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At least 1,621 records · Page 90

Gravitational Waves from Stellar Black Hole Binaries and the Impact on Nearby Sun-like Stars

We investigate the impact of resonant gravitational waves on quadrupole acoustic modes of Sun-like stars located nearby stellar black hole binary systems (such as GW150914 and GW151226). We find that the stimulation of the low-overtone modes by gravitational radiation can lead to sizeable photometric amplitude variations, much larger than the predictions for amplitudes driven by turbulent convection, which in turn are consistent with the photometric amplitudes observed in most Sun-like stars. For accurate stellar evolution models, using up-to-date stellar physics, we predict photometric amplitude variations of 1–10{sup 3} ppm for a solar mass star located at a distance between 1 au and 10 au from the black hole binary and belonging to the same multi-star system. The observation of such a phenomenon will be within the reach of the Plato mission because the telescope will observe several portions of the Milky Way, many of which are regions of high stellar density with a substantial mixed population of Sun-like stars and black hole binaries.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

On variations of pre-supernova model properties

We explore the variation in single-star 15–30 M{sub ⊙}, nonrotating, solar metallicity, pre-supernova MESA models that is due to changes in the number of isotopes in a fully coupled nuclear reaction network and adjustments in the mass resolution. Within this two-dimensional plane, we quantitatively detail the range of core masses at various stages of evolution, mass locations of the main nuclear burning shells, electron fraction profiles, mass fraction profiles, burning lifetimes, stellar lifetimes, and compactness parameter at core collapse for models with and without mass-loss. Up to carbon burning, we generally find that mass resolution has a larger impact on the variations than the number of isotopes, while the number of isotopes plays a more significant role in determining the span of the variations for neon, oxygen, and silicon burning. Choice of mass resolution dominates the variations in the structure of the intermediate convection zone and secondary convection zone during core and shell hydrogen burning, respectively, where we find that a minimum mass resolution of ≈0.01 M{sub ⊙} is necessary to achieve convergence in the helium core mass at the ≈5% level. On the other hand, at the onset of core collapse, we find ≈30% variations in the central electron fraction and mass locations of the main nuclear burning shells, a minimum of ≈127 isotopes is needed to attain convergence of these values at the ≈10% level.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The red/infrared evolution in galaxies - Effect of the stars on the asymptotic giant branch

The effect of including the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) population in a spectral synthesis model of galaxy evolution is examined. Stars on the AGB are luminous enough and also evolve rapidly enough to affect the evolution of red and infrared colors in galaxies. The validity of using infrared colors as distance indicators to galaxies is then investigated in detail. It is found that for z of 1 or less infrared colors of model galaxies behave linearly with redshift.

Chokshi, Arati↗

Toward an Astrophysical Theory of Chondrites

Sunlike stars are born with disks. Based on our recently developed model to understand how a magnetized new star interacts with its surrounding accretion disk, we advanced an astrophysical theory for the early solar system. The aerodynamic drag of a magnetocentrifugally driven wind out of the inner edge of a shaded disk could expose solid bodies lifted into the heat of direct sunlight, when material is still accreting onto the protosun. Chondrules, calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions (CAI's), and rims could form along the flight for typical self-consistent parameters of the outflow in different stages of star formation. The process gives a natural sorting mechanism that explains the size distribution of CAI's and chondrules, as well as their associated rims. Chondritic bodies then subsequently form by compaction of the processed solids with the ambient nebular dust comprising the matrices after their reentry at great distances from the original launch radius.

Shang, Hsien↗

Development of an integrated aeroservoelastic analysis program and correlation with test data

The details and results are presented of the general-purpose finite element STructural Analysis RoutineS (STARS) to perform a complete linear aeroelastic and aeroservoelastic analysis. The earlier version of the STARS computer program enabled effective finite element modeling as well as static, vibration, buckling, and dynamic response of damped and undamped systems, including those with pre-stressed and spinning structures. Additions to the STARS program include aeroelastic modeling for flutter and divergence solutions, and hybrid control system augmentation for aeroservoelastic analysis. Numerical results of the X-29A aircraft pertaining to vibration, flutter-divergence, and open- and closed-loop aeroservoelastic controls analysis are compared to ground vibration, wind-tunnel, and flight-test results. The open- and closed-loop aeroservoelastic control analyses are based on a hybrid formulation representing the interaction of structural, aerodynamic, and flight-control dynamics.

Gupta, K. K.↗

SDSS-IV MaNGA: environmental dependence of gas metallicity gradients in local star-forming galaxies

ABSTRACT Within the standard model of hierarchical galaxy formation in a Λ cold dark matter universe, the environment of galaxies is expected to play a key role in driving galaxy formation and evolution. In this paper, we investigate whether and how the gas metallicity and the star formation surface density (ΣSFR) depend on galaxy environment. To this end, we analyse a sample of 1162 local, star-forming galaxies from the galaxy survey Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA). Generally, both parameters do not show any significant dependence on environment. However, in agreement with previous studies, we find that low-mass satellite galaxies are an exception to this rule. The gas metallicity in these objects increases while their ΣSFR decreases slightly with environmental density. The present analysis of MaNGA data allows us to extend this to spatially resolved properties. Our study reveals that the gas metallicity gradients of low-mass satellites flatten and their ΣSFR gradients steepen with increasing environmental density. By extensively exploring a chemical evolution model, we identify two scenarios that are able to explain this pattern: metal-enriched gas accretion or pristine gas inflow with varying accretion time-scales. The latter scenario better matches the observed ΣSFR gradients, and is therefore our preferred solution. In this model, a shorter gas accretion time-scale at larger radii is required. This suggests that ‘outside–in quenching’ governs the star formation processes of low-mass satellite galaxies in dense environments.

Lian, Jianhui↗

CONVECTIVE PROPERTIES OF ROTATING TWO-DIMENSIONAL CORE-COLLAPSE SUPERNOVA PROGENITORS

We explore the effects of rotation on convective carbon, oxygen, and silicon shell burning during the late stages of evolution in a 20 M {sub ⊙} star. Using the Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics we construct one-dimensional (1D) stellar models both with no rotation and with an initial rigid rotation of 50% of critical. At different points during the evolution, we map the 1D models into 2D and follow the multidimensional evolution using the FLASH compressible hydrodynamics code for many convective turnover times until a quasi-steady state is reached. We characterize the strength and scale of convective motions via decomposition of the momentum density into vector spherical harmonics. We find that rotation influences the total power in solenoidal modes, with a slightly larger impact for carbon and oxygen shell burning than for silicon shell burning. Including rotation in 1D stellar evolution models alters the structure of the star in a manner that has a significant impact on the character of multidimensional convection. Adding modest amounts of rotation to a stellar model that ignores rotation during the evolutionary stage, however, has little impact on the character of the resulting convection. Since the spatial scale and strength of convection present at the point of core collapse directly influence the supernova mechanism, our results suggest that rotation could play an important role in setting the stage for massive stellar explosions.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

On the local standard of rest

Under the influence of a spiral gravitational field, there should be differences among the mean motions of different types of objects with different dispersion velocities in a sipral galaxy. The old stars with high dispersion velocity should have essentially no mean motion normal to the galactic rotation. On the other hand, young objects and interstellar gas may be moving relative to the old stars at a velocity of a few kilometer per second in both the radial (galacto-centric), and circular directions, depending on the spiral model adopted. Such a velocity is usually referred as the systematic motion or the streaming motion. The conventionally adopted local standard of rest is indeed co-moving with the young objects of the solar vicinity. Therefore, it has a net systematic motion with respect to the circular motion of an equilibrium galactic model, defined by the old stars.

Yuan, C.↗

On the local standard of rest

Under the influence of a spiral gravitational field, there should be differences among the mean motions of different types of objects with different dispersion velocities in a spiral galaxy. The old stars with high dispersion velocity should have essentially no mean motion normal to the galactic rotation. On the other hand, young objects and interstellar gas may be moving relative to the old stars at a velocity of a few kilometer per second in both the radial (galacto-centric), and circular directions, depending on the spiral model adopted. Such a velocity is usually referred as the systematic motion or the streaming motion. The conventionally adopted local standard of rest is indeed co-moving with the young objects of the solar vicinity. Therefore, it has a net systematic motion with respect to the circular motion of an equilibrium galactic model, defined by the old stars. Previously announced in STAR as N83-24443

Yuan, C.↗

Haffner 16 Redux: Revisiting a Young Cluster in the Outer Galaxy

Images and spectra recorded with the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph on Gemini South are used to investigate the stellar content of the open cluster Haffner 16. The (i{sup ′},g{sup ′}−i{sup ′}) color–magnitude diagram (CMD) constructed from these data extends over 10 mag in i{sup ′}, sampling the cluster main sequence (MS) and 5 mag of the pre-MS (PMS). The fraction of unresolved equal mass binaries among PMS stars is estimated to be 0.6 ± 0.1. The isochrones do not track the PMS on the CMD, in the sense that the PMS has a shallower slope on the CMD than predicted by the models. Still, a dip in star counts, which is associated with the relaxation of PMS stars onto the MS, is identified near i{sup ′}=17. The depth and brightness of this feature—as well as the morphology of the cluster MS on the CMD—are matched by models with a slightly sub-solar metallicity that have an age of ∼20 Myr and a distance modulus of 12.3 ± 0.2. A light profile of Haffner 16 is constructed in the W1 filter (λ{sub cen}=3.4 μm), which suggests that the cluster is surrounded by a diffuse stellar halo. Spectra of candidate cluster MS and PMS stars selected according to location on the CMD are presented. The spectra show characteristics that are suggestive of a sub-solar metallicity. Hα emission is common among objects on the PMS locus on the CMD near i{sup ′}=18. It is suggested that the location of the Haffner 16 PMS on the CMD is affected by large-scale cool spot activity, likely induced by rapid stellar rotation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Possibility that the far ultraviolet excess in M31 is due to main sequence stars

The far ultraviolet excess in the central region of M31, observed by OAO-2, could be due to young main sequence stars. More than enough such stars are present in the model for the M31 inner disk population derived by Tinsley and Spinrad (1971) to match line- and color-indices at longer wavelengths. If the far ultraviolet radiation of typical galaxies arises from young stars, the theoretical ultraviolet background is enhanced greatly by evolutionary effects. For evolution at the rate of Tinsley and Spinrad's model for M31, or of Arnett's (1971) linear model for our galaxy, the enhancement is a factor 2.5 to 14, depending on the Hubble constant and the spectrum at wavelengths below 1700 A.

Tinsley, B. M.↗

Estimating outflow masses and velocities in merger simulations: Impact of r -process heating and neutrino cooling

Here, the determination of the mass, composition, and geometry of matter outflows in black hole-neutron star and neutron star-neutron star binaries is crucial to current efforts to model kilonovae and to understand the role of neutron star merger in r-process nucleosynthesis. In this manuscript, we review the simple criteria currently used in merger simulations to determine whether matter is unbound and what the asymptotic velocity of ejected material will be. We then show that properly accounting for both heating and cooling during r-process nucleosynthesis is important to accurately predict the mass and kinetic energy of the outflows. These processes are also likely to be crucial to predict the fall-back timescale of any bound ejecta. We derive a model for the asymptotic velocity of unbound matter and binding energy of bound matter that accounts for both of these effects and that can easily be implemented in merger simulations. We show, however, that the detailed velocity distribution and geometry of the outflows can currently only be captured by full three-dimensional fluid simulations of the outflows, as nonlocal effect ignored by the simple criteria used in merger simulations cannot be safely neglected when modeling these effects. Finally, we propose the introduction of simple source terms in the fluid equations to approximately account for heating/cooling from r-process nucleosynthesis in future seconds-long three-dimensional simulations of merger remnants, without the explicit inclusion of out-of-nuclear statistical equilibrium reactions in the simulations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Starburst modeling of M82 - Test case for a biased initial mass function

We compute starburst models for M82, making use of recent theoretical tracks of stellar evolution. Detailed comparisons of our models and those of others demonstrate this technique to be quite reliable, with relatively little change in output parameters as a function of the selection of theoretical tracks or of estimates of the observational characteristics of the stars along these tracks. The models are matched to the observational constraints for M82 summarized by McLeod et al. (1993). The rate of star formation and time of observation were thoroughly optimized to produce the most favorable fit to the observations, but we still found that the recently proposed forms for the solar-neighborhood IMF cannot produce starbursts adequate to fit the observations of this galaxy. We then explored adjustments to the shape of the IMF to improve the fit to M82. We find (1) the shape of the IMF for high-mass stars need not be different from that observed locally; and (2) the most likely modification to the IMF in M82 is that stars with masses below a few solar masses form much less commonly than in the solar neighborhood.

Rieke, G. H.↗

Probable optical counterpart of a Gamma-ray burster

Sixteen million seconds, or over a half year, of optical monitoring of three Gamma-ray burst positions using the Harvard College Observatory collection of archival plates are described. The probable optical counterpart of the November 19, 1978 Gamma-ray burster has been discovered on a blue emulsion plate exposed in 1928. Optical searches indicate that the absolute magnitude of the Gamma-ray burst system at quiescence is fainter than 13, and a recurrence rate of about 10 to the -7.5/sec is found from Gamma-ray and optical data. Such a high recurrence rate precludes any model which uses a collision between a neutron star and an asteroid-like body, as well as any model requiring accretion from the interstellar matter onto a neutron star.

Schaefer, B. E.↗

New Constraints on the Major Neutron Source in Low-mass AGB Stars

We compare updated Torino postprocessing asymptotic giant branch (AGB) nucleosynthesis model calculations with isotopic compositions of mainstream SiC dust grains from low-mass AGB stars. Based on the data-model comparison, we provide new constraints on the major neutron source, 13 C(α, n) 16 O in the He-intershell, for the s-process. Here, we show that the literature Ni, Sr, and Ba grain data can only be consistently explained by the Torino model calculations that adopt the recently proposed magnetic-buoyancy-induced 13 C-pocket. This observation provides strong support to the suggestion of deep mixing of H into the He-intershell at low 13 C concentrations as a result of efficient transport of H through magnetic tubes.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The OB associations of 30 Doradus in the Large Magellanic Cloud. II - Stellar content and initial mass function

From photometric and spectroscopic observations of the stars in 30 Doradus we determine the effective stellar temperatures and bolometric magnitudes. We construct the theoretical H-R diagram, and using stellar evolution models we then bin the stars by mass to obtain the initial mass function (IMF). The IMF shows marked curvature; it flattens out at lower masses, even for those masses above which the photometry is complete. Best estimates of the IMF slope yield values of Gamma -1.5 +/- 0.2 for mass above 12 solar masses, where the Salpeter slope is Gamma = -1.35. However, there are indications that different regions of 30 Doradus have different IMF slopes, perhaps as the result of sequential star formation effects.

Parker, Joel W.↗

Cloud-scale ISM Structure and Star Formation in M51

We compare the structure of molecular gas at 40 pc resolution to the ability of gas to form stars across the disk of the spiral galaxy M51. We break the PAWS survey into 370 pc and 1.1 kpc resolution elements, and within each we estimate the molecular gas depletion time (τ{sub Dep}{sup mol}), the star-formation efficiency per free-fall time (ϵ{sub ff}), and the mass-weighted cloud-scale (40 pc) properties of the molecular gas: surface density, Σ, line width, σ, and b≡Σ/σ{sup 2}∝α{sub vir}{sup −1}, a parameter that traces the boundedness of the gas. We show that the cloud-scale surface density appears to be a reasonable proxy for mean volume density. Applying this, we find a typical star-formation efficiency per free-fall time, ϵ{sub ff}(〈Σ{sub 40pc}〉)∼0.3%--0.36%, lower than adopted in many models and found for local clouds. Furthermore, the efficiency per free-fall time anti-correlates with both Σ and σ, in some tension with turbulent star-formation models. The best predictor of the rate of star formation per unit gas mass in our analysis is b≡Σ/σ{sup 2}, tracing the strength of self-gravity, with τ{sub Dep}{sup mol}∝b{sup −0.9}. The sense of the correlation is that gas with stronger self-gravity (higher b) forms stars at a higher rate (low τ{sub Dep}{sup mol}). The different regions of the galaxy mostly overlap in τ{sub Dep}{sup mol} as a function of b, so that low b explains the surprisingly high τ{sub Dep}{sup mol} found toward the inner spiral arms found by Meidt et al. (2013).

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

REVISITING THE MICROLENSING EVENT OGLE 2012-BLG-0026: A SOLAR MASS STAR WITH TWO COLD GIANT PLANETS

Two cold gas giant planets orbiting a G-type main-sequence star in the galactic disk were previously discovered in the high-magnification microlensing event OGLE-2012-BLG-0026. Here, we present revised host star flux measurements and a refined model for the two-planet system using additional light curve data. We performed high angular resolution adaptive optics imaging with the Keck and Subaru telescopes at two epochs while the source star was still amplified. We detected the lens flux, H = 16.39 ± 0.08. The lens, a disk star, is brighter than predicted from the modeling in the original study. We revisited the light curve modeling using additional photometric data from the B and C telescope in New Zealand and CTIO 1.3 m H -band light curve. We then include the Keck and Subaru adaptive optic observation constraints. The system is composed of a ∼4–9 Gyr lens star of M {sub lens} = 1.06 ± 0.05 M {sub ⊙} at a distance of D {sub lens} = 4.0 ± 0.3 kpc, orbited by two giant planets of 0.145 ± 0.008 M {sub Jup} and 0.86 ± 0.06 M {sub Jup}, with projected separations of 4.0 ± 0.5 au and 4.8 ± 0.7 au, respectively. Because the lens is brighter than the source star by 16 ± 8% in H, with no other blend within one arcsec, it will be possible to estimate its metallicity using subsequent IR spectroscopy with 8–10 m class telescopes. By adding a constraint on the metallicity it will be possible to refine the age of the system.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗