1Ú stav teoretické fyziky a astrofyziky, Masarykova univerzita, Kotlářská 2, CZ-611 37 Brno, Czech Republic and ABSTRACT Vela X-1 is the archetype of high-mass X-ray binaries, composed of a neutron star and a massive B supergiant. The supergiant is a source of a strong radiatively-driven stellar wind. The neutron star sweeps up this wind, and creates a huge amount of X-rays as a result of energy release during the process of wind accretion. Here we provide detailed NLTE models of the Vela X-1 envelope. We study how the X-rays photoionize the wind and destroy the ions responsible for the wind acceleration. The resulting decrease of the radiative force explains the observed reduction of the wind terminal velocity in a direction to the neutron star. The X-rays create a distinct photoionized region around the neutron star filled with a stagnating flow. The existence of such photoionized bubbles is a general property of high-mass X-ray binaries. We unveiled a new principle governing these complex objects, according to which there is an upper limit to the X-ray luminosity the compact star can have without suspending the wind due to inefficient line driving.

Context. Although photometric variations of chemically peculiar (CP) stars are frequently used to determine their rotational periods, the detailed mechanism of their light variability remains poorly understood. Aims. We simulate the light variability of the star HR 7224 using the observed surface distribution of silicon and iron. Methods. We used the TLUSTY model atmospheres calculated for the appropriate silicon and iron abundances to obtain the emergent flux and to predict the rotationally modulated light curve of the star. We also obtained additional photometric measurements and employed our own regression procedure to derive a more precise estimate of the light elements. Results. We show that the light variation of the star can be explained as a result of i) the uneven surface distribution of the elements, ii) the flux redistribution from the ultraviolet to the visible part of the spectrum, and iii) rotation of the star. We show that the silicon bound-free transitions and iron bound-bound transitions provide the main contribution to the flux redistribution, although an additional source of opacity is needed. We confirm that numerous iron lines significantly contribute to the well-known depression at 5200 Å and discuss the connection between iron abundance and the value of peculiarity index a. Conclusions. The uneven surface distribution of silicon and iron is able to explain most of the rotationally modulated light variation in the star HR 7224.

The A2 V star σ Scl was suspected to be a low-amplitude periodic variable of the Ap type by several authors. Aiming at deciding whether the star is a variable chemically peculiar (CP) star, we searched for the photometric and spectroscopic variability and determined chemical abundances of σ Scl. The possible variability was tested using several types of periodograms applied to the photometry from Long-Term Photometry of Variables project (LTPV) and Hipparcos. Sixty spectrograms of high quality were obtained and used for chemical analysis of the stellar atmosphere and for looking for spectral variability that is symptomatic for the CP stars. We neither find any signs of the light

Abstract. Until recently, the mechanism of the light variability of chemically peculiar (CP) stars was unclear. To improve this situation, we started a theoretical and observational campaign aimed at the nature of the light variability of these stars. We use the TLUSTY model atmospheres calculated for the appropriate surface chemical composition to obtain the emergent flux and to predict the rotationally modulated light curves. We show on example of several wellstudied CP stars that their light variations can be explained as a result of i) the uneven surface distribution of the elements (creating overabundant regions), ii) the flux redistribution from the ultraviolet to the visible part of the spectrum (in the overabundant regions), and iii) rotation of the star. We show that the silicon and helium bound-free transitions and iron bound-bound transitions provide the main contribution to the flux redistribution. This result is also a very precise test of modern stellar model atmospheres. We conclude that the mentioned mechanism is a very promising explanation for the light variations in CP stars of earlier spectral types.