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Context. Rotational mixing is known to significantly affect the evolution of massive stars; however, we still lack a consensus regarding the various possible modeling approaches and mixing recipes describing this process. The empirical investigation of surface abundances of carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen (CNO) in large samples of O- and B-type stars will be essential for providing meaningful observational constraints on the different available stellar evolution models. Aims. Setting up and testing adequate tools to perform CNO surface abundance determinations for large samples of O-type stars, by means of the fast performance, NLTE, unified model atmosphere code FASTWIND. Methods. We have developed a set of semi-automatic tools for measuring and analyzing the observed equivalent widths of strategic optical C, N, and O lines from different ions. Our analysis strategy is based on a χ2 minimization of weighted differences between observed and synthetic equivalent widths, the latter computed from tailored model grids. We have paid special attention to the (significant) errors introduced by typical uncertainties in stellar parameters. In this pilot study, we describe these tools, and test their performance and reliability using a set of high quality spectra of a sample of 18 presumably single Galactic O-type stars with low projected rotational velocities (v sin i≲100 km s−1), and previously determined stellar parameters. In particular, we have compared the outcome of our analysis with results from existing studies and theoretical stellar evolution models. Results. Most of our results for carbon and nitrogen agree, within the errors, with both theoretical expectations and literature values. While many cooler dwarfs display C and N abundances close to solar, some of the early- and mid-O dwarfs – and most supergiants – show significant enrichment in N and depletion in C. Our results for oxygen in late-O dwarfs are, however, unexpectedly low, possibly indicating deficiencies in the adopted oxygen model atom. For all other objects, no systematic problems in their oxygen content have been identified. Specific stars in our sample show peculiarities in their abundances, and we suggest hypotheses regarding their origin. Conclusions. Our method is (almost) ready to be applied to large samples of late and mid O-type stars – although the oxygen model atom needs to be improved and carefully tested first. For early O-type stars (O4 and hotter), a simultaneous UV analysis seems to be inevitable, due to the scarcity and weakness of optical C and O lines. This will necessarily imply a more complex modeling, additionally accounting for the effects of X-rays from wind-embedded shocks and wind inhomogeneities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. The diffuse ionized gas (DIG) constitutes the largest fraction of the total ionized interstellar matter in star-forming galaxies, but it is still unclear whether the ionization is driven predominantly by the ionizing radiation of hot massive stars, as in H II regions, or whether additional sources of ionization have to be considered. Key to understanding the ionization mechanisms in the DIG is the line emission by the ionized gas. Aims. We systematically explore a plausible subset of the parameter space involving effective temperatures and metallicities of the ionizing sources, the effects of the hardening of their radiation by surrounding "leaky" H II regions with different escape fractions, as well as different scenarios for the clumpiness of the DIG, and compute the resulting line strength ratios for a number of diagnostic optical emission lines. Methods. For the ionizing fluxes we computed a grid of stellar spectral energy distributions (SEDs) from detailed, fully non-LTE model atmospheres that include the effects of stellar winds and line blocking and blanketing. To calculate the ionization and temperature structure in the interstellar gas we used spherically symmetric photoionization models and state-of-the-art three-dimensional (3D) non-LTE radiative transfer simulations, considering hydrogen, helium, and the most abundant metals. We first applied these methods to classical H II regions around hot stars, using the model SEDs at different metallicities and effective temperatures as ionizing fluxes, and compute the SEDs of the escaping radiation for different escape fractions of hydrogen-ionizing photons. In a second step, we studied the effects of the escaping radiation on the more dilute and extended DIG. Using 3D models simulating a section of a galactic spiral arm, we computed the ionization structure in the DIG for different scenarios for the inhomogeneity of the gas, assuming ionization by a stellar population SED based on plausible parameters. Results. We provide quantitative predictions of how the line ratios from H II regions and the DIG vary as a function of metallicity Z, stellar effective temperature Teff, and escape fraction fesc from the H II region. The range of predicted line ratios reinforces the hypothesis that the DIG is ionized by (filtered) radiation from hot stars. At one-tenth solar metallicity, radiation hardening is mostly due to hydrogen and helium, whereas at solar metallicity absorption by metals plays a significant role. The effects of hardening are seen primarily in the increase in the emission line ratios of the most important cooling lines of the gas, [N II]∕Hβ and [O II]∕Hβ at lower Teff, and [O III]∕Hβ at higher Teff. For low Teff nearly the entire He I-ionizing radiation is absorbed in the H II regions, thereby preventing the formation of high ionization stages such as O III in the DIG. The ionization structure of the DIG depends strongly on both the clumping factor fcl = 〈nH2〉/〈nH2〉 ${f_{\textrm{cl}}}\,{=}\,\langle{n_{\textrm{H}}}^2\rangle/\langle{n_{\textrm{H}}}\rangle^2$ f cl   =   〈 n H 2 〉 / 〈 n H 〉 2 and the large-scale distribution of the gas. In our simulations about 10% of the ionizing radiation produced by hot massive stars in a spiral arm is sufficient to ionize the DIG up to a height of approximately 1 kpc above the galactic plane for a clumping factor close to the observed value of fcl ~ 5. Even small changes in simulation parameters such as the clumping factor can lead to considerable variation in the ionized volume. Both for a more homogeneous gas and a very inhomogeneous gas containing both dense clumps and channels with low gas density, the ionized region in the dilute gas above the galactic plane can cease to be radiation-bounded, allowing the ionizing radiation to leak into the intergalactic medium. Comparison of observed and predicted line ratios indicates that the DIG is typically ionized with a softer SED than predicted by the chosen stellar population synthesis model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. The determination of chemical abundances constitutes a fundamental requirement for obtaining a complete picture of a star. Particularly in massive stars, CNO abundances are of prime interest, due to the nuclear CNO-cycle, and various mixing processes which bring these elements to the surface. The precise determination of carbon abundances, together with N and O, is thus a key ingredient for understanding the different phases of stellar evolution. Aims. We aim to enable a reliable carbon spectroscopy for our unified non-LTE atmosphere code FASTWIND. Methods. We have developed a new carbon model atom including C II/III/IV/V, and we discuss specific problems related to carbon spectroscopy in O-type stars. We describe different tests we have performed to examine the reliability of our implementation, and investigate which mechanisms influence the carbon ionization balance. By comparing with high-resolution spectra from six O-type stars, we verified to what extent observational constraints can be reproduced by our new carbon line synthesis. Results. Carbon lines are even more sensitive to a variation of Teff, log g, and Ṁ, than hydrogen and helium lines. We are able to reproduce most of the observed lines from our stellar sample, and to estimate those specific carbon abundances which bring the lines from different ions into agreement (three stages in parallel for cool objects, two for intermediate O-types). For hot dwarfs and supergiants earlier than O7, X-rays from wind-embedded shocks can have an impact on the synthesized line strengths, particularly for C IV, potentially affecting the abundance determination. Dielectronic recombination has a significant impact on the ionization balance in the wind. Conclusions. We demonstrate our capability to derive realistic carbon abundances by means of FASTWIND, using our recently developed model atom. We find that complex effects can have a strong influence on the carbon ionization balance in hot stars. For a further understanding, the UV range needs to be explored as well. By means of detailed and available nitrogen and oxygen model atoms, we will be able to perform a complete CNO abundance analysis for larger samples of massive stars, and to provide constraints on corresponding evolutionary models and aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Type Ia supernovae (SN Ia) have become an invaluable cosmological tool because their exceptional brightness makes them observable even at very large distances (up to redshifts around z ≈ 1). To investigate possible systematic differences between local and distant SN Ia requires detailed models whose synthetic spectra can be compared to observations and in which the solution of the radiative transfer is a key ingredient. One commonly employed method is the Feautrier scheme, which is generally very robust but can lead to wrong results under certain conditions that frequently occur when modeling supernova ejecta or even the radiatively driven expanding atmospheres of hot stars. Aims. We attempt to improve the procedure we have developed for simulating the radiative transfer of metal-rich, intermediate- and low-density, line-dominated atmospheres to allow the method to be applied successfully even under conditions of high expansion velocities. Methods. We use a sophisticated model atmosphere code that considers the non-LTE effects and large velocity gradients that strongly affect the physics of SN Ia atmospheres at all wavelengths to simulate the formation of SN Ia spectra by the thousands of strong spectral lines that intricately interact with the "pseudo-continuum" formed entirely by these Doppler-shifted lines themselves. We focus on investigating the behavior of the Feautrier scheme under these conditions. Results. Synthetic spectra of SN Ia, a complex product of computer models replicating numerous physical processes that determine the conditions of matter and radiation in the ejecta, are affected by large spatial jumps of the line-dominated opacities and source functions for which the application of even well established methods may harbor certain pitfalls. We analyse the conditions that can lead to a breakdown of conventional procedures and we derive a modified description that yields more accurate results in the given circumstances for the Feautrier radiative transfer solver. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. In type Ia supernova (SN Ia) envelopes a huge number of lines of different elements overlap within their thermal Doppler widths, and this problem is exacerbated by the circumstance that up to 20% of these lines can have a line optical depth higher than 1. The stagnation of the lambda iteration in such optically thick cases is one of the fundamental physical problems inherent in the iterative solution of the non-LTE problem, and the failure of a lambda iteration to converge is a point of crucial importance whose physical significance must be understood completely. Aims. We discuss a general problem related to radiative transfer under the physical conditions of supernova ejecta that involves a failure of the usual non-LTE iteration scheme to converge when multiple strong opacities belonging to different physical transitions come together, similar to the well-known situation where convergence is impaired even when only a single process attains high optical depths. The convergence problem is independent of the chosen frequency and depth grid spacing, independent of whether the radiative transfer is solved in the comoving or observer's frame, and independent of whether a common complete-linearization scheme or a conventional accelerated lambda iteration (ALI) is used. The problem appears when all millions of line transitions required for a realistic description of SN Ia envelopes are treated in the frame of a comprehensive non-LTE model. The only solution to this problem is a complete-linearization approach that considers all ions of all elements simultaneously, or an adequate generalization of the established ALI technique that accounts for the mutual interaction of the strong spectral lines of different elements and which thereby unfreezes the "stuck" state of the iteration. Methods. The physics of the atmospheres of SN Ia are strongly affected by the high-velocity expansion of the ejecta, which dominates the formation of the spectra at all wavelength ranges. Thus, hydrodynamic explosion models and realistic model atmospheres that take into account the strong deviation from local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) are necessary for the synthesis and analysis of the spectra. In this regard one of the biggest challenges we have found in modeling the radiative transfer in SN Ia is the fact that the radiative energy in the UV has to be transferred only via spectral lines into the optical regime to be able to leave the ejecta. However, convergence of the model toward a state where this is possible is impaired when using the standard procedures. We report on improvements in our approach of computing synthetic spectra for SN Ia with respect to (i) an improved and sophisticated treatment of many thousands of strong lines that interact intricately with the "pseudo-continuum" formed entirely by Doppler-shifted spectral lines; (ii) an improved and expanded atomic database; and (iii) the inclusion of energy deposition within the ejecta arising from the radioactive decay of mostly 56Ni and 56Co. Results. We show that an ALI procedure we have developed for the mutual interaction of strong spectral lines appearing in the atmospheres of SNe Ia solves the long-standing problem of transferring the radiative energy from the UV into the optical regime. Our new method thus constitutes a foundation for more refined models, such as those including energy deposition. In this regard we furthermore show synthetic spectra obtained with various methods adopted for the released energy and compare them with observations. We discuss in detail applications of the diagnostic technique by example of a standard type Ia supernova, where the comparison of calculated and observed spectra revealed that in the early phases the consideration of the energy deposition within the spectrum-forming regions of the ejecta does not qualitatively alter the shape of the emergent spectra. Conclusions. The results of our investigation lead to an improved understanding of how the shape of the spectrum changes radically as function of depth in the ejecta, and show how different emergent spectra are formed as a result of the particular physical properties of SNe Ia ejecta and the resulting peculiarities in the radiative transfer. This knowledge provides an important insight into the process of extracting information from observed SN Ia spectra, since these spectra are a complex product of numerous unobservable SN Ia spectral features, which are thus analyzed in parallel to the observable SN Ia spectral features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims. The aim of this work is to verify whether turbulent magnetic reconnection can provide the additional energy input required to explain the up to now only poorly understood ionization mechanism of the diffuse ionized gas (DIG) in galaxies and its observed emission line spectra. Methods. We use a detailed non-LTE radiative transfer code that does not make use of the usual restrictive gaseous nebula approximations to compute synthetic spectra for gas at low densities. Excitation of the gas is via an additional heating term in the energy balance as well as by photoionization. Numerical values for this heating term are derived from three-dimensional resistive magnetohydrodynamic two-fluid plasma-neutral-gas simulations to compute energy dissipation rates for the DIG under typical conditions. Results. Our simulations show that magnetic reconnection can liberate enough energy to by itself fully or partially ionize the gas. However, synthetic spectra from purely thermally excited gas are incompatible with the observed spectra; a photoionization source must additionally be present to establish the correct (observed) ionization balance in the gas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. The commonly accepted mass-luminosity relation of central stars of planetary nebulae (CSPNs) might not be universally valid. While the atmospheric parameters Teff, log?g, and the He abundances have in the past been determined using fits to photospheric H and He absorption lines from plane-parallel model atmospheres, the masses and luminosities could not be derived independently this way, and were instead taken from theoretical evolutionary models. Improvements in hydrodynamically selfconsistent modelling of the stellar atmospheric outflows now allow using fits to the wind-sensitive features in the UV spectra to consistently determine the stellar radii, masses, and luminosities without assuming a mass-luminosity relation. Recent application to a sample of CSPNs in an earlier paper of this series raised questions regarding the validity of the mass-luminosity relation of central stars of planetary nebulae. Aims. The results of the earlier UV analysis are reassessed by means of a simultaneous comparison of both the observed optical and UV spectra with corresponding synthetic spectra. The synthetic optical and UV spectra are computed simultaneously from the same atmospheric models, using the same model atmosphere code. Synthetic spectra for the two central stars NGC 6826 and NGC 2392 are computed using parameter sets from two different published analyses to check their compatibility to the observations. Methods. Using the different published stellar parameter sets, derived on the one hand by a consistent UV analysis, and on the other hand from fits to optical H and He lines, we calculate corresponding optical and UV spectra with our model atmosphere code. We have improved this model atmosphere code by implementing Stark broadening for hydrogen and helium lines, thus allowing us to obtain consistent optical H and He line profiles simultaneously with our state-of-the-art modelling of the UV-spectrum. Results. Optical line profiles computed with the consistent parameter sets from the UV analysis yield line profiles with good agreement to the observations (with small discrepancies in the emission lines corresponding to about a factor of one half in the mass loss rate). Spectra computed with the stellar parameter sets from the optical analysis in the literature and corresponding consistent wind parameters, however, show large discrepancies to the observed spectra, in the optical as well as in the UV. We conclude that the published optical analyses give good fits to the observed spectrum only because the wind parameters assumed in these analyses are inconsistent to their stellar parameters. By enforcing consistency between stellar and wind parameters, stellar parameters are obtained which disagree with the core-mass-luminosity relation for the two objects analyzed. This disagreement is also evident from a completely different approach: an investigation of the dynamical wind parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Starbursts play an essential role in the evolution of galaxies. In these environments, massive stars, with their short lifetimes, are of particular importance. The stellar winds of massive stars significantly influence not only on their surroundings, but the associated mass loss also profoundly affects the evolution of the stars themselves. The evolution of the dense cores of massive starburst clusters is also affected by dynamical processes induced by N-body interactions, in addition to the evolution of each star, and the formation of very massive stars with masses up to several thousand solar masses may be decisive for the evolution of the cluster. The interpretation of the corresponding observations relies mainly on the theoretical modeling of such starbursts, which is a major challenge. Aims. The primary objective is to introduce an advanced diagnostic method of O-type stellar atmospheres with winds, including an assessment of the accuracy of the determinations of abundances, stellar and wind parameters. Moreover, observational results are interpreted in the framework of our stationary, one-dimensional theory of line driven winds. Possible effects caused by nonhomogeneous time dependent structures are also discussed. Methods. We combine consistent models of expanding atmospheres with stellar evolutionary calculations of massive and very massive (up to several 1000 solar masses) single stars with regard to the evolution of dense stellar clusters. Essential in this context are accurate dynamic parameters of the winds of very massive stars. Because the atmospheric mass outflow has substantial influence on the radiation field and the atomic occupation numbers, and the radiation field and the occupation numbers in turn directly influence the radiative acceleration and thus the strength and velocity of the outflow, the determination of the hydrodynamic structures requires a highly consistent treatment of the statistical equilibrium and the hydrodynamic and radiative processes in the expanding atmospheres. Results. We present computed mass loss rates, terminal wind velocities, and spectral energy distributions of massive and very massive stars of different metallicities, calculated from atmospheric models with an improved level of consistency. These computations have important implications for (i) the primordial chemical enrichment of Population III very massive stars; (ii) the age determination of globular clusters; and (iii) the formation of intermediate mass black holes in dense stellar clusters with respect to the importance of stellar wind mass loss for the evolution of their progenitor stars. Conclusions. Stellar evolutionary calculations, using the mass loss rates of very massive stars obtained in the present paper, show that very massive stars with a low metallicity lose only a very small amount of their mass; thus it is unlikely that very massive population III stars cause a significant helium enrichment of the interstellar medium. Solar-metallicity stars have higher mass-loss rates, but these are not so high to exclude very massive stars of solar metallicity, formed by dynamical processes in dense clusters, from ending their life massive enough to form intermediate-mass black holes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sediment flux of lowland rivers is dominated by suspended transport, but data is often sparse and analysis largely relies on rating relationships. However, suspended sediment concentration is by no means constant in both, space and time. Here we analyse the variability of sediment rating curves and the seasonality of suspended sediment concentration in German waterways, as recorded by 10 gauging stations with catchment areas between 2600 - 22000 km2. Our data reveal a distinct break in power-law scaling relationships for all stations, with increased scaling exponents above threshold discharges close to the geometric mean. We attribute this mainly to the activation of sediment sources that resist mobilisation at lower flows. Furthermore, all stations show a counter-clockwise hysteresis effect throughout the year, where summer discharges have a higher sediment load than comparable winter discharges. Though the reasons for this pattern need further investigation, preliminary results show a strong correlation with rainfall erosivity and land-use parameters.