arXiv subjects

Tomaz Zwitter

Publications and source records attributed to Tomaz Zwitter.

52 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2007

Pipeline Reduction of Binary Light Curves from Large-Scale Surveys

One of the most important changes in observational astronomy of the 21st Century is a rapid shift from classical object-by-object observations to extensive automatic surveys. As CCD detectors are getting better and their prices are getting lower, more and more small and medium-size observatories are refocusing their attention to detection of stellar variability through systematic sky-scanning missions. This trend is aditionally powered by the success of pioneering surveys such as ASAS, DENIS, OGLE, TASS, their space counterpart Hipparcos and others. Such surveys produce massive amounts of data and it is not at all clear how these data are to be reduced and analysed. This is especially striking in the eclipsing binary (EB) field, where most frequently used tools are optimized for object-by-object analysis. A clear need for thorough, reliable and fully automated approaches to modeling and analysis of EB data is thus obvious. This task is very difficult because of limited data quality, non-uniform phase coverage and solution degeneracy. This paper reviews recent advancements in putting together semi-automatic and fully automatic pipelines for EB data processing. Automatic procedures have already been used to process Hipparcos data, LMC/SMC observations, OGLE and ASAS catalogs etc. We discuss the advantages and shortcomings of these procedures.

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arXiv2006

Asteroids as radial velocity and resolving power standards for medium and high resolution spectroscopy

Echelle spectra of 10 bright asteroids are presented and compared against an observed twilight spectrum and a computed Solar spectrum. Spectra covering a 2130 A spectral range centered on 5785 A are of high resolving power and high signal to noise ratio. So we focus on a comparison of detailed properties of spectral lines and not on albedo variations. It is shown that the normalized Solar and asteroid spectra are identical except for radial velocity (RV) shifts which can be predicted at the accuracy level of 1 m/s. So asteroids are proposed as new and extremely accurate radial velocity standards. Predicted and measured RVs of observed asteroids indeed match within limits of accuracy of the instrument. There are numerous absorption lines in the reflected Solar spectrum. This allows a direct mapping of the resolving power of a spectrograph between and along echelle spectral orders. So asteroid spectra can be used to test wavelength calibration and resolving power of spectrographs on the ground as well as in space, including the Gaia mission of ESA. All spectra are also given in an electronic form.

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arXiv2005

Observational Studies of Early-type Binary Stars: MP Centauri

We present photometric and spectroscopic data on the early-type binary MP Centauri. The photometric data are analyzed simultaneously with radial velocities to derive preliminary absolute dimensions for the binary components. Analysis of the spectra shows that the stars rotate synchronously and that the line of sight to the system crosses two kinematically sharp and well-separated interstellar reddening sources. It is shown that MP Cen consists of a B3 primary with M_1 = 11.4 +/- 0.4 M_sun, R_1 = 7.7 +/- 0.1 R_sun and a lobe-filling B6-B7 secondary with M_2 = 4.4 +/- 0.2 M_sun, R_2 = 6.6 +/- 0.1 R_sun

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arXiv2004

Extracting stellar parameters from observed spectra: the role of cross-correlation and minimum distance methods

One may consider cross-correlation routines applied to stellar spectra as a way to determine not only the radial velocities but also to assess the properties of stellar atmospheres. We show that this is not the case. High value of the cross-correlation coefficient between the observed and a template spectrum does not mean that the template corresponds to correct values of stellar temperature, gravity or metallicity. Cross-correlation operates in normalized space, so it is not sensitive to scaling or shifting of stellar flux. It is argued that cross-correlation is useful to efficiently determine the velocity shift between the observed and the template spectrum. But minimal distance methods need to be used to determine which template gives the best match to the observed spectrum, and so derive values of physical parameters. To illustrate the point we use data from the RAVE project which are being obtained at very similar spectral resolution and wavelength domain as will be the case for GAIA's RVS.

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arXiv2004

An extensive library of synthetic spectra covering the far red, RAVE and GAIA wavelength ranges

A library of 183588 synthetic spectra based on Kurucz's ATLAS9 models is presented for the far red spectral interval (7653 -- 8747Å). It is characterized by 3500 K <= T_eff <= 47500 K, 0.0 <= log g <= 5.0, -3.0 <= [M/H] <= +0.5, 0 <= V_rot <= 500 km/s, xi = 2 km/s. The whole grid of spectra is calculated for resolving powers 8500, 11500 and 20000. A section of the grid is also computed for [alpha/Fe]=+0.4 and for microturbulent velocities 0 and 4 km/s. The library covers the wavelength ranges and resolutions of the two ambitious spectroscopic surveys by the ground experiment RAVE and the space mission GAIA. Cross-sections across the multi-dimensional data-cube are used to illustrate the behaviour of the strongest spectral lines. Interpretation of real data will have to include interpolation to grid substeps. We present a simple estimate of the accuracy of such a procedure.

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arXiv2003

Observational Studies of Early-type Overcontact Binaries: TU Muscae

We present new spectroscopic and photometric data on the early-type overcontact binary TU Muscae. The analysis of the spectroscopic data shows that the line of sight to the system crosses three kinematically sharp and well-separated interstellar reddening sources and that the stars rotate synchronously. We present new radial velocities that are in good agreement with earlier optical velocities and, thus, do not confirm the systematically smaller velocities obtained from IUE spectra. The optical velocities are analyzed simultaneously with the photometric data to derive accurate absolute dimesions for the binary components.The results show that TU Mus consists of an O7.5 primary with M_1=23.5 +/- 0.8 M_sun, R_1=7.48 +/- 0.08 R_sun and an O9.5 secondary with M_2=15.3 +/- 0.4 M_sun, R_2=6.15 +/- 0.07 R_sun in an overcontact configuration and that the orbital period has remained constant over the three decades covered by the observations. These results might imply that the mass transfer seen in late-type overcontact binaries does not occur in their early-type counterparts.

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arXiv2003

Spectroscopy, Photometry and Micro-arcsec Astrometry of Binaries with the GAIA Space Mission and with the RAVE Experiment

GAIA astrometric mission of ESA will be very efficient in discovering binary and multiple stars with any orbital period, from minutes to millions of years. Main parameters of the revised mission design are presented. Next we estimate the fraction of binary stars discovered by means of astrometry, photometry and on-board spectroscopy. Finally we summarize observations that confirm the ability to measure physical parameters like masses, radii and spectroscopic distance from GAIA data alone. GAIA will fly only in 2010, but the Radial velocity experiment (RAVE) has started this year. We show that its spectroscopic observations have the capacity to discover a large fraction of so far unknown binary systems.

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arXiv2003

Crowding in the GAIA spectrograph focal plane

Superpositions of stellar tracings are present in every slitless spectrograph. The probability for such overlaps in the GAIA RVS spectrograph focal plane is estimated using photometric observations of 66 stellar fields, mostly close to the Galactic plane. It is shown that overlaps of bright stars (V<17) are common near the Galactic plane, and no spectrum is free from superpositions of faint star tracings. Most overlappers are of spectral type K.

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arXiv2003

Information recovery from overlapping GAIA spectra

The RVS instrument aboard GAIA is a slitless spectrograph, so some spectral tracing overlap is inevitable. We show that this background can be accurately modeled and subtracted. Radial velocity accuracy is not degraded significantly unless the star density is higher than the value typical for the Galactic plane.

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arXiv2003

Grids of synthetic spectra for the GAIA mission

Two sets of grids of Kurucz ATLAS~9 model spectra are presented. The first one covers the GAIA spectral interval, while the second one which is still being computed covers the whole range from 2500 -- 10500 Å. Both grids include parameters needed for realistic spectral simulation, e.g. stellar rotation and are computed at R=20000 and lower spectral resolutions. They can be useful for preparation of the GAIA and RAVE missions and also for a general radial velocity correlation work

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arXiv2003

Observational tests of the GAIA expected harvest on eclipsing binaries

GAIA observations of eclipsing binary stars will have a large impact on stellar astrophysics. Accurate parameters, including absolute masses and sizes will be derived for $\sim 10^4$ systems, orders of magnitude more than what has ever been done from the ground. Observations of 18 real systems in the GAIA-like mode as well as with devoted ground-based campaigns are used to assess binary recognition techniques, orbital period determination, accuracy of derived fundamental parameters and the need to automate the whole reduction and interpretation process.

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arXiv2002

GAIA survey of galactic eclipsing binaries

General importance and capabilities of observations of eclipsing binaries by the forthcoming ESA mission GAIA are discussed. Availability of spectroscopic observations and a large number of photometric bands on board will make it possible to reliably determine physical parameters for $\sim 10^5$ binary stars. It is stressed that current methods of object by object analysis will have to be modified and included in an automatic analysis pipeline.

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arXiv2002

GAIA accuracy on radial velocities assessed from a synthetic spectra database

Spectrograph aboard the GAIA satellite operates in the near-IR, in the 8490-- 8740 Åwindow accessible also from the ground. The most important parameter yet to be determined is the spectral resolution. Realistic estimates of the zodiacal light background are obtained and a total of $2\times 10^5$ correlation runs are used to study the accuracy of radial velocity measured by the spectrograph as a function of resolution, magnitude of the target, its spectral type and luminosity class. Accuracy better than 2 km/s is achievable for bright stars if a high enough dispersion is chosen. Radial velocity error of 5 km/s is at $V=17.5$ for Cepheids and at 17.7 for horizontal branch stars. Even for very faint objects, with spectra dominated by background and readout noise, the optimal dispersion is still in the 0.25 / 0.75 Å/pix range. This is also true for complicated cases such as spectroscopic binaries or if information other than radial velocity, i.e. abundances of individual elements or stellar rotation velocity, is sought after. The results can be scaled to assess performance of future ground based instruments.

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arXiv2002

A multi-epoch spectrophotometric atlas of symbiotic stars

A multi-epoch, absolute-fluxed spectral atlas extending from about 3200 to 9000 Ang is presented for 130 symbiotic stars, including members of the LMC, SMC and Draco dwarf galaxies. The fluxes are accurate to better than 5% as shown by comparison with Tycho and ground-based photometric data. The spectra of 40 reference objects (MKK cool giant standards, Mira and Carbon stars, planetary nebulae, white dwarfs, hot sub-dwarfs, Wolf-Rayet stars, classical novae, VV Cep and Herbig Ae/Be objects) are provided to assist the interpretation of symbiotic star spectra. Astrometric positions and counterparts in astrometric catalogues are derived for all program symbiotic stars.

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arXiv2000

The Demise of the Classical BLR in the Luminous Quasar PG1416-129

New observations of the broad-line quasar PG1416-129 reveal a large decline in its continuum luminosity over the past ten years. In response to the continuum change the ``classical'' broad component of Hbeta has almost completely disappeared (a x10 decrease in flux). In its place there remains a redshifted/redward asymmetric very broad emission line component. The significance of this change is multifold: (1) It confirms the existence of a distinct redshifted Very Broad Line Region (VBLR) component that persists after the demise of the broad component and that is frequently observed, along with the broad component, in radio-loud sources. (2) The smaller (x2) intensity change in the Hbeta very broad component supports the previously advanced idea that the VBLR is physically distinct and likely to arise in an optically thin region close to the central source. (3) The presence of a strong very broad component in the radio-quiet quasar PG1416-129 reinforces the notion that such ``population B'' quasars share similar spectroscopic (and hence geometrical and kinematical) properties to radio-loud sources. (4) AGN can show broad, very broad, or both line components simultaneously, making statistical comparisons of source profile widths difficult. (5) The interpretation, in reverberation studies, of the presence or lack of correlated response in broad line wings will be affected by this composite BLR/VBLR structure.

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arXiv2000

Optical Spectrum of Main-, Inter- and Off-pulse Emission from Crab Pulsar

A dedicated stroboscopic device was used to obtain optical spectra of the Crab main-pulse and inter-pulse as well as the spectrum of the underlying nebula when the pulsar is turned off. As the nebular emission is very inhomogeneous, our ability to effectively subtract the nebular background signal is crucial. No spectral lines intrinsic to the pulsar are detected. The main-pulse and the inter-pulse behave as power laws, both with the same de-reddened index Alpha = +0.2 +- 0.1. This value was obtained by subtracting the nebular spectrum at the exact position of the pulsar. The underlying nebula is redder, Alpha = -0.4 +- 0.1. Its emission lines are split into approaching (sim. -1200 km/s) and receding (sim. +600 km/s) components. The strength of emission line components and the flux in nebular continuum vary on arcsec scale. The nebular line and continuum intensities along the N-S slit are given.

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