Identification of NeVIII lines in H-deficient (pre-) white dwarfs: a new tool to constrain the temperature of the hottest stars

TL;DR

This study identifies NeVIII absorption lines in the far-UV spectra of the hottest hydrogen-deficient white dwarfs, providing a new method to determine stellar temperatures and revising previous line identifications in stellar spectra.

Contribution

It introduces NeVIII lines as a new diagnostic tool for stellar temperature measurement and revises the interpretation of certain emission lines in hot white dwarfs and central stars.

Findings

NeVIII lines are present in the spectra of the hottest white dwarfs.

Revised the temperature estimate of KPD0005+5106 to about 200,000 K.

Photospheric NeVIII lines can explain some previously misattributed emission lines.

Abstract

For the first time, we have identified NeVIII absorption lines in far-UV spectra of the hottest known (Teff>150,000 K) hydrogen-deficient (pre-) white dwarfs of spectral type PG1159. They are of photospheric origin and can be matched by synthetic non-LTE line profiles. We also show that a number of UV and optical emission lines in these stars can be explained as being photospheric NeVIII features and not, as hitherto suspected, as ultrahigh ionised OVIII lines created along shock-zones in the stellar wind. Consequently, we argue that the long-standing identification of the same emission lines in hot [WR]-type central stars as being due to ultrahigh-ionised species (OVII-VIII, CV-VI) must be revised. These lines can be entirely attributed to thermally excited species (NeVII-VIII, NV, OVI). Photospheric NeVIII lines are also identified in the hottest known He-rich white dwarf KPD0005+5106 some of which were also attributed to OVIII previously. This is a surprise because it must be concluded that KPD0005+5106 is much hotter (Teff=200,000 K) than hitherto assumed (Teff=120,000 K). This is confirmed by a re-assessment of the HeII line spectrum. We speculate that the temperature is high enough to explain the mysterious, hard X-ray emission (1 keV) as being of photospheric origin.