variations in the star, with amplitudes of up to 6 km/s. Differences between relative strengths for given frequency peaks for our velocity data and previously measured photometry are probably a result of shifting of power between modes over time. Small differences in the detected frequencies may also indicate mode-shifting. We report the detection of line-shape variations using the moments of the cross corr…
The potential of photometric methods for the identification of l, the degree of spherical surface harmonic of a pulsating star, is investigated with special emphasis on Stromgren photometry applied to delta Scuti and gamma Dor variables. Limitations of actual model atmospheres when fine precision is required for the calculations of partial derivatives and integrals, which depend on limb darkening coefficients, are discussed. Two methods are discussed to calculate the phase lags, the angle between maximum temperature and minimum radius, and R, a parameter which describes departure from adiabati…
We present an improved version of the method of photometric mode identification of Heynderickx et al. (1994). Our new version is based on the inclusion of precise non-adiabatic eigenfunctions determined in the outer stellar atmosphere according to the formalism recently proposed by Dupret et al.(2002). Our improved photometric mode identification technique is therefore no longer dependent on ad hoc parameters for the non-adiabatic effects. It contains the complete physical conditions of the outer atmosphere of the star, provided that rotation does not play a key role. We apply our improved met…
We report time-resolved VR-band CCD photometry of the eclipsing binary RZ Cas obtained with 38-cm Cassegrain telescope at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory during July 2004 - October 2005. Obtained lightcurves clearly demonstrates rapid pulsations with the period about 22 minutes. Periodogram analysis of such oscillations also is reported. On the 12, January, 2005 we observed rapid variability with higher amplitude (~0.^m 1) that, perhaps, may be interpreted as high-mass-transfer-rate event and inhomogeneity of accretion stream. Follow-up observations (both, photometric and spectroscopic) …
We report the detection of velocity variations in the pulsating sdB star, PG 1605+072. Oscillations are detected at the same frequencies found from photometry and have amplitudes of up to 14 km/s for H$β$. The strongest oscillation found in previous photometric observations is not evident in our spectroscopy or photometry, and may be absent due to beating of closely spaced modes. Phase differences between spectroscopy and B magnitude photometry imply that maximum brightness occurs not long after maximum radius. We have also found evidence of variation in the observed amplitudes of five Balmer …
We study the post-AGB central star of the (bipolar) Galactic bulge planetary nebula M 2-29. We have obtained additional HST imaging and SAAO spectroscopy of the object. The star showed a pronounced, long-lasting occultation with subsequent recovery. The event lasted for almost 3 years, with a secondary minimum 9 years later. The photometric behaviour of M 2-29 resembles the dust-occultation events seen in NGC 2346, and is modeled as an occultation by a circumbinary disk, where the binary period is 18 yr. Modulation during the decline shows evidence for another companion with a period of 23 day…
Recent calculations of evolutionary tracks of TP-AGB stars of different mass and metallicity by Marigo et al. (2007) have been incorporated in the Bruzual & Charlot evolutionary population synthesis models. The mass of the stellar population in HUDF galaxies at z from 1 to 3 determined from fits to the spectro-photometric data of these galaxies is 50 to 80% lower than the mass determined from the BC03 models. The ages inferred for these populations are, with exceptions, 40 to 60% of the BC03 estimates.
High-speed spectroscopy of two pulsating subdwarf B stars, KPD 2109+4401 and PB 8783, is presented. Radial motions are detected with the same frequencies as reported from photometric observations and with amplitudes of ~2 km/sec in two or more independent modes. These represent the first direct observations of surface motion due to multimode non-radial oscillations in subdwarf B stars. In the case of the sdB+F binary PB 8783, the velocities of both components are resolved; high-frequency oscillations are found only in the sdB star and not the F star. There also appears to be evidence for mutua…
In this paper we describe a new class of pulsating stars, the prototype of which is the bright, early, F-type dwarf, Gamma Doradus. These stars typically have between 1 and 5 periods ranging from 0.4 to 3 days with photometric amplitudes up to 0.1 in Johnson V. The mechanism for these observed variations is high-order, low-degree, non-radial, gravity-mode pulsation. Gamma Doradus stars exhibit variability on a time scale that is an order of magnitude slower than Delta Scuti stars. They may offer additional insight into stellar physics when they are better understood (e.g., they may represent t…
We extend our previous pulsational stability analyses of PG 1159 stars by modeling the hybrid PG 1159 type star Abell 43. We show that the standard kappa-mechanism due to the ionization of C and O in the envelope of this H-rich PG 1159 star is perfectly able to drive g-mode pulsations. Thus, contrary to a recent suggestion, there is no need to invoke any new or exotic mechanism to explain the pulsational instabilities observed in this particular star. Our expected instability band for l = 1 modes extends in period from ~ 2604 s to ~ 5529 s, which is consistent with the available photometric ob…
Aims. In order to better model massive B-type stars, we need to understand the physical processes taking place in slowly pulsating B (SPB) stars, chemically peculiar Bp stars, and non-pulsating normal B stars co-existing in the same part of the H-R diagram. Methods. We carry out a comparative study between samples of confirmed and well-studied SPB stars and a sample of well-studied Bp stars with known periods and magnetic field strengths. We determine their evolutionary state using accurate HIPPARCOS parallaxes and Geneva photometry. We discuss the occurrence and strengths of magnetic fields a…
I present a short description of the STELIB, HNGSL, IndoUS, MILES, ELODIE, UVES-POP, and IRTF libraries of empirical stellar spectra and show some applications of their use in population synthesis models. When new calculations of the TP-AGB evolutionary phase for stars of different mass and metallicity are included in population synthesis models, the stellar mass in galaxies at z from 1 to 3 determined from spectro-photometric data can be up to 50% lower than the mass determined from the BC03 models. The ages inferred for these populations are considerably lower than the BC03 estimates.
We present a large set of theoretical isochrones, whose distinctive features mostly reside on the greatly improved treatment of the thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch (TP-AGB) phase. Essentially, we have coupled the TP-AGB tracks described in Paper I, at their stages of pre-flash quiescent H-shell burning, with the evolutionary tracks for the previous evolutionary phases from Girardi et al. (2000). Theoretical isochrones for any intermediate value of age and metallicity are then derived by interpolation in the grids. We take care that the isochrones keep, to a good level of detail, the …
In this work, a sample of luminous M-type giants in the Baade's Windows towards the inner Galactic Bulge is investigated in the near-infrared. The ISOGAL survey at 7 and 15 micron has given information concerning the mass-loss rates of these stars and their variability characteristics have been extracted from the MACHO database. Most are known to be semi-regular variables (SRVs). Here we discuss how their IJHK-region colours depend on period and the presence or absence of mass-loss, using results mainly taken from the DENIS and 2MASS surveys. In order to compare their colours with solar neighb…
We have investigated the F0V star V398\,Aurigae (= 9 Aur) under the assumption that it is undergoing non-radial gravity mode oscillations and that the two principal periods given by Krisciunas et al. (1995) are correct. We find that the two periods are manifestations of an $\ell=3, |m|=1$ spheroidal mode and its toroidal corrections due to the rotation of the star. As far as we know, this is the first detection of toroidal correction terms in a real star. The two modes probably are the result of rotational splitting. Our analysis provides for the first time a physical explanation of certain ch…
We present new synthetic models of the TP-AGB evolution. They are computed for 7 values of initial metal content (Z from 0.0001 to 0.03) and for initial masses between 0.5 and 5.0 Msun, thus extending the low- and intermediate-mass tracks of Girardi et al. (2000) until the beginning of the post-AGB phase. The calculations are performed by means of a synthetic code that incorporates many recent improvements, among which we mention: (1) the use of detailed and revised analytical relations to describe the evolution of quiescent luminosity, inter-pulse period, third dredge-up, hot bottom burning, …
We present in this paper a study on the peculiar supergiant HD172481. Its spectral type (F2Ia), high galactic latitude (b=-10.37), circumstellar dust, high radial velocity and moderate metal deficiency ([Fe/H]=-0.55) confirm the post-AGB character of this object. A detailed chemical analysis shows slight but real s-process overabundances, however no CNO-enhancement was detected. Furthermore, the spectral energy distribution and the TiO bands in the red part of the spectrum reveal a red luminous companion. The luminosity ratio of the hot F type component and this cool M type companion L(F)/L(M)…
The results from a Hubble Space Telescope (HST) snapshot survey of post-AGB objects are shown. The aim of the survey is to complement existing HST images of PPN and to connect various types of nebulosities with physical and chemical properties of their central stars. Nebulosities are detected in 15 of 33 sources. Images and photometric and geometric measurements are presented. For sources with nebulosities we see a morphological bifurcation into two groups, DUPLEX and SOLE, as previous studies have found. We find further support to the previous results suggesting that this dichotomy is caused …
Aims: To investigate variability and to model the pulsational behaviour of AGB variables in the intermediate-age LMC cluster NGC 1846. Methods: Our own photometric monitoring has been combined with data from the MACHO archive to detect 22 variables among the cluster's AGB stars and to derive pulsation periods. According to the global parameters of the cluster we construct pulsation models taking into account the effect of the C/O ratio on the atmospheric structure. In particular, we have used opacities appropriate for both O-rich stars and carbon stars in the pulsation calculations. Results: T…
We present times series of high resolution spectra of AGB variables at 4mu. Line profiles from the major contributors to the spectra of oxygen rich stars at 4mu, OH, H$_2$O, HCl and SiO, are examined. The velocity as well as shape variations of these profiles with time are discussed. The line profiles investigated frequently have emission and multiple absorption components. The changes with time of the 4mu region lines do not always follow the cyclic variability seen in NIR spectra and in the photometric light curve. We interpret and discuss the results qualitatively considering comparing the …
The Spitzer Space Telescope and in particular its InfraRed Array Camera (IRAC) is an ideal facility to study the distribution of AGB stars in our own and other galaxies because of its efficiency in surveying vast areas of the sky and its ability to detect sources with infrared excess. The IRAC colors of AGB stars, however, are not well known because cool stars have numerous molecular absorption features in the spectral region covered by the IRAC photometric system. The presence and strength of these features depends on the chemistry of the stellar atmosphere and the mass loss rate and can chan…
AU Pegasi is a pulsating star in a spectroscopic binary system with an orbital period of 53.26 days. Between 1960 and 1990 an extremely rapid period increase was observed in the value of the pulsation period, but in the last 15 years the observation show that the period set in 2.411 days. Fourier analysis of photometric data obtained during the ASAS project and those taken at the Piszkesteto Mountain Station of the Konkoly Observatory during 1994-2005 indicate that AU Pegasi is pulsating in two modes simultaneously, and the ratio of the frequencies of the two modes is 0.706, a value common for…
We present a study based on more than 2500 uvby-measurements collected on HD 172189, a new eclipsing binary system with a Delta Sct-type pulsating component that belongs to the open cluster IC 4756. The great interest of this object lies in that three important characteristics coexist: cluster membership, binarity and pulsation. Its binarity and the Delta Sct-type pulsations of one component were detected in the course of several Stromgren photometric campaigns. The frequency analysis of all the uvby out-of-eclipse data reveals a clear frequency of 19.5974 c/d as well as the existence of other…
We present observations and analysis of time-series spectroscopy and photometry of the pulsating subdwarf B star PG 1219+534 (KY UMa). Subdwarf B stars are blue horizontal branch stars which have shed most of their hydrogen envelopes. Pulsating subdwarf B stars allow a probe into this interesting phase of evolution. Low resolution spectra were obtained at the Nordic Optical Telescope and Kitt Peak National Observatory, and photometric observations were obtained at MDM and Baker observatories in 2006. We extracted radial velocity and equivalent width variations from several Balmer and He I line…
Phase differences and amplitude ratios at different colour photometric bands are currently being used to discriminate pulsation modes in order to facilitate mode identification of kappa-driven non-radial pulsating stars. In addition to physical inputs (e.g., mass, T_eff, etc.), these quantities depend on the non-adiabatic treatment of the atmosphere. This paper presents theoretical results concerning Delta Scuti pulsating stars. The envelope of each of these stellar structures possesses a convection zone whose development is determined by various factors. An interacting pulsation-atmosphere ph…
We present an unbiased orbit solution and mass determination of the components of the eclipsing binary NY Vir as a critical test for the formation scenarios of subdwarf B stars. We obtained high-resolution time series VLT/UVES spectra and high-speed multicolour VLT/ULTRACAM photometric observations of NY Vir, a rapidly pulsating subdwarf B star in a short period eclipsing binary. Combining the radial velocity curve obtained from the VLT/UVES spectra with the VLT/ULTRACAM multicolour lightcurves, we determined numerical orbital solutions for this eclipsing binary. Due to the large number of fre…
Thermally pulsating asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars are the main producers of slow neutron capture (s-) process elements, but there are still large uncertainties associated with the formation of the main neutron source, 13C, and with the physics of these stars in general. Observations of s-process element enhancements in stars can be used as constraints on theoretical models. For the first time we apply stellar population synthesis to the problem of s-process nucleosynthesis in AGB stars, in order to derive constraints on free parameters describing the physics behind the third dredge-up an…
The F8Ia supergiant V810 Centauri is part of a long-term high-precision photometric monitoring program on long period variables started twenty years ago. Time series analysis of this unique set of 500 data points, spanning almost fifteen years in the homogeneous Geneva photometric system, is presented. Cluster membership, physical parameters and evolutionary status of the star are reinvestigated. Radial velocity data do not support the cluster membership to Stock 14}. Ultraviolet and optical spectrophotometry is combined with optical and infrared photometry to evaluate the physical parameters …
We present three-component wind models for carbon rich pulsating AGB stars. In particular we study the effects of drift in models of long-period variables, meaning that the dust is allowed to move relative to the gas (drift models). In addition we investigate the importance of the degree of variability of the wind structures. The wind model contains separate conservation laws for each of the three components of gas, dust and the radiation field. We use two different representations for the gas opacity, resulting in models with different gas densities in the wind. The effects which we investiga…
We present the first results from the MultiSite Spectroscopic Telescope (MSST) observations of the sdBV star PG1605+072. Pulsating sdB stars (also known as EC14026 stars) offer the chance to gain new insights into the formation and evolution of extreme Horizontal Branch stars using the tools of asteroseismology. PG1605+072 is an outstanding object in its class, with the richest frequency spectrum, the longest periods, and the largest variations. The MSST campaign took place in May/June 2002 immediately following the Whole Earth Telescope Xcov22 run, which observed PG1605+072 as an alternate ta…
In a large coordinated attempt to further our understanding of the $p$-mode pulsating sdB star PG1605+072, the Multi-Site Spectroscopic Telescope (MSST) collaboration has obtained simultaneous time-resolved spectroscopic and photometric observations. The photometry was extended by additional WET data which increased the time base. This contribution outlines the analysis of the MSST photometric light curve, including the four-colour BUSCA data from which chromatic amplitudes have been derived, as well as supplementary FUV spectra and light curves from two different epochs. These results have th…
The huge photometric databases that are being created for stars in the Magellanic Clouds and in Local Group galaxies not only allow detailed study of the star formation history of these systems, but also provide important information on stellar evolutionary theory. Two low-level features above the red-clump in the LMC color-magnitude diagram (CMD) have been discussed by Zaritsky & Lin (1997) and Alcock et al. (1997) as the possible signature of an intervening population. I conclude that one of the features, which has also been associated with the red giant branch bump (RGB-bump) predicted by t…
We have carried out abundance analysis for a sample of high galactic latitude supergiants in search of evolved stars. We find that HD 27381 has atmospheric parameters and an abundance pattern very similar to that of the post-AGB star HD 107369. HD 10285 and HD 25291 are moderately metal-poor and show the influence of mixing that has brought the products of NeNa cycle to the surface. The high galactic latitude B supergiant HD 137569 shows selective depletion of refractory elements normally seen in post-AGB stars. We find that the high velocity B type star HD 172324 shows moderate deficiency of …
Context: Stellar pulsations in main-sequence B-type stars are driven by the kappa-mechanism due to the Fe-group opacity bump. The current models do not predict the presence of instability strips in the B spectral domain at very low metallicities. As the metallicity of the SMC is lower than Z=0.005, it constitutes a very suitable object to test these predictions. Aims: The main objective is to investigate the existence of B-type pulsators at low metallicities, searching for short-term periodic variability in absorption-line B and Be stars in the SMC. The analysis has been performed in a sample …
To study the effect of metallicity on the mass-loss rate of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars, we have conducted mid-infrared photometric measurements of such stars in the Sagittarius (Sgr dSph) and Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxies with the 10-$μ$m camera VISIR at the VLT. We derive mass-loss rates for 29 AGB stars in Sgr dSph and 2 in Fornax. The dust mass-loss rates are estimated from the $K-[9]$ and $K-[11]$ colours. Radiative transfer models are used to check the consistency of the method. Published IRAS and Spitzer data confirm that the same tight correlation between $K-[12]$ colour and…
