0000000000056069
AUTHOR
Paolo Ventura
Evolutionary paths of binaries with a neutron star - I. The case of SAX J1808.4 - 3658
The evolutionary status of the low mass X-ray binary SAX J1808.4-3658 is simulated by following the binary evolution of its possible progenitor system through mass transfer, starting at a period of $\sim$6.6 hr. The evolution includes angular momentum losses via magnetic braking and gravitational radiation. It also takes into account the effects of illumination of the donor by both the X-ray emission and the spin down luminosity of the pulsar. The system goes through stages of mass transfer and stages during which it is detached, where only the rotationally powered pulsar irradiates the donor. We show that the pulsar irradiation is a necessary ingredient to reach SAX J1808.4-3658 orbital pe…
Radio-ejection and bump-related orbital period gap of millisecond binary pulsars
The monotonic increase of the radius of low mass stars during their ascent on the red giant branch halts when they suffer a temporary contraction. This occurs when the hydrogen burning shell reaches the discontinuity in hydrogen content left from the maximum increase in the convective extension, at the time of the first dredge up, and produces a well known "bump" in the luminosity function of the red giants of globular clusters. If the giant is the mass losing component in a binary in which mass transfer occurs on the nuclear evolution time scale, this event produces a temporary stop in the mass transfer, which we will name "bump related" detachment. If the accreting companion is a neutron …
Self-Enrichment in Globular Clusters: Is There a Role for the Super-Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars?
In four globular clusters (GCs) a non negligible fraction of stars can be interpreted only as a very helium rich population. The evidence comes from the presence of a "blue" main sequence in $\omega$ Cen and NGC 2808, and from the the very peculiar horizontal branch morphology in NGC 6441 and NGC 6388. Although a general consensus is emerging on the fact that self--enrichment is a common feature among GCs, the helium content required for these stars is Y$\simgt$0.35, and it is difficult to understand how it can be produced without any --or, for $\omega$ Cen, without a considerable--associated metal enhancement. We examine the possible role of super--AGB stars, and show that they may provide…
Subphotospheric convection and magnetic activity dependence on metallicity and age: Models and tests
We present an extensive study on the dependence of the convective turnover time (conv) on the stellar metallicity and age for main-sequence stars of masses 0.6{1.6 M. To this aim we have used and compared predictions by stellar models based on the classical Mixing Length Theory and models incorporating a Full Spectrum of Turbulence treatment of subphotospheric convection. We show that the metallicity eect is relevant for dG stars but negligible for dK stars, while stellar age is important when computing the turnover times for red dwarfs younger than logt 8:5 yr. A scatter by up to a factor 3 could be spuriously introduced in the activity vs. Rossby number relationships if such eects are neg…
Activity, Rotation And Convection in Orion: Are the Data Inconsistent with the MS Activity-Rossby Number Relation?
A relation between activity and rotation in young ~ 1Myr PMS in often not observed, suggesting that the mechanism responsible for the X-ray emission may differ from the α - ω dynamo. We re-investigate the matter utilizing recent X-ray and rotational data on the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC).
Simultaneous determination of levodopa methyl ester, levodopa, 3-O-methyldopa and dopamine in plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection.
A new procedure is described for the simultaneous determination of levodopa methyl ester (LDME) and its biotransformation products levodopa (L-DOPA), 3-O-methyldopa (3-OMD) and dopamine (DA) in stabilized plasma samples, using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. A coulometric detector equipped with a dual-electrode system operating in the redox mode was used to simultaneously quantitate all compounds. This system generated a double signal monitored by a dual-channel acquisition data system and allowed quantitation of compounds at the nanogram level. The intra- and inter-assay precision varied in the 2.4-6.9% and 3.2-9.1% ranges respectively, whereas the recoveries were cl…
The near-IR counterpart of IGR J17480-2446 in Terzan 5
Some globular clusters in our Galaxy are noticeably rich in low-mass X-ray binaries. Terzan 5 has the richest population among globular clusters of X- and radio-pulsars and low-mass X-ray binaries. The detection and study of optical/IR counterparts of low-mass X-ray binaries is fundamental to characterizing both the low-mass donor in the binary system and investigating the mechanisms of the formation and evolution of this class of objects. We aim at identifying the near-IR counterpart of the 11 Hz pulsar IGRJ17480-2446 discovered in Terzan 5. Adaptive optics (AO) systems represent the only possibility for studying the very dense environment of GC cores from the ground. We carried out observ…