TY - JOUR A1 - Sander, Andreas Alexander Christoph A1 - Shenar, Tomer A1 - Hainich, Rainer A1 - Gimenez-Garcia, Ana A1 - Todt, Helge Tobias A1 - Hamann, Wolf-Rainer T1 - On the consistent treatment of the quasi-hydrostatic layers in hot star atmospheres JF - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal N2 - Context. Spectroscopic analysis remains the most common method to derive masses of massive stars, the most fundamental stellar parameter. While binary orbits and stellar pulsations can provide much sharper constraints on the stellar mass, these methods are only rarely applicable to massive stars. Unfortunately, spectroscopic masses of massive stars heavily depend on the detailed physics of model atmospheres. Aims. We demonstrate the impact of a consistent treatment of the radiative pressure on inferred gravities and spectroscopic masses of massive stars. Specifically, we investigate the contribution of line and continuum transitions to the photospheric radiative pressure. We further explore the effect of model parameters, e.g., abundances, on the deduced spectroscopic mass. Lastly, we compare our results with the plane-parallel TLUSTY code, commonly used for the analysis of massive stars with photospheric spectra. Methods. We calculate a small set of O-star models with the Potsdam Wolf-Rayet (PoWR) code using different approaches for the quasi-hydrostatic part. These models allow us to quantify the effect of accounting for the radiative pressure consistently. We further use PoWR models to show how the Doppler widths of line profiles and abundances of elements such as iron affect the radiative pressure, and, as a consequence, the derived spectroscopic masses. Results. Our study implies that errors on the order of a factor of two in the inferred spectroscopic mass are to be expected when neglecting the contribution of line and continuum transitions to the radiative acceleration in the photosphere. Usage of implausible microturbulent velocities, or the neglect of important opacity sources such as Fe, may result in errors of approximately 50% in the spectroscopic mass. A comparison with TLUSTY model atmospheres reveals a very good agreement with PoWR at the limit of low mass-loss rates. KW - stars: early-type KW - stars: mass-loss KW - stars: winds, outflows KW - stars: atmospheres KW - stars: fundamental parameters KW - stars: massive Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201425356 SN - 0004-6361 SN - 1432-0746 VL - 577 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gimenez-Garcia, Ana A1 - Shenar, Tomer A1 - Torrejon, J. M. A1 - Oskinova, Lida A1 - Martinez-Nunez, S. A1 - Hamann, Wolf-Rainer A1 - Rodes-Roca, J. J. A1 - González-Galan, A. A1 - Alonso-Santiago, J. A1 - González-Fernández, C. A1 - Bernabeu, Guillermo A1 - Sander, Andreas Alexander Christoph T1 - Measuring the stellar wind parameters in IGR J17544-2619 and Vela X-1 constrains the accretion physics in supergiant fast X-ray transient and classical supergiant X-ray binaries JF - Siberian Mathematical Journal N2 - Aims. To close this gap, we perform a comparative analysis of the optical companion in two important systems: IGR J175442619 (SFXT) and Vela X-1 (SGXB). We analyze the spectra of each star in detail and derive their stellar and wind properties. As a next step, we compare the wind parameters, giving us an excellent chance of recognizing key differences between donor winds in SFXTs and SGXBs. Methods. We use archival infrared, optical and ultraviolet observations, and analyze them with the non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) Potsdam Wolf-Rayet model atmosphere code. We derive the physical properties of the stars and their stellar winds, accounting for the influence of X-rays on the stellar winds. Results. We find that the stellar parameters derived from the analysis generally agree well with the spectral types of the two donors: O9I (IGR J17544-2619) and B0.5Iae (Vela X-1). The distance to the sources have been revised and also agree well with the estimations already available in the literature. In IGR J17544-2619 we are able to narrow the uncertainty to d = 3.0 +/- 0.2 kpc. From the stellar radius of the donor and its X-ray behavior, the eccentricity of IGR J17544-2619 is constrained to e < 0.25. The derived chemical abundances point to certain mixing during the lifetime of the donors. An important difference between the stellar winds of the two stars is their terminal velocities (v(infinity) = 1500 km s(-1) in IGR J17544-2619 and v(infinity) = 700 km s(-1) in Vela X-1), which have important consequences on the X-ray luminosity of these sources. Conclusions. The donors of IGR J17544-2619 and Vela X-1 have similar spectral types as well as similar parameters that physically characterize them and their spectra. In addition, the orbital parameters of the systems are similar too, with a nearly circular orbit and short orbital period. However, they show moderate differences in their stellar wind velocity and the spin period of their neutron star which has a strong impact on the X-ray luminosity of the sources. This specific combination of wind speed and pulsar spin favors an accretion regime with a persistently high luminosity in Vela X-1, while it favors an inhibiting accretion mechanism in IGR J17544-2619. Our study demonstrates that the relative wind velocity is critical in class determination for the HMXBs hosting a supergiant donor, given that it may shift the accretion mechanism from direct accretion to propeller regimes when combined with other parameters. KW - accretion, accretion disks KW - methods: observational KW - techniques: spectroscopic KW - stars: atmospheres KW - X-rays: binaries KW - stars: winds, outflows Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201527551 SN - 1432-0746 VL - 591 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER -