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Aims .Over the past decades, libraries of stellar spectra have been used in a large variety of science cases, including as sources of reference spectra for a given object or a given spectral type. Despite the existence of large libraries and the increasing number of projects of large-scale spectral surveys, there is to date only one very high-resolution spectral library offering spectra from a few hundred objects from the southern hemisphere (UVES-POP). We aim to extend the sample, offering a finer coverage of effective temperatures and surface gravity with a uniform collection of spectra obtained in the northern hemisphere. Methods .Between 2010 and 2020, we acquired several thousand echelle spectra of bright stars with the Mercator-HERMES spectrograph located in the Roque de Los Muchachos Observatory in La Palma, whose pipeline offers high-quality data reduction products. We have also developed methods to correct for the instrumental response in order to approach the true shape of the spectral continuum. Additionally, we have devised a normalisation process to provide a homogeneous normalisation of the full spectral range for most of the objects. Results .We present a new spectral library consisting of 3256 spectra covering 2043 stars. It combines high signal-to-noise and high spectral resolution over the entire range of effective temperatures and luminosity classes. The spectra are presented in four versions: raw, corrected from the instrumental response, with and without correction from the atmospheric molecular absorption, and normalised (including the telluric correction)., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

S-type stars are late-type giants whose atmospheres are enriched in carbon and s-process elements because of either extrinsic pollution by a binary companion or intrinsic nucleosynthesis and dredge-up on the thermally-pulsing asymptotic giant branch. A grid of MARCS model atmospheres has been computed for S stars, covering the range 2700 <= T-eff (K) <= 4000, 0.50 <= C/O less than or similar to 0.99, 0 <= log g <= 5, [Fe/H] = 0., -0.5 dex, and [s/Fe] = 0, 1, and 2 dex (where the latter quantity refers to the global overabundance of s-process elements). The MARCS models make use of a new ZrO line list. Synthetic spectra computed from these models are used to derive photometric indices in the Johnson and Geneva systems, as well as TiO and ZrO band strengths. A method is proposed to select the model best matching any given S star, a non-trivial operation since the grid contains more than 3500 models covering a five-dimensional parameter space. The method is based on the comparison between observed and synthetic photometric indices and spectral band strengths, and has been applied on a vast subsample of the Henize sample of S stars. Our results confirm the old claim by Piccirillo (1980, MNRAS, 190, 441) that ZrO bands in warm S stars (T-eff > 3200 K) are not caused by the C /O ratio being close to unity, as traditionally believed, but rather by some Zr overabundance. The TiO and ZrO band strengths, combined with V - K and J - K photometric indices, are used to select T-eff, C/O, [Fe/H] and [s/Fe]. The Geneva U - B1 and B2 - V1 indices (or any equivalent) are good at selecting the gravity. The defining spectral features of dwarf S stars are outlined, but none is found among the Henize S stars. More generally, it is found that, at T-eff = 3200 K, a change of C/O from 0.5 to 0.99 has a strong impact on V - K (2 mag). Conversely, a range of 2 mag in V - K corresponds to a 200 K shift along the (T-eff, V - K) relationship (for a fixed C/O value). Hence, the

Roughly half of the heavy elements (atomic mass greater than that of iron) are believed to be synthesized in the late evolutionary stages of stars with masses between 0.8 and 8 solar masses. Deep inside the star, nuclei (mainly iron) capture neutrons and progressively build up (through the slow-neutron-capture process, or s-process) heavier elements that are subsequently brought to the stellar surface by convection. Two neutron sources, activated at distinct temperatures, have been proposed: 13C and 22Ne, each releasing one neutron per α-particle (4He) captured. To explain the measured stellar abundances, stellar evolution models invoking the 13C neutron source (which operates at temperatures of about one hundred million kelvin) are favoured. Isotopic ratios in primitive meteorites, however, reflecting nucleosynthesis in the previous generations of stars that contributed material to the Solar System, point to higher temperatures (more than three hundred million kelvin), requiring at least a late activation of 22Ne. Here we report a determination of the s-process temperature directly in evolved low-mass giant stars, using zirconium and niobium abundances, independently of stellar evolution models. The derived temperature supports 13C as the s-process neutron source. The radioactive pair 93Zr–93Nb used to estimate the s-process temperature also provides, together with the pair 99Tc–99Ru, chronometric information on the time elapsed since the start of the s-process, which we determine to be one million to three million years., http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v517/n7533/full/nature14050.html, SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

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More than 80% of the stars in the Universe are expected to have initial masses below eight to ten times the mass of our sun. These low mass stars, including our sun, become cool red giants during one of the final evolutionary stages of their life: the Asymptotic Giant Branch (or AGB) phase. AGB stars are among the main producers of carbon and heavy (s-process) elements in the Universe. These elements are synthesized inside the star and mixed to the stellar atmosphere where stellar winds are responsible for the loss of more than 50% of the stellar mass, hence, AGB stars are strong polluters of the interstellar medium. The ejected material can clump together into dusty particles which may serve as ingredients for the birth of new stars and planets. When most of the AGB stellar envelope is lost, the AGB star stops releasing nuclear energy from interior processes and swaps its giant face for a planetary nebulae look, whereafter it fades away as a white dwarf.The dredge-up of carbon and s-process elements into the AGB atmosphere causes an important chemical anomaly among them: initial oxygen-rich stars (M stars) are transformed into carbon-rich stars (C stars). As a consequence, a group of oxygen-rich AGB stars exists which makes the transition between M and C stars. These transition stars are classified as S.Although AGB stars are identified as producers of heavy elements, their nucleosynthesis and mixing processes are weakly constrained due to large uncertainties on their estimated temperature, gravity and chemical composition. Stronger constraints on the atmospheric parameter space, hence interior processes, of AGB stars can be obtained by investigating the atmosphere of S stars. Since they are transition objects on the AGB, they trace the rise of the s-process. S stars are less numerous than C stars, but their optical spectra are brighter making it easier to identify atomic and molecular lines. Therefore, S stars belong to the most interesting objects alo, Doctorat en Sciences, info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Context. S-type AGB stars are thought to be in the transitional phase between M-type and C-type AGB stars. Because the composition of the circumstellar environment reflects the photospheric abundances, one may expect a strong influence of the stellar C/O ratio on the molecular chemistry and the mineralogy of the circumstellar dust. Aims. In this paper, we present a large sample of 87 intrinsic galactic S-type AGB stars, observed at infrared wavelengths with the Spitzer Space Telescope, and supplemented with ground-based optical data. Methods. On the one hand, we derive the stellar parameters from the optical spectroscopy and photometry, using a grid of model atmospheres. On the other, we decompose the infrared spectra to quantify the flux-contributions from the different dust species. Finally, we compare the independently determined stellar parameters and dust properties. Results. For the stars without significant dust emission features, we detect a strict relation between the presence of SiS absorption in the Spitzer spectra and the C/O ratio of the stellar atmosphere. These absorption bands can thus be used as an additional diagnostic for the C/O ratio. For stars with significant dust emission, we define three distinct groups, based on the relative contribution of certain dust species to the infrared flux. We find a strong link between group-membership and C/O ratio. Furthermore, we show that these groups can be explained by assuming that the dust-condensation can be cut short before silicates are produced, while the remaining free atoms and molecules can then be used to form the observed magnesium sulfides or the carriers of the unidentified 13 μm and 20 μm features. Finally, we present the detection of emission features attributed to molecules and dust characteristic to C-type stars, such as molecular SiS, hydrocarbons and magnesium sulfide grains. We show that we often detect magnesium sulfides together with molecular SiS and we propose that it is formed by a r, SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

We report the discovery of low-amplitude gravity-mode oscillations in the massive binary star V380 Cyg, from 180 d of Kepler custom-aperture space photometry and 5 months of highresolution high signal-to-noise ratio spectroscopy. The new data are of unprecedented quality and allowed the improvement of the orbital and fundamental parameters for this binary. The orbital solution was subtracted from the photometric data and led to the detection of periodic intrinsic variability with frequencies, of which some are multiples of the orbital frequency and others are not. Spectral disentangling allowed the detection of line-profile variability in the primary. With our discovery of intrinsic variability interpreted as gravity-mode oscillations, V380 Cyg becomes an important laboratory for future seismic tuning of the near-core physics in massive B-type stars. © 2012 The Authors, MNRAS 424, L21-L25 Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society., SCOPUS: le.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

Context. The predicted orbital period histogram of a subdwarf B (sdB) population is bimodal with a peak at short (<10 days) and long (>250 days) periods. Observationally, however, there are many short-period sdB systems known, but only very few long-period sdB binaries are identified. As these predictions are based on poorly understood binary interaction processes, it is of prime importance to confront the predictions to well constrained observational data. We therefore initiated a monitoring program to find and characterize long-period sdB stars. Aims. In this contribution we aim to determine the absolute dimensions of the long-period binary system PG 1104+243 consisting of an sdB and a main-sequence (MS) component, and determine its evolution history. Methods. High-resolution spectroscopy time-series were obtained with HERMES at the Mercator telescope at La Palma, and analyzed to determine the radial velocities of both the sdB and MS components. Photometry from the literature was used to construct the spectral energy distribution (SED) of the binary. Atmosphere models were used to fit this SED and determine the surface gravity and temperature of both components. The gravitational redshift provided an independent confirmation of the surface gravity of the sdB component. Results. An orbital period of 753 ± 3 d and a mass ratio of q = 0.637 ± 0.015 were found for PG 1104+243 from the radial velocity curves. The sdB component has an effective temperature of Teff = 33 500 ± 1200 K and a surface gravity of log g = 5.84 ± 0.08 dex, while the cool companion is found to be a G-type star with Teff = 5930 ± 160 K and log g = 4.29 ± 0.05 dex. When a canonical mass of MsdB = 0.47 M· is assumed, the MS component has a mass of MMS = 0.74 ± 0.07 M·, and its temperature corresponds to what is expected for a terminal age main-sequence star with sub-solar metalicity. Conclusions. PG 1104+243 is the first long-period sdB binary in which accurate and consistent physical parameters of, SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

S stars are cool stars of temperatures similar to those of M giants, but their atmospheres are enriched in carbon and s-process elements because of either extrinsic pollution by a binary companion or intrinsic nucleosynthesis and dredge-up on the thermally-pulsing AGB. Despite numerous attempts to link phenomenological spectral classification criteria to physical parameters (T eff, gravity, C/O, [s/Fe], [Fe/H]), the parameter space of S stars is poorly known and this has prevented accurate abundance analysis of S stars until now. Here we present a large grid of S-star model atmospheres. ZrO and TiO band strength indices as well as VJHKL photometry are needed to disentangle the effective temperature, C/O and [s/Fe]. The stellar parameters derived on the basis of low-resolution spectra and photometry are shown to be fairly accurate when compared to high-resolution data of the same stars. The C/O ratio of S stars is found to be between the solar value (0.5) and 0.99, and not 1 as often claimed in the literature. Consistently with stellar evolution expectations, the C/O ratio increases as the effective temperature decreases., SCOPUS: cp.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

S-type stars are thought to be the first objects, during their evolution on the asymptotic giant branch (AGB), to experience s-process nucleosynthesis and third dredge-ups, and therefore to exhibit s-process signatures in their atmospheres. Until present, the modeling of these processes is subject to large uncertainties. Precise abundance determinations in S stars are of extreme importance for constraining e.g. the depth and the formation of the 13C pocket. In this paper a large grid of MARCS model atmospheres for S stars is used to derive precise abundances of key s-process elements and iron. A first estimation of the atmospheric parameters is obtained using a set of well-chosen photometric and spectroscopic indices for selecting the best model atmosphere of each S star. Abundances are derived from spectral line synthesis, using the selected model atmosphere. Special interest is paid to technetium, an element without stable isotopes. Its detection in stars is considered as the best possible signature that the star effectively populates the thermally-pulsing AGB (TP-AGB) phase of evolution. The derived Tc/Zr abundances are compared, as a function of the derived [Zr/Fe] overabundances, with AGB stellar model predictions. The computed [Zr/Fe] overabundances are in good agreement with the AGB stellar evolution model predictions, while the Tc/Zr abundances are slightly over-predicted. This discrepancy can help to set stronger constraints on nucleosynthesis and mixing mechanisms in AGB stars., SCOPUS: cp.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published

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Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) produce characteristic infrared emission bands that have been observed in a wide range of astrophysical environments, where carbonaceous material is subjected to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Although PAHs are expected to form in carbon-rich AGB stars, they have up to now only been observed in binary systems where a hot companion provides a hard radiation field. In this letter, we present low-resolution infrared spectra of four S-type AGB stars, selected from a sample of 90 S-type AGB stars observed with the infrared spectrograph aboard the Spitzer satellite. The spectra of these four stars show the typical infrared features of PAH molecules. We confirm the correlation between the temperature of the central star and the centroid wavelength of the 7.9 μm feature, present in a wide variety of stars spanning a temperature range from 3000 to 12000 K. Three of four sources presented in this paper extend this relation towards lower temperatures. We argue that the mixture of hydrocarbons we see in these S-stars has a rich aliphatic component. The fourth star, BZ CMa, deviates from this correlation. Based on the similarity with the evolved binary TU Tau, we predict that BZ CMa has a hot companion as well. © 2010 ESO., SCOPUS: ar.j, info:eu-repo/semantics/published