arXiv subjects

W. Becken

Publications and source records attributed to W. Becken.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2001

Stationary components of HeI in strong magnetic fields - a tool to identify magnetic DB white dwarfs

In only three of the 61 known magnetic white dwarfs helium has been identified unambiguously while about 20% of all non-magnetic stars of this class are known to contain HeI or HeII. Until recently, data for HeI data were available only for magnetic fields below 20MG. This changed with the publication of extensive data by the group in Heidelberg. The corresponding calculations have now been completed for the energetically lowest five states of singlet and triplet symmetry for the subspaces with |m| <= 3; selected calculations have been performed for even higher excitations. In strongly magnetized white dwarfs only line components are visible whose wavelengths vary slowly with respect to the magnetic field, particularly stationary components which have a wavelength minimum or maximum in the range of the magnetic fields strengths on the stellar surface. In view of the many ongoing surveys finding white dwarfs we want to provide the astronomical community with a tool to identify helium in white dwarfs for fields up to 5.3GG. To this end we present all calculated helium line components whose wavelengths in the UV, optical, and near IR vary slowly enough with respect to the field strength to produce visible absorption features. We also list all stationary line components in this spectral range. Finally, we find series of minima and maxima which occur as a result of series of extremal transitions to increasingly higher excitations. We estimated the limits for 8 series which can possibly give rise to additional absorption in white dwarf spectra; one strong absorption feature in GD229 which is yet unexplained by stationary components is very close to two estimated series limits.

astro-ph↗

arXiv1999

The helium atom in a strong magnetic field

We investigate the electronic structure of the helium atom in a magnetic field b etween B=0 and B=100a.u. The atom is treated as a nonrelativistic system with two interactin g electrons and a fixed nucleus. Scaling laws are provided connecting the fixed-nucleus Hamiltonia n to the one for the case of finite nuclear mass. Respecting the symmetries of the electronic Ham iltonian in the presence of a magnetic field, we represent this Hamiltonian as a matrix with res pect to a two-particle basis composed of one-particle states of a Gaussian basis set. The corresponding generalized eigenvalue problem is solved numerically, providing in the present paper results for vanish ing magnetic quantum number M=0 and even or odd z-parity, each for both singlet and triplet spin symmetry. Total electronic energies of the ground state and the first few excitations in each su bspace as well as their one-electron ionization energies are presented as a function of the magnetic fie ld, and their behaviour is discussed. Energy values for electromagnetic transitions within the M=0 sub space are shown, and a complete table of wavelengths at all the detected stationary points with respect to their field dependence is given, thereby providing a basis for a comparison with observed ab sorption spectra of magnetic white dwarfs.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv1999

Exchange and correlation energies of ground states of atoms and molecules in strong magnetic fields

Using a Hartree-Fock mesh method and a configuration interaction approach based on a generalized Gaussian basis set we investigate the behaviour of the exchange and correlation energies of small atoms and molecules, namely th e helium and lithium atom as well as the hydrogen molecule, in the presence of a magnetic field covering the regime B=0-100a.u. In general the importance of the exchange energy to the binding properties of at oms or molecules increases strongly with increasing field strength. This is due to the spin-flip transitions and in particular due to the contributions of the tightly bound hydrogenic state s which are involved in the corresponding ground states of different symmetries. In contrast to the exchange energy the correlation energy becomes less relevant with increasing field strength. This holds for the individual configurations constituting the ground state and for the crossovers of the global ground state.

physics.atom-ph↗

arXiv1998

Evidence for helium in the magnetic white dwarf GD229

The nature of the strong absorption features in the white dwarf GD229 has been a real mystery ever since it was found to be magnetic in 1974. All attempts to explain the spectrum by line components of hydrogen failed. With the first sets of newly calculated line data for HeI in a strong magnetic field we could identify most of the absorption structures in the spectrum with stationary line components in a range of magnetic fields between 300 and 700 MG. This is much lower than previously speculated and is comparable to the highest fields found in hydrogen rich magnetic white dwarfs. The reason for the large number of spectral features in GD229 is the extreme accumulation of stationary components of transitions in He I in a narrow interval of field strengths.

astro-ph↗