Determination Of Stellar Parameters Research Articles

Review: progress in NLTE calculations and their application to large data-sets

AbstractOne of the major tasks in interpretation of data from large-scale stellar surveys is to determine the fundamental atmospheric parameters such as effective temperature, surface gravity, and metallicity. In most on-going and upcoming projects, they are derived spectroscopically, relying on classical one-dimensional (1D) model atmospheres and the assumption of LTE. This review discusses the present achievements and problems of non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) line-formation calculations for FGK-type stars. The topics that are addressed include (i) the construction of comprehensive model atoms for the chemical elements with complex term system, (ii) possible systematic errors inherent in classical LTE spectroscopic determinations of stellar parameters and chemical abundances, (iii) the uncertainties in final NLTE results caused by the uncertainties in atomic data, and (iv) applications of the NLTE line-formation calculations coupled to the spatial and temporal average 〈3D〉 models to spectroscopic analyses.

Fundamental parameters of bright Ap stars from wide-range energy distributions and advanced atmospheric models

As a well-established procedure for the vast majority of normal main-sequence stars, determination of atmospheric and stellar parameters turns to be a challenging process in case of magnetic chemically peculiar stars. Inhomogeneous distribution of chemical elements and strong magnetic fields make most of the standard photometric and spectroscopic calibrations inapplicable for this class of stars. In this work we make use of available observed energy distributions calibrated to absolute units, stellar parallaxes, high-resolution spectroscopic observations, and advanced stellar atmosphere models to derive parameters of three bright Ap stars: 33Lib, gammaEqu, and betaCrB. Model atmospheres and fluxes were computed with the LLmodels code. Synth3 and Synthmag codes were used to compute profiles of individual spectral lines involved in abundance analysis. For each of the stars, we construct a self-consistent atmospheric models assuming normal and depleted helium compositions and derive empirically stratification profiles of certain elements. The effective temperatures and surface gravities are found from the simultaneous fit to spectroscopic, photometric, and spectrophotometric observations calibrated to absolute units. We show that using advanced model atmospheres and accurate stellar parallaxes allows one to derive stellar radii with high accuracy, and these are consistent with those obtained from independent but more complicated interferometric observations.

Catching the fish – Constraining stellar parameters for TX Piscium using spectro-interferometric observations

Stellar parameter determination is a challenging task when dealing with galactic giant stars. The combination of different investigation techniques has proven to be a promising approach. We analyse archive spectra obtained with the Short-Wavelength-Spectrometer (SWS) onboard of ISO, and new interferometric observations from the Very Large Telescope MID-infrared Interferometric instrument (VLTI/MIDI) of a very well studied carbon-rich giant: TX Psc. The aim of this work is to determine stellar parameters using spectroscopy and interferometry. The observations are used to constrain the model atmosphere, and eventually the stellar evolutionary model in the region where the tracks map the beginning of the carbon star sequence. Two different approaches are used to determine stellar parameters: (i) the 'classic' interferometric approach where the effective temperature is fixed by using the angular diameter in the N-band (from interferometry) and the apparent bolometric magnitude; (ii) parameters are obtained by fitting a grid of state-of-the-art hydrostatic models to spectroscopic and interferometric observations. We find a good agreement between the parameters of the two methods. The effective temperature and luminosity clearly place TX Psc in the carbon-rich AGB star domain in the H-R-diagram. Current evolutionary tracks suggest that TX Psc became a C-star just recently, which means that the star is still in a 'quiet' phase compared to the subsequent strong-wind regime. This is in agreement with the C/O ratio being only slightly larger than 1.

Stellar characterization of large spectroscopic datasets: A Bayesian approach

AbstractThe task of accurately determining the fundamental parameters of a star from medium or low resolution spectra is time consuming and requires substantial experience. Since the first large‐scale space missions such as CoRoT or Kepler came along, the need for a fast and statistically sound method emerged to cope with the large amount of ground based support data. We present here a fully automated approach for the determination of stellar parameters from low‐resolution stellar spectra using a Bayesian approach and discuss the reliability and limits of the method (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Unveiling systematic biases in the 1D LTE excitation–ionization balance of Fe for FGK stars: a novel approach to determination of stellar parameters

We present a comprehensive analysis of different techniques available for the spectroscopic analysis of FGK stars, and provide a recommended methodology which efficiently estimates accurate stellar atmospheric parameters for large samples of stars. Our analysis includes a simultaneous equivalent width analysis of Fe I and Fe II spectral lines, and for the first time, utilises on-the-fly NLTE corrections of individual Fe I lines. We further investigate several temperature scales, finding that estimates from Balmer line measurements provide the most accurate effective temperatures at all metallicites. We apply our analysis to a large sample of both dwarf and giant stars selected from the RAVE survey. We then show that the difference between parameters determined by our method and that by standard 1D LTE excitation-ionisation balance of Fe reveals substantial systematic biases: up to 400 K in effective temperature, 1.0 dex in surface gravity, and 0.4 dex in metallicity for stars with [Fe/H] ~ -2.5. This has large implications for the study of the stellar populations in the Milky Way.

SPADES: a stellar parameters determination software

With the large amounts of spectroscopic data available today and the very large surveys to come (e.g. Gaia), the need for automatic data analysis software is unquestionable. We thus developed an automatic spectra analysis program for the determination of stellar parameters: radial velocity, effective temperature, surface gravity, micro-turbulence, metallicity and the elemental abundances of the elements present in the spectral range. Target stars for this software should include all types of stars. The analysis method relies on a line by line comparison of the spectrum of a target star to a library of synthetic spectra. The idea is built on the experience acquired in developing the TGMET (Katz et al. 1998 and Soubiran et al. 2003) ETOILE (Katz 2001) and Abbo (Bonifacio & Caffau 2003) softwares. The method is presented and the performances are illustrated with GIRAFFE-like simulated spectra with high resolution (R = 25000), with high and low signal to noise ratios (down to SNR= 30). These spectra should be close to what could be targeted by the Gaia-ESO Survey (GCDS).

The AMBRE Project: Stellar parameterisation of the ESO:FEROS archived spectra

The AMBRE Project is a collaboration between the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the Observatoire de la Cote d'Azur (OCA) that has been established in order to carry out the determination of stellar atmospheric parameters for the archived spectra of four ESO spectrographs. The analysis of the FEROS archived spectra for their stellar parameters (effective temperatures, surface gravities, global metallicities, alpha element to iron ratios and radial velocities) has been completed in the first phase of the AMBRE Project. From the complete ESO:FEROS archive dataset that was received, a total of 21551 scientific spectra have been identified, covering the period 2005 to 2010. These spectra correspond to ~6285 stars. The determination of the stellar parameters was carried out using the stellar parameterisation algorithm, MATISSE (MATrix Inversion for Spectral SynthEsis), which has been developed at OCA to be used in the analysis of large scale spectroscopic studies in galactic archaeology. An analysis pipeline has been constructed that integrates spectral reduction and radial velocity correction procedures with MATISSE in order to automatically determine the stellar parameters of the FEROS spectra. Stellar atmospheric parameters (Teff, log g, [M/H] and [alpha/Fe]) were determined for 6508 (30.2%) of the FEROS archived spectra (~3087 stars). Radial velocities were determined for 11963 (56%) of the archived spectra. 2370 (11%) spectra could not be analysed within the pipeline. 12673 spectra (58.8%) were analysed in the pipeline but their parameters were discarded based on quality criteria and error analysis determined within the automated process. The majority of these rejected spectra were found to have broad spectral features indicating that they may be hot and/or fast rotating stars, which are not considered within the adopted reference synthetic spectra grid of FGKM stars.

Radiation-driven winds of hot luminous stars XVI. Expanding atmospheres of massive and very massive stars and the evolution of dense stellar clusters

Context: Starbursts, and particularly their high-mass stars, play an essential role in the evolution of galaxies. The winds of massive stars not only significantly influence their surroundings, but the mass loss also profoundly affects the evolution of the stars themselves. In addition to the evolution of each star, the evolution of the dense cores of massive starburst clusters is affected by N-body interactions, and the formation of very massive stars via mergers may be decisive for the evolution of the cluster. Aims: To introduce an advanced diagnostic method of O-type stellar atmospheres with winds, including an assessment of the accuracy of the determinations of abundances, stellar and wind parameters. Methods: We combine consistent models of expanding atmospheres with detailed stellar evolutionary calculations of massive and very massive single stars with regard to the evolution of dense stellar clusters. Accurate predictions of the mass loss rates of very massive stars requires a highly consistent treatment of the statistical equilibrium and the hydrodynamic and radiative processes in the expanding atmospheres. Results: We present computed mass loss rates, terminal wind velocities, and spectral energy distributions of massive and very massive stars of different metallicities, calculated from atmospheric models with an improved level of consistency. Conclusions: Stellar evolutionary calculations using our computed mass loss rates show that low-metallicity very massive stars lose only a very small amount of their mass, making it unlikely that very massive population III stars cause a significant helium enrichment of the interstellar medium. Solar-metallicity stars have higher mass-loss rates, but these are not so high to exclude very massive stars formed by mergers in dense clusters from ending their life massive enough to form intermediate-mass black holes.

Cross-identification of large surveys for finding interstellar extinction

The publication of large photometric surveys and the tools for the cross-identification of their objects open up a possibility for obtaining multicolor photometry of hundreds of millions of objects. This, in turn, makes it possible not only to classify the objects and determine their parameters, but also to measure the interstellar extinction towards them and produce an extinction map for the Milky Way. The aim of this study is to develop a tool for the cross identification of objects in the most well-known surveys and test it in several sky areas. To this end, we implemented an algorithm of fast positional matching of large astronomical catalogs in small (up to one degree) sized areas with filtering of false identification. As a result, we drew in seven 0.1-degree radius areas samples of objects from the DENIS, 2MASS, SDSS, GALEX, and UKIDSS surveys, and performed the cross-identification of these surveys. We compiled the corresponding subcatalogs in the VO Table format. The tool developed as a result of this work can be used to cross-identify objects in arbitrary sky areas for the further classification and determination of stellar parameters, including the measurement of the amount of interstellar extinction.

The AMBRE project: Results from the MATISSE analysis of the ESO-FEROS archived spectra

The goal of AMBRE, a joint project between ESO and the Observatoire de la Cote d'Azur, is to provide a homogeneous determination of the stellar parameters (including mean metallicity and some chemical abundances) for the archived spectra of the FEROS, HARPS, UVES and Flames/GIRAFFE spectrographs. We present here a preliminary analysis of the FEROS stellar sample. The stellar parameters, derived using the stellar classification algorithm MATISSE, have been combined with distances and radial velocities in order to explore current theories regarding galactic stellar populations. We have reviewed the sample for potential disk stars with which we can explore kinematic and chemical signatures of the thin and thick disk. We present here a comparison of the potential disk stellar sample to the analysis of 66 disk stars that was carried out in. Under a contract between the European Southern Observatory (ESO) and the Observatoire de la Cote d'Azur (OCA), the AMBRE Project is tasked with determining the stellar parameters for the archived spectra of four of ESO's spectrographs: FEROS, HARPS, UVES & FLAMES/GIRAFFE, which will be made available to the astronomical community via the ESO Archive. The analysis of the FEROS spectra is now complete and the analysis of the UVES and HARPS spectra is underway. This project presents a unique opportunity to exploit a large pre-existing spectral dataset (∼250,000 spectra) for global information outside the original goals of the individual observing programmes. Despite the inherent programme biases, the FEROS dataset (as for the remaining archived datasets) is a homogeneous determination of stellar parameters for a large spectral sample. An analysis pipeline has been built which futher treats the archived spectra in order that they may be fed into the stellar parametrisation algorithm, MATISSE, which has been developed at OCA (1). An indepth discussion of the analysis pipeline and validation of the FEROS results will be presented in Worley et al. (2011), in preparation.

THE CHEMICAL ABUNDANCES OF STARS IN THE HALO (CASH) PROJECT. II. A SAMPLE OF 14 EXTREMELY METAL-POOR STARS,

We present a comprehensive abundance analysis of 20 elements for 16 new low-metallicity stars from the Chemical Abundances of Stars in the Halo (CASH) project. The abundances have been derived from both Hobby-Eberly Telescope High Resolution Spectrograph snapshot spectra (R~15,000) and corresponding high-resolution (R~35,000) Magellan MIKE spectra. The stars span a metallicity range from [Fe/H] from -2.9 to -3.9, including four new stars with [Fe/H]<-3.7. We find four stars to be carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) stars, confirming the trend of increasing [C/Fe] abundance ratios with decreasing metallicity. Two of these objects can be classified as CEMP-no stars, adding to the growing number of these objects at [Fe/H]<-3. We also find four neutron-capture enhanced stars in the sample, one of which has [Eu/Fe] of 0.8 with clear r-process signatures. These pilot sample stars are the most metal-poor ([Fe/H]<-3.0) of the brightest stars included in CASH and are used to calibrate a newly-developed, automated stellar parameter and abundance determination pipeline. This code will be used for the entire ~500 star CASH snapshot sample. We find that the pipeline results are statistically identical for snapshot spectra when compared to a traditional, manual analysis from a high-resolution spectrum.

Binarity and Stellar Evolution

AbstractModels of stellar evolution constitute an extremely powerful, and for the most part apparently very successful, tool for understanding the progression of a star through its lifetime as a fairly compact entity of incandescent gas. That success has led to stellar evolution theory becoming a crutch when an observer is faced with objects whose provenance or current state are in some way puzzling, but how safe a crutch? The validity of the theory is best checked by examining binary systems whose component parameters have been determined with high precision, but it can be (and needs to be) honed through the many challenges which non-conformist single stars and triple systems also present. Unfortunately the lever of observational parameters to constrain or challenge stellar evolution theory is not as powerful as it could be, because not all determinations of stellar parameters for the same systems agree to within the precisions claimed by their respective authors. What are the sources of bias—the data, the instrument or the techniques? The workshop was invited to discuss particularly challenging cases, and to attempt to identify how and where progress might be pursued.

Distance determination for RAVE stars using stellar models

We apply the method of Burnett & Binney (2010) for the determination of stellar distances and parameters to the internal catalogue of the Radial Velocity Experiment (Steinmetz et al. 2006). Subsamples of stars that either have Hipparcos parallaxes or belong to well-studied clusters, inspire confidence in the formal errors. Distances to dwarfs cooler than ~6000 K appear to be unbiased, but those to hotter dwarfs tend to be too small by ~10% of the formal errors. Distances to giants tend to be too large by about the same amount. The median distance error in the whole sample of 216,000 stars is 28% and the error distribution is similar for both giants and dwarfs. Roughly half the stars in the RAVE survey are giants. The giant fraction is largest at low latitudes and in directions towards the Galactic Centre. Near the plane the metallicity distribution is remarkably narrow and centred on [M/H]-0.04 dex; with increasing |z| it broadens out and its median moves to [M/H] ~ -0.5. Mean age as a function of distance from the Galactic centre and distance |z| from the Galactic plane shows the anticipated increase in mean age with |z|.

Ground-Based and Space Observations of Interacting Binaries

AbstractMulti-wavelength observational data, obtained from ground-based and space observations are used to compute the physical parameters of the observed Interacting Binaries (IBs) and study the interactions and physical processes in these systems. In addition, the database of IBs from ground-based surveys and space missions will provide light curves for many thousands of new binary systems for which extensive follow up ground-based observations can be carried out. In certain cases, light curves of superior quality will allow studies of fine effects of stellar activity and very accurate determination of stellar parameters. Moreover, many new discoveries of interesting systems are expected from ground-based all-sky surveys and space missions, including low mass binaries and star-planet binary systems. The most important current and future programs of observations of IBs from ground and space are presented.

Stellar parameters of young brown dwarfs

AbstractWe present X‐shooter observations of two brown dwarf candidates. We focus on the determination of stellar parameters and their errors. The targets, an accreting class II and a non‐accreting class III objects, are members of the σ Orionis star‐forming region. We derive the spectroscopic spectral types from the VIS spectrum and the stellar parameters. We find that the uncertainties on the stellar parameters have a minor effect on the determination of the mass accretion rate for the accreting star, thus confirming that the discrepancies between the mass accretion rate estimates found with different (simultaneous) tracers are probably due to different physical conditions where the accretion/wind indicators are produced (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &amp; Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

AUTOMATIC DETERMINATION OF STELLAR PARAMETERS VIA ASTEROSEISMOLOGY OF STOCHASTICALLY OSCILLATING STARS: COMPARISON WITH DIRECT MEASUREMENTS

ABSTRACT Space-based projects are providing a wealth of high-quality asteroseismic data, including frequencies for a large number of stars showing solar-like oscillations. These data open the prospect for precise determinations of key stellar parameters, of particular value to the study of extra-solar planetary systems. Given the quantity of the available and expected data, it is important to develop efficient and reliable techniques for analyzing them, including the determination of stellar parameters from the observed frequencies. Here we present the SEEK package developed for the analysis of asteroseismic data from the Kepler mission. A central goal of the package is to obtain a fast and automatic determination of the stellar radius and other parameters in a form that is statistically well defined. The algorithms are tested by comparing the results of the analysis with independent measurements of stellar radius and mass for a sample of well-observed stars. We conclude that the SEEK package fixes stellar parameters with accuracy and precision.

BINARY CONTAMINATION IN THE SEGUE SAMPLE: EFFECTS ON SSPP DETERMINATIONS OF STELLAR ATMOSPHERIC PARAMETERS

Using numerical modeling and a grid of synthetic spectra, we examine the effects that unresolved binaries have on the determination of various stellar atmospheric parameters for SEGUE targets measured using the SEGUE Stellar Parameter Pipeline (SSPP). To model undetected binaries that may be in the SEGUE sample, we use a variety of mass distributions for the primary and secondary stars in conjunction with empirically determined relationships for orbital parameters to determine the fraction of G-K dwarf stars, as defined by SDSS color cuts, that will be blended with a secondary companion. We focus on the G-K dwarf sample in SEGUE as it records the history of chemical enrichment in our galaxy. To determine the effect of the secondary on the spectroscopic parameters, we synthesize a grid of model spectra from 3275 to 7850 K (~0.1 to 1.0 \msun) and [Fe/H]=-0.5 to -2.5 from MARCS model atmospheres using TurboSpectrum. We analyze both "infinite" signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) models and degraded versions, at median S/N of 50, 25 and 10. By running individual and combined spectra (representing the binaries) through the SSPP, we determine that ~10% of the blended G-K dwarf pairs with S/N>=25 will have their atmospheric parameter determinations, in particular temperature and metallicity, noticeably affected by the presence of an undetected secondary. To account for the additional uncertainty from binary contamination at a S/N~10, uncertainties of ~140 K and ~0.17 dex in [Fe/H] must be added in quadrature to the published uncertainties of the SSPP. (Abridged)

The Hamburg/ESOR-process enhanced star survey (HERES)

We report on a detailed abundance analysis of the strongly r-process enhanced giant star, HE 2327-5642 ([Fe/H] = -2.78, [r/Fe] = +0.99). Determination of stellar parameters and element abundances was based on analysis of high-quality VLT/UVES spectra. The surface gravity was calculated from the NLTE ionization balance between Fe I and Fe II, and Ca I and Ca II. Accurate abundances for a total of 40 elements and for 23 neutron-capture elements beyond Sr and up to Th were determined. The heavy element abundance pattern of HE 2327-5642 is in excellent agreement with those previously derived for other strongly r-process enhanced stars. Elements in the range from Ba to Hf match the scaled Solar r-process pattern very well. No firm conclusion can be drawn with respect to a relationship between the fisrt neutron-capture peak elements, Sr to Pd, in HE 2327-5642 and the Solar r-process, due to the uncertainty of the latter. A clear distinction in Sr/Eu abundance ratios was found between the halo stars with different europium enhancement. The strongly r-process enhanced stars reveal a low Sr/Eu abundance ratio at [Sr/Eu] = -0.92+-0.13, while the stars with 0 < [Eu/Fe] < 1 and [Eu/Fe] < 0 have 0.36 dex and 0.93 dex larger Sr/Eu values, respectively. Radioactive dating for HE 2327-5642 with the observed thorium and rare-earth element abundance pairs results in an average age of 13.3 Gyr, when based on the high-entropy wind calculations, and 5.9 Gyr, when using the Solar r-residuals. HE 2327-5642 is suspected to be radial-velocity variable based on our high-resolution spectra, covering ~4.3 years.

Departures from LTE in Cool Stars

Departures from LTE may significantly affect determinations of stellar parameters and chemical abundances of cool stars, in particular, metal-poor stars. We review the application of the non-LTE ionization equilibrium between Ca i and Ca ii to constrain the surface gravity of very metal-poor and hyper metal-poor stars spectroscopically. The few examples from Galactic chemical evolution studies show that our understanding of how nucleosynthesis proceeds throughout Galactic history depends on the accuracy of spectral line formation modelling. Problems of non-LTE modelling of Fe i– Fe ii are also discussed.

Improved fundamental parameters and LTE abundances of the CoRoT solar-type pulsator HD 49933

The knowledge of accurate stellar parameters is a key stone in several fields of stellar astrophysics, such as asteroseismology and stellar evolution. Although the parameters can be derived both via spectroscopy and multicolor photometry, the obtained results are sometimes affected by systematic uncertainties. In this paper we present a self-consistent spectral analysis of the solar-type star HD49933, which is a primary target for the CoRoT satellite. We used high-resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio spectra to carry out a consistent parameter estimation and abundance analysis of HD49933. The LLmodels code was employed for model atmosphere calculations, while Synth3 and Width9 codes were used for line profile calculation and LTE abundance analysis. In this paper we provide a detailed description of the methodology adopted to derive the fundamental parameters and the abundances. Although the obtained parameters differ from the ones previously derived by other authors, we show that only the set obtained in this work is able to fit the observed spectrum accurately. In particular, the surface gravity was adjusted to fit pressure-sensitive spectral features. We confirm the importance of a consistent analysis of relevant spectroscopic features, application of advanced model atmospheres, and the use of up-to-date atomic line data for the determination of stellar parameters. These results are crucial for further studies, e.g. detailed theoretical modelling of the observed pulsation frequencies.