Stellar structure theory
Stellar structure theory, examining particle aggregates gravitational and pressure forces, energy flow, generation and opacity and equations of state
Iben, I., Jr.↗
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The Spitzer survey of stellar structure in galaxies (S{sup 4}G): Precise STELLAR mass distributions from automated dust correction at 3.6 μm
The mid-infrared is an optimal window to trace stellar mass in nearby galaxies and the 3.6 μm IRAC band has been exploited to this effect, but such mass estimates can be biased by dust emission. We present our pipeline to reveal the old stellar flux at 3.6 μm and obtain stellar mass maps for more than 1600 galaxies available from the Spitzer Survey of Stellar Structure in Galaxies (S{sup 4}G). This survey consists of images in two infrared bands (3.6 and 4.5 μm), and we use the Independent Component Analysis (ICA) method presented in Meidt et al. to separate the dominant light from old stars and the dust emission that can significantly contribute to the observed 3.6 μm flux. We exclude from our ICA analysis galaxies with low signal-to-noise ratio (S/N<10) and those with original [3.6]–[4.5] colors compatible with an old stellar population, indicative of little dust emission (mostly early Hubble types, which can directly provide good mass maps). For the remaining 1251 galaxies to which ICA was successfully applied, we find that as much as 10%–30% of the total light at 3.6 μm typically originates from dust, and locally it can reach even higher values. This contamination fraction shows a correlation with specific star formation rates, confirming that the dust emission that we detect is related to star formation. Additionally, we have used our large sample of mass estimates to calibrate a relationship of effective mass-to-light ratio (M/L) as a function of observed [3.6]–[4.5] color: log(M/L) = −0.339(±0.057) × ([3.6]−[4.5])−0.336(±0.002). Our final pipeline products have been made public through IRSA, providing the astronomical community with an unprecedentedly large set of stellar mass maps ready to use for scientific applications.
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
On the optimum choice of central variables in problems of stellar structure
Natural expansion parameter for outward integration from center of stellar structure
STELLAR STRUCTURE↗
A CLASSICAL MORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF GALAXIES IN THE SPITZER SURVEY OF STELLAR STRUCTURE IN GALAXIES (S{sup 4}G)
The Spitzer Survey of Stellar Structure in Galaxies (S{sup 4}G) is the largest available database of deep, homogeneous middle-infrared (mid-IR) images of galaxies of all types. The survey, which includes 2352 nearby galaxies, reveals galaxy morphology only minimally affected by interstellar extinction. This paper presents an atlas and classifications of S{sup 4}G galaxies in the Comprehensive de Vaucouleurs revised Hubble-Sandage (CVRHS) system. The CVRHS system follows the precepts of classical de Vaucouleurs morphology, modified to include recognition of other features such as inner, outer, and nuclear lenses, nuclear rings, bars, and disks, spheroidal galaxies, X patterns and box/peanut structures, OLR subclass outer rings and pseudorings, bar ansae and barlenses, parallel sequence late-types, thick disks, and embedded disks in 3D early-type systems. We show that our CVRHS classifications are internally consistent, and that nearly half of the S{sup 4}G sample consists of extreme late-type systems (mostly bulgeless, pure disk galaxies) in the range Scd-Im. The most common family classification for mid-IR types S0/a to Sc is SA while that for types Scd to Sm is SB. The bars in these two type domains are very different in mid-IR structure and morphology. This paper examines the bar, ring, and type classification fractions in the sample, and also includes several montages of images highlighting the various kinds of “stellar structures” seen in mid-IR galaxy morphology.
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
PM4Stell: A prototype permanent magnet stellarator structure
Permanent magnets provide a possible solution to simplify complicated stellarator coils. Here, a prototype permanent magnet stellarator structure, PM4Stell, has been funded to demonstrate the technical feasibility of using permanent magnets to create the shaping field of a stellarator. Permanent magnets in uniform cubes with three polarization directions will be carefully placed to generate the required magnetic field for a National Compact Stellarator eXperiment-like equilibrium together with planar toroidal field coils. Discrete magnets will be glued together and inserted into a “post-office-box-like” supporting structure. Electromagnetic and structural analyses have been done to validate the design. Error field correction magnets will be used to shim possible error fields. The design efforts of the prototype permanent magnet stellarator structure are discussed.
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
An Educational Guide for 2D Stellar Structure Calculations of Rapidly Rotating Stars using the ESTER code
The Evolution STEllaire en Rotation (ESTER) code is the first 2D stellar structure code to be made open-source and freely available to the astronomy and astrophysics community. An important and novel advancement of this code is that it can reproduce the distorted shape and observable signatures (e.g., gravity darkening) of rapidly rotating stars. ESTER also calculates the steady-state large-scale flows within the star, namely their differential rotation and associated meridional circulation. In this report, we explore and document the physics implemented within version 1.1.0rc2 of the ESTER code, in a way that complements published descriptions. We illustrate this physics by plotting how stellar structure parameters vary through stellar interiors at a range of latitudes and at different angular velocities. We investigate how the thin convective envelopes of intermediate mass stars vary with latitude when rapidly rotating, becoming deeper and thicker near the equator. Simple comparisons of ESTER model predictions (e.g., central temperature and density, luminosity) with the output from the Modules for Experiments in Stellar Astrophysics (MESA) code [Paxton et al., 2010] shows generally good agreement. Additional comparisons provide important benchmarking and verification for ESTER as a comparatively young code. Finally, we provide a guide for installing and running the code on our local university cluster, aimed at helping students to begin work.
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
Relativity Theory and Astrophysics. Volume 3 - Stellar Structure.
Relativity theory and astrophysics, Volume 3, Stellar structure
Ehlers, J.↗
The relativistic equations of stellar structure and evolution
The general relativistic equations of stellar structure and evolution are reformulated in a notation which makes easy contact with Newtonian theory. A general relativistic version of the mixing-length formalism for convection is presented. It is argued that in work on spherical systems, general relativity theorists have identified the wrong quantity as total mass-energy inside radius r.
Thorne, K. S.↗
The instability of stellar structures intermediate between white dwarfs and neutron stars.
Instability of stellar structures intermediate between white dwarfs and neutron stars shown by stellar models, discussing pulsar signals periodicities
Cameron, A. G. W.↗
The relativistic equations of stellar structure and evolution. Stars with degenerate neutron cores. 1: Structure of equilibrium models
The general relativistic equations of stellar structure and evolution are reformulated in a notation which makes easy contact with Newtonian theory. Also, a general relativistic version of the mixing-length formalism for convection is presented. Finally, it is argued that in previous work on spherical systems general relativity theorists have identified the wrong quantity as "total mass-energy inside radius r."
Thorne, K. S.↗
The relativistic equations of stellar structure and evolution
The general-relativistic equations of stellar structure and evolution are reformulated in a notation which makes easy contact with Newtonian theory. Also, a general-relativistic version of the mixing-length formalism for convection is presented.
Thorne, K. S.↗
The instability of stellar structures intermediate between white dwarfs and neutron stars
Instability of stellar structures intermediate between dwarfs and neutron stars
Cameron, A. G. W.↗
THE SPITZER SURVEY OF STELLAR STRUCTURE IN GALAXIES (S{sup 4}G): MULTI-COMPONENT DECOMPOSITION STRATEGIES AND DATA RELEASE
The Spitzer Survey of Stellar Structure in Galaxies (S{sup 4}G) is a deep 3.6 and 4.5 μm imaging survey of 2352 nearby (<40 Mpc) galaxies. We describe the S{sup 4}G data analysis pipeline 4, which is dedicated to two-dimensional structural surface brightness decompositions of 3.6 μm images, using GALFIT3.0. Besides automatic 1-component Sérsic fits, and 2-component Sérsic bulge + exponential disk fits, we present human-supervised multi-component decompositions, which include, when judged appropriate, a central point source, bulge, disk, and bar components. Comparison of the fitted parameters indicates that multi-component models are needed to obtain reliable estimates for the bulge Sérsic index and bulge-to-total light ratio (B/T), confirming earlier results. Here, we describe the preparations of input data done for decompositions, give examples of our decomposition strategy, and describe the data products released via IRSA and via our web page (www.oulu.fi/astronomy/S4G-PIPELINE4/MAIN). These products include all the input data and decomposition files in electronic form, making it easy to extend the decompositions to suit specific science purposes. We also provide our IDL-based visualization tools (GALFIDL) developed for displaying/running GALFIT-decompositions, as well as our mask editing procedure (MASK-EDIT) used in data preparation. A detailed analysis of the bulge, disk, and bar parameters derived from multi-component decompositions will be published separately.
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
THE MASS PROFILE AND SHAPE OF BARS IN THE SPITZER SURVEY OF STELLAR STRUCTURE IN GALAXIES (S{sup 4}G): SEARCH FOR AN AGE INDICATOR FOR BARS
We have measured the radial light profiles and global shapes of bars using two-dimensional 3.6 μm image decompositions for 144 face-on barred galaxies from the Spitzer Survey of Stellar Structure in Galaxies. The bar surface brightness profile is correlated with the stellar mass and bulge-to-total (B/T) ratio of their host galaxies. Bars in massive and bulge-dominated galaxies (B/T > 0.2) show a flat profile, while bars in less massive, disk-dominated galaxies (B/T ∼ 0) show an exponential, disk-like profile with a wider spread in the radial profile than in the bulge-dominated galaxies. The global two-dimensional shapes of bars, however, are rectangular/boxy, independent of the bulge or disk properties. We speculate that because bars are formed out of disks, bars initially have an exponential (disk-like) profile that evolves over time, trapping more disk stars to boxy bar orbits. This leads bars to become stronger and have flatter profiles. The narrow spread of bar radial profiles in more massive disks suggests that these bars formed earlier (z > 1), while the disk-like profiles and a larger spread in the radial profile in less massive systems imply a later and more gradual evolution, consistent with the cosmological evolution of bars inferred from observational studies. Therefore, we expect that the flatness of the bar profile can be used as a dynamical age indicator of the bar to measure the time elapsed since the bar formation. We argue that cosmic gas accretion is required to explain our results on bar profile and the presence of gas within the bar region.
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
Scale covariant gravitation. V - Kinetic theory. VI - Stellar structure and evolution
A scale covariant kinetic theory for particles and photons is developed. The mathematical framework of the theory is given by the tangent bundle of a Weyl manifold. The Liouville equation is derived, and solutions to corresponding equilibrium distributions are presented and shown to yield thermodynamic results identical to the ones obtained previously. The scale covariant theory is then used to derive results of interest to stellar structure and evolution. A radiative transfer equation is derived that can be used to study stellar evolution with a variable gravitational constant. In addition, it is shown that the sun's absolute luminosity scales as L approximately equal to GM/kappa, where kappa is the stellar opacity. Finally, a formula is derived for the age of globular clusters as a function of the gravitational constant using a previously derived expression for the absolute luminosity.
Hsieh, S.-H.↗
A formulation of convection for stellar structure and evolution calculations without the mixing-length theory approximations. I - Application to the sun
The problem of treating convective energy transport without MLT approximations is approached here by formulating the results of numerical simulations of convection in terms of energy fluxes. This revised treatment of convective transport can be easily incorporated within existing stellar structure codes. As an example, the technique is applied to the sun. The treatment does not include any free parameters, making the models extremely sensitive to the accuracy of the treatments of opacities, chemical abundances, treatments of the solar atmosphere, and the equation of state.
Lydon, Thomas J.↗
Structure of Stellar Remnants with Coupling to a Light Scalar
In this paper we study how a Yukawa coupling of the Standard Model fermions to a light scalar field effects the stellar structure of cold stellar remnants such as neutron stars. We elucidate the stellar structure phenomenology using a simple model of a massive scalar coupled to a single dominant fermion with no other interactions. For a broad scalar mass range ($10^{-10}\,\mathrm{eV}\ll m_\phi\ll10^3\,\mathrm{eV}$ for neutron stars) we show that the equation-of-state and stellar structure depends only the effective coupling $\mathfrak{g}=\frac{g_f\,m_f}{m_\phi}$, where $g_f$ is the Yukawa coupling, $m_f$ the fermion mass and $m_\phi$ is the scalar kinematic mass at nuclear densities. If $\mathfrak{g}>\mathcal{O}(1)$ the Yukawa coupled matter exhibits various anomalous behaviors including hydrodynamic instability, negative pressure, distinct phases (soft and hard) of matter with sharp phase boundaries between them and with vacuum. These anomalies can lead to stars consisting of only soft, only hard or hybrid of soft and hard matter. These stars can have varying signs of the slope of the mass-radius relation, anomalously large and small masses, gaps in allowed radii, multiple radii for the same mass, very thin crusts and radiate anomalously large amounts of energy when they form (in the form of neutrinos for neutron stars). To the extent that these anomalies have not and/or will not be observed limits the effective coupling to $\mathfrak{g}<\mathcal{O}(1)$. We argue this phenomenology is generic to realistic models of stars with Yukawa coupled matter.
72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
A search for stellar structures around nine outer halo globular clusters in the Milky Way
We use deep imaging from the Dark Energy Camera to explore the peripheral regions of nine globular clusters in the outer halo of the Milky Way. Apart from Whiting 1 and NGC 7492, which are projected against the Sagittarius stream, we see no evidence for adjacent stellar populations to indicate any of these clusters is associated with coherent tidal debris from a destroyed host dwarf. We also find no evidence for tidal tails around any of the clusters in our sample; however, both NGC 1904 and 6981 appear to possess outer envelopes. Here, motivated by a slew of recent Gaia -based discoveries, we compile a sample of clusters with robust detections of extra-tidal structure, and search for correlations with orbital properties. While we observe that clusters with tidal tails are typically on moderately or very eccentric orbits that are highly inclined to the Galactic plane and often retrograde, these are neither necessary nor sufficient conditions for the formation of extra-tidal structure. That many objects with tidal tails appear to be accreted leads us to speculate that this lack of consistency may stem from the inhomogeneous dynamical history of the Milky Way globular cluster system. Finally, we note that clusters with prominent stellar envelopes detected in ground-based imaging (such as NGC 1851 and 7089) are now all known from Gaia to possess long tidal tails – experimental confirmation that the presence of an extended envelope is indicative of tidal erosion.
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗