@article{RamiaramanantsoaMoffatHarmonetal.2018, author = {Ramiaramanantsoa, Tahina and Moffat, Anthony F. J. and Harmon, Robert and Ignace, R. and St-Louis, Nicole and Vanbeveren, Dany and Shenar, Tomer and Pablo, Herbert and Richardson, Noel D. and Howarth, Ian D. and Stevens, Ian R. and Piaulet, Caroline and St-Jean, Lucas and Eversberg, Thomas and Pigulski, Andrzej and Popowicz, Adam and Kuschnig, Rainer and Zoclonska, Elzbieta and Buysschaert, Bram and Handler, Gerald and Weiss, Werner W. and Wade, Gregg A. and Rucinski, Slavek M. and Zwintz, Konstanze and Luckas, Paul and Heathcote, Bernard and Cacella, Paulo and Powles, Jonathan and Locke, Malcolm and Bohlsen, Terry and Chen{\´e}, Andr{\´e}-Nicolas and Miszalski, Brent and Waldron, Wayne L. and Kotze, Marissa M. and Kotze, Enrico J. and B{\"o}hm, Torsten}, title = {BRITE-Constellation high-precision time-dependent photometry of the early O-type supergiant zeta Puppis unveils the photospheric drivers of its small- and large-scale wind structures}, series = {Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}, volume = {473}, journal = {Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society}, number = {4}, publisher = {Oxford Univ. Press}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {0035-8711}, doi = {10.1093/mnras/stx2671}, pages = {5532 -- 5569}, year = {2018}, abstract = {From 5.5 months of dual-band optical photometric monitoring at the 1 mmag level, BRITE-Constellation has revealed two simultaneous types of variability in the O4I(n)fp star ζ Puppis: one single periodic non-sinusoidal component superimposed on a stochastic component. The monoperiodic component is the 1.78-d signal previously detected by Coriolis/Solar Mass Ejection Imager, but this time along with a prominent first harmonic. The shape of this signal changes over time, a behaviour that is incompatible with stellar oscillations but consistent with rotational modulation arising from evolving bright surface inhomogeneities. By means of a constrained non-linear light-curve inversion algorithm, we mapped the locations of the bright surface spots and traced their evolution. Our simultaneous ground-based multisite spectroscopic monitoring of the star unveiled cyclical modulation of its He ii λ4686 wind emission line with the 1.78-d rotation period, showing signatures of corotating interaction regions that turn out to be driven by the bright photospheric spots observed by BRITE. Traces of wind clumps are also observed in the He ii λ4686 line and are correlated with the amplitudes of the stochastic component of the light variations probed by BRITE at the photosphere, suggesting that the BRITE observations additionally unveiled the photospheric drivers of wind clumps in ζ Pup and that the clumping phenomenon starts at the very base of the wind. The origins of both the bright surface inhomogeneities and the stochastic light variations remain unknown, but a subsurface convective zone might play an important role in the generation of these two types of photospheric variability.}, language = {en} } @article{KubatovaSzecsiSanderetal.2019, author = {Kubatova, Brankica and Szecsi, D. and Sander, Andreas Alexander Christoph and Kubat, Jiř{\´i} and Tramper, F. and Krticka, Jiri and Kehrig, C. and Hamann, Wolf-Rainer and Hainich, Rainer and Shenar, Tomer}, title = {Low-metallicity massive single stars with rotation}, series = {Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal}, volume = {623}, journal = {Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal}, publisher = {EDP Sciences}, address = {Les Ulis}, issn = {1432-0746}, doi = {10.1051/0004-6361/201834360}, pages = {32}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Context. Metal-poor massive stars are assumed to be progenitors of certain supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, and compact object mergers that might contribute to the early epochs of the Universe with their strong ionizing radiation. However, this assumption remains mainly theoretical because individual spectroscopic observations of such objects have rarely been carried out below the metallicity of the Small Magellanic Cloud. Aims. Here we explore the predictions of the state-of-the-art theories of stellar evolution combined with those of stellar atmospheres about a certain type of metal-poor (0.02 Z(circle dot)) hot massive stars, the chemically homogeneously evolving stars that we call Transparent Wind Ultraviolet INtense (TWUIN) stars. Methods. We computed synthetic spectra corresponding to a broad range in masses (20 130 M-circle dot) and covering several evolutionary phases from the zero-age main-sequence up to the core helium-burning stage. We investigated the influence of mass loss and wind clumping on spectral appearance and classified the spectra according to the Morgan-Keenan (MK) system. Results. We find that TWUIN stars show almost no emission lines during most of their core hydrogen-burning lifetimes. Most metal lines are completely absent, including nitrogen. During their core helium-burning stage, lines switch to emission, and even some metal lines (oxygen and carbon, but still almost no nitrogen) are detected. Mass loss and clumping play a significant role in line formation in later evolutionary phases, particularly during core helium-burning. Most of our spectra are classified as an early-O type giant or supergiant, and we find Wolf-Rayet stars of type WO in the core helium-burning phase. Conclusions. An extremely hot, early-O type star observed in a low-metallicity galaxy could be the result of chemically homogeneous evolution and might therefore be the progenitor of a long-duration gamma-ray burst or a type Ic supernova. TWUIN stars may play an important role in reionizing the Universe because they are hot without showing prominent emission lines during most of their lifetime.}, language = {en} } @article{ShenarHamannTodt2014, author = {Shenar, Tomer and Hamann, Wolf-Rainer and Todt, Helge Tobias}, title = {The impact of rotation on the line profiles of Wolf-Rayet stars}, series = {Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal}, volume = {562}, journal = {Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal}, publisher = {EDP Sciences}, address = {Les Ulis}, issn = {0004-6361}, doi = {10.1051/0004-6361/201322496}, pages = {13}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Context. Massive Wolf-Rayet stars are recognized today to be in a very common, but short, evolutionary phase of massive stars. While our understanding of Wolf-Rayet stars has increased dramatically over the past decades, it remains unclear whether rapid rotators are among them. There are various indications that rapidly rotating Wolf-Rayet stars should exist. Unfortunately, due to their expanding atmospheres, rotational velocities of Wolf-Rayet stars are very difficult to measure. However, recently observed spectra of several Wolf-Rayet stars reveal peculiarly broad and round emission lines. Could these spectra imply rapid rotation? Aims. In this work, we model the effects of rotation on the atmospheres of Wolf-Rayet stars. We further investigate whether the peculiar spectra of five Wolf-Rayet stars may be explained with the help of stellar rotation, infer appropriate rotation parameters, and discuss the implications of our results. Methods. We make use of the Potsdam Wolf-Rayet (PoWR) non-LTE model atmosphere code. Since the observed spectra of WolfRayet stars are mainly formed in their expanding atmospheres, rotation must be accounted for with a 3D integration scheme of the formal integral. For this purpose, we assume a rotational velocity field consisting of an inner co-rotating domain and an outer domain, where the angular momentum is conserved. Results. We find that rotation can reproduce the unique spectra analyzed here. However, the inferred rotational velocities at the stellar surface are large (similar to 200 km s(-1)), and the inferred co-rotation radii (similar to 10R.) suggest the existence of very strong photospheric magnetic fields (similar to 20 kG).}, language = {en} }