Stellar laboratories II. New Zn IV and Zn V oscillator strengths and their validation in the hot white dwarfs G191-B2B and RE0503-289

TL;DR

This study provides new oscillator strengths for Zn IV and Zn V ions, enabling precise modeling of UV spectra in hot white dwarfs and revealing their zinc abundances with high accuracy.

Contribution

The paper introduces newly calculated oscillator strengths for Zn IV and Zn V, improving spectral modeling and abundance determination in hot white dwarf stars.

Findings

Identified 31 Zn IV and 16 Zn V lines in G191-B2B, mostly first-time identifications.

Determined zinc abundance in G191-B2B as about 1.7 times solar.

Identified 128 Zn V lines in RE0503-289 and measured a zinc abundance 155 times solar.

Abstract

For the spectral analysis of high-resolution and high-signal-to-noise 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. 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 RE0503-289. 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 indicator for the effective temperature, is well reproduced with the previously determined Teff = 60000 +/- 2000 and log g = 7.60 +/- 0.05. In the spectrum of RE0503-289, we identified 128 Zn V lines for the first time and determined log Zn = -3.57 +/- 0.2 (155 times solar). 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 RE0503-289) 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.