Evolution of X-ray binaries: Achievements and advances

Three recent developments in the field of formation and evolution of neutron stars and black holes in binaries are addressed:

• The finding that there is a class of neutron stars, formed in interacting binaries, that do not receive kick velocities in their birth events. This finding is particularly important for our understanding of the formation – and formation rates – of double neutron stars. It is argued that these low-kick neutron stars, which tend to have low masses, are formed by a different physical mechanism than the neutron stars that receive large kick velocities at birth.

• The occurrence of velocity kicks in the formation events of stellar black holes.

• The nature of the companions of millisecond X-ray pulsars.

Observational aspects of chromospheres and coronae in hot stars

With the advent of high resolution space observations with high sensitivity, stellar atmospheric research has entered a new phase of rapid development. All stars, and especially hot stars, are now recognized to have atmospheric characteristics that were not suspected before. All hot stars that we can observe with sufficient accuracy show chromospheres and coronae indicative of non-radiative energy fluxes as well as mass loss; these phenomena exhibit a very great range in magnitude among different stars and, in several cases, they are variable in time. These discoveries have pointed out the need for determining the atmospheric structures of hot stars and, ultimately, of determining the mechanisms responsible for the likely common origin of chromospheres-coronae and mass fluxes. This paper will focus on these observational aspects of hot stars -mainly Be stars and OB-normal stars will be treated here- and on the constraints that the observations impose upon models for these stellar atmospheres.     

星敏感器导航星表建立

导航星表是星敏感器系统用来实现恒星星图识别和姿态确定的唯一依据,它的容量、内容、存储读取方式对于完成星敏感器功能和性能指标都极为重要．通过分析恒星在视场中的分布规律,建立起星表的完备性和冗余性与星敏感器视场内导航星的数量之间的关系,确定了导航星数量,提出了筛选导航星的原则和方法,为了实现星表的快速搜索,对导航星表的组织形式进行了详细讨论．构造一个由2510颗0～6等导航星组成的导航星表,满足了星敏感器星图识别和姿态确定的需求．     

Cool luminous stars

A broad theme emerging from $\text{IUE}$ and $\text{Einstein}$ observations of cool stars is that magnetic fields control the structure and energy balance of the outer atmospheres of these stars. I summarize the phenomena associated with magnetic fields in the Sun and show that similar phenomena occur in cool luminous stars. High dispersion spectra are providing unique information concerning densities, atmospheric extension, and emission line widths. A recent unanticipated discovery is that the transition lines are redshifted (an antiwind) in β Dra (G2 Ib) and perhaps other stars, which I interpret as indicating downflows in closed magnetic flux tubes as are seen in the solar flux tubes above sunspots. Finally, I classify the G and K giants and supergiants into three groups — active stars, quiet stars, and hybrid stars — depending on whether their atmospheres are dominated by closed magnetic flux tubes, open field geometries, or a predominately open geometry with a few closed flux tubes embedded.     

Solar and late-type dwarfs

The Einstein Observatory and the IUE satellite have provided the observational basis for a major restructuring in theories of coronal formation for late-type stars. For the first time, coronal and transition region emission from a large sample of low mass (1 M_o) dwarf stars has been directly observed, with the unexpected result that essentially all such stars are x-ray emitters. The Sun, which was previously assumed to be typical, is now known to be at the low end of the x-ray luminosity function for solar-type stars. K- and M-dwarfs are observed to have nearly the same luminosity distributions as G-dwarfs and all of these spectral types have a large spread in x-ray luminosity.Observationally, there is a strong correlation between the strength of coronal emission in stars with outer convective zones and the rotation rates of these stars. At the present time we have only the beginnings of a satisfactory theoretical explanation for this correlation; although we are beginning to understand the connection between coronal emission strength and the magnetic field, we do not yet understand the stellar dynamo which generates the magnetic field. Studies of the coronal emission of stars may lead to a better understanding of stellar dynamos.     

A star identification algorithm based on radial and dynamic cyclic features of star pattern

A full-sky star identification algorithm based on radial and dynamic cyclic patterns is presented with the aim of solving the “lost-in-space” problem. The dynamic cyclic pattern match is applied with a maximum cumulate comparison method to identify sensor-catalog pairings in initial match, which substantially eliminates the effects of the star position noise, magnitude noise, and false stars. After initial match pairings of stars are obtained, a chain part extension technique is employed to quickly search for the longest match chain as the final result. Experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithm is highly robust to star position noise, magnitude noise and false stars. In a series of simulations, the identification rate of the algorithm is 97.50% with 2.0 pixels star position noise, 96.90% with 0.4 Mv star magnitude noise and 95.30% with four false stars respectively. Moreover, the algorithm achieves an identification rate of 58.08% when only six stars are in the field of view.     

IUE observations of cool stars

A summary of IUE results concerning late-type stars is presented. Observations show that high-temperature outer atmospheres, as indicated by N V, C IV emission at T ≈ 10⁵K, are generally present only in high-gravity (log g ? 2) stars. Objects with high-temperature emission tend not to exhibit cool circumstellar shells, and vice versa, although there are several transition objects, the hybrid atmosphere stars, which combine C IV emission with cool winds. Ultraviolet emission from stellar transition regions correlates well with chromospheric and X-ray emission. Transition-region line ratios indicate that many stars have differential emission measure distributions similar to the Sun's. Ultraviolet observations also give indications of important dynamical effects in low-gravity stars. Density diagnostics indicate extended chromospheres for some red giants and supergiants. In addition, the large widths of lines of high temperature ions in several luminous stars indicate supersonic motions.     

ROSAT observations of the Chamaeleon star forming cloud

Two soft X-ray images of the Chamaeleon I star forming cloud obtained with the ROSAT Position Sensitive Proportional Counter are presented. Seventy reliable, and perhaps 19 additional, X-ray sources are found. Up to Ninety percent of these sources are certainly or probably identified with T Tauri stars formed in the cloud. Twenty to 35 are probably previously unrecognized ‘weak’ T Tauri (WTT) stars. T Tauri X-ray luminosities range from log , or 10² – 10⁴ times solar levels, with mean in the 0.2–2.5 keV band. The X-ray luminosities of well-studied Chamaeleon cloud members are correlated with a complex of four stellar properties: effective temperature, mass, radius and bolometric luminosity. The spatial distribution, H-R diagram locations of the stars indicate WTT and CTT are coeval. The total premain sequence population of the cloud is likely to be > 100 stars, with WTT stars outnumbering ‘classical’ T Tauri (CTT) stars by 2:1.     

CoRoT and Kepler results: Solar-like oscillators

The space-borne observatories CoRoT (Convection Rotation and planetary Transits) and Kepler have provided photometric time series data of unprecedented precision for large numbers of stars. These data have revolutionized the fields of transiting exoplanets and asteroseismology. In this review some important asteroseismic results obtained using data from the CoRoT and Kepler space missions concerning stars that show solar-like oscillations are discussed. These results comprise, among others, measurements of the location of the base of the convection zone and helium second-ionization zone in main-sequence stars, the presence (or not) of core-helium burning in red-giant stars, as well as differential rotation in these stars.     

Einstein observations of hot stars

Surveys with instruments on the $\text{Einstein Observatory}$ have shown that essentially all 0 and B main sequence stars are X-ray sources as are many, if not all, 0B supergiants and Wolf-Rayet stars. The X-ray luminosities are sufficient to explain broad lines from the superionization stages seen in the UV spectra of the stars. High energy resolution spectra from the Solid State Spectrometer are shown to place severe constraints on various models for the location of the X-ray sources in the outer atmospheres of the stars. Coronal and embedded shock models for the X-ray emission are discussed and each is found to have some problems in explaining the X-ray emission of 0B stars. X-ray line emission of Si XIII and S XV in ? Ori is discussed and interpreted as arising from magnetically confined loops.     

Neutron stars: Classification and evolution

The general aproach is considered which describs the evolution of neutron stars in terms of their interaction with surrounding matter. All possible states of neutron stars are classified from this point of view. Classification and evolution of binaries contaning neutron stars are also considered.     

Theory and application of stellar seismology

Observation of multiperiodic variability in stars offers a powerful tool to probe their internal structure, rotation and magnetism. This follows from the possibility of identification of observed frequencies with those calculated for realistic stellar models. In spherical stars oscillations are described in terms of two-dimensional discrete sets of acoustic- and gravity-modes. In realistic cases there is no universal relation among the frequencies. Thus, each frequency observed is an independent observable. In recent years comparisons between observed and theoretical frequencies were made for the sun and various variable stars. The most dramatic discrepancy occurs for double-mode Cepheids. Magnetism and/or rotation induce fine structure in the frequency spectrum. The width and structure of multiplets depend on the size of these effects weighted in a specific way for each mode. Recently, oscillation data were used to determine the behavior of the angular velocity inside the sun. For stars only some average rotation rates have been determined in this way.     

一种基于三正交主轴平面的快速星图模拟方法

为在地面上进行星图模拟以测试星图识别算法和星敏感器性能, 提出了一种新的快速星图模拟方法. 该方法利用截面圆和固定区域的性质, 将单位天球按照三个正交主轴平面进行等分, 根据赤纬值求解恒星矢量与主轴平面夹角来确定选星条件, 进而根据坐标变换原理进行星图模拟. 为验证所提方法与现有方法相比的优势, 进行了大量的仿真实验. 实验结果表明, 与现有星图模拟方法相比, 本文方法在保证星图模拟精度的条件下, 选星速度提高了3倍以上.      

IUE observations of globular clusters and blue horizontal branch stars

This paper presents a review of ultraviolet photometry and spectroscopy of globular clusters and blue horizontal branch stars. Current observations with IUE are placed within the framework of earlier photometric studies carried out by OAO and ANS. In order to provide basic information on the nature of the horizontal branch star, whose light dominates in the ultraviolet, observations of field horizontal branch stars as well as individual stars in globular clusters are discussed. Finally the IUE observations of globular clusters in the Magellanic Clouds are examined, since they provide a sequence spanning the age range from 7 × 10⁶ years to 10¹⁰ years.     

XMM-Newton observations of low luminosity Be/X-ray candidates

A small number of early Be stars exhibit X-ray luminosities intermediate between those typical of early type stars and those radiated by Be/X-ray binaries in the quiescent state. We report on XMM-Newton observations of two such Be stars, HD 161103 and SAO 49725 which were originally discovered in a systematic cross-correlation between the ROSAT all-sky survey and SIMBAD. The new observations confirm the X-ray luminosity detected by ROSAT (L_X  10³² erg s⁻¹) and the hardness of their X-ray spectra (thin thermal with kT  8–10 keV or power law with photon index of 1.7) which are both unusual for normal early type stars. We discuss the possible origin of this excess X-ray emission in the light of the models proposed for γ-Cas, magnetic disc-star interaction or accretion onto a compact companion object, neutron star or white dwarf, and compare the properties of these two sources with those of the new massive systems discovered in the XMM- Newton/SSC survey of the Galactic plane.     

星敏感器中快速星跟踪技术

跟踪模式是星敏感器的主要工作模式之一,跟踪过程的快速性直接影响星敏感器的整体性能.提出了一种快速星跟踪算法.在跟踪算法的3个耗时环节,分别采用了分区星表、阈值映射、先排序后匹配识别这3种方法,以提高跟踪过程的快速性.其中分区星表法将整个天区分成了若干个子天区,使得在星体映射时,只是搜索星敏感器视轴指向附近的部分子天区,而不是搜索整个天区,减少了搜索星体的数量;阈值映射法,在满足精确度的情况下,设置被跟踪星体的数量阈值,只有被跟踪的星体数目少于此阈值时,才进行星体映射,减少了映射次数;先排序后匹配识别法,先根据星体在星图中的坐标值进行排序,然后再进行匹配识别,减少了那些距离较大的无谓的星体间的匹配识别.仿真测试结果表明,这3种方法的采用,提高了跟踪算法的快速性,提高了星敏感器的整体效能.      

Alfvén waves as a driving mechanism in stellar winds

Alfvén waves have been invoked as an important mechanism of particle acceleration in stellar winds of cool stars. After their identification in the solar wind they started to be studied in winds of stars located in different regions of the HR diagram. We discuss here some characteristics of these waves and we present a direct application in the acceleration of late-type stellar winds.     

视场内导航星分布的预测

给出理想情况下视场内导航星分布模型的基础上,根据敏感器的星等门限和测量精度,进一步实现了存在星等误差情况下导航星分布的预测,使得该模型更为接近真实的情况.实验表明,采用该模型获得的分布与用MonteCarlo方法获得的统计分布极为接近,证明了该模型的正确性和有效性,从而得到了一种事先对视场内导航星分布作出较为准确估计的新的方法.      

Seismological studies of the sun and other stars

Observations of a large number of different oscillation frequencies in the Sun provide an opportunity for detailed testing of the theory of stellar structure and evolution. At present highly significant discrepancies remain between observed and computed frequencies, and so our models of the solar interior have to be modified. With further improvements in the observations it might become possible to make a direct empirical determination of the density structure throughout the Sun.Similar oscillations have so far not been detected in other stars, but attempts to do so are under way. Theoretical estimates indicate that amplitudes somewhat greater than for the Sun might be expected for early F stars on the main sequence, and that the amplitude increases rapidly with decreasing gravity. Observation of such oscillations would enable investigations of the structure of these stars, and would in addition provide valuable information about the excitation mechanism of the oscillations.