Model atmospheres for RR Lyrae stars.
RR Lyrae gap stellar model atmospheres including radiation spectra, temperature radiation and convection, etc
Strom, S. E.↗
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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
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Airborne Astronomy Program
Our understanding about the inter-relationship between the collapsing cloud envelope and the disk has been greatly altered. While the dominant star formation models invoke free fall collapse and r(sup -1.5) density profile, other star formation models are possible. These models invoke either different cloud starting conditions or the mediating effects of magnetic fields to alter the cloud geometry during collapse. To test these models, it is necessary to understand the envelope's physical structure. The discovery of disks, based on millimeter observations around young stellar objects, however makes a simple interpretation of the emission complicated. Depending on the wavelength, the disk or the envelope could dominate emission from a star. In addition, the discovery of planets around other stars has made understanding the disks in their own right quite important. Many star formation models predict disks should form naturally as the star is forming. In many cases, the information we derive about disk properties depends implicitly on the assumed envelope properties. How to understand the two components and their interaction with each other is a key problem of current star formation.
Butner, Harold M.↗
A model for the interaction between stars and gas in the interstellar medium
A model for the ISM is considered in which stars lose mass and heat the gas while the gas can form into stars. Three scale-free models are calculated, and in each case the star formation instability leads to a network of dense filaments that surround hotter, more rarefied gas, all of which are close to pressure equilibrium. Depending upon the star formation and cooling laws adopted, the stars are located either in the middle of a bubble or along the inside edge of a dense filament. When a model for the ISM with a cooling curve appropriate for gas of cosmic abundance and a star formation rate proportional to the local gas density is used, the star formation instability is found to grow at temperatures below about 10,000 K. A network structure develops in which most of the mass is in neutral filaments. Newly formed stars lie adjacent to the filaments and create pressure forces that lead to filament motion.
Chiang, Wei-Hwan↗
Vertical structure of magnetized accretion disks around young stars
We model the vertical structure of the magnetized accretion disks that are subject to viscous and resistive heating and irradiation by the central star. We apply our formalism to the radial structure of the magnetized accretion disks that are threaded by the poloidal magnetic field dragged during the process of star formation, which was developed by Shu and coworkers. We consider disks around low-mass protostars, T Tauri, and FU Orionis stars, as well as two levels of disk magnetization: λ{sub sys}=4 (strongly magnetized disks) and λ{sub sys}=12 (weakly magnetized disks). The rotation rates of strongly magnetized disks have large deviations from Keplerian rotation. In these models, resistive heating dominates the thermal structure for the FU Ori disk, and the T Tauri disk is very thin and cold because it is strongly compressed by magnetic pressure; it may be too thin compared with observations. Instead, in the weakly magnetized disks, rotation velocities are close to Keplerian, and resistive heating is always less than 7% of the viscous heating. In these models, the T Tauri disk has a larger aspect ratio, which is consistent with that inferred from observations. All the disks have spatially extended hot atmospheres where the irradiation flux is absorbed, although most of the mass (∼90%–95%) is in the disk midplane. With the advent of ALMA one expects direct measurements of magnetic fields and their morphology at disk scales. It will then be possible to determine the mass-to-flux ratio of magnetized accretion disks around young stars, an essential parameter for their structure and evolution. Our models contribute to the understanding of the vertical structure and emission of these disks.
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
Validation of Slosh Modeling Approach Using STAR-CCM+
Without an adequate understanding of propellant slosh, the spacecraft attitude control system may be inadequate to control the spacecraft or there may be an unexpected loss of science observation time due to higher slosh settling times. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used to model propellant slosh. STAR-CCM+ is a commercially available CFD code. This paper presents a comparison between STAR-CCM+ liquid slosh modeling results and experimental, empirically, and analytically derived results. The geometries examined are a bare right cylinder tank and a right cylinder
Benson, David↗
Validation of Slosh Modeling Approach Using STAR-CCM+
Without an adequate understanding of propellant slosh, the spacecraft attitude control system may be inadequate to control the spacecraft or there may be an unexpected loss of science observation time due to higher slosh settling times. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used to model propellant slosh. STAR-CCM+ is a commercially available CFD code. This paper seeks to validate the CFD modeling approach via a comparison between STAR-CCM+ liquid slosh modeling results and experimental, empirically, and analytically derived results. The geometries examined are a bare right cylinder tank and a right cylinder with a single ring baffle.
STAR-CCM+↗
STAR CLUSTER FORMATION WITH STELLAR FEEDBACK AND LARGE-SCALE INFLOW
During star cluster formation, ongoing mass accretion is resisted by stellar feedback in the form of protostellar outflows from the low-mass stars and photo-ionization and radiation pressure feedback from the massive stars. We model the evolution of cluster-forming regions during a phase in which both accretion and feedback are present and use these models to investigate how star cluster formation might terminate. Protostellar outflows are the strongest form of feedback in low-mass regions, but these cannot stop cluster formation if matter continues to flow in. In more massive clusters, radiation pressure and photo-ionization rapidly clear the cluster-forming gas when its column density is too small. We assess the rates of dynamical mass ejection and of evaporation, while accounting for the important effect of dust opacity on photo-ionization. Our models are consistent with the census of protostellar outflows in NGC 1333 and Serpens South and with the dust temperatures observed in regions of massive star formation. Comparing observations of massive cluster-forming regions against our model parameter space, and against our expectations for accretion-driven evolution, we infer that massive-star feedback is a likely cause of gas disruption in regions with velocity dispersions less than a few kilometers per second, but that more massive and more turbulent regions are too strongly bound for stellar feedback to be disruptive.
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
A model for the infrared emission from an OB star cluster environment
A model for the infrared emission from the neighborhood of an OB star cluster is described. The distribution of gas and dust around the stars, properties of the dust, and the cluster and interstellar radiation fields are variable. The model can be applied to regions around clusters embedded to various degrees in their parental molecular clouds (i.e., compact H II regions, blister-type H II regions, and the tenuous H II regions ionized by naked O stars). The model is used to simulate IRAS observations of a typical blister H II region. Infrared surface brightness and spectral energy distributions are predicted and the impact of limited spatial resolution is illustrated. The model results are shown to be consistent with observations of the exemplary outer Galaxy OB cluster NGC 7380. It is planned to use the model as a diagnostic tool to probe the physical conditions and dust properties in star-formation regions and, ultimately, in an interpretation of the spectral energy distributions of spiral galaxies.
Leisawitz, D.↗
EXPANDING THE CATALOG: CONSIDERING THE IMPORTANCE OF CARBON, MAGNESIUM, AND NEON IN THE EVOLUTION OF STARS AND HABITABLE ZONES
Building on previous work, we have expanded our catalog of evolutionary models for stars with variable composition; here we present models for stars of mass 0.5–1.2 M {sub ⊙}, at scaled metallicities of 0.1–1.5 Z {sub ⊙}, and specific C/Fe, Mg/Fe, and Ne/Fe values of 0.58–1.72 C/Fe{sub ⊙}, 0.54–1.84 Mg/Fe{sub ⊙}, and 0.5–2.0 Ne/Fe{sub ⊙}, respectively. We include a spread in abundance values for carbon and magnesium based on observations of their variability in nearby stars; we choose an arbitrary spread in neon abundance values commensurate with the range seen in other low Z elements due to the difficult nature of obtaining precise measurements of neon abundances in stars. As indicated by the results of Truitt et al., it is essential that we understand how differences in individual elemental abundances, and not just the total scaled metallicity, can measurably impact a star’s evolutionary lifetime and other physical characteristics. In that work, we found that oxygen abundances significantly impacted the stellar evolution; carbon, magnesium, and neon are potentially important elements to individually consider due to their relatively high (but also variable) abundances in stars. We present 528 new stellar main-sequence models, and we calculate the time-dependent evolution of the associated habitable zone boundaries for each based on mass, temperature, and luminosity. We also reintroduce the 2 Gyr “Continuously Habitable Zone” (CHZ{sub 2}) as a useful tool to help gauge the habitability potential for a given planetary system.
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
Li-7 abundances in halo stars: Testing stellar evolution models and the primordial Li-7 abundance
A large number of stellar evolution models with (Fe/H) = -2.3 and -3.3 have been calculated in order to determine the primordial Li-7 abundance and to test current stellar evolution models by a comparison to the extensive database of accurate Li abundances in extremely metal-poor halo stars observed by Thorburn (1994). Standard models with gray atmospheres do a very good job of fitting the observed Li abundances in stars hotter than approximately 5600 K. They predict a primordial. Li-7 abundance of log N(Li) = 2.24 +/- 0.03. Models which include microscopic diffusion predict a downward curvature in the Li-7 destruction isochrones at hot temperatures which is not present in the observations. Thus, the observations clearly rule out models which include uninhibited microscopic diffusion of Li-7 from the surface of the star. Rotational mixing inhibits the microscopic diffusion and the (Fe/H) = -2.28 stellar models which include both diffusion and rotational mixing provide an excellent match to the mean trend in T(sub eff) which is present in the observations. Both the plateau stars and the heavily depleted cool stars are well fit by these models. The rotational mixing leads to considerable Li-7 depletion in these models and the primordial Li-7 abundance inferred from these models is log N(Li) = 3.08 +/- 0.1. However, the (Fe/H) = -3.28 isochrones reveal problems with the combined models. These isochrones predict a trend of decreasing log N(Li) with increasing T(sub eff) which is not present in the observations. Possible causes for this discrepancy are discussed.
Chaboyer, Brian↗
Outer atmospheres of cool stars. IV - A discussion of cool stellar wind models
Possible wind models for late-type stars which appear not to have hot coronae and transition regions are investigated; taking Arcturus and the prototypical star, models with T less than approximately 20,000 K are considered, and solutions with mass loss rates of 10 to the -9th solar masses per year are sought. The radiation pressure of L-alpha resonance scattering can exceed the force of gravity in the chromosphere and initiate a net outflow, but is insufficient to sustain a wind, except perhaps in the presence of an additional momentum input term such as Alfven wave pressure. It is concluded that L-alpha radiation-pressure-initiated winds can occur in stars to the right of the Linsky-Haisch dividing line in the H-R diagram between stars with and without transition regions and presumably hot coronae, and that the existence of these winds may explain energetically the absence of hot coronae in these stars.
Haisch, B. M.↗
The Inner Edge of the Habitable Zone for Synchronously Rotating Planets Around Low-Mass Stars Using General Circulation Models
Terrestrial planets at the inner edge of the habitable zone (HZ) of late-K and M-dwarf stars are expected to be in synchronous rotation, as a consequence of strong tidal interactions with their host stars. Previous global climate model (GCM) studies have shown that, for slowly rotating planets, strong convection at the substellar point can create optically thick water clouds, increasing the planetary albedo, and thus stabilizing the climate against a thermal runaway. However these studies did not use self-consistent orbital/rotational periods for synchronously rotating planets placed at different distances from the host star. Here we provide new estimates of the inner edge of the HZ for synchronously rotating terrestrial planets around late-K and M-dwarf stars using a 3D Earth-analog GCM with self-consistent relationships between stellar metallicity, stellar effective temperature, and the planetary orbital/rotational period. We find that both atmospheric dynamics and the efficacy of the substellar cloud deck are sensitive to the precise rotation rate of the planet. Around mid-to-late M-dwarf stars with low metallicity, planetary rotation rates at the inner edge of the HZ become faster, and the inner edge of the HZ is farther away from the host stars than in previous GCM studies. For an Earth-sized planet, the dynamical regime of the substellar clouds begins to transition as the rotation rate approaches ∼10 days. These faster rotation rates produce stronger zonal winds that encircle the planet and smear the substellar clouds around it, lowering the planetary albedo, and causing the onset of the water-vapor greenhouse climatic instability to occur at up to ∼25% lower incident stellar fluxes than found in previous GCM studies. For mid-to-late M-dwarf stars with high metallicity and for mid-K to early-M stars, we agree with previous studies.
Planet and satellite atmospheres↗
Magnetospheric accretion models for T Tauri stars. 1: Balmer line profiles without rotation
We argue that the strong emission lines of T Tauri stars are generally produced in infalling envelopes. Simple models of infall constrained to a dipolar magnetic field geometry explain many peculiarities of observed line profiles that are difficult, if not impossible, to reproduce with wind models. Radiative transfer effects explain why certain lines can appear quite symmetric while other lines simultaneously exhibit inverse P Cygni profiles, without recourse to complicated velocity fields. The success of the infall models in accounting for qualitative features of observed line profiles supports the proposal that stellar magnetospheres disrupt disk accretion in T Tauri stars, that true boundary layers are not usually present in T Tauri stars, and that the observed 'blue veiling' emission arises from the base of the magnetospheric accretion column.
Hartmann, Lee↗
MEASURING NEUTRON STAR RADII VIA PULSE PROFILE MODELING WITH NICER
The Neutron-star Interior Composition Explorer is an X-ray astrophysics payload that will be placed on the International Space Station . Its primary science goal is to measure with high accuracy the pulse profiles that arise from the non-uniform thermal surface emission of rotation-powered pulsars. Modeling general relativistic effects on the profiles will lead to measuring the radii of these neutron stars and to constraining their equation of state. Achieving this goal will depend, among other things, on accurate knowledge of the source, sky, and instrument backgrounds. We use here simple analytic estimates to quantify the level at which these backgrounds need to be known in order for the upcoming measurements to provide significant constraints on the properties of neutron stars. We show that, even in the minimal-information scenario, knowledge of the background at a few percent level for a background-to-source countrate ratio of 0.2 allows for a measurement of the neutron star compactness to better than 10% uncertainty for most of the parameter space. These constraints improve further when more realistic assumptions are made about the neutron star emission and spin, and when additional information about the source itself, such as its mass or distance, are incorporated.
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
Non-LTE line-blanketed model atmospheres of hot stars. 2: Hot, metal-rich white dwarfs
We present several model atmospheres for a typical hot metal-rich DA white dwarf, T(sub eff) = 60,000 K, log g = 7.5. We consider pure hydrogen models, as well as models with various abundances of two typical 'trace' elements-carbon and iron. We calculte a number of Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium (LTE) and non-LTE models, taking into account the effect of numerous lines of these elements on the atmospheric structure. We demostrate that while the non-LTE effects are notvery significant for pure hydrogen models, except for describing correctly the central emission in H-alpha they are essential for predicting correctly the ionization balance of metals, such as carbon and iron. Previously reported discrepancies in LTE abundances determinations using C III and C IV lines are easily explained by non-LTE effects. We show that if the iron abundance is larger than 10(exp -5), the iron line opacity has to be considered not only for the spectrum synthesis, but also in the model construction itself. For such metal abundances, non-LTE metal line-blanketed models are needed for detailed abundance studies of hot, metal-rich white dwarfs. We also discuss the predicted Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) spectrum and show that it is very sensitive to metal abundances, as well as to non-LTE effects.
Lanz, T.↗
The evolution of massive stars including mass loss - Presupernova models and explosion
The evolution of massive stars of 35, 40, 60, and 85 solar masses is followed through all stages of nuclear burning to the point of Fe core collapse. Critical nuclear reaction and mass-loss rates are varied. Efficient mass loss during the Wolf-Rayet (WR) stage is likely to lead to final masses as small as 4 solar masses. For a reasonable parameterization of the mass loss, there may be convergence of all WR stars, both single and in binaries, to a narrow band of small final masses. Our representative model, a 4.25 solar-mass WR presupernova derived from a 60 solar mass star, is followed through a simulated explosion, and its explosive nucleosynthesis and light curve are determined. Its properties are similar to those observed in Type Ib supernovae. The effects of the initial mass and mass loss on the presupernova structure of small mass WR models is also explored. Important properties of the presupernova star and its explosion can only be obtained by following the complete evolution starting on the main sequence.
Woosley, S. E.↗
Model atmospheres for cool supergiant stars.
The results of an exploratory grid of model atmospheres for cool giant stars are used to illustrate the effect of varying the chemical composition of the atmosphere. The effects of composition changes (depletion of C and O, enrichment of N, and increase in the ratio C/O), which might be expected from processing of the original material of a star through the CNO cycle of nuclear burning, are studied. The models also include the important CN opacity. They are illustrated by giving several representative T-P and T-tau diagrams, spectral energy curves, and column density tables of molecules.
Alexander, D. R.↗
Main sequence models for massive zero-metal stars
Zero-age main-sequence models for stars of 20, 10, 5, and 2 solar masses with no heavy elements are constructed for three different possible primordial helium abundances: Y=0.00, Y=0.23, and Y=0.30. The latter two values of Y bracket the range of primordial helium abundances cited by Wagoner. With the exceptions of the two 20 solar mass models that contain helium, these models are found to be self-consistent in the sense that the formation of carbon through the triple-alpha process during premain sequence contraction is not sufficient to bring the CN cycle into competition with the proton-proton chain on the ZAMS. The zero-metal models of the present study have higher surface and central temperatures, higher central densities, smaller radii, and smaller convective cores than do the population I models with the same masses.
Cary, N.↗