Stellar laboratories. II. New Zn iv and Zn v oscillator strengths and their validation in the hot white dwarfs G191-B2B and RE 0503-289

Abstract

Context. For the spectral analysis of high-resolution and high-signal-to-noise (S/N) spectra of hot stars, state-of-the-art non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) model atmospheres are mandatory. These are strongly dependent on the reliability of the atomic data that is used for their calculation. In a recent analysis of the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum of the DA-type white dwarf G191-B2B, 21 Zn iv lines were newly identified. Because of the lack of Zn iv data, transition probabilities of the isoelectronic Ge vi were adapted for a first, coarse determination of the photospheric Zn abundance.
Aims: Reliable Zn iv and Zn v oscillator strengths are used to improve the Zn abundance determination and to identify more Zn lines in the spectra of G191-B2B and the DO-type white dwarf RE 0503-289.
Methods: We performed new calculations of Zn iv and Zn v oscillator strengths to consider their radiative and collisional bound-bound transitions in detail in our NLTE stellar-atmosphere models for the analysis of the Zn iv - v spectrum exhibited in high-resolution and high-S/N UV observations of G191-B2B and RE 0503-289.
Results: In the UV spectrum of G191-B2B, we identify 31 Zn iv and 16 Zn v lines. Most of these are identified for the first time in any star. We can reproduce well almost all of them at log Zn = -5.52 ± 0.2 (mass fraction, about 1.7 times solar). In particular, the Zn iv / Zn v ionization equilibrium, which is a very sensitive T_eff indicator, is well reproduced with the previously determined and log g = 7.60 ± 0.05. In the spectrum of RE 0503-289, we identified 128 Zn v lines for the first time and determined log Zn = -3.57 ± 0.2 (155 times solar).
Conclusions: Reliable measurements and calculations of atomic data are a pre-requisite for stellar-atmosphere modeling. Observed Zn iv and Zn v line profiles in two white dwarf (G191-B2B and RE 0503-289) ultraviolet spectra were well reproduced with our newly calculated oscillator strengths. This allowed us to determine the photospheric Zn abundance of these two stars precisely.

Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26666.Based on observations made with the NASA-CNES-CSA Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer.Tables 1 and 2 are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/564/A41