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Astrophysics and Astronomy

Stars: atmospheres

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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

New Halo White Dwarf Candidates In The Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Kyra Dame, A. Gianninas, Mukremin Kilic, Jeffrey A. Munn, Warren R. Brown, Kurtis A. Williams, Ted Von Hippel, Hugh C. Harris Aug 2016

New Halo White Dwarf Candidates In The Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Kyra Dame, A. Gianninas, Mukremin Kilic, Jeffrey A. Munn, Warren R. Brown, Kurtis A. Williams, Ted Von Hippel, Hugh C. Harris

Publications

We present optical spectroscopy and near-infrared photometry of 57 faint (g = 19–22) high proper motion white dwarfs identified through repeat imaging of ≈3100 deg2 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey footprint by Munn et al. We use ugriz and JHphotometry to perform a model atmosphere analysis, and identify 10 ultracool white dwarfs with Teff < 4000 K, including the coolest pure H atmosphere white dwarf currently known, J1657+2638, with Teff = 3550 ± 100 K. The majority of the objects with cooling ages larger than 9 Gyr display thick disc kinematics and constrain the age of the thick disc to ≥11 Gyr. There are four white dwarfs in our sample with …


Detailed Abundances Of The Solar Twins 16 Cygni And B Cygni: Constraining Planet Formation Models, Simon C. Schuler, Katia Cunha, Verne V. Smith, Luan Ghezzi, Jeremy R. King, Constantine P. Deliyannis, Ann Merchant Boesgaard Aug 2011

Detailed Abundances Of The Solar Twins 16 Cygni And B Cygni: Constraining Planet Formation Models, Simon C. Schuler, Katia Cunha, Verne V. Smith, Luan Ghezzi, Jeremy R. King, Constantine P. Deliyannis, Ann Merchant Boesgaard

Publications

Results of a detailed abundance analysis of the solar twins 16 Cyg A and 16 Cyg B based on high-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio echelle spectroscopy are presented. 16 Cyg B is known to host a giant planet while no planets have yet been detected around 16 Cyg A. Stellar parameters are derived directly from our high-quality spectra, and the stars are found to be physically similar, with ΔTeff = +43 K, Δ log g =−0.02 dex, and Δξ = +0.10 km s−1 (in the sense of A − B), consistent with previous findings. Abundances of 15 elements are derived and …


Abundances Of Stars With Planets: Trends With Condensation Temperature, Simon C. Schuler, Davin Flateau, Katia Cunha, Jeremy R. King, Luan Ghezzi, Verne V. Smith May 2011

Abundances Of Stars With Planets: Trends With Condensation Temperature, Simon C. Schuler, Davin Flateau, Katia Cunha, Jeremy R. King, Luan Ghezzi, Verne V. Smith

Publications

Precise abundances of 18 elements have been derived for 10 stars known to host giant planets from high signal-to-noise ratio, high-resolution echelle spectroscopy. Internal uncertainties in the derived abundances are typically 0.05 dex. The stars in our sample have all been previously shown to have abundances that correlate with the condensation temperature (Tc) of the elements in the sense of increasing abundances with increasing Tc; these trends have been interpreted as evidence that the stars may have accreted H-depleted planetary material. Our newly derived abundances also correlate positively with Tc, although slopes of linear least-square fits to the [m/H]–Tc relations …


A Detailed Model Atmosphere Analysis Of Cool White Dwarfs In The Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Mukremin Kilic, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al. Sep 2010

A Detailed Model Atmosphere Analysis Of Cool White Dwarfs In The Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Mukremin Kilic, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al.

Publications

We present optical spectroscopy and near-infrared photometry of 126 cool white dwarfs (WDs) in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Our sample includes high proper motion targets selected using the SDSS and USNO-B astrometry and a dozen previously known ultracool WD candidates. Our optical spectroscopic observations demonstrate that a clean selection of large samples of cool WDs in the SDSS (and the SkyMapper, Pan-STARRS, and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope data sets) is possible using a reduced proper motion diagram and a tangential velocity cut-off (depending on the proper motion accuracy) of 30 km s–1. Our near-infrared observations reveal eight …


Visitors From The Halo: 11 Gyr Old White Dwarfs In The Solar Neighborhood, Mukremin Kilic, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al. May 2010

Visitors From The Halo: 11 Gyr Old White Dwarfs In The Solar Neighborhood, Mukremin Kilic, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al.

Publications

We report the discovery of three nearby old halo white dwarf (WD) candidates in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), including two stars in a common proper motion binary system. These candidates are selected from our 2800deg2 proper motion survey on the Bok and U.S. Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station 1.3 m telescopes, and they display proper motions of 0˝.4-0˝.5 yr¯1. Follow-up MMT spectroscopy and near-infrared photometry demonstrate that all three objects are hydrogen-dominated atmosphere WDs with T eff ≈ 3700-4100 K. For average mass WDs, these temperature estimates correspond to cooling ages of 9-10 Gyr, distances of 70-80 pc, and …


Fe I And Fe Ii Abundances Of Solar-Type Dwarfs In The Pleiades Open Cluster, Simon C. Schuler, Adele L. Plunkett, Jeremy R. King, Marc H. Pinsonneault May 2010

Fe I And Fe Ii Abundances Of Solar-Type Dwarfs In The Pleiades Open Cluster, Simon C. Schuler, Adele L. Plunkett, Jeremy R. King, Marc H. Pinsonneault

Publications

We have derived Fe abundances of 16 solar-type Pleiades dwarfs by means of an equivalent width analysis of Fe I and Fe II lines in high-resolution spectra obtained with the Hobby - Eberly Telescope and High Resolution Spectrograph. Abundances derived from Fe II lines are larger than those derived from Fe I lines (herein referred to as over-ionization) for stars with Teff < 5400 K, and the dis-crepancy (∆Fe = [Fe II/H] - [Fe I/H]) increases dramatically with decreasing Teff, reaching over 0.8 dex for the coolest stars of our sample. The Pleiades joins the open clusters M34, the Hyades, IC2602, and IC2391, and the Ursa Major moving group, demonstrating ostensible over-ionization trends. The Pleiades ∆Fe abun-dances are correlated with Ca II infrared triplet and Hα chromospheric emission indicators and relative differences therein. Oxygen abundances of our Pleiades sample derived from the high-excitation O I triplet have been previously shown to increase with decreasing Teff, and a comparison with the ∆Fe abundances sug-gests that the over-excitation (larger abundances derived from high excitation lines relative to low excitation lines) and over-ionization effects that have been observed in cool open cluster and disk field main sequence (MS) dwarfs share a common origin. Curiously, a correlation between the Pleiades O I abundances and chromospheric emission indicators does not exist. Star-to-star Fe I abun-dances have low internal scatter (< 0.11 dex), but the abundances of stars with Teff< 5400 K are systematically higher compared to the warmer stars. The cool star [Fe I/H] abundances cannot be connected directly to over-excitation effects, but similarities with the ∆Fe and O I triplet trends suggest the abundances are dubious. Using the [Fe I/H] abundances of five stars with Teff > 5400 K, we derive a mean Pleiades cluster metallicity of [Fe/H] = +0.01 ± 0.02.


A Near-Infrared Spectroscopic Survey Of Cool White Dwarfs In The Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Mukremin Kilic, Piotr M. Kowalski, Ted Von Hippel Jul 2009

A Near-Infrared Spectroscopic Survey Of Cool White Dwarfs In The Sloan Digital Sky Survey, Mukremin Kilic, Piotr M. Kowalski, Ted Von Hippel

Publications

We present near-infrared photometric observations of 15 and spectroscopic observations of 38 cool white dwarfs (WDs). This is the largest near-infrared spectroscopic survey of cool WDs to date. Combining the Sloan Digital Sky Survey photometry and our near-infrared data, we perform a detailed model atmosphere analysis. The spectral energy distributions of our objects are explained fairly well by model atmospheres with temperatures ranging from 6300 K down to 4200 K. Two WDs show significant absorption in the infrared, and are best explained with mixed H/He atmosphere models. Based on the up-to-date model atmosphere calculations by Kowalski & Saumon, we find …


Spitzer Observations Of The Oldest White Dwarfs In The Solar Neighborhood, Mukremin Kilic, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al. May 2009

Spitzer Observations Of The Oldest White Dwarfs In The Solar Neighborhood, Mukremin Kilic, Ted Von Hippel, Et Al.

Publications

We present Spitzer 5-15 μm spectroscopy of one cool white dwarf and 3.6-8 μm photometry of 51 cool white dwarfs with T eff < 6000 K. The majority of our targets have accurate BVRIJHKphotometry and trigonometric parallax measurements available, which enables us to perform a detailed model atmosphere analysis using their optical, near- and mid-infrared photometry with state-of-the-art model atmospheres. We demonstrate that the optical and infrared spectral energy distributions of cool white dwarfs are well reproduced by our grid of models. Our best-fit models are consistent with the observations within 5% in all filters except the IRAC 8 μm band, which has the lowest signal-to-noise ratio photometry. Excluding …


Lp 400-22, A Very Low Mass And High-Velocity White Dwarf, Adela Kawka, Stephane Vennes, Terry D. Oswalt, J. Allyn Smith, Nicole M. Silvestri Jun 2006

Lp 400-22, A Very Low Mass And High-Velocity White Dwarf, Adela Kawka, Stephane Vennes, Terry D. Oswalt, J. Allyn Smith, Nicole M. Silvestri

Publications

We report the identification of LP 400-22 (WD 2234 + 222) as a very low mass and high-velocity white dwarf. The ultraviolet GALEX and optical photometric colors and a spectral line analysis of LP 400-22 show this star to have an effective temperature of 11,080 ± 140 K and a surface gravity of log g p 6.32 ± 0.08. Therefore, this is a helium-core white dwarf with a mass of 0.17 M. The tangential velocity of this white dwarf is 414 ± 43 km s-1, making it one of the fastest moving white dwarfs known. We …


Beryllium Enhancement As Evidence For Accretion In A Lithium-Rich F Dwarf, Johanna F. Ashwell, R D. Jeffries, Barry Smalley, C P. Deliyannis, Aaron Steinhauer, Jeremy R. King Aug 2005

Beryllium Enhancement As Evidence For Accretion In A Lithium-Rich F Dwarf, Johanna F. Ashwell, R D. Jeffries, Barry Smalley, C P. Deliyannis, Aaron Steinhauer, Jeremy R. King

Publications

The early F dwarf star ``J37'' in the open cluster NGC6633 shows an unusual pattern of photospheric abundances, including an order of magnitude enhancement of lithium and iron-peak elements, but an under-abundance of carbon. As a consequence of its thin convection zone these anomalies have been attributed to either radiative diffusion or the accretion of hydrogen-depleted material. By comparing high resolution VLT/UVES spectra of J37 (and other F stars in NGC 6633) with syntheses of the Be ii doublet region at 3131 Ang, we establish that J37 also has a Be abundance (A(Be)=3.0+/-0.5) that is at least ten times the …


Oxygen In Open Cluster Dwarfs: Pleiades And M34, Simon C. Schuler, Jeremy R. King, L M. Hobbs, Marc H. Pinsonneault Feb 2004

Oxygen In Open Cluster Dwarfs: Pleiades And M34, Simon C. Schuler, Jeremy R. King, L M. Hobbs, Marc H. Pinsonneault

Publications

We analyze the high-excitation O I lambda7774 triplet in high-resolution, moderate signal-to-noise ratio spectra of 15 Pleiades and eight M34 open cluster dwarfs over the effective temperature range of 5048-6172 K. Relative O abundances have been derived using model atmospheres interpolated from four different sets of ATLAS9 grids. In contrast to existing non-LTE (NLTE) predictions, a dramatic increase in the O I triplet abundance with decreasing temperature is seen for both clusters, regardless of the atmospheric model. S I abundances of three Pleiades stars derived from the high-excitation lambda6053 feature mimic the O I abundance behavior. O abundances have also …