Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jan 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010mnras.401..695m&link_type=abstract
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 401, Issue 1, pp. 695-704.
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
1
Stars: Evolution, Stars: Fundamental Parameters
Scientific paper
Stellar masses and ages are not directly observable parameters, and the methods used to determine them are based on the calibrating relations. In particular, the mass-luminosity relation, based on the masses of less than 200 well-studied binaries, is virtually the only way to estimate the mass of single stars. Thus, the development of methods for estimating stellar masses with accuracy comparable to direct methods is a problem of vital importance.
Here, we describe a method for estimating stellar masses and ages, which is based on the geometric similarity of evolutionary tracks for the stars at the same evolutionary stage in the Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram. To examine the proposed approach, it has been applied to various test data sets. Application of the method, using synthetic stellar spectra Basel Stellar Library (of theoretical spectra; BaSeL), demonstrates that it allows determination of masses and ages of stars with a predictable distribution of uncertainties.
This statistical approach allows us to demonstrate the viability of the method using it on the set of double-lined eclipsing binaries with intermediate-mass and low-mass components which allows us to compare calculated characteristics with observational ones. As a result, the uncertainties of the stellar masses estimated with the proposed method are comparable with the accuracy of ones obtained from direct observations. This allows us to recommend the method for mass estimates of masses of single stars by the localization in the HR diagram.
As for the ages, the estimates for intermediate-mass stars are more reliable, while those obtained for low-mass stars are very uncertain, due both to slower movement of these stars in the HR diagram with age at stages close to the main sequence and to certain disagreements between theoretical models for this mass range.
Kovaleva D. A.
Malkov Oleg Yu.
Sichevskij S. G.
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