Meena S. Sahu

Limb Darkening of a K Giant in the Galactic Bulge: PLANET Photometry of MACHO 97-BLG-28

We present the PLANET photometric data set10 for the binary-lens microlensing event MACHO 97- BLG-28, consisting of 696 I- and V -band measurements, and analyze it to determine the radial surface brightness pro—le of the Galactic bulge source star. The microlensed source, demonstrated to be a K giant by our independent spectroscopy, crossed an isolated cusp of the central caustic of the lensing binary, generating a sharp peak in the light curve that was well-resolved by dense (3¨30 minute) and continuous monitoring from PLANET sites in Chile, South Africa, and Australia. This is the —rst time that such a cusp crossing has been observed. Analysis of the PLANET data set has produced a measure- ment of the square-root limb-darkening coefficients of the source star in the I and V bands; the resulting stellar pro—les are in excellent agreement with those predicted by stellar atmospheric models for K giants. The limb-darkening coefficients presented here are the —rst derived from microlensing. They are also among the —rst found for normal giants by any technique and the —rst for any star as distant as the Galactic bulge. Modeling of our light curve for MACHO 97-BLG-28 indicates that the lensing binary has a mass ratio q \ 0.23 and an (instantaneous) separation in units of the angular Einstein ring radius of d \ 0.69. For a lens in the Galactic bulge, this corresponds to a typical stellar binary with a projected separation between 1 and 2 AU. If the lens lies closer (i.e., in the Galactic disk), the separation is smaller, and one or both of the lens objects is in the brown dwarf regime. Assuming that the source is a bulge K2 giant at 8 kpc, the relative lens-source proper motion is k \ 19.4 ^ 2.6 km s~1 kpc~1, consistent with a disk or bulge lens. If the nonlensed blended light is due to a single star, it is likely to be a young white dwarf in the bulge, consistent with the blended light coming from the lens itself. Subject headings: binaries: visualgravitational lensingstars: fundamental parameters ¨ stars: late-type

Coronagraphic Imaging of Pre-Main-Sequence Stars with the Hubble Space Telescope Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph. I. The Herbig Ae Stars* **

STIS white-light coronagraphic imaging has been carried out for 14 nearby, lightly reddened Herbig Ae stars, providingdataontheenvironmentsanddisksassociatedwiththesestars.Nodisksaredetectedinourdatawhenthe Herbig Ae starisaccompaniedbya stellarcompanion atr � 2 00 .Wefindthattheopticalvisibilityofprotoplanetary disks associated with Herbig Ae stars at r � 50 70 AU from the star is correlated with the strength of the mid-IR PAH features, particularly 6.2 � m. These features, like the FUV fluorescent H2 emission, trace the presence of material sufficiently far above the disk midplane that it is directly illuminated by the star’s FUV radiation. In contrast, measures of the bulk properties of the disk, including ongoing accretion activity, mass, and the submillimeter slope of the SED, do not correlate with the surface brightness of the optical nebulosity. Modelers have interpreted the appearance of the IR SED and the presence of emission from warm silicate grains at 10 � ma s a measure of geometrical shadowing by material in the disk near the dust sublimation radius of 0.5 AU. Geometrical shadowing sufficient to render a disk dark to distances as large as 500 AU from a star would require that the star be optically visible only if viewed essentially pole-on, in disagreement with our program star system inclinations. Rather than invoking shadowing to account for the optically dark disks, the correlation of the STIS detections with PAHemissionfeaturessuggestsacorrelationwithdiskflaringandananticorrelationwiththedegreeofdustsettling toward the midplane. If this correlation continues to lower levels, the STIS data suggest that improvements in coronagraph performance that suppress the residual scattered and diffracted stellar light by an additional factor of � 10 should render the majority of disks associated with nearby Herbig Ae stars detectable. Subject headingg infrared: stars — ISM: Herbig-Haro objects — ISM: jets and outflows — stars: pre–main-sequence

The D/H Ratio in Interstellar Gas toward G191-B2B

We reinvestigate the question of spatial variation of the local D/H abundance, using both archival GHRS spectra, and new echelle spectra of G191-B2B obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) aboard HST. Our analysis uses stratified line-blanketed non-LTE model atmosphere calculations to determine the shape of the intrinsic WD Lyman-alpha profile and estimate the WD photospheric contamination of the interstellar lines. Although three velocity components were reported previously towards G191-B2B, we detect only two velocity components. The first component is at V(hel) ~ 8.6 km/s and the second at V(hel) ~ 19.3 km/s, which we identify with the Local Interstellar Cloud (LIC). From the STIS data we derive D/H = 1.60(+0.39,-0.27)X10^-5 for the LIC component, and D/H > 1.26X10^-5 for the 8.6 km/s component (uncertainties denote 2-sigma or 95% confidence limits). The STIS data provide no evidence for local or component-to-component variation in the D/H ratio. Despite using two velocity components for the profile fitting and using a more physically realistic WD Lyman-alpha profile for G191-B2B, our re-analysis of the GHRS data indicates a component-to-component variation as well as a variation of the D/H ratio in the LISM, neither of which are supported by the newer STIS data. We believe the most probable cause for this difference is the characterization of the background due to scattered light in the GHRS and STIS spectrographs. The two-dimensional MAMA detectors of STIS measure both the spatial and wavelength dependences of scattered light, allowing more accurate scattered light corrections than was possible with GHRS.Recent analysis of Goddard High-Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) echelle spectra suggests ~30% variations in the D/H abundance ratio along the line of sight to the nearby (69 pc) hot white dwarf (WD) G191-B2B (Vidal-Madjar et al.). Variations in the D/H ratio on such short length scales imply nonuniform production/destruction of deuterium and an inefficient mixing of gas in the local interstellar medium (LISM). We reinvestigate the question of the spatial variation of the local D/H abundance using both archival GHRS spectra and new echelle spectra of G191-B2B obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) aboard the Hubble Space Telescope. The STIS spectra were obtained in the high-resolution (E140H) mode and cover the wavelength region ranging from 1140 to 1700 A. Our analysis uses stratified line-blanketed non-LTE model atmosphere calculations to determine the shape of the intrinsic WD Lyα profile and to estimate the WD photospheric contamination of the interstellar lines. Although three velocity components were reported previously toward G191-B2B, we deduce only two velocity components. The first component is at vhel ~ 8.6 km s-1, and the second is at vhel ~ 19.3 km s-1, which we identify with the local interstellar cloud (LIC). From the STIS data, we derive D/H = 1.60 × 10-5 for the LIC component and D/H > 1.26 × 10-5 for the 8.6 km s-1 component (uncertainties denote 2 σ or 95% confidence limits). The derived D/H values in both components are consistent with (D/H)LIC = (1.5 ± 0.1) × 10-5, which was determined by Linsky in 1998. The STIS data provide no evidence for local or component-to-component variation in the D/H ratio. Our reanalysis of the GHRS data gives essentially the same results as Vidal-Madjar et al., despite using two velocity components for the profile fitting (vs. three by Vidal-Madjar et al.) and a more physically realistic WD Lyα profile for G191-B2B. The GHRS data indicate a component-to-component variation as well as a variation of the D/H ratio in the LISM, neither of which are supported by the newer STIS data. The D I absorption in the GHRS spectrum is shallower than in the STIS spectrum. The most probable cause for this difference in the two data sets is the characterization of the background due to scattered light in the GHRS and STIS spectrographs. The D/H ratios derived are sensitive to the background-subtraction procedures employed. The two-dimensional MAMA detectors of STIS measure both the spatial and wavelength dependences of scattered light, allowing more accurate scattered-light corrections than was possible with GHRS.

Elemental Abundances and Ionization States within the Local Interstellar Cloud Derived from Hubble Space Telescope and Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer Observations of the Capella Line of Sight

We use ultraviolet spectra of Capella from the Hubble Space Telescope and Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer satellites to study interstellar absorption lines from the Local Interstellar Cloud (LIC). Measurements of these lines are used to empirically determine the ionization states of carbon, nitrogen, and silicon in the LIC, for comparison with the predictions of theoretical photoionization models. We find that the observed ionization states are consistent with previously published photoionization predictions. Total abundances are determined for the elements mentioned above, and others, for comparison with solar abundances. Magnesium, aluminum, silicon, and iron are all depleted by at least a factor of 10 toward Capella. The abundances of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen are essentially solar, although the error bars are large enough to also allow depletions of about a factor of 2 for these elements. Subject headings: ISM: abundances — ultraviolet: ISM

Spectroscopy of MACHO 97-SMC-1: Self-Lensing within the Small Magellanic Cloud

More than a dozen microlensing events have been detected so far toward the LMC, and two have been detected toward the SMC. If all of the lenses are in the Galactic halo, both the LMC and the SMC events are expected to have similar timescales. However, the first event toward the SMC, MACHO 97-SMC-1, had a timescale of 123 days, which is much larger than the typical timescale for the LMC events. Since the observed timescale of the SMC event would need the mass of the halo lens to be ~3 M☉, it has been argued earlier that the lens must be within the SMC, which we spectroscopically confirm in this Letter. From optical depth estimates, we first show that the stars within the SMC play a dominant role as gravitational lenses and can fully account for the observed microlensing events, mainly due to its large physical depth. We also show that if the lenses are within the Magellanic Clouds, then the SMC events should be longer in duration than the LMC events, a fact that is consistent with the observations. The timescale of the event implies that the mass of the lens is 2 M☉ if it is in the Milky Way disk or halo, in which case the lens, if it is a normal star, is expected to be bright and should reveal itself in the spectrum. Here, we present an optical spectrum of MACHO 97-SMC-1 obtained in 1997 May that shows that the source is a main-sequence B star. There is no trace of any contribution from the lens, which suggests that the lens is not in the Milky Way disk or halo but is a low-mass star within the SMC. The other alternative, that the lens could be a black hole in the Galactic halo, cannot be ruled out from the spectrum alone, but this is disfavored by the timescales of the LMC events. It is worth noting here that MACHO SMC-98-1 is the only other observed event toward the SMC. This was a binary lens event for which the caustic crossing timescale as observed by the PLANET, MACHO, EROS, and OGLE collaborations suggests that the lens is within the SMC. Furthermore, the only LMC event for which we have independent information on the location of the lens is the binary lens event MACHO LMC-9, where the caustic crossing timescale suggests the lens to be within the LMC. Thus, our current knowledge of the events indicates that all three microlensing events toward the Magellanic Clouds for which we have independent knowledge of the location of the lenses are due to self-lensing within the Magellanic Clouds.

Atomic and molecular interstellar absorption lines toward the high galactic latitude stars HD 141569 and HD 157841 at ultra-high resolution

We present ultra-high-resolution (0.32 km s-1) spectra obtained with the 3.9 m Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) and Ultra-High-Resolution Facility (UHRF) of interstellar Na I D1, Na I D2, Ca II K, K I, and CH absorption toward two high Galactic latitude stars HD 141569 and HD 157841. We have compared our data with 21 cm observations obtained from the Leiden/Dwingeloo H I survey. We derive the velocity structure and column densities of the clouds represented by the various components and identify the clouds with ISM structures seen in the region at other wavelengths. We further derive abundances, linear depletions, and H2 fractional abundances for these clouds wherever possible. Both stars are located in regions of IRAS 100 μm emission associated with high Galactic latitude molecular clouds (HLCs): HD 141569 lies, in projection, close to MBM 37 and the Lynds dark cloud L134N, whereas HD 157841 is in the vicinity of the MBM 151. Toward HD 141569 we detect two components in our UHRF spectra: a weak, broad b = 4.5 km s-1 component at -15 km s-1, seen only in Ca II K absorption, and another component at 0 km s-1, seen in Na I D1, Na I D2, Ca II K, K I, and CH absorption. The cloud represented by the -15 km s-1 component is warm and may be located in a region close to the star. The cloud represented by the 0 km s-1 component has a Ca linear depletion δ(Ca) = 1.4 × 10-4 and shows evidence for the presence of dust, consistent with strong 100 μm emission seen in this region. The H2 fractional abundance f(H2) derived for this cloud is 0.4, which is typically what is observed toward HLCs. We conclude that this 0 km s-1 cloud is associated with MBM 37 and L134N based on the presence of dust and molecular gas (CH) and good velocity agreement with CO emission from these two clouds. This places HD 141569 beyond MBM 37 and L134N, which are estimated to be at ≈ 110 pc. In the case of the HD 157841 sight line, a total of six components are seen on our UHRF spectra in Na I D1, Na I D2, Ca II K, K I, and CH absorption. Two of these six components are seen only in a single species. The cloud represented by the components at 1.85 km s-1 has a Ca linear depletion δ(Ca) = 2.8 × 10-4, indicating the presence of dust. The f(H2) derived for this cloud is 0.45, and there is good velocity agreement with CO emission from MBM 151. To the best of our knowledge, this 1.85 km s-1 component toward HD 157841 is the first one found to have relative line widths that are consistent with pure thermal broadening only. We associate the 1.85 km s-1 cloud seen in our UHRF spectra with MBM 151 and conclude that HD 157841 must lie beyond ~200 pc, the estimated distance to MBM 151.