Search

One of the goals of the ground-based support program for the COROT and MONS/RØMER satellite missions is to characterize suitable target stars for the part of the missions dedicated to asteroseismology. We present the detailed abundance analysis of nine of the potential COROT main targets using the semi-automatic software VWA. For two additional COROT targets we could not perform the analysis due to the high rotational velocity of these stars. For five stars with low rotational velocity we have also performed abundance analysis by a classical equivalent width method in order to test the reliability of the VWA software. The agreement between the different methods is good. We find that it is necessary to measure abundances extracted from each line relative to the abundances found from a spectrum of the Sun in order to remove systematic errors. We have constrained the global atmospheric parameters Teff log g, and [Fe/H] to within 70-100 K, 0.1-0.2 dex, and 0.1 dex for five stars which are slow rotators (ν sin i < 15 km s-1). For most of the stars we find good agreement with the parameters found from line depth ratios, Hα lines, Strömgren indices, previous spectroscopic studies, and also log g determined from the HIPPARCOS parallaxes. For the fast rotators (v sin i > 60 km s-1) it is not possible to constrain the atmospheric parameters.

As Be stars and classical β CMa variables both have a distribution peak at B2, one can wonder if there is a connection between these two phenomena. A way to solve this problem could be to carry out a systematic survey of emission on short periodic B variables,over months and years.Another way, chosen by our grouns in Nice, Ensenada and Meudon, is to improve time resolution in photometric and spectrographic observations on the Be stars already known to have short time scale variations. Special attention is paid to longitude cooperation, essential to detect or measure longer time constants.

An analysis of electronic spectra secured between 1992 and 1999 at the Haute Provence, Ondrejov and Dominion Astrophysical Observatories and of differential UBV measurements of 60 Cyg obtained between 1984 and 1999 at Hvar, San Pedro Martir, Toronto and Xinglong Observatories, the all-sky Hipparcos satellite Hp photometry transformed to Johnson V and B magnitudes, and all-sky UBV observations published by several authors and dating back to fifties, led to the following findings: 1. 60 Cyg exibits pronounced long-term spectral variations characterized by the B -> Be -> B phase transition. These long-term spectral changes of 60 Cyg are also accompanied by corresponding, though rather mild, secular light and colour variations. The character of these variations is indicative of a positive correlation between the brightness and emission-line strength. 2. NLTE model atmosphere analysis of spectra secured during the quiescence state (B phase) of 60 Cyg shows that the star has overabundance of helium. Best results were obtained for N(He)/N(H) = 0.2. 3. The presence of periodic medium-term changes, with a period of 146.6 +/- 0.6 days was found in the radial-velocity of the H alpha and HeI 6678 A lines. If confirmed by future observations, these variations could indicate that 60 Cyg is a spectroscopic bnary. 4. There are clear rapid periodic line-profile changes of (a) overall line asymmetry, and (b) weak sub-features passing across the line profiles every about 0.1 days. The radial velocity and asymmetry of HeI linesvary with a period of 1.0647 days and a double-wave curve. There is no evidence of this period in photometry, however. 5. The rapid light variations of 60 Cyg are dominated by rapid changes with a full amplitude of almost 0.1. A period analysis of V magnitude data prewhitened for the long-term changes indicates a period of 0.2997029 days, reported earlier. The most interesting finding is that also all recorded series of moving sub-features in the line profiles can be reconciled with this period: the sub-features reappear at the same phase intervals of 0.2997 days period in the line profiles over an interval of several years. Considering the acceleration of these sub-features, 1900 km/s/d, it is conceivable that the true physical (super) period of these changes is either 0.8991 or 1.1988 days. 6. The findings mentioned in points 4 and 5 represent a challenge for the NRP scenario since the light changes would be dominated by a high-order mode instead a low-order one.