MK Morphological Study of Am Stars at 66 Å/mm

Sreedhar Rao, S. ; Abhyankar, K. D. (1991) MK Morphological Study of Am Stars at 66 Å/mm Journal of Astrophysics and Astronomy, 12 (2). pp. 133-178. ISSN 0250-6335

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Official URL: http://www.ias.ac.in/jarch/jaa/12/133-178.pdf

Related URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02709302

Abstract

The pseudo-luminosity effect in the metallic line A-type stars found by Abt & Morgan (1976) is confirmed in a random sample of 27 Am stars. From a morphological study of their spectra in the wavelength interval 3850-4400 Å at a reciprocal dispersion of 66 Å/mm, revised spectral types are given on the MK system for their K-line and metallic-line spectra. This shows that: (a) our segregation of weak Am from the Am stars largely agrees with that by Cowleyet al. (1969); (b) all the stars in the sample are dwarfs according to their K-line classification; (c) more than 80 per cent exhibit the pseudo-luminosity effect significantly, with their metallic-line spectra resembling a giant or even a supergiant in the violet (3850-4100 Å), and a giant rather than a dwarf in the blue region (4260-4400 Å); (d) in two-thirds of the stars under (c), the Sr n 4077 Å line is found to have a markedly brighter luminosity class compared to any region, and in more than one-third of the sample it is comparable to that in Ap stars; (e) at least five stars exhibit characteristics which might suggest a spectrum variability: among these, the most striking example is 41 Sex A which was found to show a phase-modulated spectrum variation hitherto unknown in Am stars; (f) the metallic-line spectra of another five stars appear to be similar to A-shell type in differing degrees; (g) less than 20 per cent of the sample comprises stars which do not show any significant differential luminosity effect; these stars might have been misclassified or perhaps they are in a quiescent state. We also confirm the conclusion arrived at by Bohm-Vitense & Johnson (1978) that all Am stars may vary and our observations suggest that groups may exist among them.

Item Type:Article
Source:Copyright of this article belongs to Indian Academy of Sciences.
Keywords:Stars Metallic-line- stars; Spectrum Classification
ID Code:23880
Deposited On:01 Dec 2010 13:09
Last Modified:17 May 2016 07:41

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