- Engle, Scott G.
- Journal of astronomy and space sciences
- 29, n.2
- pp.181-189
- 2012
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To broaden the understanding of classical Cepheid structure, evolution and atmospheres, we have extended our continuing secret lives of Cepheids program by obtaining XMM/Chandra X-ray observations, and Hubble space telescope (HST) / cosmic origins spectrograph (COS) FUV-UV spectra of the bright, nearby Cepheids Polaris, <TEX>${\delta}$</TEX> Cep and <TEX>${\beta}$</TEX> Dor. Previous studies made with the international ultraviolet explorer (IUE) showed a limited number of UV emission lines in Cepheids. The well-known problem presented by scattered light contamination in IUE spectra for bright stars, along with the excellent sensitivity & resolution combination offered by HST/COS, motivated this study, and the spectra obtained were much more rich and complex than we had ever anticipated. Numerous emission lines, indicating <TEX>$10^4$</TEX> K up to <TEX>${\sim}3{\times}10^5$</TEX> K plasmas, have been observed, showing Cepheids to have complex, dynamic outer atmospheres that also vary with the photospheric pulsation period. The FUV line emissions peak in the phase range <TEX>${\varphi}{\approx}0.8-1.0$</TEX> and vary by factors as large as <TEX>$10{\times}$</TEX>. A more complete picture of Cepheid outer atmospheres is accomplished when the HST/COS results are combined with X-ray observations that we have obtained of the same stars with XMM-Newton & Chandra. The Cepheids detected to date have X-ray luminosities of log <TEX>$L_X{\approx}28.5-29.1$</TEX> ergs/sec, and plasma temperatures in the <TEX>$2-8{\times}106$</TEX> K range. Given the phase-timing of the enhanced emissions, the most plausible explanation is the formation of a pulsation-induced shocks that excite (and heat) the atmospheric plasmas surrounding the photosphere. A pulsation-driven <TEX>${\alpha}^2$</TEX> equivalent dynamo mechanism is also a viable and interesting alternative. However, the tight phase-space of enhanced emission (peaking near 0.8-1.0 <TEX>${\varphi}$</TEX>) favor the shock heating mechanism hypothesis.