R. C. Bless

Empirical effective temperatures and bolometric corrections for early-type stars

An empirical effective temperature for a star can be found by measuring its apparent angular diameter and absolute flux distribution. The angular diameters of 32 bright stars in the spectral range O5f to F8 have recently been measured with the stellar interferometer at Narrabri Observatory, and their absolute flux distributions have been found by combining observations of ultraviolet flux from the Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (OAO-2) with ground-based photometry. In this paper these data have been combined to derive empirical effective temperatures and bolometric corrections for these 32 stars. (AIP)

Ultraviolet photometry from the Orbiting Astronomical Observatory. II Interstellar extinction.

Evaluation of interstellar extinction curves over the region from 3600 to 1100 A for 17 stars. The observations were made by the two Wisconsin spectrometers on board the Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2, with spectral resolutions of 10 and 20 A. The extinction curves generally show a pronounced maximum at 2175 plus or minus 25 A, a broad minimum in the region from 1800 to 1350 A, and finally a rapid rise to the far-ultraviolet. Large extinction variations from star to star are found, especially in the far-ultraviolet; however, with only two possible exceptions in this sample, the wavelength at the maximum of the extinction bump is essentially constant. These data are combined with visual and infrared observations to display the extinction behavior over a range in wavelength of about a factor of 20. The observations appear to require a multicomponent model of the interstellar dust.

The pulsation index, effective temperature, and thickness of the hydrogen layer in the pulsating DA white dwarf G117-B15A

We have measured the amplitude of the 215 s pulsation of the pulsating DA white dwarf, or ZZ Ceti star, G117-B15A in six passbands with effective wavelengths from 1570 to 6730 A. We find that the index of the pulsation is l = 1 with a high degree of confidence, the first unambiguous determination of l for a pulsation of a ZZ Ceti star. We also find that log g and T(sub eff) are tightly correlated for model atmospheres that fit the data, such that at log g = 7.5 the temperature is 11,750 K and at log g = 8.0 the temperature is 12,375 K. Adopting log g = 7.97 +/- 0.06 from published observations of the optical spectrum of G117-B15A, the correlation yields T(sub eff) = 12,375 +/- 125 K. This temperature is free of flux calibration errors and should be substantially more reliable than temperatures derived for IUE spectra. Since G117-B15A is thought to lie close to the blue edge of the ZZ Ceti instability strip, this low temperature also implies a low temperature for the blue edge. Using pulsation models calculated by Fontaine et al. (1992) and Bradley (1994), we find that the mass of the hydrogen layer in G117-B15A lies between 1.0 x 10(exp -6) solar mass (for k = 1) and 8 x 10(exp -5) solar mass (for k = 2). This range of masses is (barely) consistent with the masses predicted by recent models for the ejection of planetary nebulae, (8-13) x 10(exp -5) solar mass. The mass is too large to be consistent with models invoking thin hydrogen layers to explain the spectral evolution of white dwarfs.

The Crab pulsar in the visible and ultraviolet with 20 microsecond effective time resolution

Observations of PSR 0531+21 with the High Speed Photometer on the HST in the visible in October 1991 and in the UV in January 1992 are presented. The time resolution of the instrument was 10.74 microsec; the effective time resolution of the light curves folded modulo the pulsar period was 21.5 microsec. The main pulse arrival time is the same in the UV as in the visible and radio to within the accuracy of the establishment of the spacecraft clock, +/- 1.05 ms. The peak of the main pulse is resolved in time. Corrected for reddening, the intensity spectral index of the Crab pulsar from 1680 to 7400 A is 0.11 +/- 0.13. The pulsed flux has an intensity less than 0.9 percent of the peak flux just before the onset of the main pulse. The variations in intensity of individual main and secondary pulses are uncorrelated, even within the same rotational period.

Hubble Space Telescope observations of the dwarf nova Z chamaeleontis through two eruption cycles

We have obtained the first high-speed photometry of the eclipsing dwarf nova Z Cha at ultraviolet wavelengths with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). We observed the eclipse roughly every 4 days over two cycles of the normal eruptions of Z Cha, giving a uniquely complete coverage of its outburst cycle. The accretion disk dominated the ultraviolet light curve of Z Cha at the peak of an eruption; the white dwarf, the bright spot on the edge of the disk, and the boundary layer were all invisible. We were able to obtain an axisymmetric map of the accretion disk at this time only by adopting a flared disk with an opening angle of approximately 8 deg. The run of brightness temperature with radius in the disk at the peak of the eruption was too flat to be consistent with a steady state, optically thick accretion disk. The local rate of mass flow through the disk was approximately 5 x 10(exp -10) solar masses/yr near the center of the disk and approximately 5 x 10(exp -9) solar masses/yr near the outer edge. The white dwarf, the accretion disk, and the boundary layer were all significant contributors to the ultraviolet flux on the descending branches of the eruptions. The temperature of the white dwarf during decline was 18,300 K less than T(sub wd) less than 21,800 K, which is significantly greater than at minimum light. Six days after the maximum of an eruption Z Cha has faded to near minimum light at ultraviolet wavelenghts, but was still approximately 70% brighter at minimum light in the B band. About one-quarter of the excess flux in the B band came from the accretion disk. Thus, the accretion disk faded and became invisible at ultraviolet wavelengths before it faded at optical wavelenghts. The disk did, however, remain optically thick and obscured the lower half of the white dwarf at ultraviolet and possibly at optical wavelenghts for 2 weeks after the eruption ended. By the third week after eruptiuons the eclipse looked like a simple occultation of an unobscured, spherical white dwarf by a dark secondary star. The center of the accretion disk was, therfore, optically thin at ultraviolet wavelenghts and the boundary layer was too faint to be visible.

An Occultation by Saturn's Rings on 1991 October 2-3 October 2-3 Observed with the Hubble Space Telescope

An occultation of the star GSC 6323-01396 (V = 11.9) by Saturns rings was observed with the High-Speed Photometer on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) on 1991 October 2-3. This occultation occurred when Saturn was near a stationary point, so the apparent motion of Saturn relative to the star was dominated by the HST orbital motion (8 km/s). Data were recorded simultaneously at effective wavelengths of 3200 and 7500 A, with an integration time of 0.15 s. Fifteen segments of occultation data, totaling 6.8 h, were recorded in 13 successive orbits during the 20.0 h interval from UTC 1991 October 2, 19:35 until UTC 1991 October 3, 15:35. Occultations by 43 different features throughout the classical rings were unambiguously identified in the light curve, with a second occultation by 24 of them occurring due to spacecraft orbital parallax during this extremely slow event. Occultation times for features currently presumed circular were measured and employed in a geometrical model for the rings. This model, relating the observed occultation times to feature radii and longitudes, is presented here and is used in a least-squares fit for the pole direction and radius scale of Saturns ring system.

Astronomical radiation measurements. III - An analysis of far-ultraviolet filter observations of stars.

Far UV filter observations of main sequence and giant stars analyzed for attainable magnitude accuracy, comparing observations with model atmospheres

The Spectrum of the Large Magellanic Cloud Pulsar B0540–69*

A prism spectrum of PSR B0540-69, the 50 ms pulsar in the Large Magellanic Cloud, was obtained with the Faint Object Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope. This is only the second pulsar spectrum that has been observed in the optical. The 2500-5500 A spectrum shows a smooth continuum with several broad emission lines. The lines are emitted by the extended nebula surrounding B0540-69. Less than 30% of the total flux in the spectrum can be contributed by the synchrotron nebula surrounding the pulsar; the time-averaged emission from the pulsar must be the dominant source of the continuum. The observed spectral index, α, of the continuum, where flux density Sν = Kνα μJy, is -2.5 ± 0.2 between 2500 and 4500 A. Using E(B - V) = 0.20 ± 0.05 gives a de-extincted spectral index α0 = -1.6 ± 0.4. This intrinsic spectral index is significantly different from that of the Crab pulsar in the optical α0 = 0.11 ± 0.13. Unless E(B - V) ~ 0.5, the intrinsic spectral index of time-averaged pulsar radiation must vary as much from pulsar to pulsar in the high-frequency regime as it does in the radio.

Ultraviolet photometry from the orbiting astronomical observatory. XXI. Absolute energy distribution of stars in the ultraviolet

The absolute energy distribution in the ultraviolet is given for the stars ..cap alpha.. Vir, eta UMa, and ..cap alpha.. Leo. The calibration is based upon absolute heterochromatic photometry betweeen 2920 and 1370 A carried out with an Aerobee sounding rocket. The fundamental radiation standard is the synchrotron radiation from 240 MeV electrons in the University of Wisconsin Physical Ssience Laboratory synchrotron storage ring. On the basis of the sounding rocket calibration the preliminary OAO-2 spectrometer calibration has been revised; the fluxes for the three program stars are tabulated in energy per second per centimeter/sup 2/ per unit wavelength interval. (AIP)

Astronomical radiation measurements. II - Observations of stars in the spectral region lambda lambda 2800-2100.

Astronomical radiation measurement, discussing UV stellar fluxes observed on flight of Aerobee rocket