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Abundances of phosphorus (P) in 45 main sequence F-G type stars (including the Sun by using reflected light from the minor planet Vesta) in the metallicity range [Fe/H] from −0.4 to +0.3 have been determined. The effective temperatures of target stars range from 5500 to 6600 K. Two lines of P i at 9750.75 Å and at 9796.83 Å (multiplet No. 2) are analysed by using a profile fitting method. Significant star-to-star scatters up to 0.4 dex have been found at all metallicities. We find three stars (HD 9826, HD 20010, and HD 82328) in which values of [P/Fe] are lower than −0.20, showing that P is deficient with respect to Fe in these stars. Such objects have never been reported in the past and may have an impact on the theoretical studies of origin and evolution of P. The sample contains 18 stars with confirmed planets (not including the Sun) and no significant difference in abundance of P has been found between stars with planets and those with no confirmed planet.

Morphology of nova ejecta is essential for fully understanding the physical processes involved in nova eruptions. We studied the 3D morphology of the expanding ejecta of the extremely slow nova V1280 Sco with a unique light curve. Synthetic line profile spectra were compared to the observed [O III] 4959, 5007 and [N II] 5755 emission line profiles in order to find the best-fit morphology, inclination angle, and maximum expansion velocity of the ejected shell. We derive the best fitting expansion velocity, inclination, and squeeze as $V_{\rm exp} = 2100^{+100}_{-100}$ \,km\,s$^{-1}$, $i = 80^{+1}_{-3}$ deg, and $squ = 1.0^{+0.0}_{-0.1}$ using [O III] line profiles, and $V_{\rm exp} = 1600^{+100}_{-100}$ \,km\,s$^{-1}$, $i = 81^{+2}_{-4}$ deg, and $squ = 1.0^{+0.0}_{-0.1}$ using [N II] 5755 line profile. A high inclination angle is consistent with the observational results showing multiple absorption lines originating from clumpy gases which are produced in dense and slow equatorially focused outflows. Based on additional observational features such as optical flares near the maximum light and dust formation on V1280 Sco, a model of internal shock interaction between slow ejecta and fast wind proposed for the $\gamma$-ray emission detected in other novae seems to be applicable to this extremely slow and peculiar nova. Increasing the sample size of novae whose morphology is studied will be helpful in addressing long-standing mysteries in novae such as the dominant energy source to power the optical light at the maximum, optical flares near the maximum, clumpiness of the ejecta, and dust formation., Comment: 21 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

We constructed a comprehensive model atom for NeI -- NeII using the most up-to-date atomic data available and evaluated the non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) line formation for NeI and NeII in classical 1D models representing the atmospheres of B-type stars. We find that the large NLTE strengthening of the NeI lines corresponding to the 2p$^5$3p $-$ 2p$^5$3s transitions array occurs due to extremely small photoionization cross-sections of 2p$^5$3s levels that leads to strong overpopulation of these levels relative to their LTE populations. The deviations from LTE for the most NeII lines are small and do not exceed 0.11~dex in the absolute value. We analysed 20 lines of NeI and 13 lines of NeII for twenty-four B-type stars in the temperature range of 10\,400 $\le$ \Teff\ $\le$ 33\,400~K. For five stars, the NLTE leads to consistent abundances of NeI and NeII, while the difference in LTE abundance can reach up to 0.50~dex. The using of the experimental oscillator strengths recently measured by Piracha et al. (2015) leads to smaller line-by-line scatter for the most investigated stars. The averaged neon abundance in twenty-four B-type stars in solar neighborhood is 8.02$\pm$0.05. This value may provide indirect constraints on solar photospheric neon abundance., Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures, accepted to Astrophysical Journal

Blazar OJ287 exhibits large thermal flares at least twice every 12 years. The times of these flares have been predicted successfully using the model of a quasi-Keplerian eccentric black hole binary where the secondary impacts the accretion disk of the primary, creating the thermal flares. New measurements of the historical light curve have been combined with the observations of the 2015 November/December flare to identify the impact record since year 1886, and to constrain the orbit of the binary. The orbit solution shows that the binary period, now 12.062 year, is decreasing at the rate of 36 days per century. This corresponds to an energy loss to gravitational waves that is 6.5 +- 4 % less than the rate predicted by the standard quadrupolar gravitational wave (GW) emission. We show that the difference is due to higher order gravitational radiation reaction terms that include the dominant order tail contributions., to appear in the Proceedings of Gravitational Wave Astrophysics: Early Results from Gravitational Wave Searches and Electromagnetic Counterparts. eds. Gabriela Gonzales and Robert Hynes

We present a multiwavelength study of the flat-spectrum radio quasar CTA 102 during 2013-2017. We use radio-to-optical data obtained by the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope, 15 GHz data from the Owens Valley Radio Observatory, 91 and 103 GHz data from the Atacama Large Millimeter Array, near-infrared data from the Rapid Eye Monitor telescope, as well as data from the Swift (optical-UV and X-rays) and Fermi (γ -rays) satellites to study flux and spectral variability and the correlation between flux changes at different wavelengths. Unprecedented γ -ray flaring activity was observed during 2016 November-2017 February, with four major outbursts. A peak flux of (2158 ± 63) × 10−8 ph cm−2 s−1, corresponding to a luminosity of (2.2 ± 0.1) × 1050 erg s−1, was reached on 2016 December 28. These four γ -ray outbursts have corresponding events in the near-infrared, optical, and UV bands, with the peaks observed at the same time. A general agreement between X-ray and γ -ray activity is found. The γ -ray flux variations show a general, strong correlation with the optical ones with no time lag between the two bands and a comparable variability amplitude. This γ -ray/optical relationship is in agreement with the geometrical model that has successfully explained the low-energy flux and spectral behaviour, suggesting that the long-term flux variations are mainly due to changes in the Doppler factor produced by variations of the viewing angle of the emitting regions. The difference in behaviour between radio and higher energy emission would be ascribed to different viewing angles of the jet regions producing their emission. © 2019 The Author(s) Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society, The data collected by the WEBT collaboration are stored in the WEBT archive at the Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino INAF (http://www.oato.inaf.it/blazars/webt/); for questions regarding their availability, contact the WEBT President Massimo Villata(massimo.villata@inaf.it).We acknowledge financial contribution from the agreementASI-INAFn. 2017-14-H.0 and from the contract PRIN-SKA-CTA-INAF 2016. This research was partially supported by the Bulgarian National Science Fund of the Ministry of Education and Science under grants DN 08-1/2016, DN 18-13/2017, and KP-06-H28/3 (2018). The Skinakas Observatory is a collaborative project of the University of Crete, the Foundation for Research and Technology -Hellas, and the Max-Planck-Institut fur Extraterrestrische Physik. The Abastumani team acknowledges financial support by the Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation under contract FR/217554/16. The St. Petersburg University team acknowledges support from Russian Science Foundation grant 17-12-01029. GD and OV gratefully acknowledge the observing grant support from the Institute of Astronomy and Rozhen National Astronomical Observatory, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, via bilateral joint research project 'Study of ICRF radio-sources and fast variable astronomical objects' (head -G.Damljanovic). This work is a part of the Projects No. 176011 ('Dynamics and Kinematics of Celestial Bodies and Systems'), No. 176004 ('Stellar Physics'), and No. 176021 ('Visible and Invisible Matter in Nearby Galaxies: Theory and Observations') supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia. JE is indebted to DGAPA (Universidad Nacional Autonoma de M ' exico) for financial support, PAPIIT project IN114917. The Submillimeter Array is a joint project between the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics and is funded by the Smithsonian Institution and the Academia Sinica. Data from the Steward Observatory blazar monitoring project were used. This program is supported by NASA/Fermi Guest Investigator grants NNX12AO93G and NNX15AU81G. We acknowledge support by Bulgarian National Science Programme 'Young Scientists and Postdoctoral Students 2019', Bulgarian National Science Fund under grant DN18-10/2017 and National RI Roadmap Projects DO1-157/28.08.2018 and DO1-153/28.08.2018 of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Bulgaria. This publication makes use of data obtained at Mets ahovi Radio Observatory, operated by Aalto University in Finland. The Astronomical Observatory of the Autonomous Region of theAostaValley (OAVdA) is managed by the Fondazione Clment Fillietroz-ONLUS, which is supported by the Regional Government of the Aosta Valley, the TownMunicipality of Nus and the 'Unit des Communes valdtaines Mont-milius'. The research at the OAVdA was partially funded by two 'Research and Education' grants from Fondazione CRT. RR acknowledges support from CONICYT project Basal AFB-170002. MM and TM acknowledge support through the Russian Government Program of Competitive Growth of Kazan Federal University. The Fermi LAT Collaboration acknowledges generous ongoing support from a number of agencies and institutes that have supported both the development and the operation of the LAT as well as scientific data analysis. These include the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Department of Energy in the United States, the Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/Institut National de Physique Nucleaire et de Physique des Particules in France, the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana and the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare in Italy, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in Japan, and the K. A. Wallenberg Foundation, the Swedish Research Council and the Swedish National Space Board in Sweden. Additional support for science analysis during the operations phase is gratefully acknowledged from the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica in Italy and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales in France. This work performed in part under DOE Contract DE-AC02-76SF00515. The OVRO 40-m monitoring program is supported in part by NASA grants NNX08AW31G, NNX11A043G, and NNX14AQ89G, and NSF grants AST-0808050 and AST-1109911. We thank the Swift team for making these observations possible, the duty scientists, and science planners. This research has made use of the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. FD thanks S. Covino for his help with the REM data reduction. This research has made use of data obtained from the high-energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC) provided by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

Abundances of 21 elements in two 3He stars HD 185330 and 3 Cen A have been analysed relative to the well studied sharp-lined B3 V star iota Her. Six elements (P, Ti, Mn, Fe, Ni, and Br) are over-abundant in these two peculiar stars, while six elements (C, O, Mg, Al, S, and Cl) are under-abundant. Absorption lines of the two rarely observed heavy elements Br II and Kr II are detected in both stars and these elements are both over-abundant. The centroid wavelengths of the Ca II infrared triplet lines in these stars are red-shifted relative to those lines in iota Her and the presence of heavy isotopes of Ca (mass number 44 - 46) in these two stars are confirmed. In spite of these similarities, there are several remarkable differences in the abundance pattern between these two stars. N is under-abundant in HD 185330, as in many Hg-Mn stars, while it is significantly over-abundant in 3 Cen A. P and Ga are both over-abundant in 3 Cen A, while only P is over-abundant and no trace of absorption line of Ga II can be found in HD 185330. Large over-abundances of Kr and Xe are found in both stars, while the abundance ratios Kr / Xe are significantly different between them (-1.4 dex in HD 185330 and +1.2 dex in 3 Cen A). Some physical explanations are needed to account for these qualitative differences., Comment: 12 pages,13 figures, accepted for publication in PASJ

Blazar emission is dominated by non-thermal radiation from a relativistic jet pointing toward us, therefore undergoing Doppler beaming. This is responsible for flux enhancement and contraction of the variability time scales, so that most blazars appear as luminous sources characterized by noticeable and fast flux changes at all frequencies. The mechanisms producing their unpredictable variability are debated and include injection, acceleration and cooling of particles, with possible intervention of shock waves or turbulence. Changes in the viewing angle of the emitting knots or jet regions have also been suggested to explain flaring events or specific properties such as intraday variability, quasi-periodicities, or the delay of radio flux variations relative to optical changes. However, such a geometric interpretation has not been universally accepted because alternative explanations based on changes of physical conditions can also work in many cases. Here we report the results of optical-to-radio monitoring of the blazar CTA 102 by the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope Collaboration and show that the observed long-term flux and spectral variability is best explained by an inhomogeneous, curved jet that undergoes orientation changes. We propose that magnetohydrodynamic instabilities or rotation of a twisted jet cause different jet regions to change their orientation and hence their relative Doppler factors. In particular, the recent extreme optical outburst (six magnitudes) occurred when the corresponding jet emitting region acquired a minimum viewing angle., Comment: 31 pages, 11 figures. This is the accepted version (before Nature editing) of the paper published by Nature, online version at http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature24623, Nature 2017/12/04/online

We present a model atom for C I - C II - C III - C IV using the most up-to-date atomic data and evaluated the non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) line formation in classical 1D atmospheric models of O-B-type stars. Our models predict the emission lines of C II 9903~\AA\ and 18535~\AA\ to appear at effective temperature \Teff~$\geq$~17\,500~K, those of C II 6151~\AA\ and 6461~\AA\ to appear at \Teff~$>$~25\,000~K, and those of C III 5695, 6728--44, 9701--17~\AA\ to appear at \Teff~$\geq$~35\,000~K (log~$g$=4.0). Emission occurs in the lines of minority species, where the photoionization-recombination mechanism provides a depopulation of the lower levels to a greater extent than the upper levels. For C II 9903 and 18535~\AA, the upper levels are mainly populated from C III reservoir through the Rydberg states. For C III 5695 and 6728--44~\AA, the lower levels are depopulated due to photon losses in UV transitions at 885, 1308, and 1426--28~\AA\ which become optically thin in the photosphere. We analysed the lines of C I, C II, C III, and C IV for twenty-two O-B-type stars with temperature range between 15\,800 $\leq$~\Teff~$\leq$ 38\,000~K. Abundances from emission lines of C I, C II and C III are in agreement with those from absorption ones for most of the stars. We obtained log~$\epsilon_{\rm C}$=8.36$\pm$0.08 from twenty B-type stars, that is in line with the present-day Cosmic Abundance Standard. The obtained carbon abundances in 15~Mon and HD~42088 from emission and absorption lines are 8.27$\pm$0.11 and 8.31$\pm$0.11, respectively., Comment: 22 pages, 11 figures

We carried out a pilot campaign of radio and optical band intra-day variability (IDV) observations of five blazars (3C66A, S5 0716+714, OJ287, B0925+504, and BL Lacertae) on December 18--21, 2015 by using the radio telescope in Effelsberg (Germany) and several optical telescopes in Asia, Europe, and America. After calibration, the light curves from both 5 GHz radio band and the optical R band were obtained, although the data were not smoothly sampled over the sampling period of about four days. We tentatively analyse the amplitudes and time scales of the variabilities, and any possible periodicity. The blazars vary significantly in the radio (except 3C66A and BL Lacertae with only marginal variations) and optical bands on intra- and inter-day time scales, and the source B0925+504 exhibits a strong quasi-periodic radio variability. No significant correlation between the radio- and optical-band variability appears in the five sources, which we attribute to the radio IDV being dominated by interstellar scintillation whereas the optical variability comes from the source itself. However, the radio- and optical-band variations appear to be weakly correlated in some sources and should be investigated based on well-sampled data from future observations., 6 pages, 6 figures, accepted by MNRAS

Previously unrecognized weak emission lines originating from high excitation states of Si II (12.84 eV) and Al II (13.08 eV) are detected in the red region spectra of slowly rotating early B-type stars. We surveyed high resolution spectra of 35 B-type stars covering spectral sub-types between B1 and B7 near the main sequence and found the emission line of SiII at 6239.6 A in all 13 stars having spectral sub-types B2 and B2.5. There are 17 stars belonging to sub-type B3 and seven stars among them are found to show the emission line of Si II. The emission line of Al II at 6243.4 A is detected in a narrower temperature range (Teff between 19000K and 23000 K) in nine stars. Both of these emission lines are not detected in cooler (Teff < 16000 K) stars in our sample. The emission line of Si II at 6239.6 A shows a single-peaked and symmetric profile and the line center has no shift in wavelength with respect to those of low excitation absorption lines of Si II. Measured half width of the emission line is the same as those of rotationally broadened low excitation absorption lines of Si II. These observations imply that the emitting gas is not circumstellar origin, but is located at the outermost layer of the atmosphere, covering the whole stellar surface and co-rotates with the star., 6 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in Publ. Astron. Soc. Japan

We analyse the light curve in the R band of the blazar OJ287, gathered during the 2015/2016 observing season. We did a search for quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) using several methods over a wide range of timescales. No statistically significant periods were found in the high-frequency domain both in the ground-based data and in Kepler observations. In the longer-period domain, the Lomb–Scargle periodogram revealed several peaks above the 99% significance level. The longest one—about 95 days—corresponds to the innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO) period of the more massive black hole. The 43-day period could be an alias, or it can be attributed to accretion in the form of a two-armed spiral wave.

We analyse the light curve in the R-band gathered during the 2015/16 observing season of OJ287. We did a search for QPOs using several methods in wide time domain. No statistically significant periods were found in the high frequency domain both in the ground data and also in K2 observations. In the longer periods domain the Lomb-Scargle periodogram revealed several peaks above the 99\% significance level. The longest one, about 95-day, corresponds to the ISCO period of the more massive SMBH. The 43-day period could be an alias or can be attributed to accretion in the form of two armed spiral wave.

A detailed abundance analysis of the primary star of Aur before an eclipse was carried out using a very high signal-to-noise ratio optical-region spectrum. An A7 Iab supergiant HD 81471, presumably a member of the Vela OB1 association, was used as a reference. We obtained atmospheric parameters (Teff , log g, and t) to be (8025 K, 1.0 and 10 km s ) and (8050 K, 1.0 and 7 km s ) for Aur and HD 81471, respectively. The abundances of Mg, Si, S, Ca, Sc, Ti, Cr, and Fe were very close to the solar abundances in both stars. Light elements C and O were under-abundant, while N and Na were over-abundant in both stars, after correcting for non-LTE effects. Definite under-abundances of Sr were detected in both stars. Slight, but definite, over-abundances were found in Aur for the s-process elements Y, Zr, and Ba, when compared with the results of HD 81471. Enhancements in the abundances of N, Na, and s-process elements might indicate the occurences of thermal dredge-up and the s-process nucleosynthesis in Aur during the past evolution.

We present optical and near-infrared (NIR) photometry of a classical nova, V2362 Cyg (= Nova Cygni 2006). V2362 Cyg experienced a peculiar rebrightening with a long duration from 100 to 240 d after the maximum of the nova. Our multicolor observation indicates an emergence of a pseudophotosphere with an effective temperature of 9000 K at the rebrightening maximum. After the rebrightening maximum, the object showed a slow fading homogeneously in all of the used bands for one week. This implies that the fading just after the rebrightening maximum ( less or equal 1 week ) was caused by a slowly shrinking pseudophotosphere. Then, the NIR flux drastically increased, while the optical flux steeply declined. The optical and NIR flux was consistent with blackbody radiation with a temperature of 1500 K during this NIR rising phase. These facts are likely to be explained by dust formation in the nova ejecta. Assuming an optically thin case, we estimate the dust mass of 10^(-8) -- 10^(-10) M_solar, which is less than those in typical dust-forming novae. These results support the senario that a second, long-lasting outflow, which caused the rebrightening, interacted with a fraction of the initial outflow and formed dust grains., 6 pages, 4 figures, 2010, PASJ, 62, 1103--1108, in press

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We have determined the isotopic abundance ratio of 7Li/6Li in the interstellar media (ISMs) along lines of sight to HD169454 and HD250290 using the High-Dispersion Spectrograph on the Subaru Telescope. We also observed ζ Oph for comparison with previous data. The observed abundance ratios were 7Li/6Li = 8.1+3.6 –1.8 and 6.3+3.0 –1.7 for HD169454 and HD250290, respectively. These values are in reasonable agreement with those observed previously in the solar neighborhood ISMs within ±2σ error bars and are also consistent with our measurement of 7Li/6Li = 7.1+2.9 –1.6 for a cloud along the line of sight to ζ Oph. This is good evidence for homogeneous mixing and instantaneous recycling of the gas component in the Galactic disk. We also discuss several source compositions of 7Li, Galactic cosmic-ray interactions, stellar nucleosynthesis, and big bang nucleosynthesis.

The blazar OJ 287 has produced two major optical outburst events during the years 2005-2008. These are the latest in a series of outbursts that have occurred repeatedly at 12 year intervals since early 1900s. It has been possible to explain the historical light curve fairly well by using a binary black hole model where the secondary black hole impacts the accretion disk of the primary twice during the 12 year orbital cycle. We will ask here how well does the latest light-curve fit with this model. We use a 10 million particle disk to model the accretion disk of the primary black hole. The rate of transfer of particles through the 10 Schwarzschild radius cylinder around the primary is followed. The secondary induces an inward flow through this surface. The inward flow rate is compared with the historical light curve as well as with the most recent observations reported in this paper. The observations have been carried out by using a number of small and medium size telescopes in different locations in order to ensure a dense light-curve coverage. The "inflow light curve" and the optical light curve of OJ 287 have a close resemblance to each other. It suggests that the tidally induced accretion flow is responsible for the main features of the optical light curve, with the exception of the quasi-periodic double peaks. It implies a close connection between the accretion disk and the jet where the optical synchrotron emission is presumably generated.

Several SU UMa-type dwarf novae, in particular, WZ Sge-type stars tend to exhibit rebrightenings after superoutbursts. The rebrightening phenomenon is problematic for the disk instability theory of dwarf novae since it requires a large amount of remnant matter in the disk even after superoutbursts. Here, we report our optical and infrared observations during the first-ever outburst of a new dwarf nova, SDSS J102146.44+234926.3. During the outburst, we detected superhumps with a period of 0.056281 +/- 0.000015 d, which is typical for superhump periods in WZ Sge stars. In conjunction with the appearance of a long-lived rebrightening, we conclude that the object is a new member of WZ Sge stars. Our observations, furthermore, revealed infrared behaviors for the first time in the rebrightening phase of WZ Sge stars. We discovered prominent infrared superhumps. We calculate the color temperature of the infrared superhump source to be 4600-6400 K. These temperatures are too low to be explained with a fully-ionized disk appearing during dwarf nova outbursts. We also found a Ks-band excess over the hot disk component. These unprecedented infrared activities provide evidence for the presence of mass reservoir at the outermost part of the accretion disk. We propose that a moderately high mass-accretion rate at this infrared active region leads to the long-lived rebrightening observed in SDSS J102146.44+234926.3., 11 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in PASJ

We report spectroscopic observations of the resonance lines of singly ionized $^{7}$Be in the blue-shifted absorption line systems found in the post-outburst spectra of two classical novae -- V5668 Sgr (Nova Sagittarii 2015 No.2) and V2944 Oph (Nova Ophiuchi 2015). The unstable isotope, $^{7}$Be, should has been created during the thermonuclear runaway (TNR) of these novae and decays to form $^{7}$Li within a short period (a half-life of 53.22 days). Confirmations of $^{7}$Be are the second and the third ones following the first case found in V339 Del by Tajitsu et al. (2015). The blue-shifted absorption line systems in both novae are clearly divided into two velocity components, both of which contain $^{7}$Be. This means that the absorbing gases in both velocity components consist of products of TNR. We estimate amounts of $^{7}$Be produced during outbursts of both novae and conclude that significant $^{7}$Li should have been created. These findings strongly suggest that the explosive production of $^{7}$Li via the reaction $^{3}$He($\alpha$,$\gamma$)$^{7}$Be and subsequent decay to $^{7}$Li occurs frequently among classical novae and contributes to the process of the Galactic Li enrichment., Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

Recent photometric and spectroscopic observations of Pleione are reported. Pleione showed brightness declines in both the B and V bands by � 0 m .2 5b etween 2006 January and 2007 March. Significant decreases in the strengths and widths of the long-lived emission components in H˛ and Hwere observed during this period, while additional outer double-emission components appeared in these lines. Many metallic shell lines strengthened during the observation period, being accompanied by central quasi-emission components. W ei nterpret these spectral changes in terms of a double disk: the progressive decline of a misaligned old disk in due course of precession and the formation and growth of a new disk in the star's equatorial plane.

The elemental abundances of 16 elements in the Vega-like and γ Doradus-type variable star HD 218396 have been determined. A model atmosphere with Teff = 7250K, logg =4 .30, and a metallicity of [M/H] = −0.50 was used. A moderate, but definite, deficiency in the abundance of iron, [Fe/H]= −0.55±0.1, has been confirmed. Other elements, Na through Ba, are also as under-abundant as Fe. On the other hand, two light elements, C and O, show solar abundances. These findings confirm the λ Bootis nature of this star, which had been so classified based on a low-resolution optical spectrum. The observed abundance pattern provides a constraint in understanding the nature of this interesting object, which shows excess emission in the infrared region, implying that the star is accompanied by a dusty-debris disk, and at the same time shows photometric and spectroscopic variations arising from non-radial high-order g-mode pulsations.

As part of the Dwarf galaxies Abundances and Radial-velocities Team (DART) program, we have measured the metallicities of a large sample of stars in four nearby dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSph's): Sculptor, Sextans, Fornax, and Carina. The low mean metal abundances and the presence of very old stellar populations in these galaxies have supported the view that they are fossils from the early universe. However, contrary to naive expectations, we find a significant lack of stars with metallicities below [Fe/H] ~ -3 dex in all four systems. This suggests that the gas that made up the stars in these systems had been uniformly enriched prior to their formation. Furthermore, the metal-poor tail of the dSph metallicity distribution is significantly different from that of the Galactic halo. These findings show that the progenitors of nearby dSph's appear to have been fundamentally different from the building blocks of the Milky Way, even at the earliest epochs., 4 pages, 3 figures

The abundances of eight elements (C through Fe) were determined in the primary star of the short-period Algoltype binary RZ Cas relative to the A3 V spectroscopic standard star α PsA. Definite under-abundances (by −0.45dex or more) of Mg, Si, Ti, Cr, and Fe were established. On the other hand, light elements C and O show solar abundances, and Ca is slightly under-abundant ( ∼− 0.3dex). This abundance pattern demonstrates that RZ Cas shows a characteristic of mild λ Boo-type stars. This finding raises a question on the physical relations between the metallicity (abundance anomaly), the pulsational characteristics, and the mass accretion processes.

Cold nuclear spin temperatures found in cometary molecules have been simply interpreted as the physical temperature when the population distribution among different nuclear spin isomers was determined through thermal equilibrium processes. However, the real meaning of cold nuclear spin temperatures is unclear due to a lack of experimental studies about the ortho-to-para ratios (OPRs) of molecules in cometary ice analogs. Here we report the nuclear spin temperatures (Tspin) of water and ammonia in comet C/2001 Q4 (NEAT). Measurements of the nuclear spin temperatures of these species and methane from previous work are all consistent with ~30 K. Consistency of the nuclear spin temperatures among different molecular species may suggest that OPRs (or abundance ratios of different nuclear spin isomers) of these molecules were last determined in thermal equilibrium. The obtained nuclear spin temperature of cometary ices is not consistent with molecular formation by hydrogen-atom addition reactions on cold grains, where the H atoms accreted from the gas phase onto grains. The condensation process on the grains might control the ortho-to-para ratios of the precometary ices, or conversion of OPRs within the ices might occur. The small diversity of the nuclear spin temperatures and lack of clear correlation between Tspin and chemical composition in several comets are consistent with the hypothesis that Tspin reflects the temperatures in the presolar nebula.

Elemental abundance measurements have been obtained for a sample of 18 very metal-poor stars using spectra obtained with the Subaru Telescope High Dispersion Spectrograph. Seventeen stars, among which 16 are newly analyzed in the present work, were selected from candidate metal-poor stars identified in the HK survey of Beers and colleagues. The metallicity range covered by our sample is -3.1 ~< [Fe/H] ~< -2.4. The abundances of carbon, alpha-elements, and iron-peak elements determined for these stars confirm the trends found by previous work. One exception is the large over-abundance of Mg, Al and Sc found in BS16934--002, a giant with [Fe/H] = -2.8. By combining our new results with those of previous studies, we investigate the distribution of neutron-capture elements in very metal-poor stars, focusing on the production of the light neutron-capture elements (e.g., Sr, Y, and Zr)., 52 pages, 12 figures, 8 tables, to appear in ApJ

Masahide TAKADA-HIDAI Liberal Arts Education Center, Tokai University, 1117 Kitakaname, Hiratsuka, Kanagawa 259-1292 hidai@apus.rh.u-tokai.ac.jp Yu-ji SAITO Department of Physics, Tokai University, 1117 Kitakaname, Hiratsuka, Kanagawa 259-1292 Yoichi TAKEDA and Satoshi HONDA National Astronomical Observatory, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588 Kozo SADAKANE Astronomical Institute, Osaka Kyoiku University, Kashiwara, Osaka 582-8582 Seiji MASUDA and Hideyuki IZUMIURA Okayama Astrophysical Observatory, National Astronomical Observatory, Kamogata, Okayama 719-0232

The development of Japanese spectroscopic stellar astrophysics in the recent 40 years is reviewed from an observational point of view. In this article, the research activities are provisionally divided into four fields: hot stars, hot emission-line (Be) stars, cool stars, and other stars. Historical developments of the observational facilities at Okayama Astrophysical Observatory (spectrographs and detectors) are also summarized in connection with the progress in scientific research activities.

Based on a collection of high-dispersion spectra obtained at Okayama Astrophysical Observatory, the atmospheric parameters (Teff ,l ogg, vt ,a nd [Fe/H]) of 160 mid-F through early-K stars were extensively determined by the spectroscopic method using the equivalent widths of Fe I and Fe II lines along with the numerical technique of Takeda et al. (2002, PASJ, 54, 451). The results are comprehensively discussed and compared with the parameter values derived by different approaches (e.g., photometric colors, theoretical evolutionary tracks, Hipparcos parallaxes, etc.) as well as with the published values found in various literature. It has been confirmed that our purely spectroscopic approach yields fairly reliable and consistent results.

Spectroscopic abundance analyses are carried out for four K-type giant stars that have recently been reported to be accompanied by giant planets, together with two reference stars of similar spectral types. The resulting metallicities, [Fe/H], for three stars (HD 59686, HD 137759, and HD 219449) coincide with the solar value, while that for HD 47536 is definitely lower than the Sun. Combining with the reported low metallicity found for the G9 III giant HD 104985 (which has a planet with an orbital period 198 days), there is no known metal-rich star with planets among giant stars. This may suggest a lower frequency of incidence of high-metallicity stars for giant stars with planets when compared with dwarf stars with planets.

With the HDS (High Dispersion Spectrograph) on the Subaru telescope, we obtained high resolution optical region spectra of three red giant stars (cos 4, cos 82, and cos 347) in the Ursa Minor dwarf spheriodal galaxy. Chemical abundances in these stars have been analysed for 26 elements including alpha-, iron-peak, and neutron capture elements. All three stars show low abundances of alpha-elements (Mg, Si, and Ca) and two stars (cos 82 and cos 347) show high abundance of Mn compared to Galactic halo stars of similar metallicity. One star (cos 4) has been confirmed to be very metal deficient ([Fe/H]=-2.7) and found to show anomalously low abundances of Mn, Cu, and Ba. In another star cos 82 ([Fe/H]=-1.5), we have found large excess of heavy neutron-capture elements with the general abundance pattern similar to the scaled solar system r-process abundance curve. These observational results are rather puzzling: low abundances of alpha-elements and high abundance of Mn seem to sugggest a significant contribution of SNe Ia at low metallicity, while there is no hint of s-process (i.e., AGB stars) contribution even at [Fe/H]=-1.5, suggesting a peculiar nucleosynthetic history of the UMi dSph galaxy., 26 pages with 12 figures, accepted to PASJ

A spectrum synthesis analysis for photospheric lines in the magnetic B star HR 5049 is presented, based on a high quality spectrogram obtained with the EMMI spectrograph attached to the NTT at ESO. It is found that light elements such as He, C and O are under-abundant. One of the most notable features is the deficiency of He by more than − 2.0 dex. Co and Cl are over-abundant by +3.5 dex and +1.9 dex, respectively. Other iron peak elements are over-abundant ranging from +0.47 dex (Ti  )t o+1.94 dex (Cr ). For rare earth elements, the lines of once-ionized species are generally weak, while the third spectra (especially those of Pr and Nd) are very prominent. Although rare earth elements show significant over-abundances ranging from +3.0 dex to as large as +4.0 dex, Ba has the solar abundance. The Nd-Pr abundance difference, which shows an apparent decreasing trend with increasing effective temperature among CP stars, is found to be unusually small in HR 5049.

We present the abundance analyses for the neutron-capture elements, and discuss the observed abundance distributions in very metal-poor stars with excesses of r-process elements. As has been found by previous abundance studies, the star-to-star scatter in the abundances of neutron-capture elements are very large. The abundance patterns of the heavy neutron-capture elements (56 $\leq$ Z $\leq$ 70) in seven objects with moderate to large excesses of the neutron-capture elements are similar to that of the solar system r-process component. These results strongly suggest that the heavy neutron-capture elements in these objects are primarily synthesized by the r-process. On the other hand, the abundance ratios of the light neutron-capture elements (38 $\leq$ Z $\leq$ 46) exhibit a rather large dispersion. Our inspection of the correlation between Sr and Ba abundances in very metal-poor stars reveals that the dispersion of the Sr abundances clearly decreases with increasing Ba abundance. This results support previous suggestions that the light neutron-capture elements are likely to have been produced in different astrophysical sites from those associated with the production of the heavier ones. The Th/Eu abundance ratios (log(Th/Eu)) measured for the seven r-process-enhanced stars range from -0.10 to -0.59. Since these very metal-poor stars are believed to be formed in the early Galaxy, this result means that a small dispersion appears in the abundance ratios between Th and rare-earth elements, such as Eu, in very metal-poor stars. In order to apply the Th/Eu ratios to estimates of stellar ages, further understanding for the Th production by the r-process nucleosynthesis is required.

We have obtained high-resolution (R ' 50;000 or 90,000), high-quality (S=N k100) spectra of 22 very metal- poor stars ((Fe/HP � 2: 5) with the High Dispersion Spectrograph fabricated for the 8.2 mS ubaru Telescope. The spectra cover the wavelength range from 3500 to 5100 8; equivalent widths are measured for isolated lines of numerous elemental species, including the � -elements, the iron-peak elements, and the light and heavy neutron-capture elements. Errors in the measurements and comparisons with previous studies are discussed. These data will be used to perform detailed abundance analyses in the following papers of this series. Radial velocities are also reported and are compared with previous studies. At least one moderately r-process-enhanced metal-poor star, HD 186478, exhibits evidence of a small-amplitude radial velocity variation, confirming the binary status noted previously. During the course of this initial program, we have discovered a new moderately r-process-enhanced, very metal-poor star, CS 30306� 132 ((Fe/H �¼� 2:4; (Eu/Fe �¼þ 0:85), which is discussed in detail in the companion paper.

The origin of lithium (Li) and its production process have long been an unsettled question in cosmology and astrophysics. Candidates environments of Li production events or sites suggested by previous studies include big bang nucleosynthesis, interactions of energetic cosmic rays with interstellar matter, evolved low mass stars, novae, and supernova explosions. Chemical evolution models and observed stellar Li abundances suggest that at least half of the present Li abundance may have been produced in red giants, asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars, and novae. However, no direct evidence for the supply of Li from stellar objects to the Galactic medium has yet been found. Here we report on the detection of highly blue-shifted resonance lines of the singly ionized radioactive isotope of beryllium, $^{7}$Be, in the near ultraviolet (UV) spectra of the classical nova V339 Del (Nova Delphini 2013). Spectra were obtained 38 to 48 days after the explosion. $^{7}$Be decays to form $^{7}$Li within a short time (half-life 53.22 days). The spectroscopic detection of this fragile isotope implies that it has been created during the nova explosion via the reaction $^{3}\mbox{He}(\alpha,\gamma)^{7}\mbox{Be}$, and supports the theoretical prediction that a significant amount of $^{7}$Li could be produced in classical nova explosions. This finding opens a new way to explore $^{7}$Li production in classical novae and provides a clue to the mystery of the Galactic evolution of lithium., Comment: 28 pages, 6 figures, published in Nature

High S/N ratio (350–600) and high resolution (R ∼90000) spectral data covering the wavelength region between 4200–8800 u A were obtained for 12 planet-harboring stars with the SUBARU/HDS. Detailed abundance analyses were carried out for these stars using the solar spectrum as a reference. Atmospheric parameters (Teff ,l ogg ,m icroturbulent velocity ξt ,a nd [Fe/H]) were determined spectroscopically using selected Fe I and Fe II lines. The abundances of 25 other elements have been determined relativeto the Sun in a strictly differential manner. Three out of 12 stars (HD82943, HD92788, and HD134987) are definitely metal rich, and two stars (HD114762 and HD190228) are metal deficient. The abundances in the remaining seven stars (HD106252, HD130322, HD141937, HD168746, HD187123, HD192263, HD209458) coincide with the Sun. We find that the abundances of both volatile and refractory elements behave similarly in these stars, and do not confirm any significant dependence on the condensation temperature, Tc. Comparisons of the [X/Fe] vs [Fe/H] relations for 19 elements between planet-harboring stars and nearby field stars reveal no distinct anomaly, except for possible enhancements of V and Co in the former group. These results suggest that the observed over-abundances of metallic elements in planet-harboring stars relative to normal disk stars in the solar neighborhood are primordial, and can be interpreted as being a consequence of the galactic chemical evolution.

A computer program has been developed for determining the fundamental model atmosphere parameters (Teff, logg, vt ,[ Fe/H]) of solar-type stars, which is based on the equivalent widths for a well-chosen set of Fe I and Fe II lines. The basic principle of this method is to find the solution in the (Teff ,l ogg, vt) space, which minimizes the sum of the dispersion of the Fe I abundances and the square of the Fe I–Fe II abundance difference. An application of this code to the observed solar equivalent widths turned out to yield satisfactory results, which are more or less consistent with the actual parameters of the Sun. The numerical performance of this approach as well as the errors involved in the resulting solutions are discussed.

We have obtained a high resolution (R~90,000) spectrum of the carbon- and s-process-element-rich, very metal-poor ([Fe/H]=-2.7) subgiant LP625-44, as well as that of HD140283 (a metal-poor subgiant with normal abundance ratio) for comparison, with the High Dispersion Spectrograph (HDS) for the Subaru Telescope for detailed abundance study. The oxygen abundance derived from the O I triplet around 7770A is uncertain, but the excess of oxygen in LP625-44 seems remarkable (perhaps by nearly a factor 10), in comparison with that of HD140283 derived from the same lines. The Na enhancement in LP625-44 is by about a factor 50, suggesting hydrogen burning in the 22Ne-rich layer in an asymptotic giant branch star which produces the abundance pattern of this object. In our new spectrum of LP625-44, the Pb I lambda 3683A line has been detected, as well as the Pb I lambda 4057A line which has already been studied, confirming the Pb abundance (log epsilon(Pb)~1.9) derived by the previous work. The abundance ratio of s-process elements at the second peak (e.g., La, Ce and Nd) to that at the third peak (Pb) in LP 625-44 is significantly higher (by a factor 5) than that in other three s-process element-rich objects recently studied by van Eck et al.. Recent theoretical works have modeled the s-process nucleosynthesis in the radiative layer of asymptotic giant branch stars in the inter-pulse phase, and the above results means that these processes produced a large scatter in the abundance ratios. Another possiblity is that different processes (e.g., s-process nucleosynthesis during thermal pulses) have contributed to heavy elements in the early Galaxy., 65 pages, 11 figures, to appear in PASJ

We present [O/Fe] and other α-elements/Fe ratios in a sample of 24 mildly metal-poor stars. The sample stars are thought to be brighter than 9.0 magnitude and have available uvby photometric data. Also, based on the typical LTE abundance analysis, we find that [Si/Fe] and [Ca/Fe] are correlated with each other. Combining the kinematic data and the metallicity, we can classify the sample stars into three groups. An abundance analysis shows some evidence that these groups are chemically discrete from each other. Further, the general trend of a decreasing overabundance of the α elements with increasing metallicity has been confirmed.

A detailed abundance analysis has been carried out for the Hg-Mn star 46 Aql using high-resolution spectra in the visual region (5100–6400 u A) obtained with the High Dispersion Spectrograph of the Subaru Telescope. Our attention has been mainly focused on those elements which have not been analyzed previously. He, C, N, and O are underabundant, while Na shows the solar abundance. We have confirmed previously reported underabundances of Mg, Al, and Si, and have found an overabundances of P (+1.5dex) and Ti (+1.0dex) and a significant underabundance of S (−1.8dex). Fe is overabundant by +0.8 ±0.1dex and a microturbulent velocity of 0.3kms −1 was found from an analysis of the Fe II lines. Among a few hundred unidentified absorption lines, we identified lines of AsII and Xe II and a very large (+4.0dex) overabundance of Xe is obtained. We have confirmed emission lines of Mn II and Ti II near 6100 u A, while those of Cr II cannot have been seen.

The G8 dwarf star HD 217107 has been announced to have a planetary companion with an orbital period of 7.1 d. A detailed abundance analysis of this star was carried out using high-dispersion spectra in the visual and near IR regions, using a model atmosphere with Teff = 5500 ± 100 K, \ogg = 4.25 ± 0.1, and £t = 1-0 ± 0-3 km s _1 . We derived the abundances of 13 elements and found that 11 of these elements (except for C and O) are enhanced with respect to the Sun. The abundance of iron is [Fe/H] = +0.31 ±0.10. The mean abundance of lighter elements (Mg, Al, Si, and S) is systematically higher than that of iron peak elements (Cr, Fe, Co, and Ni) by about 0.2 dex. Combining with the published results, we found that all parent stars of planetary systems with a period shorter than 20 d are metal-rich.

The photospheric lines in the visual region of the cool magnetic CP star HR 7575 have been analyzed using a high-dispersio n spectrogram obtained at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory. The fully lineblanketed ATLAS9 model atmospheres of 10-times the solar metal content were employed to calculate the elemental abundances. The effective temperature Teff, derived from the optical and ultraviolet energy distributions, points to 8500 ±300 K, while the ionization balance of iron is not reproduced at this effective temperature. The abundances derived from individual CrI, Cm, and Fell lines apparently depend on their effective Lande factors. This implies that the Cr and Fe lines are intensified by the strong magnetic field on HR 7575. Their abundance enhancement is estimated to be about 0.7 dex based on a computation of the Unno-Beckers equation. The overall abundance patterns of HR 7575 are comparable to other cool magnetic CP stars. Of the analyzed elements, only Mg and Sc have nearly solar abundances, while Cr, Mn, Sr, and rare earths are overabundant by 1 to 5 dex.

The abundances of oxygen and nitrogen were investigated for eleven Hyades F type main-sequence stars, based on the line-profile of OI (+Fe i) 8446 and the equivalent-widths of NI 8629/8683, in order to examine whether any conspicuous abundance deficiency exists for O and N at Teff ~ 6700 K similar to that observed for Li, since its possibility was suggested by the diffusion interpretation of this "Li-chasm". It turned out, however, that the abundances appear to be nearly independent of Teff (and ve sin i) for both O and N, without showing any apparent dip larger than ~ 0.2 dex (for O) or ~ 0.3 dex (for N), being consistent with the results of Garcia-Lopez et al.'s (1993, AAA 58.114.068) study for oxygen. This may indicate that the diffusion process alone is probably not responsible for the origin of the Li-gap. Regarding the averaged O and N abundances in these Hyades F stars, a moderate N-excess by ~ 0.3 dex relative to the Sun was suggested (though not definite), with oxygen being nearly normal.

An extensive profile-fitting analysis of the OI 7771-5 triplet (along with the nearby Fe I line) was carried out for thirty-one A-type stars, eighteen of them belonging to the Hyades group, in order to clarify the key factor which plays the decisive role in the appearance of abundance anomalies of metallic-line stars (Am), by examining whether any meaningful relation exists between the microturbulence (£), the oxygen abundance (logeo), the iron abundance (logepe), the projected rotational velocity (ve sini), and the stellar atmospheric parameters. It was clearly found based on the Hyades results that the abundance of O/Fe, both being good indicators of the Am phenomenon, because of the negative/positive correlation with the metallicity estimated from colors, progressively increases/decreases (i.e., toward the direction of disappearance of anomaly) with an increase in vesini as well as with a decrease in logg. It was thus concluded that the most important driver of the Am phenomenon, producing a significant deficiency/excess of O/Fe, is the rotational velocity which appears to be responsible for not only the triggering, but also the extent of the peculiarity. Meanwhile, the observed log #-dependence of the abundance anomalies is considered to be nothing but superficial, which may be interpreted as being due to the correlation between logg and ve sini, i.e., rotation-induced lowering of the effective gravity.