scholarly journals AGB winds in interacting binary stars

2020 ◽  
Vol 493 (2) ◽  
pp. 2606-2617 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis C Bermúdez-Bustamante ◽  
G García-Segura ◽  
W Steffen ◽  
L Sabin

ABSTRACT We perform numerical simulations to investigate the stellar wind from interacting binary stars. Our aim is to find analytical formulae describing the outflow structure. In each binary system the more massive star is in the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) and its wind is driven by a combination of pulsations in the stellar surface layers and radiation pressure on dust, while the less massive star is in the main sequence. Time averages of density and outflow velocity of the stellar wind are calculated and plotted as profiles against distance from the centre of mass and colatitude angle. We find that mass is lost mainly through the outer Lagrangian point L2. The resultant outflow develops into a spiral at low distances from the binary. The outflowing spiral is quickly smoothed out by shocks and becomes an excretion disc at larger distances. This leads to the formation of an outflow structure with an equatorial density excess, which is greater in binaries with smaller orbital separation. The pole-to-equator density ratio reaches a maximum value of ∼105 at Roche lobe overflow state. We also find that the gas stream leaving L2 does not form a circumbinary ring for stellar mass ratios above 0.78, when radiation pressure on dust is taken into account. Analytical formulae are obtained by curve fitting the two-dimensional, azimuthally averaged density and outflow velocity profiles. The formulae can be used in future studies to set-up the initial outflow structure in hydrodynamic simulations of common-envelope evolution and formation of planetary nebulae.

2019 ◽  
Vol 629 ◽  
pp. A91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming Yang ◽  
Alceste Z. Bonanos ◽  
Bi-Wei Jiang ◽  
Jian Gao ◽  
Panagiotis Gavras ◽  
...  

We present a clean, magnitude-limited (IRAC1 or WISE1 ≤ 15.0 mag) multiwavelength source catalog for the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) with 45 466 targets in total, with the purpose of building an anchor for future studies, especially for the massive star populations at low-metallicity. The catalog contains data in 50 different bands including 21 optical and 29 infrared bands, retrieved from SEIP, VMC, IRSF, AKARI, HERITAGE, Gaia, SkyMapper, NSC, Massey (2002, ApJS, 141, 81), and GALEX, ranging from the ultraviolet to the far-infrared. Additionally, radial velocities and spectral classifications were collected from the literature, and infrared and optical variability statistics were retrieved from WISE, SAGE-Var, VMC, IRSF, Gaia, NSC, and OGLE. The catalog was essentially built upon a 1″ crossmatching and a 3″ deblending between the Spitzer Enhanced Imaging Products (SEIP) source list and Gaia Data Release 2 (DR2) photometric data. Further constraints on the proper motions and parallaxes from Gaia DR2 allowed us to remove the foreground contamination. We estimate that about 99.5% of the targets in our catalog are most likely genuine members of the SMC. Using the evolutionary tracks and synthetic photometry from MESA Isochrones & Stellar Tracks and the theoretical J − KS color cuts, we identified 1405 red supergiant (RSG), 217 yellow supergiant, and 1369 blue supergiant candidates in the SMC in five different color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs), where attention should also be paid to the incompleteness of our sample. We ranked the candidates based on the intersection of different CMDs. A comparison between the models and observational data shows that the lower limit of initial mass for the RSG population may be as low as 7 or even 6 M⊙ and that the RSG is well separated from the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) population even at faint magnitude, making RSGs a unique population connecting the evolved massive and intermediate stars, since stars with initial mass around 6 to 8 M⊙ are thought to go through a second dredge-up to become AGB stars. We encourage the interested reader to further exploit the potential of our catalog.


2020 ◽  
Vol 644 ◽  
pp. A45
Author(s):  
J. Brand ◽  
D. Engels ◽  
A. Winnberg

Context. Water masers emitting at a radiofrequency of 22 GHz are often found in the circumstellar envelopes of evolved stars. We monitored the H2O maser emission of a larger sample of evolved stars of different types to study the maser properties as a function of stellar type. Aims. We wish to understand the origin and evolution of the H2O masers in circumstellar envelopes. In this paper, we take a closer look at R Crt and RT Vir, two nearby (<250 pc) semi-regular variable stars. The findings complement our monitoring results for RX Boo and SV Peg, two other semi-regular variable stars that we have discussed in a previous paper. Methods. Within the framework of the Medicina/Effelsberg H2O maser monitoring programme, we observed the maser emission of R Crt and RT Vir for more than two decades with single-dish telescopes. To get insights into the distribution of maser spots in the circumstellar envelopes at different times, to get an idea of their longevity, and, where possible, to be able to link the phenomena seen in our observations to maser locations within the envelopes, we collected interferometric data for these stars, taken within the same period, from the literature. Results. The H2O masers in R Crt and RT Vir exhibit brightness variations on a variety of timescales. We confirm short-time variations of individual features on timescales of months to up to 1.5 yr, as seen by previous monitoring programmes. Also decade-long variations of the general brightness level, independent from individual features, were seen in both stars. These long-term variations are attributed to brightness variations occurring independently from each other in selected velocity ranges and they are independent of the optical light curve of the stars. Expected drifts in velocity of individual features are usually masked by the blending of other features with similar velocities. However, in RT Vir, we found the exceptional case of a single feature with a constant velocity over 7.5 yr (<0.06 km s−1 yr−1). Conclusions. We attribute the long-term brightness variations to the presence of regions with higher-than-average density in the stellar wind and hosting several clouds which emit maser radiation on short timescales. These regions typically need ~20 yr to cross the H2O maser shell, where the right conditions for exciting H2O masers are present. Different clouds contained in such a region all move within a narrow range of velocities, and so does their maser emission. This sometimes gives the impression of longer-living features in single-dish spectra, in spite of the short lifetimes of the individual components that lie at their origin, thus, naturally explaining the longer timescales observed. The constant velocity feature (11 km s−1) is likely to come from a single maser cloud, which moved through about half of RT Vir’s H2O maser shell without changing its velocity. From this, we infer that its path was located in the outer part of the H2O maser shell, where RT Vir’s stellar wind has, apparently, already reached its terminal outflow velocity. This conclusion is independently corroborated by the observation that the highest H2O maser outflow velocity in RT Vir approaches the terminal outflow velocity, as given by OH and CO observations. This is generally not observed in other semi-regular variable stars. All four stars in our study are of optical variability type SRb, indicating the absence of periodic large-amplitude variations. Therefore, any likely responses of the maser brightness to variations of the optical emission are masked by the strong short-term maser fluctuations.


2018 ◽  
Vol 478 (2) ◽  
pp. 2794-2811 ◽  
Author(s):  
J P Naiman ◽  
E Ramirez-Ruiz ◽  
D N C Lin

2020 ◽  
Vol 498 (2) ◽  
pp. 2814-2832
Author(s):  
Randa Asa’d ◽  
Paul Goudfrooij

ABSTRACT We investigate the precision of the ages and metallicities of 21 000 mock simple stellar populations (SSPs) determined through full-spectrum fitting. The mock SSPs cover an age range of 6.8 &lt; log (age/yr) &lt; 10.2, for three wavelength ranges in the optical regime, using both Padova and MIST isochrone models. Random noise is added to the model spectra to achieve S/N ratios between 10 and 100 per wavelength pixel. We find that for S/N ≥ 50, this technique can yield ages of SSPs to an overall precision of ∆log (age/yr)∼01 for ages in the ranges 7.0 ≤ log (age/yr) ≤ 8.3 and 8.9 ≤ log (age/yr) ≤ 9.4. For the age ranges of 8.3 ≤ log (age/yr) ≤ 8.9 and log (age/yr) ≥ 9.5, which have significant flux contributions from asymptotic giant branch and red giant branch stars, respectively, the age uncertainty rises to about ±0.3 dex. The precision of age and metallicity estimation using this method depends significantly on the S/N and the wavelength range used in the fitting. We quantify the systematic differences in age predicted by the MIST and Padova isochrone models, due to their different assumptions about stellar physics in various important (i.e. luminous) phases of stellar evolution, which needs to be taken in consideration when comparing ages of star clusters obtained using these popular models. Knowing the strengths and limitations of this technique is crucial in interpreting the results obtained for real star clusters and for deciding the optimal instrument set-up before performing the observations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 634 ◽  
pp. A84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Á. Skúladóttir ◽  
C. J. Hansen ◽  
A. Choplin ◽  
S. Salvadori ◽  
M. Hampel ◽  
...  

The slow (s) and intermediate (i) neutron (n) capture processes occur both in asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars, and in massive stars. To study the build-up of the s- and i-products at low metallicity, we investigate the abundances of Y, Ba, La, Nd, and Eu in 98 stars, at −2.4 <  [Fe/H] <  −0.9, in the Sculptor dwarf spheroidal galaxy. The chemical enrichment from AGB stars becomes apparent at [Fe/H] ≈ −2 in Sculptor, and causes [Y/Ba], [La/Ba], [Nd/Ba] and [Eu/Ba] to decrease with metallicity, reaching subsolar values at the highest [Fe/H] ≈ −1. To investigate individual nucleosynthetic sites, we compared three n-rich Sculptor stars with theoretical yields. One carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP-no) star with high [Sr, Y, Zr] >  +0.7 is best fit with a model of a rapidly-rotating massive star, the second (likely CH star) with the i-process, while the third has no satisfactory fit. For a more general understanding of the build-up of the heavy elements, we calculate for the first time the cumulative contribution of the s- and i-processes to the chemical enrichment in Sculptor, and compare with theoretical predictions. By correcting for the r-process, we derive [Y/Ba]s/i = −0.85 ± 0.16, [La/Ba]s/i = −0.49 ± 0.17, and [Nd/Ba]s/i = −0.48 ± 0.12, in the overall s- and/or i-process in Sculptor. These abundance ratios are within the range of those of CEMP stars in the Milky Way, which have either s- or i-process signatures. The low [Y/Ba]s/i and [La/Ba]s/i that we measure in Sculptor are inconsistent with them arising from the s-process only, but are more compatible with models of the i-process. Thus we conclude that both the s- and i-processes were important for the build-up of n-capture elements in the Sculptor dwarf spheroidal galaxy.


1979 ◽  
Vol 83 ◽  
pp. 383-399
Author(s):  
Janusz Ziółkowski

Three situations involving mass loss from binary systems are discussed. (1) Non-conservative mass exchange in semi-detached binaries. No quantitative estimate of this mechanism is possible at present. (2) Common envelope binaries. There are both theoretical and observational indications that this phase of evolution happens to many systems, even to some that are not very close initially (orbital periods ~ years). (3) Stellar winds in binaries. Observational evidence suggests that stellar winds from components of close binaries (especially semi-detached) are significantly stronger than from single stars at the same location in the H-R diagram. Theoretical arguments indicate that in some cases stellar wind may stabilize the component of a binary against the Roche lobe overflow. In some cases there is weak evidence of an anisotropy in the stellar wind.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (S328) ◽  
pp. 192-197
Author(s):  
C. Villarreal D’Angelo ◽  
M. Schneiter ◽  
A. Esquivel

AbstractWe present a 3D magnetohydrodynamic study of the effect that stellar and planetary magnetic fields have on the calculated Lyα absorption during the planetary transit, employing parameters that resemble the exoplanet HD209458b. We assume a dipolar magnetic field for both the star and the planet, and use the Parker solution to initialize the stellar wind. We also consider the radiative processes and the radiation pressure.We use the numerical MHD code Guacho to run several models varying the values of the planetary and stellar magnetic moments within the range reported in the literature.We found that the presence of magnetic fields influences the escaping neutral planetary material spreading the absorption Lyα line for large stellar magnetic fields.


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