N. Lehner et al 2001 ApJ 556 L103 doi:10.1086/323025
N. Lehner1, A. W. Fullerton1,2, K. R. Sembach1, D. L. Massa3 and E. B. Jenkins4
Show affiliationsA primary goal of the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer mission is to understand the origin of the O VI ion in the interstellar medium of the Galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds. Along sight lines to OB-type stars, these interstellar components are usually blended with O VI stellar wind profiles, which frequently vary in shape. In order to assess the effects of this time-dependent blending on measurements of the interstellar O VI lines, we have undertaken a minisurvey of repeated observations toward OB-type stars in the Galaxy and the Large Magellanic Cloud. These sparse time series, which consist of two to three observations separated by intervals ranging from a few days to several months, show that wind variability occurs commonly in O VI (~60% of a sample of 50 stars), as indeed it does in other resonance lines. However, in the interstellar O VI λ1032 region, the O VI λ1038 wind varies only in ~30% of the cases. By examining cases exhibiting large amplitude variations, we conclude that stellar wind variability generally introduces negligible uncertainty for single interstellar O VI components along Galactic lines of sight but can result in substantial errors in measurements of broader components or blends of components like those typically observed toward stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Due to possible contamination by discrete absorption components in the stellar O VI line, stars with terminal velocities greater than or equal to the doublet separation (1654 km s-1) should be treated with care.
line: profiles; stars: early-type; stars: mass loss; stars: winds, outflows
Issue 2 (2001 August 1)
Received 2001 May 11, accepted for publication 2001 June 28
Published 2001 July 13
N. Lehner et al 2001 ApJ 556 L103
Joachim D Pleil et al 2008 J. Breath Res. 2 026001
P.-E. Roche and C. F. Barenghi 2008 EPL 81 36002
D A Walker et al 2009 Environ. Res. Lett. 4 045004
Richard M. Williamon et al. 2004 The Astronomical Journal 128 1319
M A Tagliente et al 2003 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 36 A192
Y Y Biton and S A Safran 2009 Phys. Biol. 6 046010
Gregory Dobler and Douglas P. Finkbeiner 2008 ApJ 680 1222
Roy A. Tucker 2007 The Astronomical Journal 134 1483
M Constantin et al J. Stat. Mech. (2007) P07011