Quantitative spectroscopy of B-type supergiants

Abstract

Context. B-type supergiants are versatile tools to address a number of highly-relevant astrophysical topics, ranging from stellar atmospheres over stellar and galactic evolution to the characterisation of interstellar sightlines and to the cosmic distance scale. Aims. A hybrid non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) approach, involving line-blanketed model atmospheres computed under the assumption of LTE in combination with line formation calculations that account for deviations from LTE, is tested for quantitative analyses of B-type supergiants of mass up to about 30 M⊙, characterising a sample of 14 Galactic objects in a comprehensive way. Methods. Hydrostatic plane-parallel atmospheric structures and synthetic spectra computed with Kurucz’s ATLAS 12 code together with the non-LTE line-formation codes DETAIL/SURFACE are compared to results from full non-LTE calculations with TLUSTY, and the effects of turbulent pressure on the models are investigated. High-resolution spectra at signal-to-noise ratio >130 are analysed for atmospheric parameters, using Stark-broadened hydrogen lines and multiple metal ionisation equilibria, and for elemental abundances. Fundamental stellar parameters are derived by considering stellar evolution tracks and Gaia early data release 3 (EDR3) parallaxes. Interstellar reddening and the reddening law along the sight lines towards the target stars are determined by matching model spectral energy distributions to observed ones. Results. Our hybrid non-LTE approach turns out to be equivalent to hydrostatic full non-LTE modelling for the deeper photospheric layers of the B-type supergiants under consideration, where most lines of the optical spectrum are formed. Turbulent pressure can become relevant for microturbulent velocities larger than 10 km s−1. The changes in the atmospheric density structure affect many diagnostic lines, implying systematic changes in atmospheric parameters, for instance an increase in surface gravities by up to 0.05 dex. A high precision and accuracy is achieved for all derived parameters by bringing multiple indicators to agreement simultaneously. Effective temperatures are determined to 2–3% uncertainty, surface gravities to better than 0.07 dex, masses to about 5%, radii to about 10%, luminosities to better than 25%, and spectroscopic distances to 10% uncertainty typically. Abundances for chemical species that are accessible from the optical spectra (He, C, N, O, Ne, Mg, Al, Si, S, Ar, and Fe) are derived with uncertainties of 0.05–0.10 dex (1σ standard deviations). The observed spectra are reproduced well by the model spectra. The derived N/C versus N/O ratios tightly follow the predictions from Geneva stellar evolution models that account for rotation, and spectroscopic and Gaia EDR3 distances are closely matched. Finally, the methodology is tested for analyses of intermediate-resolution spectra of extragalactic B-type supergiants.