We present an overview of the UV spectral properties of old novae as a class. The data and results of this paper, together with data from the outburst phases, will be utilized in a follow-up study to determine statistical properties and to investigate correlations among the physical parameters of the quiescent and eruptive phases.
We perform a comprehensive spectral analysis of LS V +46 21 in order to compare its photospheric properties to theoretical predictions from stellar evolution theory as well as from diffusion calculations. LS V +46 21 is the DAO-type central star of the planetary nebula Sh 2-216. High-resolution, high-S/N ultraviolet observations obtained with FUSE and STIS aboard the HST as well as the optical spectrum have been analyzed in order to determine the photospheric parameters and the spectroscopic distance. We performed a detailed spectral analysis of the ultraviolet and optical spectrum by means of state-of-the-art NLTE model-atmosphere techniques. From the NIV-NV, OIV-OVI, SiIV-SiV, and FeV-FeVII ionization equilibria, we determined an effective temperature of 95+/-2kK with high precision. The surface gravity is logg=6.9+/-0.2. An unexplained discrepancy appears between the spectroscopic distance d=224^+46^_-58_pc and the parallax distance d=129^+6^_-5_pc of LS V +46 21. For the first time, we have identified Mg IV and Ar VI absorption lines in the spectrum of a hydrogen-rich central star and determined the Mg and Ar abundances as well as the individual abundances of iron-group elements (Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni). With the realistic treatment of metal opacities up to the iron group in the model-atmosphere calculations, the so-called Balmer-line problem (found in models that neglect metal-line blanketing) vanishes. Spectral analysis by means of NLTE model atmospheres has presently arrived at a high level of sophistication, which is now hampered largely by the lack of reliable atomic data and accurate line-broadening tables. Strong efforts should be made to improve upon this situation.
We compare high-resolution ultraviolet spectra of the Sun and thirteen solar-mass main-sequence stars with different rotational periods that serve as proxies for their different ages and magnetic field structures. In this, the second paper in the series, we study the dependence of ultraviolet emission-line centroid velocities on stellar rotation period, as rotation rates decrease from that of the Pleiades star HII314 (P_rot_=1.47days) to {alpha} Cen A (P_rot_=28days). Our stellar sample of F9 V to G5 V stars consists of six stars observed with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and eight stars observed with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on HST. We find a systematic trend of increasing redshift with more rapid rotation (decreasing rotation period) that is similar to the increase in line redshift between quiet and plage regions on the Sun. The fastest-rotating solar-mass star in our study, HII314, shows significantly enhanced redshifts at all temperatures above logT=4.6, including the corona, which is very different from the redshift pattern observed in the more slowly rotating stars. This difference in the redshift pattern suggests that a qualitative change in the magnetic-heating process occurs near P_rot_=2days. We propose that HII314 is an example of a solar-mass star with a magnetic heating rate too large for the physical processes responsible for the redshift pattern to operate in the same way as for the more slowly rotating stars. HII314 may therefore lie above the high activity end of the set of solar-like phenomena that is often called the "solar-stellar connection."
We report new observations of the spectrum of singly ionized chromium (CrII) in the region 1142-3954{AA}. The spectra were recorded with the National Institute of Standards and Technology 10.7m normal-incidence vacuum spectrograph and FT700 vacuum ultraviolet Fourier transform spectrometer. More than 3600 lines are classified as transitions among 283 even and 368 odd levels. The new spectral data are used to re-optimize the energy levels, reducing their uncertainties by a typical factor of 20.
We have investigated the far- through mid-UV (1150-2360{AA}) spectrum of {eta} Carinae during the late stages of its broad maximum using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) moderate dispersion echelle modes. The {eta} Car spectrum is a mixture of absorption and emission lines from the surrounding nebula superimposed on broad stellar wind features. This paper provides a description of the observed spectrum including the wind features, the interstellar absorption, and the emission spectrum from the surrounding nebula, but with the emphasis on the absorption spectrum formed in the foreground ejecta. The ejecta absorption spectrum has a complicated velocity structure in which two velocity structures, at -146 and -513km/s, are easily distinguished.The complete spectrum, with nebular and interstellar line identifications, is available in the electronic edition of the paper.
We present Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) high-resolution near-ultraviolet (NUV) spectra of Car's central source recorded before, during and after the 2003.5 spectroscopic minimum. Our focus is on the narrow absorption lines formed in multiple circumstellar shells, superimposed on the broad P Cygni stellar wind features, and how they respond to the flux variations of Car across the minimum. Over 30 separate narrow-line velocity components are identified: three around 146km/s, many between 323 and 587km/s, and a few exceeding 1000km/s.
Ultraviolet (UV) lines of molecular hydrogen have been observed in solar spectra for almost four decades, but the behavior of the molecular spectrum and its implications for solar atmospheric structure are not fully understood. Data from the High-Resolution Telescope Spectrometer (HRTS) instrument revealed that H2 emission forms in particular regions, selectively excited by a bright UV transition region and chromospheric lines. We test the conditions under which H2 emission can originate by studying non-LTE models, sampling a broad range of temperature stratifications and radiation conditions. Stratification plays the dominant role in determining the population densities of H2, which forms in greatest abundance near the continuum photosphere. However, opacity due to the photoionization of Si and other neutrals determines the depth to which UV radiation can penetrate to excite the H2. Thus the majority of H2 emission forms in a narrow region, at about 650km in standard one-dimensional (1D) models of the quiet Sun, near the {tau}=1 opacity surface for the exciting UV radiation, generally coming from above. When irradiated from above using observed intensities of bright UV emission lines, detailed non-LTE calculations show that the spectrum of H2 seen in the quiet-Sun Solar Ultraviolet Measurement of Emitted Radiation atlas spectrum and HRTS light-bridge spectrum can be satisfactorily reproduced in 1D stratified atmospheres, without including three-dimensional or time-dependent thermal structures. A detailed comparison to observations from 1205 to 1550{AA} is presented, and the success of this 1D approach to modeling solar UV H2 emission is illustrated by the identification of previously unidentified lines and upper levels in HRTS spectra.
We investigate the absolute calibration of the EUV Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) on Hinode by comparing EIS full-disk mosaics with irradiance observations from the EUV Variability Experiment on the Solar Dynamics Observatory. We also use extended observations of the quiet corona above the limb combined with a simple differential emission measure model to establish new effective area curves that incorporate information from the most recent atomic physics calculations. We find that changes to the EIS instrument sensitivity are a complex function of both time and wavelength. We find that the sensitivity is decaying exponentially with time and that the decay constants vary with wavelength. The EIS short wavelength channel shows significantly longer decay times than the long wavelength channel.
Small amounts of star formation in elliptical galaxies are suggested by several results: surprisingly young ages from optical line indices, cooling X-ray gas, and mid-infrared dust emission. Such star formation has previously been difficult to directly detect, but using ultraviolet Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 imaging, we have identified individual young stars and star clusters in four nearby ellipticals. Ongoing star formation is detected in all galaxies, including three ellipticals that have previously exhibited potential signposts of star-forming conditions (NGC 4636, NGC 4697, and NGC 4374), as well as the typical "red and dead" NGC 3379. The current star formation in our closest targets, where we are most complete, is between 2.0 and 9.8x10^-5^M_{sun}_/yr. The star formation history was roughly constant from 0.5 to 1.5 Gyr (at (3-5)x10^-4^M_{sun}_/yr), but decreased by a factor of several in the past 0.3Gyr. Most star clusters have a mass between 10^2^ and 10^4^M_{sun}_. The specific star formation rates of ~10^-16^/yr (at the present day) or ~10^-14^/yr (when averaging over the past Gyr) imply that a fraction 10^-8^ of the stellar mass is younger than 100Myr and 10^-5^ is younger than 1Gyr, quantifying the level of frosting of recent star formation over the otherwise passive stellar population. There is no obvious correlation between either the presence or spatial distribution of postulated star formation indicators and the star formation we detect.