arXiv subjects

E. Antonello

Publications and source records attributed to E. Antonello.

23 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv1999

Variable stars in nearby galaxies. I. Search for Cepheids in Field A of IC 1613

The first results are presented of a four-year program dedicated to the CCD observations of Cepheids in the nearby galaxy IC 1613. Since the program was carried out with a relatively small telescope, the Dutch 0.9 m at ESO-La Silla, the observations were performed without filter (white light), or Wh-band; the advantage of this technique is that the photon statistics correspond to that of V-band observations made with larger telescopes than 2 m and similar exposure time. The effective wavelength of the Wh-band is intermediate between that of V and R bands for stars of A-G spectral type, for back-illuminated CCD detectors. The analysis of the observations of Field A revealed the presence of about 110 variable stars. The detected population I Cepheids are 43; 9 Cepheids were already known from previous works, while most of the new stars have a short period P. For stars with P > 5 d and sufficient phase coverage it is possible to perform good Fourier decomposition of light curves with resulting standard deviation of the fit of 0.02 - 0.04 mag. There are several Cepheids with relatively small amplitude, and most of them are first overtone mode pulsators; the faintest detected Cepheids have V about 23 and P about 1 day. At least 5 population II Cepheids and 8 eclipsing binaries have been observed. The other variable stars are probable long period, semiregular and irregular variables. A comparison with results of other massive CCD photometric projects dedicated to the detection of variable stars shows some advantages of the observations in white light for fully exploiting the capabilities of relatively small telescopes. A suggestion is made on how to use these results for distance determinations.

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arXiv1999

X-ray emission from A0-F6 spectral type stars

We use the ROSAT public data archive to study the X-ray emission of a sample of supposedly single A0-F6 spectral type stars from the Bright Star Catalogue. We detected X-ray emission from 19 A and 33 F-type stars. However, our results are not sufficient to associate with certainty the X-ray emission to the A-type stars themselves, since the usual argument that it may originate from a binary companion can not be excluded. A spectral analysis was conducted for 14 sources (3 A and 11 F), finding that for 12 of them a two temperature thermal plasma model is needed to reproduce the observed spectra. The two temperatures are centered at 0.13 and 0.54 keV, respectively. The values found for the higher temperature are lower than that ones of X-ray selected single late-type stars. The X-ray luminosities are in the range 1E28 < L_X < 1E30 erg/s, with a distribution similar to that of active late-type stars. No correlation is found between L_X and B-V color, Vsin(i) and L_bol, while a positive correlation is found between the X-ray luminosity and the hardness ratio.

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arXiv1998

Search for second overtone Cepheids in the Magellanic Clouds. I. Study of three candidates in the SMC

Accurate CCD observations of three Cepheids in the SMC were made with the purpose of confirming their nature of second overtone mode Cepheids. The stars were suspected pulsating in the second overtone mode owing to the unusual light curve and short period reported by Payne-Gaposchkin & Gaposchkin (1966). The analysis of the new data shows that for two stars the previous periods are wrong, and in the three cases the new light curves are normal. According to the new observations, HV 1353 is a fundamental mode pulsator with small amplitude, and HV 1777 and HV 1779 are first overtone mode pulsators. Also the star HV 1763, whose nature was unknown, was observed in the field of HV 1777. The new data show that it is a first overtone mode Cepheid with P=2.117d.

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arXiv1998

Search for low instability strip variables in the young open cluster NGC 2516

In this paper we revise and complete the photometric survey of the instability strip of the southern open cluster NGC 2516 published by Antonello and Mantegazza (1986). No variable stars with amplitudes larger than $0^m.02$ were found. However by means of an accurate analysis based on a new statistical method two groups of small amplitude variables have been disentangled: one with periods $< 0^d.25$ (probably $δ$ Scuti stars) and one with periods $>0^d.025$. The position in the HR diagram and the apparent time-scale may suggest that the stars of the second group belong to a recently discovered new class of variables, named $γ$ Dor variables. They certainly deserve further study. We also present a comparison between the results of the photometric survey and the available pointed ROSAT observations of this cluster.

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arXiv1998

The possible effects of an unusual resonance in very long period Cepheids

The shape of the radial velocity and light curves of 24 long-period (30 < P < 134 days) Cepheids in the Magellanic Clouds shows a progression with the period. The sequences of the radial velocity and light curves are based only on a small sample of stars; however, evident changes of the shape can be seen in Cepheids with period between 90 and 134 d. The Fourier parameter-period diagrams for the radial velocity curves show trends which remind in part those of Cepheids with period near 10 d. The plausible interpretation is a resonance, probably P_0/P_1=2 between the fundamental and the first overtone mode. The possible importance of this phenomenon for the study of stellar structure and evolution in relatively far galaxies is emphasized.

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