P. Koubský

Pulsations of the Oe Star ζ Ophiuchi from MOST Satellite* Photometry and Ground-based Spectroscopy

Twenty-four days of highly precise Microvariability and Oscillations of Stars (MOST) satellite photometry obtained in mid-2004 of the rapidly rotating O9.5 V star ζ Oph have yielded at least a dozen significant oscillation frequencies between 1 and 10 cycles day-1, clearly indicating its relationship to β Cephei variables. Eight periods were found in He I λ4922 and Hβ line profile variations (LPV) of which six coincide with those from the MOST photometry. This unique photometric and spectroscopic detection of radial and nonradial pulsations leads to a plausible model in which high l-modes are excited when their frequencies in the corotating frame are similar to those of low-order radial modes. We propose that the dominant photometric 4.6 hr period (f1) corresponds to a radial first overtone excited by the κ-mechanism associated with the Fe opacity bump. No unambiguous rotational period can be identified in either the light curve or the LPV.

Chemical evolution of high‐mass stars in close binaries – II. The evolved component of the eclipsing binary V380 Cygni

The eclipsing and double-lined spectroscopic binary V380 Cyg is an extremely important probe of stellar evolution: its primary component is a high-mass star at the brink of leaving the main sequence whereas the secondary star is still in the early part of its main sequence lifetime. We present extensive high-resolution echelle and grating spectroscopy from Ondrejov, Calar Alto, Victoria and La Palma. We apply spectral disentangling to unveil the individual spectra of the two stars and obtain new spectroscopic elements. The secondary star contributes only about 6 per cent of the total light, which remains the main limitation to measuring the systems characteristics. We determine improved physical properties, finding masses 13.1 +/- 0.3 and 7.8 +/- 0.1 M-circle dot, radii 16.2 +/- 0.3 and 4.06 +/- 0.08 R-circle dot, and effective temperatures 21 750 +/- 280 and 21 600 +/- 550 K, for the primary and secondary components, respectively. We perform a detailed abundance analysis by fitting non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) theoretical line profiles to the disentangled spectrum of the evolved primary star, and reveal an elemental abundance pattern reminiscent of a typical nearby B star. Contrary to the predictions of recent theoretical evolution models with rotational mixing, no trace of abundance modifications due to the CNO cycle are detected. No match can be found between the predictions of these models and the properties of the primary star: a mass discrepancy of 1.5 M-circle dot exists and remains unexplained.

New findings supporting the presence of a thick disc and bipolar jets in the β Lyrae system

Context. Understanding large-scale mass exchange in binaries also requires studies of complicated objects in the rapid phases of the process. β Lyr is one such object. Aims. Our goals were to analyse 52 photographic and 651 electronic spectra of β Lyr to obtain additional information about circumstellar matter and to investigate spectrophotometric information for the first time. Methods. Improved quadratic ephemeris was derived via orbital solution with the FOTEL program. The spectra were disentangled using the KOREL program. Spectrophotometric quantities of 15 stronger absorption lines of the primary were measured and corrected for the orbital continuum variations using the fluxes calculated from a fit of the light curves with the BINSYN program. Central intensities of the V and R peaks of the Hα emission line were measured and corrected for the orbital light changes using the R-band light curve numerically modelled with the program PERIOD04. Results. Disentangling of photographic and electronic spectra led to the detection of weak absorption lines originating from the pseudophotosphere of the accretion disc. This way, a rich line spectrum of the accretion disc, not limited to only two previously known Si ii 6347 and Si ii 6371 lines, was obtained. A projected rotational velocity of 180 km s −1 was estimated for the disc spectrum. Such a value agrees well with the assumption of the Keplerian rotation of the outer layers of the accretion disc. After the correction, a pronounced increase of the strength of all absorption lines around phases of the primary eclipse was found. We argue that this is due to additional absorption of the light of the primary in one of the jets and/or scattering envelope above the accretion disc of the gainer. The net intensity of the V peak of Hα shows no orbital variation, but a possible 271-d periodicity. The net intensity of the R peak shows mild orbital changes and a slow change over a cycle of about 2780 days. These results seem to support the earlier conclusion that the Hα emission originates in the jet-like structures. Conclusions. All new findings support the current picture that the circumstellar structures of β Lyr consist of a thick accretion disc, bipolar jets, and a scattering envelope above the disc.

Properties and nature of Be stars - 29. Orbital and long-term spectral variations of γ Cassiopeiae

A detailed analysis of more than 800 electronic high-resolution spectra of gamma Cas, which were obtained during a time interval of over 6000 days (16.84 yr) at several observatories, documents the smooth variations in the density and/or extent of its circumstellar envelope. We found a clear anticorrelation between the peak intensity and FWHM of the Hα emission, which seems to agree with recent models of such emission lines. The main result of this study is a confirmation of the binary nature of the object, determination of a reliable linear ephemeris Tmin.RV = HJD (2 452 081.9±0.6)+(203. 52±0. d 08)×E, and a rather definitive set of orbital elements. We clearly demonstrated that the orbit is circular within the limits of accuracy of our measurements and has a semi-amplitude of radialvelocity curve of 4.30 ± 0.09 km s −1 . No trace of the low-mass secondary was found. The time distribution of our spectra does not allow a reliable investigation of rapid spectral variations, which are undoubtedly present in the spectra. We postpone this investigation for a future study, based on series of dedicated whole-night spectral observations.

Properties and nature of Be stars - 27. Orbital and recent long-term variations of the Pleiades Be star Pleione = BU Tauri

Radial-velocity variations of the Hα emission measured on the steep wings of the Hα line, prewhitened for the long-time changes, vary periodically with a period of 218 d .025 ±0 d .022, confirming the suspected binary nature of the bright Be star BU Tau, a member of the Pleiades cluster. The orbit seems to have a high eccentricity over 0.7, but we also briefly discuss the possibility that the true orbit is circular and that the eccentricity is spurious owing to the phase-dependent effects of the circumstellar matter. The projected angular separation of the spectroscopic orbit is large enough to allow the detection of the binary with large optical interferometers, provided the magnitude difference primary - secondary is not too large. Since our data cover the onset of a new shell phase up to development of a metallic shell spectrum, we also briefly discuss the recent long-term changes. We confirm the formation of a new envelope, coexisting with the previous one, at the onset of the new shell phase. We find that the full width at half maximum of the Hα profile has been decreasing with time for both envelopes. In this connection, we briefly discuss Hiratas hypothesis of precessing gaseous disk and possible alternative scenarios of the observed long-term changes.

Properties and nature of Be stars. XXIII. Long-term variations and physical properties of x Dra

We present an analysis of new spectroscopic observations of the bright Be star kappa Dra obtained at the Ondrejov observatory during 1992-2003 and UBV photometric observations secured at several observatories. General characteristics and a line identification of the spectrum of kappa Dra are obtained in the regions 3730-5650 A and 5850-7800 A by a comparison with the theoretical spectrum. The fundamental stellar parameters have been obtained from a comparison with a grid of NLTE model atmospheres. The best fit was found for T_eff =14\ 000 K, log g = 3.5, and v sin i = 170 km/s. These values together with a Hipparcos parallax lead to a stellar mass M= 4.8 +/- 0.8 M_S and radius R=6.4 +/- 0.5 R_S. It is encouraging to see that these values agree well with the expected evolutionary mass and radius for the effective temperature we derived. Long-term variations of kappa Dra were analysed using measurements of equivalent widths, central intensities, peak intensities of emission lines and emission peak velocity differences for H alpha, H beta, H gamma, H delta, and some helium, silicon, and iron lines. The previously reported period of 23 years in the variation of the emission strength is probably a cyclic, not a strictly periodic phenomenon. An attempt to find out a period from all available records of the H beta emission strength led to a value of 8044 +/- 167 days (22.0 years) but the phase plots show that each cycle has a different shape and length. The maximum strength of the emission lags behind the brightness maximum. This is a behaviour usually observed for long-term changes of Be stars with a positive correlation between the brightness and emission strength. Since there are obviously no published speckle observations of the star, we suggest these should be carried out. They could help to deny or confirm the possibility that the emission episodes are triggered by a periastron passage of a putative binary companion moving in an eccentric orbit with a 8044-d period, as it seems to be the case for some Be binaries. For the moment, the nature and origin of the disk around

Properties and nature of Be stars - 25. A new orbital solution and the nature of a peculiar emission-line binary

\varkappa

\mathsf{\upsilon}

Dra remains unknown. From the comparison of the electronic spectra obtained at different phases of the long-term cycle and synthetic spectra it appears that there are no detectable changes in the photospheric part of the Balmer lines related to variations in the Balmer emission strength which could be attributed to an extended photosphere corresponding to inner parts of the disk, optically thick in continuum.

Sagittarii

Context. Binaries observed in the initial rapid phase of mass exchange between the components are very rare since the statistical probability of finding them is low. At the same time, thorough studies of them are extremely important for better understanding the process of large-scale mass exchange and possible mass loss from the system. One of these objects is probably υ Sgr. Aims. By analyzing 35 new electronic spectra and numerous published spectral and photometric observations, we derived the new orbital elements, an upper limit to a secular period change, and also the peculiar RV curve of the blue-shifted Hα absorption. Possible models of the binary and its evolutionary stage are then discussed critically. Methods. Reduction of new spectra was carried out with the IRAF and SPEFO programs. All orbital elements were derived with the FOTEL program and period searches were carried out using the phase-dispersion minimalization technique. Results. The peculiar RV curve of the blue-shifted Hα absorption rules out the model of a coronal flow of matter from the brighter component. The presence of bipolar jets that are perpendicular to the orbital plane and similar to those found for β Lyr seems probable. An upper limit to the secular period decrease of 24 s per year was estimated and should be tested by future RV observations. The peculiar character of the line spectrum of the brighter component could also be understood as originating from a pseudo-photosphere of an optically thick disk rather than from a stellar spectrum. Conclusions. Better understanding of the nature of υ Sgr will not be possible without interferometric resolution of the binary and especially without determining its orbital inclination.

Hydrodynamic and Radiative Modeling of Temporal Hα Emission V/R Variations Caused by Discontinuous Mass Transfer in Binaries

Hα emission V/R variations caused by discontinuous mass transfer in interacting binaries with a rapidly rotating accreting star are modeled qualitatively for the first time. The program ZEUS-MP was used to create a non-linear three-dimensional hydrodynamical model of a development of a blob of gaseous material injected into an orbit around a star. It resulted in the formation of an elongated disk with a slow prograde revolution. The LTE radiative transfer program SHELLSPEC was used to calculate the Hα profiles originating in the disk for several phases of its revolution. The profiles have the form of a double emission and exhibit V/R and radial velocity variations. However, these variations should be a temporal phenomenon since imposing a viscosity in the given model would lead to a circularization of the disk and fading-out of the given variations.