Michel Cure

The Influence of Rotation in Radiation-driven Wind from Hot Stars: New Solutions and Disk Formation in Be Stars

The theory of radiation-driven wind including stellar rotation is reexamined. After a suitable change of variables, a new equation for the mass-loss rate is derived analytically. The solution of this equation remains within 1% confidence when compared with numerical solutions. In addition, a nonlinear equation for the position of the critical (singular) point is obtained. This equation shows the existence of an additional critical point besides the standard m-CAK critical point. For a stellar rotation velocity larger than ~0.7-0.8Vbkup, there exists only one critical point, located away from the stars surface. Numerical solutions crossing through this new critical point are attained. In these cases, the wind has a very low terminal velocity and therefore a higher density. Disk formation in Be stars is discussed in the framework of this new line-driven stellar wind solution.

Spectral sensitivities of photoreceptors and their role in colour discrimination in the green-backed firecrown hummingbird (Sephanoides sephaniodes)

We studied the photopic spectral sensitivity in the green-backed firecrown, Sephanoides sephaniodes, a South American hummingbird, and its possible ecological relationship with preferred flowers and body colouration. Avian colour vision is in general tetrachromatic with at least four types of cones, which vary in sensitivity from the near ultraviolet (UV) to the red wavelength range. Hummingbirds represent an important family of birds, yet little is known about their eye sensitivity, especially about the role of photoreceptors and their oil droplet complements. The photopic electroretinogram shows a main sensitivity peak at 560 nm and a secondary peak in the UV, and may be explained by the presence of four single cones (λmax at ~370, 440, 508 and 560 nm), and a double cone (λmax at 560 nm) screened by oil droplets. The flowers preferred by the firecrown are those in which the red–green wavelength region predominates and have higher contrast than other flowers. The crown plumage of males is highly iridescent in the red wavelength range (peak at 650 nm) and UV; when plotted in a high-dimensional tetrachromatic space, it falls in a “red + UV” purple hue line, suggesting a potential significant communication signal for sexual differentiation.

Outflowing disk formation in B[e] supergiants due to rotation and bi-stability in radiation driven winds

The effects of rapid rotation and bi-stability upon the density contrast between the equatorial and polar directions of a B(e) supergiant are re-investigated. Based on a new slow solution for different high rotational radiation-driven winds and the fact that bi-stability allows a change in the line-force parameters (α, k ,a ndδ), the equatorial densities are about 10 2 -10 4 times higher than the polar ones. These values are in qualitative agreement with the observations.

Rotationally modulated variations and the mean longitudinal magnetic field of the Herbig Ae star HD 101412

Despite the importance of magnetic fields to a full understanding of the properties of accreting Herbig Ae/Be stars, these fields have scarcely been studied until now over the rotation cycle. One reason for the paucity of these observations is the lack of knowledge of their rotation periods. The sharp-lined young Herbig Ae star HD 101412 with a strong surface magnetic field has become in the past few years one of the most well-studied targets among the Herbig Ae/Be stars. We present our multi-epoch polarimetric spectra of this star acquired with FORS 2 to search for a rotation period and constrain the geometry of the magnetic field. Methods: We measured longitudinal magnetic fields for 13 different epochs distributed over 62 days. These new measurements and our previous measurements of the magnetic field in this star were combined with available photometric observations to determine the rotation period. Results: We find the rotation period to be P = 42.076+/-0.017 d.

The yellow hypergiant HR 5171 A: Resolving a massive interacting binary in the common envelope phase

We initiated long-term optical interferometry monitoring of the diameters of unstable yellow hypergiants (YHG) with the goal of detecting both the long-term evolution of their radius and shorter term formation related to large mass-loss events. We observed HR5171 A with AMBER/VLTI. We also examined archival photometric data in the visual and near-IR spanning more than 60 years, as well as sparse spectroscopic data. HR5171A exhibits a complex appearance. Our AMBER data reveal a surprisingly large star for a YHG R*=1315+/-260Rsun\ (~6.1AU) at the distance of 3.6+/-0.5kpc. The source is surrounded by an extended nebulosity, and these data also show a large level of asymmetry in the brightness distribution of the system, which we attribute to a newly discovered companion star located in front of the primary star. The companions signature is also detected in the visual photometry, which indicates an orbital period of Porb=1304+/-6d. Modeling the light curve with the NIGHTFALL program provides clear evidence that the system is a contact or possibly over-contact eclipsing binary. A total current system mass of 39^{+40}_{-22} solar mass and a high mass ratio q>10 is inferred for the system. The low-mass companion of HR5171 A is very close to the primary star that is embedded within its dense wind. Tight constraints on the inclination and vsini of the primary are lacking, which prevents us from determining its influence precisely on the mass-loss phenomenon, but the system is probably experiencing a wind Roche-Lobe overflow. Depending on the amount of angular momentum that can be transferred to the stellar envelope, HR5171 A may become a fast-rotating B[e]/Luminous Blue Variable (LBV)/Wolf-Rayet star. In any case, HR5171 A highlights the possible importance of binaries for interpreting the unstable YHGs and for massive star evolution in general.

High-Resolution Near-Infrared Polarimetry of a Circumstellar Disk around UX Tau A

We present H-band polarimetric imagery of UX Tau A taken with HiCIAO/AO188 on the Subaru Telescope. UX Tau A has been classified as a pre-transitional disk object, with a gap structure separating its inner and outer disks. Our imagery taken with the 0.15 (21 AU) radius coronagraphic mask has revealed a strongly polarized circumstellar disk surrounding UX Tau A which extends to 120 AU, at a spatial resolution of 0.1 (14 AU). It is inclined by 46 \pm 2 degree as the west side is nearest. Although SED modeling and sub-millimeter imagery suggested the presence of a gap in the disk, with the inner edge of the outer disk estimated to be located at 25 - 30 AU, we detect no evidence of a gap at the limit of our inner working angle (23 AU) at the near-infrared wavelength. We attribute the observed strong polarization (up to 66 %) to light scattering by dust grains in the disk. However, neither polarization models of the circumstellar disk based on Rayleigh scattering nor Mie scattering approximations were consistent with the observed azimuthal profile of the polarization degrees of the disk. Instead, a geometric optics model of the disk with nonspherical grains with the radii of 30 micron meter is consistent with the observed profile. We suggest that the dust grains have experienced frequent collisional coagulations and have grown in the circumstellar disk of UX Tau A.

SLOW RADIATION-DRIVEN WIND SOLUTIONS OF A-TYPE SUPERGIANTS

The theory of radiation-driven winds succeeded in describing terminal velocities and mass-loss rates of massive stars. However, for A-type supergiants the standard m-CAK solution predicts values of mass loss and terminal velocity higher than the observed values. Based on the existence of a slow wind solution in fast rotating massive stars, we explore numerically the parameter space of radiation-driven flows to search for new wind solutions in slowly rotating stars that could explain the origin of these discrepancies. We solve the one-dimensional hydrodynamical equation of rotating radiation-driven winds at different stellar latitudes and explore the influence of ionization changes throughout the wind in the velocity profile. We have found that for particular sets of stellar and line-force parameters, a new slow solution exists over the entire star when the rotational speed is slow or even zero. In the case of slow rotating A-type supergiant stars, the presence of this novel slow solution at all latitudes leads to mass losses and wind terminal velocities which are in agreement with the observed values. The theoretical wind-momentum-luminosity relationship derived with these slow solutions shows very good agreement with the empirical relationship. In addition, the ratio between the terminal and escape velocities, which provides a simple way to predict stellar wind energy and momentum input into the interstellar medium, is also properly traced.

A cyclic bipolar wind in the interacting binary V 393 Scorpii

V 393 Scorpii is a double periodic variable characterized by a relatively stable non-orbital photometric cycle of 253 d. Mennickent et al. argue for the presence of a massive optically thick disc around the more massive B-type component and describe the evolutionary stage of the system. In this paper, we analyse the behaviour of the main spectroscopic optical lines during the long non-orbital photometric cycle. We study the radial velocity of the donor determining its orbital elements and find a small but significant orbital eccentricity (e = 0.04). The donor spectral features are modelled and removed from the spectrum at every observing epoch using the light-curve model given by Mennickent et al. We find that the line emission is larger during eclipses and mostly comes from a bipolar wind. We also find that the long cycle is explained in terms of a modulation of the wind strength; the wind has a larger line and continuum emissivity at the high state. We report the discovery of highly variable chromospheric emission in the donor, as revealed by the Doppler maps of the emission lines Mg ii 4481 and C i 6588. We discuss notable and some novel spectroscopic features like discrete absorption components, especially visible at blue depressed O i 7773 absorption wings during the second half-cycle, Balmer double emission with V/R curves showing ‘Z-type’ and ‘S-type’ excursions around secondary and main eclipses, respectively, and Hβ emission wings extending up to ± 2000 km s−1. We also discuss possible causes for these phenomena and for their modulations with the long cycle.

Magnetic survey of emission line B-type stars with FORS 1 at the VLT ⋆

We report the results of our search for magnetic fields in a sample of 16 field Be stars, the binary emission-line B-type star υ Sgr, and in a sample of fourteen members of the open young cluster NGC3766 in the Carina spiral arm. The sample of cluster members includes Be stars, normal B-type stars and He-strong/He-weak stars. Nine Be stars have been studied with magnetic field time series obtained over ∼1 hour to get an insight into the temporal behaviour and the correlation of magnetic field properties with dynamical phenomena taking place in Be star atmospheres. The spectropolarimetric data were obtained at the European Southern Observatory with the multi-mode instrument FORS1 installed at the 8m Kueyen telescope. We detect weak photospheric magnetic fields in four field Be stars, HD 62367, μ Cen, o Aqr, and e Tuc. The strongest longitudinal magnetic field, 〈Bz〉 = 117 ± 38 G, was detected in the Be star HD 62367. Among the Be stars studied with time series, one Be star, λ Eri, displays cyclic variability of the magnetic field with a period of 21.12 min. The binary star υ Sgr, in the initial rapid phase of mass exchange between the two components with strong emission lines in the visible spectrum, is a magnetic variable star, probably on a timescale of a few months. The maximum longitudinal magnetic field 〈Bz〉 = –102 ± 10 G at MJD 54333.018 was measured using hydrogen lines. The cluster NGC3766 seems to be extremely interesting, where we find evidence for the presence of a magnetic field in seven early B-type stars out of the observed fourteen cluster members (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Observational constraints for the circumstellar disk of the B[e] star CPD−52 9243

Context. The formation and evolution of gas and dust environments around B[e] supergiants are still open issues. Aims. We intend to study the geometry, kinematics and physical structure of the circumstellar environment (CE) of the B[e] supergiant CPD−52 9243 to provide further insights into the underlying mechanism causing the B[e] phenomenon. Methods. The influence of the different physical mechanisms acting on the CE (radiation pressure, rotation, bi-stability or tidal forces) is somehow reflected in the shape and kinematic properties of the gas and dust regions (flaring, Keplerian, accretion or outflowing disks). To investigate these processes we mainly used quasi-simultaneous observations taken with high spatial resolution optical long-baseline interferometry (VLTI/MIDI), near-IR spectroscopy of CO bandhead features (Gemini/Phoenix and VLT/CRIRES) and optical spectra (CASLEO/REOSC). Results. High angular resolution interferometric measurements obtained with VLTI/MIDI provide strong support for the presence of a dusty disk(ring)-like structure around CPD−52 9243, with an upper limit for its inner edge of ∼ 8m as (∼27.5 AU, considering a distance of 3.44 kpc to the star). The disk has an inclination angle with respect to the line of sight of 46 ± 7 ◦ . The study of CO first overtone bandhead evidences a disk structure in Keplerian rotation. The optical spectrum indicates a rapid outflow in the polar direction. Conclusions. The IR emission (CO and warm dust) indicates Keplerian rotation in a circumstellar disk while the optical line transitions of various species are consistent with a polar wind. Both structures appear simultaneously and provide further evidence for the proposed paradigms of the mass-loss in supergiant B[e] stars. The presence of a detached cold CO ring around CPD–52 9243 could be due to a truncation of the inner disk caused by a companion, located possibly interior to the disk rim, clearing the center of the system. More spectroscopic and interferometric data are necessary to determine a possible binary nature of the star.