Physical Sciences and Mathematics | Open Access Articles

The Mimes Survey Of Magnetism In Massive Stars: Introduction And Overview, G. A. Wade, C. Neiner, E. Alecian, H. H. Grunhunt, V. Petit, B. Batz, D. A. Bohlender, D. H. Cohen, H. F. Henrichs, O. Kochukhov, J. D. Landstreet, N. Manset, F. Martins, S. Mathis, M. E. Oksala, S. P. Owocki, Th. Rivinius, M. E. Schultz, J. O. Sundqvist, R. H.D. Townsend, A. Doula, J. C. Bouret, J. Braithwaite, M. Briquet, A. C. Carciofi, A. David-Uraz, C. P. Folsom, A. W. Fullerton, B. Leroy, W. L.F. Marcolino, A. F.J. Moffat, Y. Naze, N. St Louis, M. Auriere, S. Bagnulo, J. D. Bailey, R. H. Barba, A. Blazere, T. Bohm, C. Catala, J-F Donati, L. Ferrario, D. Harrington, I. D. Howarth, Richard Ignace, L. Kaper, T. Luftinger, R. Prinja, J. S. Vink, W. W. Weiss, I. Yakunin

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The MiMeS (Magnetism in Massive Stars) project is a large-scale, high-resolution, sensitive spectropolarimetric investigation of the magnetic properties of O- and early B-type stars. Initiated in 2008 and completed in 2013, the project was supported by three Large Program allocations, as well as various programmes initiated by independent principal investigators, and archival resources. Ultimately, over 4800 circularly polarized spectra of 560 O and B stars were collected with the instruments ESPaDOnS (Echelle SpectroPolarimetric Device for the Observation of Stars) at the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope, Narval at the Télescope Bernard Lyot and HARPSpol at the European Southern Observatory La Silla 3.6 m …

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Period Change And Stellar Evolution Of Β Cephei Stars, Hilding R. Neilson, Richard Ignace

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The β Cephei stars represent an important class of massive star pulsators that probe the evolution of B-type stars and the transition from main sequence to hydrogen-shell burning evolution. By understanding β Cep stars, we gain insights into the detailed physics of massive star evolution, including rotational mixing, convective core overshooting, magnetic fields, and stellar winds, all of which play important roles. Similarly, modeling their pulsation provides additional information into their interior structures. Furthermore, measurements of the rate of change of pulsation period offer a direct measure of β Cephei stellar evolution. In this work, we compute state-of-the-art stellar evolution …

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The Strange Evolution Of The Large Magellanic Cloud Cepheid Ogle-Lmc-Cep1812, Hilding R. Neilson, Robert G. Izzard, Nobert Langer, Richard Ignace

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Classical Cepheids are key probes of both stellar astrophysics and cosmology as standard candles and pulsating variable stars. It is important to understand Cepheids in unprecedented detail in preparation for upcoming Gaia, James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and extremely-large telescope observations. Cepheid eclipsing binary stars are ideal tools for achieving this goal, however there are currently only three known systems. One of those systems, OGLE-LMC-CEP1812, raises new questions about the evolution of classical Cepheids because of an apparent age discrepancy between the Cepheid and its red giant companion. We show that the Cepheid component is actually the product of a …

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A Coordinated X-Ray And Optical Campaign Of The Nearest Massive Eclipsing Binary, Δ Orionis Aa. Iii. Analysis Of Optical Photometric (Most) And Spectroscopic (Ground Based) Variations., Herbert Pablo, Noel Richardson, Anthony Moffat, Michael Corcoran, Tomer Shenar, Omar Benvenuto, Jim Fuller, Yaël Nazé, Jennifer Hoffman, Anatoly Miroshnichenko, Jesús Apellániz, Nancy Evans, Thomas Eversberg, Ken Gayley, Ted Gull, Kenji Hamaguchi, Wolf-Rainer Hamann, Huib Henrichs, Tabetha Hole, Richard Ignace, Rosina Iping, Jennifer Lauer, Maurice Leutenegger, Jamie Lomax, Joy Nichols, Lida Oskinova, Stan Owocki, Andy Pollock, Christopher Russell, Wayne Waldron, Christian Buil, Thierry Garrel, Keith Graham, Bernard Heathcote, Thierry Lemoult, Dong Li, Benjamin Mauclaire, Mike Potter, Jose Ribeiro, Jaymie Matthews, Chris Cameron, David Guenther, Rainer Kuschnig, Jason Rowe, Slavek Rucinski, Dimitar Sasselov, Werner Weiss

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We report on both high-precision photometry from the Microvariability and Oscillations of Stars (MOST) space telescope and ground-based spectroscopy of the triple system δ Ori A, consisting of a binary O9.5II+early-B(Aa1 and Aa2) with P=5.7 days, and a more distant tertiary(O9 IV P 400 years). This data was collected in concert with X-ray spectroscopy from the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Thanks to continuous coverage for three weeks, the MOST light curve reveals clear eclipses between Aa1 and Aa2 for the first time in non-phased data. From the spectroscopy, we have a well-constrained radial velocity (RV)curve of Aa1. While we are unable …

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A Coordinated X-Ray And Optical Campaign Of The Nearest Massive Eclipsing Binary, Δ Ori Aa: I. Overview Of The X-Ray Spectrum., Michael Corcoran, Joy Nichols, H. Pablo, Tomer Shenar, Andy Pollock, W. Waldron, A. Moffat, N. Richardson, C. Russell, K. Hamaguchi, D. Huenemoerder, L. Oskinova, W.-R. Hamann, Y. Nazé, Richard Ignace, Nancy Evans, Jamie Lomax, J. Hoffman, K. Gayley, S. Owocki, M. Leutenegger, T. Gull, K. Hole, J. Lauer, R. Iping

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We present an overview of four deep phase-constrained Chandra HETGS X-ray observations of δ Ori A. Delta Ori A is actually a triple system that includes the nearest massive eclipsing spectroscopic binary, δ Ori Aa, the only such object that can be observed with little phase-smearing with the Chandra gratings. Since the fainter star, δ Ori Aa2, has a much lower X-ray luminosity than the brighter primary (δ Ori Aa1), δ Ori Aa provides a unique system with which to test the spatial distribution of the X-ray emitting gas around δ Ori Aa1 via occultation by the photosphere of, and …

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A Coordinated X-Ray And Optical Campaign Of The Nearest Massive Eclipsing Binary, Δ Orionis Aa: Ii. X-Ray Variability., Joy Nichols, D. Huenemoerder, Michael Corcoran, W. Waldron, Y. Nazé, Andy Pollock, A. Moffat, J. Lauer, Tomer Shenar, C. Russell, N. Richardson, H. Pablo, N. Evans, K. Hamaguchi, T. Gull, W.-R. Hamann, L. Oskinova, Richard Ignace, Jennifer Hoffman, K. Hole, Jamie Lomax

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We present time-resolved and phase-resolved variability studies of an extensive X-ray high-resolution spectral data set of the δ Ori Aa binary system. The four observations, obtained with Chandra ACIS HETGS, have a total exposure time of ≈ 479 ks and provide nearly complete binary phase coverage. Variability of the total X-ray flux in the range of 5–25 Å is confirmed, with a maximum amplitude of about ±15% within a single ≈ 125 ks observation. Periods of 4.76 and 2.04 days are found in the total X-ray flux, as well as an apparent overall increase in the flux level throughout the …

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Probing Wolf–Rayet Winds: Chandra/Hetg X-Ray Spectra Of Wr 6, David P. Huenemoerder, K. G. Gayley, Wolf-Rainer Hamann, Richard Ignace, J. S. Nichols, Lidia M. Oskinova, A. M.T. Pollock, Nobert S. Schulz, Tomer Shenar

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With a deep Chandra/HETGS exposure of WR 6, we have resolved emission lines whose profiles show that the X-rays originate from a uniformly expanding spherical wind of high X-ray-continuum optical depth. The presence of strong helium-like forbidden lines places the source of X-ray emission at tens to hundreds of stellar radii from the photosphere. Variability was present in X-rays and simultaneous optical photometry, but neither were correlated with the known period of the system or with each other. An enhanced abundance of sodium revealed nuclear-processed material, a quantity related to the evolutionary state of the star. The characterization of …

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Polarimetric Modeling Of Corotating Interaction Regions (Cirs) Threading Massive-Star Winds., Richard Ignace, Nicole St-Louis, Felix Proulx-Giraldeau

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Massive star winds are complex radiation-hydrodynamic (sometimes magnetohydrodynamic) outflows that are propelled by their enormously strong luminosities. The winds are often found to be structured and variable, but can also display periodic or quasi-periodic behavior in a variety of wind diagnostics. The regular variations observed in putatively single stars, especially in UV wind lines, have often been attributed to corotating interaction regions (CIRs) like those seen in the solar wind. We present light curves for variable polarization from winds with CIR structures. We develop a model for a time-independent CIR based on a kinematical description. Assuming optically thin electron scattering, …

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Charged Skyrmions On The Surface Of A Topological Insulator, Hilary M. Hurst, Dimitry K. Efimkin, Jiadong Zang, Victor Galitski

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

We consider the interplay between magnetic skyrmions in an insulating thin film and the Dirac surface states of a 3D topological insulator (TI), coupled by proximity effect. The magnetic texture of skyrmions can lead to confinement of Dirac states at the skyrmion radius, where out of plane magnetization vanishes. This confinement can result in charging of the skyrmion texture. The presence of bound states is robust in an external magnetic field, which is needed to stabilize skyrmions. It is expected that for relevant experimental parameters skyrmions will have a few bound states that can be tuned using an external magnetic …

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New Multiwavelength Observations Of The Of?P Star Cpd -28◦ 2561., S. Hubrig, M. Schöller, A. Kholtygin, H. Tsumura, A. Hoshino, S. Kitamoto, L. Oskinova, Richard Ignace, H. Todt, I. Ilyin

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A rather strong mean longitudinal magnetic field of the order of a few hundred gauss was detected a few years ago in the Of?p star CPD −28° 2561 using FORS2 (FOcal Reducer low dispersion Spectrograph 2) low-resolution spectropolarimetric observations. In this work, we present additional low-resolution spectropolarimetric observations obtained during several weeks in 2013 December using FORS 2 mounted at the 8-m Antu telescope of the Very Large Telescope (VLT). These observations cover a little less than half of the stellar rotation period of 73.41 d mentioned in the literature. The behaviour of the mean longitudinal magnetic field is consistent …

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Identification Of High Energy Cosmic Ray Electrons Using Advanced Techniques In Calet And Fermi Lat, Aaron James Worley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Measurements of the cosmic ray electron spectrum have received much attention over the last decade as anomalies in both electron and positron observations have been detected independently by several experiments. The profound possible implications in the fields of high energy astrophysics and particle physics have allowed for many interpretations on the origin of these inconsistencies in the spectra. This research focuses on two space-borne cosmic radiation experiments at different stages in their mission lifetimes: the Calorimetric Electron Telescope (CALET) and the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). We explore the proton-electron discriminating capabilities of the CALET instrument through Monte Carlo simulations. …

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The Adsorption Of Polyatomic Molecules On Carbon Surfaces, Jared T. Burde

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Carbon nanotubes exhibit the structure and chemical properties that make them apt substrates for many adsorption applications. Of particular interest are carbon nanotube bundles, whose unique geometry is conducive to the formation of pseudo-one-dimensional phases of matter, and graphite, whose simple planar structure allows ordered phases to form in the absence of surface effects. Although both of these structures have been the focus of many research studies, knowledge gaps still remain. Much of the work with carbon nanotubes has used simple adsorbates^1-43, and there is little kinetic data available. On the other hand, there are many studies of …

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Binary Star Systems With Asymmetrically Heated Disks: Thermal Phase Curves For The Disk In Epsilon Aurigae, Richard Luther Pearson Iii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Epsilon Aurigae is a long-period eclipsing binary that contains a warm F-star (~7750 K) and a circumstellar disk enshrouding a hidden companion, likely to be a hot B-star (>15,000 K). The eclipse itself lasts just over two years---thanks, in part, to the size of the disk---and occurs every 27.1-years. Its evolutionary status is still debated, along with the true nature of each stellar component, due to the high uncertainty in its parallax. The disk is similarly debated from the near absence of solid state infrared spectral features indicating its composition, particle size distribution, and density. An investigation of a …

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On X-Ray Pulsations In Beta Cephei-Type Variables, L. Oskinova, H. Todt, D. Huenemoerder, S. Hubrig, Richard Ignace, W.-R. Hamann, L. Balona

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Beta Cephei-type variables are early B-type stars that are characterized by oscillations observable in their optical light curves. At least one Beta Cep-variable also shows periodic variability in X-rays. Here we study the X-ray light curves in a sample of beta Cep-variables to investigate how common X-ray pulsations are for this type of stars. We searched the Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray archives and selected stars that were observed by these telescopes for at least three optical pulsational periods. We retrieved and analyzed the X-ray data for kappa Sco, beta Cru, and alpha Vir. The X-ray light curves of these objects …

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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

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Period Change And Stellar Evolution Of Β Cephei Stars, Hilding R. Neilson, Richard Ignace

ETSU Faculty Works

The Strange Evolution Of The Large Magellanic Cloud Cepheid Ogle-Lmc-Cep1812, Hilding R. Neilson, Robert G. Izzard, Nobert Langer, Richard Ignace

ETSU Faculty Works

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Probing Wolf–Rayet Winds: Chandra/Hetg X-Ray Spectra Of Wr 6, David P. Huenemoerder, K. G. Gayley, Wolf-Rainer Hamann, Richard Ignace, J. S. Nichols, Lidia M. Oskinova, A. M.T. Pollock, Nobert S. Schulz, Tomer Shenar

ETSU Faculty Works

Polarimetric Modeling Of Corotating Interaction Regions (Cirs) Threading Massive-Star Winds., Richard Ignace, Nicole St-Louis, Felix Proulx-Giraldeau

ETSU Faculty Works

Charged Skyrmions On The Surface Of A Topological Insulator, Hilary M. Hurst, Dimitry K. Efimkin, Jiadong Zang, Victor Galitski

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

New Multiwavelength Observations Of The Of?P Star Cpd -28◦ 2561., S. Hubrig, M. Schöller, A. Kholtygin, H. Tsumura, A. Hoshino, S. Kitamoto, L. Oskinova, Richard Ignace, H. Todt, I. Ilyin

ETSU Faculty Works

Identification Of High Energy Cosmic Ray Electrons Using Advanced Techniques In Calet And Fermi Lat, Aaron James Worley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Adsorption Of Polyatomic Molecules On Carbon Surfaces, Jared T. Burde

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Binary Star Systems With Asymmetrically Heated Disks: Thermal Phase Curves For The Disk In Epsilon Aurigae, Richard Luther Pearson Iii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

On X-Ray Pulsations In Beta Cephei-Type Variables, L. Oskinova, H. Todt, D. Huenemoerder, S. Hubrig, Richard Ignace, W.-R. Hamann, L. Balona

ETSU Faculty Works