Spectrum Synthesis of Hot Water in Sunspots and Selected Cool Stars

Session 81 - Variable Cool and Late Type Stars.
Display session, Wednesday, January 15
Metropolitan Ballroom,

[81.03] Spectrum Synthesis of Hot Water in Sunspots and Selected Cool Stars

D. F. Carbon, D. Goorvitch (NASA ARC)

Very recently, Partridge and Schwenke (1996) completed an elaborate theoretical computation of the potential energy surface and dipole moment function for H_2O. They have used their results to predict the positions and strengths of nearly 308 million ^1H^1H^16O lines. This line tabulation is the most complete now available. It extends to sufficiently high excitations that the spectra of M-stars may be modelled with greater accuracy than ever before provided the predicted line parameters of Partridge and Schwenke are themselves accurate.

We have computed synthetic sunspot spectra using the Partridge and Schwenke H_2O line list and the sunspot umbral models of Maltby et al (1986). In this display, we compare these synthetic spectra with published high resolution sunspot atlases. We demonstrate the extent to which the new H_2O line list successfully predicts the sunspot H_2O spectrum and suggest where improvements are necessary.

Using the new H_2O tabulation, we also illustrate the extent to which hot stellar H_2O blankets the H, K and L passbands for selected K and M-star model atmospheres.

Program listing for Wednesday