arXiv subjects

Hans Van Winckel

Publications and source records attributed to Hans Van Winckel.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

No signature of the orbital motion of a putative 70 solar mass black hole in LB-1

Liu et al. (2019) recently reported the detection of a 68 [+11/-13] solar mass (Msun) black hole (BH) paired with an 8.2 [+0.9/-1.2] Msun B-type sub-giant star in the 78.9-day spectroscopic binary system LB-1. Such a black hole is over twice as massive as any other known stellar-mass black hole with non-compact companions2 and its mass approaches those that result from BH-BH coalescences that are detected by gravitational wave interferometers. Its presence in a solar-like metallicity environment challenges conventional theories of massive binary evolution, stellar winds and core-collapse supernovae, so that more exotic scenarios seem to be needed to explain the existence and properties of LB-1. Here, we show that the observational diagnostics used to derive the BH mass results from the orbital motion of the B-type star, not that of the BH. As a consequence, no evidence for a massive BH remains in the data, therefore solving the existing tension with formation models of such a massive BH at solar metallicity and with theories of massive star evolution in general.

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arXiv2019

A spatio-kinematic model for jets in post-AGB stars

Aims. We aim to determine the geometry, density gradient, and velocity structure of jets in post-asymptotic giant branch (post-AGB) binaries. Methods. Our high cadence time series of high-resolution optical spectra of jet-creating post-AGB binary systems provide us with a unique tomography of the jet. We determine the spatio-kinematic structure of the jets based on these data by fitting the synthetic spectral line profiles created by our model to the observed, orbital phase-resolved, Hα-line profiles of these systems. The fitting routine is provided with an initial spectrum and is allowed to test three configurations, derived from three specific jet launching models: a stellar jet launched by the star, an X-wind, and a disk wind configuration. We apply a Markov-chain Monte Carlo routine in order to fit our model to the observations. Our fitting code is tested on the post-AGB binary IRAS19135+3937. Results. We find that a model using the stellar jet configuration gives a marginally better fit to our observations. The jet has a wide half-opening angle of about 76 degrees and reaches velocities up to 870 km/s. Conclusions. Our methodology is successful in determining some parameters for jets in post-AGB binaries. The model for IRAS19135+3937 includes a transparent, low density inner region (for a half-opening angle < 40 degrees). The source feeding the accretion disk around the companion is most likely the circumbinary disk. We will apply this jet fitting routine to other jet-creating post-AGB stars in order to provide a more complete description of these objects.

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arXiv2019

Modelling depletion by re-accretion of gas from a dusty disc in post-AGB stars

Many disc-type post-asymptotic giant branch (post-AGB) stars are chemically peculiar, showing underabundances of refractory elements in their photospheres that correlate with condensation temperature. The aim of this paper is to investigate how accretion from a circumbinary disc can cause this phenomenon of depletion and how this impacts the evolution of post-AGB stars. We used the \texttt{MESA} code to evolve stars in the post-AGB phase, while including accretion of metal-poor gas. We compared the models to a sample of 58 observed disc-type post-AGB stars with chemical abundance data. For each of these stars, we estimated the luminosity and the mass using the Gaia distance. We modelled the accretion rate onto the binary from a viscously evolving disc for a range of initial accretion rates and disc masses. We find that large initial accretion rates ($\gtrsim 3\times10^{-7}$ $M_\odot$/yr) and large initial disc masses ($\sim10^{-2}$ $M_\odot$) are needed to reproduce the observed depleted post-AGB stars. Based on these high accretion rates, the evolution timescale of post-AGB stars can be significantly extended by a factor between two and five. We distinguish depletion patterns that are unsaturated (plateau profile) from those that are saturated, and we expect that post-red giant branch (post-RGB) stars are much more likely to show an unsaturated abundance pattern compared to post-AGB stars. Finally, because of the slower evolution of the low-mass post-RGB stars, we find that these systems can become depleted at lower effective temperatures ($< 5000$ K). We conclude that accretion from a circumbinary disc successfully accounts for the chemical peculiarity of post-AGB stars.

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arXiv2019

The spectroscopic binaries RV Tauri and DF Cygni

Aim: The focus of this paper is on two famous but still poorly understood RV Tauri stars: RV Tau and DF Cyg. We aim at confirming their suspected binary nature and deriving their orbital elements to investigate the impact of their orbits on the evolution of these systems. This research is embedded into a wider endeavour to study binary evolution of low- and intermediate-mass stars. Method: The high amplitude pulsations were cleaned from the radial-velocity data to better constrain the orbital motion. We used Gaia DR2 parallaxes in combination with the SEDs to compute their luminosities which were complemented with the ones computed using a period-luminosity-colour relation. The ratio of the circumstellar infrared flux to the photospheric flux obtained from the SEDs was used to estimate the orbital inclination of each system. Results: DF Cyg and RV Tau are binaries with spectroscopic orbital periods of 784$\pm$16 days and 1198$\pm$17 days, respectively. These orbital periods are found to be similar to the long-term periodic variability in the photometric time series, indicating that binarity indeed explains the long-term photometric variability. Both systems are surrounded by a circumbinary disc which is grazed by our line-of-sight. As a result, the stellar photometric flux is extinct periodically with the orbital period. Our derived orbital inclinations enabled us to obtain accurate companion masses for DF Cyg and RV Tau. Analysis of the Kepler photometry of DF Cyg revealed a power spectrum with side lobes around the fundamental pulsation frequency. This modulation corresponds to the spectroscopic orbital period and hence to the long-term photometric period. Finally we report on the evidence of high velocity absorption features related to the H$_α$ profile in both objects, indicating outflows launched from around the companion.

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arXiv2019

Observational evidence of third dredge-up occurrence in S-type stars with initial masses around 1 Msun

Context- S stars are late-type giants with spectra showing characteristic molecular bands of ZrO in addition to the TiO bands typical of M stars. Their overabundance pattern shows the signature of s-process nucleosynthesis. Intrinsic, technetium (Tc)-rich S stars are the first objects, on the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB), to undergo third dredge-up (TDU) events. Gaia exquisite parallaxes now allow to precisely locate these stars in the Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram. Here we report on a population of low-mass, Tc-rich S stars, previously unaccounted for by stellar evolution models. Aims- Our aim is to derive parameters of a sample of low-mass Tc-rich S stars and then, by comparing their location in the HR diagram with stellar evolution tracks, to derive their masses and to compare their measured s-process abundance profiles with recently derived STAREVOL nucleosynthetic predictions for low-mass AGB stars. Methods- The stellar parameters were obtained using a combination of HERMES high-resolution spectra, accurate Gaia Data Release 2 (Gaia-DR2) parallaxes, stellar-evolution models and newly-designed MARCS model atmospheres for S-type stars. Results- We report on 6 Tc-rich S stars lying close to the 1 Msun (initial mass) tracks of AGB stars of the corresponding metallicity and above the predicted onset of TDU, as expected. This provides direct evidence for TDUs occurring in AGB stars with initial masses as low as ~ 1 Msun and at low luminosity, i.e. at the start of the thermally-pulsing AGB. We present AGB models producing TDU in those stars with [Fe/H] in the range -0.25 to -0.5. There is a reasonable agreement between the measured and predicted s-process abundance profiles. For 2 objects however (CD -29 5912 and BD +34 1698), the predicted C/O ratio and s-process enhancements do not match simultaneously the measured ones.

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arXiv2019

The post-common-envelope X-ray binary nucleus of the planetary nebula NGC 2392

The Chandra X-ray Observatory has detected relatively hard X-ray emission from the central stars of several planetary nebulae (PNe). A subset have no known late-type companions, making it very difficult to isolate which of several competing mechanisms may be producing the X-ray emission. The central star of NGC 2392 is one of the most vexing members, with substantial indirect evidence for a hot white dwarf (WD) companion. Here we report on the results of a radial velocity (RV) monitoring campaign of its central star with the HERMES echelle spectrograph of the Flemish 1.2 m Mercator telescope. We discover a single-lined spectroscopic binary with an orbital period of $1.902208\pm0.000013$ d and a RV semi-amplitude of $9.96\pm0.13$ km/s. The high degree of nebula ionisation requires a WD companion ($M\gtrsim0.6 M_\odot$), which the mass-function supports at orbital inclinations $\lesssim$7 deg, in agreement with the nebula orientation of 9 deg. The hard component of the X-ray spectrum may be explained by the companion accreting mass from the wind of the Roche lobe filling primary, while the softer component may be due to colliding winds. A companion with a stronger wind than the primary could produce the latter and would be consistent with models of the observed diffuse X-ray emission detected in the nebula. The diffuse X-rays may also be powered by the jets of up to 180 km/s and active accretion would imply that they could be the first active jets of a post-common-envelope PN, potentially making NGC 2392 an invaluable laboratory to study jet formation physics. The 1.9 d orbital period rules out a double-degenerate merger leading to a Type Ia supernova and the weak wind of the primary likely also precludes a single-degenerate scenario. We suggest that a hard X-ray spectrum, in the absence of a late-type companion, could be a powerful tool to identify accreting WD companions.

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arXiv2018

Variability in Proto-Planetary Nebulae: V. Velocity and Light Curve Analyses of IRAS 17436+5003, 18095+2704, and 19475+3119

We have obtained contemporaneous light, color, and radial velocity data for three proto-planetary nebulae (PPNe) over the years 2007 to 2015. The light and velocity curves of each show similar periods of pulsation, with photometric periods of 42 and 50 days for IRAS 17436+5003, 102 days for IRAS 18095+2704, and 35 days for IRAS 19475+3119. The light and velocity curves are complex with multiple periods and small, variable amplitudes. Nevertheless, at least over limited time intervals, we were able to identify dominant periods in the light, color, and velocity curves and compare the phasing of each. The color curves appear to peak with or slightly after the light curves while the radial velocity curves peak about a quarter of a cycle before the light curves. Similar results were found previously for two other PPNe, although for them the light and color appeared to be in phase. Thus it appears that PPNe are brightest when smallest and hottest. These phase results differ from those found for classical Cepheid variables, where the light and velocity differ by half a cycle, and are hottest at about average size and expanding. However, they do appear to have similar phasing to the larger amplitude pulsations seen in RV Tauri variables. Presently, few pulsation models exist for PPNe, and these do not fit the observations well, especially the longer periods observed. Model fits to these new light and velocity curves would allow masses to be determined for these post-AGB objects, and thereby provide important constraints to post-AGB stellar evolution models of low and intermediate-mass stars.

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arXiv2018

On the post-common-envelope central star of the planetary nebula NGC 2346

The common-envelope phase is one of the most poorly understood phases of (binary) stellar evolution, in spite of its importance in the formation of a wide-range of astrophysical phenomena ranging from cataclysmic variables to cosmologically important supernova type Ia, and even recently discovered gravitational wave producing black hole mergers. The central star of the planetary nebula NGC~2346 has long been held as one of the longest period post-common-envelope systems known with a published period of approximately 16 days, however the data presented were also consistent with much shorter periods of around 1 day (a more typical period among the known sample of post-common-envelope binary central stars). Here, using the modern high-stability, high-resolution spectrograph HERMES, we conclusively show the period to, indeed, be 16 days while also revising the surface gravity to a value typical of a sub-giant (rather than main-sequence) resulting in an intrinsic luminosity consistent with the recently published GAIA parallax distance. Intriguingly, the implied mass for the secondary ($\gtrsim$3.5 M$_\odot$) makes it, to our knowledge, the most massive post-common-envelope secondary known, whilst also indicating that the primary may be a post-RGB star.

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arXiv2018

Probing stellar evolution with S stars and Gaia

S-type stars are late-type giants enhanced with s-process elements originating either from nucleosynthesis during the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) or from a pollution by a binary companion. The former are called intrinsic S stars, and the latter extrinsic S stars. The intrinsic S stars are on the AGB and have undergone third dredge-up events. The atmospheric parameters of S stars are more numerous than those of M-type giants (C/O ratio and s-process abundances affect the thermal structure and spectral synthesis), and hence they are more difficult to derive. These atmospheric parameters are also entangled within each other. Nevertheless, high-resolution spectroscopic data of S stars combined with the Gaia Data Release 2 (GDR2) parallaxes and with the MARCS model atmospheres for S-type stars were used to derive effective temperatures, surface gravities, and luminosities. These parameters not only allow to locate the intrinsic and extrinsic S stars in the Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram but also allow the accurate abundance analysis of the s-process elements.

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arXiv2018

S stars and s-process in the Gaia era I. Stellar parameters and chemical abundances in a sub-sample of S stars with new MARCS model atmospheres

S stars are transition objects between M-type giants and carbon stars on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB). They are characterized by overabundances of s-process elements. Roughly half of them are enhanced in technetium (Tc), an s-process element with no stable isotope, while the other half lack technetium. This dichotomy arises from the fact that Tc-rich S stars are intrinsically producing s-process elements and have undergone third dredge-up (TDU) events, while Tc-poor S stars owe their s-process overabundances to a past pollution by a former AGB companion. Our aim is to analyse the abundances of S stars and gain insights into their evolutionary status and on the nucleosynthesis of heavy s-process elements taking place in their interior. In particular, the location of extrinsic and intrinsic S stars in the HR diagram will be compared with the theoretical onset of the TDU on the thermally-pulsing AGB. A sample of 19 S-type stars was analysed by combining HERMES high-resolution spectra, accurate Gaia Data Release 2 (GDR2) parallaxes, stellar-evolution models, and newly-designed MARCS model atmospheres for S-type stars. Combining the derived parameters with GDR2 parallaxes allows a joint analysis of the location of the stars in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram and of their surface abundances. For all 19 stars, Zr and Nb abundances are derived, complemented by abundances of other s-process elements for the three Tc-rich S stars. These abundances agree within the uncertainties with nucleosynthesis predictions for stars of corresponding mass, metallicity and evolutionary stage. Most extrinsic S stars lie close to the tip of the red giant branch (RGB), and a few are located along the early AGB. The location of intrinsic S stars in the HR diagram is compatible with them being thermally-pulsing AGB stars.

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arXiv2018

A systematic survey of grain growth in discs around post-AGB binaries with PACS and SPIRE photometry

Post-AGB stars are the final stage of evolution of low-intermediate mass stars (M<8 Solar Masses). Those in binary systems have stable circumbinary discs. Using data from Herschel (PACS/SPIRE), we extend the SEDs of 50 galactic post-AGB binary systems to sub-millimetre wavelengths and use the slope of the SED as a diagnostic tool to probe the presence of large grains. Using a Monte Carlo radiative transfer code (MCMax), we create a large grid of models to quantify the observed spectral indices and use the presence of large grains in the disc as a proxy for evolution.

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arXiv2018

Orbital properties of binary post-AGB stars

Binary post-asymptotic giant branch (post-AGB) stars are thought to be the products of a strong but poorly-understood interaction during the AGB phase. The aim of this contribution is to update the orbital elements of a sample of galactic post-AGB binaries observed in a long-term radial-velocity monitoring campaign. Radial velocities are computed from high signal-to-noise spectra by use of a cross-correlation method. The radial-velocity curves are fitted by using both a least-squares algorithm and a Nelder-Mead simplex algorithm. We use a Monte Carlo method to compute uncertainties on the orbital elements. The resulting mass functions are used to derive a companion mass distribution by optimising the predicted to the observed cumulative mass-function distributions, after correcting for observational bias. As a result, we derive and update orbital elements for 33 galactic post-AGB binaries, among which 3 are new orbits. The orbital periods of the systems range from 100 to about 3000 days. Over 70 percent (23 out of 33) of our binaries have significant non-zero eccentricities ranging over all periods. Their orbits are non-circular despite the fact that the Roche-lobe radii are smaller than the maximum size of a typical AGB star and tidal circularisation should have been strong when the objects were on the AGB. We derive a distribution of companion masses that is peaked around 1.09 $M_\odot$ with a standard deviation of 0.62 $M_\odot$. The large spread in companion masses highlights the diversity of post-AGB binary systems. Furthermore, we find that only post-AGB stars with high effective temperatures (> 5500 K) in wide orbits are depleted in refractory elements, suggesting that re-accretion of material from a circumbinary disc is an ongoing process. It appears, however, that chemical depletion is inefficient for the closest orbits irrespective of the actual surface temperature.

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arXiv2018

Binary interaction along the Red Giant Branch: The Barium Star perspective

Barium (Ba) stars form via mass-transfer in binary systems, and can subsequently interact with their white dwarf companion in a second stage of binary interaction. We used observations of main-sequence Ba systems as input for our evolutionary models, and try to reproduce the orbits of the Ba giants. We show that to explain short and sometimes eccentric orbits, additional interaction mechanisms are needed along the RGB.

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arXiv2018

Binary post-AGB stars as tracers of stellar evolution

In this chapter the focus is on the properties of post-Asymptotic Giant Branch (post-AGB) stars in binary systems. Their Spectral Energy Distributions (SEDs) are very characteristic: they show a near-infrared excess, indicative of the presence of warm dust, while the central stars are too hot to be in a dust-production evolutionary phase. This allows for an efficient detection of binary post-AGB candidates. It is now well established that the near-infrared excess is produced by the inner rim of a stable dusty disc that surrounds the binary system. These discs are scaled-up versions of protoplanetary discs and form a second generation of stable Keplerian discs. They are likely formed during a binary interaction process when the primary was on ascending the AGB. I will summarise what we have learned from the observational properties of these post-AGB binaries. The impact of the creation, lifetime and evolution of the circumbinary discs on the evolution of the system are yet to be fully understood.

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arXiv2018

The evolutionary nature of RV Tauri stars in the SMC and LMC

Based on their stellar parameters and the presence of a mid-IR excess due to circumstellar dust, RV Tauri stars have been classified as post-AGB stars. Our recent studies, however, reveal diverse SEDs among RV Tauri stars, suggesting they may occupy other evolutionary channels as well. The aim of this paper is to present the diverse SED characteristics of RV Tauri stars and investigate their evolutionary nature as a function of their SEDs. We carried out a systematic study of RV Tauri stars in the SMC and LMC because of their known distances and hence luminosities. Their SEDs were classified in three groups: dusty (disc-type), non-dusty (non-IR) and uncertain. A period-luminosity- colour (PLC) relation was calibrated. The luminosities from the PLC were complemented with the ones found using their SEDs and the stars were placed on the HR-diagram. The four main results from this study are: 1) RV Tauri stars with a clear IR-excess have disc-type SEDs, which indicates that the dust is trapped in a stable disc. Given the strong link between disc-type SEDs and binarity in the Galaxy, we postulate that these are binaries as well. These cover a range of luminosities and we argue that the more luminous ones are post-AGB stars while the lower luminosity ones are likely post-Red Giant Branch (post-RGB) stars. 2) Two of these objects have variable mean brightness with periods of 916 and 850 days, respectively, caused by variable extinction during orbital motion. 3) The non-dusty RV Tauri stars and the objects with an uncertain SED evolve such that the circumstellar dust has dispersed. If they are single stars, they are post-AGB objects of low initial mass ($<$ 1.25 M$_\odot$), while if they are binaries, the low-luminosity part of the sample are likely post-RGB stars. 4) We find that RV Tauri stars with dust are on average more luminous than the rest of the sample.

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arXiv2018

SALT HRS discovery of the binary nucleus of the Etched Hourglass Nebula MyCn 18

The shaping of various morphological features of planetary nebulae (PNe) is increasingly linked to the role of binary central stars. Identifying a binary within a PN offers a powerful tool with which to directly investigate the formation mechanisms behind these features. The Etched Hourglass Nebula, MyCn 18, is the archetype for several binary-linked morphological features, yet it has no identified binary nucleus. It has the fastest jets seen in a PN of 630 km s$^{-1}$, a central star position offset from the nebula centre, and a bipolar nebula with a very narrow waist. Here we report on the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) High Resolution Spectrograph (HRS) detection of radial velocity variability in the nucleus of MyCn 18 with an orbital period of $18.15\pm0.04$ days and a semi-amplitude of $11.0\pm0.3$ km s$^{-1}$. Adopting an orbital inclination of $38\pm5$ deg and a primary mass of $0.6\pm0.1$ $M_\odot$ yields a secondary mass of $0.19\pm0.05$ $M_\odot$ corresponding to an M5V companion. The detached nature of the binary rules out a classical nova (CN) as the origin of the jets or the offset central star as hypothesised in the literature. Furthermore, scenarios that produce the offset central star during the AGB and that form narrow waist bipolar nebulae result in orbital separations 80--800 times larger than observed in MyCn 18. The inner hourglass and jets may have formed from part of the common envelope ejecta that remained bound to the binary system in a circumbinary disk, whereas the offset central star position may best be explained by proper motion. Detailed simulations of MyCn 18 are encouraged that are compatible with the binary nucleus to further investigate its complex formation history.

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arXiv2018

Measuring Intra-pixel Sensitivity Variations of a CMOS Image Sensor

Some applications in scientific imaging, like space-based high-precision photometry, benefit from a detailed characterization of the sensitivity variation within a pixel. A detailed map of the intra-pixel sensitivity (IPS) allows to increase the photometric accuracy by correcting for the impact of the tiny sub-pixel movements of the image sensor during integration. This paper reports the measurement of the sub-pixel sensitivity variation and the extraction of the IPS map of a front-side illuminated CMOS image sensor with a pixel pitch of 6 \boldmath$μm$. Our optical measurement setup focuses a collimated beam onto the imaging surface with a microscope objective. The spot was scanned in a raster over a single pixel to probe the pixel response at each (sub-pixel) scan position. We model the optical setup in ZEMAX to cross-validate the optical spot profile described by an Airy diffraction pattern. In this work we introduce a forward modeling technique to derive the variation of the IPS. We model the optical spot scanning system and discretize the CMOS pixel response. Fitting this model to the measured data allows us to quantify the spatial sensitivity variation within a single pixel. Finally, we compare our results to those obtained from the more commonly used Wiener deconvolution.

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arXiv2017

Where Are the Binaries? Results of a Long-Term Search for Radial Velocity Binaries in Proto-Planetary Nebulae

We present the results of an expanded, long-term radial velocity search (25 yrs) for evidence of binarity in a sample of seven bright proto-planetary nebulae (PPNe). The goal is to investigate the widely-held view that the bipolar or point-symmetric shapes of planetary nebulae (PNe) and PPNe are due to binary interactions. Observations from three observatories were combined from 2007-2015 to search for variations on the order of a few years and then combined with earlier observations from 1991-1995 to search for variations on the order of decades. All seven show velocity variations due to periodic pulsation in the range of 35-135 days. However, in only one PPN, IRAS 22272+5435, did we find even marginal evidence found for multi-year variations that might be due to a binary companion. This object shows marginally-significant evidence of a two-year period of low semi-amplitude which could be due to a low-mass companion, and it also displays some evidence of a much longer period of >30 years. The absence of evidence in the other six objects for long-period radial velocity variations due to a binary companion sets significant constraints on the properties of any undetected binary companions: they must be of low mass, <0.2 M(sun), or long period, >30 years. Thus the present observations do not provide direct support for the binary hypothesis to explain the shapes of PNe and PPNe and severely constrains the properties of any such undetected companions.

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