No Arabic abstract
We present preliminary results of grating observations of YY Mensae and V824 Arae by Chandra and XMM-Newton. Spectral features are presented in the context of the emission measure distributions, the coronal abundances, and plasma electron densities. In particular, we observe a coronal N/C enhancement in YY Men believed to reflect the photospheric composition (CN cycle). Finally, we interpret line broadening in YY Men as Doppler thermal broadening in its very hot corona.
Neutral fluorine (F I) lines are identified in the optical spectra of several R Coronae Borealis stars (RCBs) at maximum light. These lines provide the first measurement of the fluorine abundance in these stars. Fluorine is enriched in some RCBs by factors of 800 to 8000 relative to its likely initial abundance. The overabundances of fluorine are evidence for the synthesis of fluorine. These results are discussed in the light of the scenario that RCBs are formed by accretion of an He white dwarf by a C-O white dwarf. Sakurais object (V4334 Sgr), a final He-shell flash product, shows no detectable F I lines.
Some of the observational aspects related to the evolutionary status and dust production in R Cor Bor stars are discussed. Recent work regarding the surface abundances, stellar winds and evidence for dust production in these high luminosty hydrogen deficient stars are also reviewed. Possibility of the stellar winds being maintained by surface magnetic fields is also considered.
Recent theoretical studies suggest the existence of low-mass zero-metal stars in the current universe. In order to study the basic properties of the atmosphere of low-mass first stars, we performed one dimensional magnetohydrodynamical simulations for the heating of coronal loops on low-mass stars with various metallicities. While the simulated loops are heated up to >$10^6$ K by the dissipation of Alfvenic waves originating from the convective motion irrespectively of the metallicity, the coronal properties sensitively depend on the metallicity. Lower-metal stars create hotter and denser coronae because the radiative cooling is suppressed. The zero-metal star gives more than ten times higher coronal density than the solar-metallicity counterpart, and as a result, the UV and X-ray fluxes from the loop are (1-5) times higher than those of the solar metallicity star. We also discuss the dependence of the coronal properties on the length of the simulated coronal loops
Mid-infrared photometry of R Coronae Borealis stars obtained from various satellites from IRAS to WISE has been utilized in studying the variations of the circumstellar dusts contributions to the spectral energy distribution of these stars. The variation of the fractional coverage (R) of dust clouds and their blackbody temperatures (T$_d$) have been used in trying to understand the dust cloud evolution over the three decades spanned by the satellite observations. In particular, it is shown that a prediction R $ propto T_d^4$ developed in this paper is satisfied, especially by those stars for which a single collection of cloud dominates the IR fluxes. Correlations of R with photospheric abundance and luminosity of the stars are explored.
Surface abundances of 14 (11 majority class and 3 minority class) R Coronae Borealis stars (RCBs) along with the final flash object, V4334 Sgr (Sakurais object) are revised based on their carbon abundances measured from the observed C2 bands; note that the earlier reported abundances were derived using an assumed carbon abundance due to the well known ``carbon problem. The hot RCB MV Sgr is not subject to a carbon problem; it is remarkable to note that MV Sgrs carbon abundance lies in the range that is measured for the majority and minority class RCBs. The revised iron abundances for the RCBs are in the range log E(Fe)=3.8 to log E(Fe)=5.8 with the minority class RCB V854 Cen at lower end and the majority class RCB R CrB at the higher end of this range. Indications are that the revised RCBs metallicity range is roughly consistent with the metal poor population contained within the bulge. The revised abundances of RCBs are then compared with extreme helium stars (EHes), the hotter relatives of RCBs. Clear differences are observed between RCBs and EHes in their metallicity distribution, carbon abundances, and the abundance trends observed for the key elements. These abundances are further discussed in the light of their formation scenarios.