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The spectrometers onboard the Infrared Telescope in Space (IRTS) reveal water vapor absorption in early M-type stars, as early as M2. Previous observations detected H_2O vapor absorption only in stars later than M6, with the exception of the recent detection of H_2O in beta Peg (M2.5 II-III). In our sample of 108 stars, 67 stars have spectral types earlier than M6. The spectral types are established by means of their near-infrared colors on a statistical basis. Among the 67 stars of spectral types earlier than M6, we find water vapor absorption in six stars. The observed absorption features are interpreted using a local thermodynamic equilibrium model. The features are reasonably fitted by model spectra with excitation temperatures of 1000-1500 K and water column densities of 5x10^19 to 1x10^20 cm^-2. These numbers imply that the H_2O molecules are present in a region of the atmosphere, located above the photosphere. Furthermore, our analysis shows a good correlation between the H_2O absorption band strength, and the mid-infrared excess due to the circumstellar dust. We discuss the relation between the outer atmosphere and the mass loss.
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Time-variable absorption by water vapor in Earths atmosphere presents an important source of systematic error for a wide range of ground-based astronomical measurements, particularly at near-infrared wavelengths. We present results from the first study on the temporal and spatial variability of water vapor absorption at Apache Point Observatory (APO). We analyze $sim$400,000 high-resolution, near-infrared ($H$-band) spectra of hot stars collected as calibration data for the APO Galactic Evolution Explorer (APOGEE) survey. We fit for the optical depths of telluric water vapor absorption features in APOGEE spectra and convert these optical depths to Precipitable Water Vapor (PWV) using contemporaneous data from a GPS-based PWV monitoring station at APO. Based on simultaneous measurements obtained over a 3$^{circ}$ field of view, we estimate that our PWV measurement precision is $pm0.11$ mm. We explore the statistics of PWV variations over a range of timescales from less than an hour to days. We find that the amplitude of PWV variations within an hour is less than 1 mm for most (96.5%) APOGEE field visits. By considering APOGEE observations that are close in time but separated by large distances on the sky, we find that PWV is homogeneous across the sky at a given epoch, with 90% of measurements taken up to 70$^{circ}$ apart within 1.5 hr having $Delta,rm{PWV}<1.0$ mm. Our results can be used to help simulate the impact of water vapor absorption on upcoming surveys at continental observing sites like APO, and also to help plan for simultaneous water vapor metrology that may be carried out in support of upcoming photometric and spectroscopic surveys.
Using 2D models of rotating stars, the interferometric measurements of alpha Eri and its fundamental parameters corrected for gravitational darkening effects we infer that the star might have a core rotating 2.7 times faster than the surface. We explore the consequences on spectral lines produced by surface differential rotation combined with the effects due to a kind of internal differential rotation with rotational energies higher than allowed for rigid rotation which induce geometrical deformations that do not distinguish strongly from those carried by the rigid rotation.
Aims: Spectrally resolved circumstellar H2O(1_10 - 1_01) lines have been obtained towards three M-type AGB stars using the Odin satellite. This provides additional strong constrains on the properties of circumstellar H2O and the circumstellar envelope. Methods: ISO and Odin satellite H2O line data are used as constraints for radiative transfer models. Special consideration is taken to the spectrally resolved Odin line profiles, and the effect of excitation to the first excited vibrational states of the stretching modes (nu1=1 and nu3=1) on the derived abundances is estimated. A non-local, radiative transfer code based on the ALI formalism is used. Results: The H2O abundance estimates are in agreement with previous estimates. The inclusion of the Odin data sets stronger constraints on the size of the H2O envelope. The H2O(1_10 - 1_01) line profiles require a significant reduction in expansion velocity compared to the terminal gas expansion velocity determined in models of CO radio line emission, indicating that the H2O emission lines probe a region where the wind is still being accelerated. Including the nu3=1 state significantly lowers the estimated abundances for the low-mass-loss-rate objects. This shows the importance of detailed modelling, in particular the details of the infrared spectrum in the range 3 to 6 micron, to estimate accurate circumstellar H2O abundances. Conclusions: Spectrally resolved circumstellar H2O emission lines are important probes of the physics and chemistry in the inner regions of circumstellar envelopes around asymptotic giant branch stars. Predictions for H2O emission lines in the spectral range of the upcoming Herschel/HIFI mission indicate that these observations will be very important in this context.
Ice-water, water-vapor interfaces and ice surface are studied by molecular dynamics simulations with the SPC/E model of water molecules having the purpose to estimate the profiles of electrostatic potential across the interfaces. We have proposed a methodology for calculating the profiles of electrostatic potential based on a trial particle, which showed good agreement for the case of electrostatic potential profile of the water-vapor interface of TIP4P model calculated in another way. The measured profile of electrostatic potential for the pure ice-water interface decreases towards the liquid bulk region, which is in agreement with simulations of preferential direction of motion of Li$^{+}$ and F$^{-}$ solute ions at the liquid side of the ice-water interface. These results are discussed in connection with the Workman-Reynolds effect.
We argue that the presence of water vapor in the circumstellar outflow of a carbon-rich AGB star is potentially a distinctive signature of extra-solar cometary systems. Detailed models show that at suitable distances from the star, water ice can survive well into the carbon-rich AGB phase; water vapor abundances as large as 10^-6 could result from the vaporization of a collection of orbiting icy bodies with a total mass comparable to what might have been originally present in the solar systems Kuiper Belt. In particular, the recently-reported detection by the Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite of water vapor in the circumstellar outflow of IRC+10216 can be explained if ~10 Earth masses of ice is present at a distance ~300 AU from that carbon-rich star. Future observations with the Herschel Space Observatory (HSO, formerly known as FIRST) will facilitate sensitive multi-transition observations of water, yielding line ratios that can establish the radial distribution of water vapor in IRC+10216. The greater sensitivity of HSO will also allow searches for water vapor to be carried out in a much larger sample of carbon-rich AGB stars.
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