TY  - JOUR
A1  - Kusterer, D. -J.
A1  - Nagel, T.
A1  - Hartmann, S.
A1  - Werner, K.
A1  - Feldmeier, Achim
T1  - Monte Carlo radiation transfer in CV disk winds: application to the AM CVn prototype
JF  - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal
N2  - Context. AMCVn systems are ultracompact binaries in which a (semi-) degenerate star transfers helium-dominated matter onto a white dwarf. They are effective gravitational-wave emitters and potential progenitors of Type Ia supernovae.
 Aims. To understand the evolution of AMCVn systems it is necessary to determine their mass-loss rate through their radiation-driven accretion-disk wind. We constructed models to perform quantitative spectroscopy of P Cygni line profiles that were detected in UV spectra.
 Methods. We performed 2.5D Monte Carlo radiative transfer calculations in hydrodynamic wind structures by making use of realistic NLTE spectra from the accretion disk and by accounting for the white dwarf as an additional photon source.
 Results. We present first results from calculations in which LTE opacities are used in the wind model. A comparison with UV spectroscopy of the AMCVn prototype shows that the modeling procedure is potentially a good tool for determining mass-loss rates and abundances of trace metals in the helium-rich wind.
KW  - radiative transfer
KW  - stars: winds, outflows
KW  - stars: individual: AM CVn
KW  - accretion, accretion disks
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201321438
SN  - 0004-6361
SN  - 1432-0746
VL  - 561
PB  - EDP Sciences
CY  - Les Ulis
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Hainich, Rainer
A1  - Ruehling, Ute
A1  - Todt, Helge Tobias
A1  - Oskinova, Lida
A1  - Liermann, A.
A1  - Graefener, G.
A1  - Foellmi, C.
A1  - Schnurr, O.
A1  - Hamann, Wolf-Rainer
T1  - The Wolf-Rayet stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud - A comprehensive analysis of the WN class
JF  - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal
N2  - Context. Massive stars, although being important building blocks of galaxies, are still not fully understood. This especially holds true for Wolf-Rayet (WR) stars with their strong mass loss, whose spectral analysis requires adequate model atmospheres. Aims. Following our comprehensive studies of the WR stars in the Milky Way, we now present spectroscopic analyses of almost all known WN stars in the LMC.
 Methods. For the quantitative analysis of the wind-dominated emission-line spectra, we employ the Potsdam Wolf-Rayet (PoWR) model atmosphere code. By fitting synthetic spectra to the observed spectral energy distribution and the available spectra (ultraviolet and optical), we obtain the physical properties of 107 stars.
 Results. We present the fundamental stellar and wind parameters for an almost complete sample of WN stars in the LMC. Among those stars that are putatively single, two different groups can be clearly distinguished. While 12% of our sample are more luminous than 10(6) L-circle dot and contain a significant amount of hydrogen, 88% of the WN stars, with little or no hydrogen, populate the luminosity range between log (L/L-circle dot) = 5.3 ... 5.8.
 Conclusions. While the few extremely luminous stars (log (L/L-circle dot) > 6), if indeed single stars, descended directly from the main sequence at very high initial masses, the bulk of WN stars have gone through the red-supergiant phase. According to their luminosities in the range of log (L/L-circle dot) = 5.3 ... 5.8, these stars originate from initial masses between 20 and 40 M-circle dot. This mass range is similar to the one found in the Galaxy, i.e. the expected metallicity dependence of the evolution is not seen. Current stellar evolution tracks, even when accounting for rotationally induced mixing, still partly fail to reproduce the observed ranges of luminosities and initial masses. Moreover, stellar radii are generally larger and effective temperatures correspondingly lower than predicted from stellar evolution models, probably due to subphotospheric inflation.
KW  - stars: Wolf-Rayet
KW  - Magellanic Clouds
KW  - stars: early-type
KW  - stars: atmospheres
KW  - stars: winds, outflows
KW  - stars: mass-loss
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201322696
SN  - 0004-6361
SN  - 1432-0746
VL  - 565
PB  - EDP Sciences
CY  - Les Ulis
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Massa, D.
A1  - Oskinova, Lida
A1  - Fullerton, A. W.
A1  - Prinja, R. K.
A1  - Bohlender, D. A.
A1  - Morrison, N. D.
A1  - Blake, M.
A1  - Pych, W.
T1  - CIR modulation of the X-ray flux from the O7.5 III(n)((f)) star xi Persei(a similar to...)?
JF  - Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
N2  - We analyse a 162 ks high energy transmission grating Chandra observation of the O7.5 III(n)((f)) star xi Per, together with contemporaneous H alpha observations. The X-ray spectrum of this star is similar to other single O stars, and not pathological in any way. Its UV wind lines are known to display cyclical time variability, with a period of 2.086 d, which is thought to be associated with corotating interaction regions (CIRs). We examine the Chandra and H alpha data for variability on this time-scale. We find that the X-rays vary by similar to 15 per cent over the course of the observations and that this variability is out of phase with variable absorption on the blue wing of the H alpha profiles (assumed to be a surrogate for the UV absorption associated with CIRs). While not conclusive, both sets of data are consistent with models where the CIRs are either a source of X-rays or modulate them.
KW  - stars: early-type
KW  - stars: individual: xi Persei
KW  - stars: mass loss
KW  - stars: winds, outflows
KW  - X-rays: stars
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stu565
SN  - 0035-8711
SN  - 1365-2966
VL  - 441
IS  - 3
SP  - 2173
EP  - 2180
PB  - Oxford Univ. Press
CY  - Oxford
ER  -