Symbiotic stars are binaries consisting of a cool evolved G-M/S/C I-III star accreting onto a smaller companion---but the accretion disk itself is rarely detected. Accretion signatures like hard X-rays and optical/ultraviolet flickering are usually suppressed or outshone by shell burning on the accreting white dwarf, the luminous giant, and the giant's wind nebula. In Chapters 2 and 3, we present a new way to find symbiotics that is less biased against accreting-only, non-burning symbiotics with directly detectable accretion disks. Our search methodology is based on finding outliers in SkyMapper Southern Sky Survey broad-band and intermediate-band photometry, using a parameter space built from reconstructed u-g u-v snapshot colors and rapid variability between the three exposures of a 20-minute SkyMapper Main Survey filter sequence, from a sample of luminous red objects selected with 2MASS and Gaia. In a pilot survey employing this new search design, we discovered 12 new symbiotics, including four symbiotics with optical accretion disk flickering and at least two with boundary-layer hard X-rays, as well as 10 new symbiotic candidates. We also discovered optical flickering in the known symbiotic V1044 Cen (CD-36 8436). We conclude that at least 20% of the true population of symbiotics exhibits detectable optical flickering from the inner accretion disk, a substantial fraction of which would not meet the usual H-alpha equivalent width detection thresholds typically used to find symbiotics with traditional narrow-band emission line photometry surveys. There is a significant population of optically-flickering symbiotics hidden both within and beyond the known catalogs of symbiotic stars---however, the question of whether the true population of accreting-only symbiotics is larger than the population of burning symbiotics remains unanswered. We also find that our methods probe a completely different region of parameter space than recent work by the Munari et al. (2021) search for accreting-only symbiotics, while being surprisingly in harmony with the Akras et al. (2019) infrared selection criteria. As an intermediate step in our pilot survey, we explored several outlying regions in our SkyMapper parameter space with optical spectroscopy of 234 luminous red objects, which we present in a 248-page spectral atlas. Our results identify a zone of the u-g u-v snapshot color-color diagram in which virtually all objects are symbiotics. When all-sky uvg colors become available through future DRs of SkyMapper and MEPHISTO, between about 51 and 117 symbiotics missed by previous surveys (of which 11 to 17 have been reported in this work) will be discoverable using only this mostly-symbiotic zone of the color-color diagram, with a near-zero contamination rate. Main Survey filter-sequence variability is also a powerful tool for finding hidden, flickering symbiotics both inside and outside of the mostly-symbiotic color-color zone, but variability must still be used in conjunction with color; there must be enough of an accretion disk contribution to the u-band for it to exhibit detectable variability. We show that yellow post-AGB stars with strong Balmer jump absorption (along with the symbiotic Southern Crab) are outliers with large positive u-v, while some S and carbon stars are outliers with large negative u-v. We also show that it is important to correct the results of SkyMapper's catalog pipeline for variability when dealing with samples containing large-amplitude pulsating stars. In Chapters 4 and 5, we present an in-depth study of one of the few optically-flickering symbiotic stars previously known, MWC 560 (V694 Mon). The persistent outflow from MWC 560 is known to manifest as broad absorption lines (BALs), most prominently at the Balmer transitions. In Chapter 4, we report the detection of high-ionization BALs from C IV, Si IV, N V, and He II in International Ultraviolet Explorer spectra obtained on 1990 April 29-30, when an optical outburst temporarily erased the obscuring "iron curtain" of absorption troughs from Fe II and similar ions. The C IV and Si IV BALs reached maximum radial velocities at least 1000 km/s higher than contemporaneous Mg II and He II BALs; the same behaviors occur in the winds of quasars and cataclysmic variables. An iron curtain lifts to unveil high-ionization BALs during the P Cygni phase observed in some novae, suggesting by analogy a temporary switch in MWC 560 from persistent outflow to discrete mass ejection. At least three more symbiotic stars exhibit broad absorption with blue edges faster than 1500 km/s; high-ionization BALs have been reported in AS 304 (V4018 Sgr), while transient Balmer BALs have been reported in Z And and CH Cyg. These BAL-producing fast outflows can have wider opening angles than has been previously supposed. BAL symbiotics are short-timescale laboratories for their giga-scale analogs, broad absorption line quasars (BALQSOs), which display a similarly wide range of ionization states in their winds. In Chapter 5, we investigate how the accretion disc of MWC 560 is affected by its outflow. We performed optical, radio, X-ray, and ultraviolet observations of MWC 560 during its 2016 optical high state. We tracked multi-wavelength changes that signalled an abrupt increase in outflow power at the initiation of a months-long outflow fast state, just as the optical flux peaked: (1) an abrupt doubling of Balmer absorption velocities; (2) the onset of a 20 𝜇Jy/month increase in radio flux; and (3) an order-of-magnitude increase in soft X-ray flux. Juxtaposing to prior X-ray observations and their coeval optical spectra, we infer that both high-velocity and low-velocity optical outflow components must be simultaneously present to yield a large soft X-ray flux, which may originate in shocks where these fast and slow absorbers collide. Our optical and ultraviolet spectra indicate that the broad absorption-line gas was fast, stable, and dense (⪞10⁶.⁵ cm⁻³) throughout the 2016 outflow fast state, steadily feeding a lower-density (⪝10⁵.⁵ cm⁻³) region of radio-emitting gas. Persistent optical and ultraviolet flickering indicate that the accretion disc remained intact. The stability of these properties in 2016 contrasts to their instability during MWC 560's 1990 outburst, even though the disc reached a similar accretion rate. We propose that the self-regulatory effect of a steady fast outflow from the disc in 2016 prevented a catastrophic ejection of the inner disc. This behaviour in a symbiotic binary resembles disc/outflow relationships governing accretion state changes in X-ray binaries.

We carried out a near-infrared radial velocity search for Jupiter-mass planets around 36 late M dwarfs. This survey was the first of its kind undertaken to monitor radial velocity variability of these faint dwarfs. For this unique survey we employed the 10-m Keck II on Mauna Kea in Hawaii. With a resolution of 20,000 on the near-infrared spectrograph, NIRSPEC, we monitored these stars over four epochs in 2007. In addition to the measurement of relative radial velocity we established physical properties of these stars. The physical properties of M dwarfs we determined included the identification of neutral atomic lines, the measurement of pseudo-equivalent widths, masses, surface gravity, effective temperature, absolute radial velocities, rotational velocities and rotation periods. The identification of neutral atomic lines was carried out using the Vienna Atomic line Database. We were able to confirm these lines that were previously identified. We also found that some of the lines observed in the K-type stars, such as Mg I though weak, still persist in late M dwarfs. Using the measurement of pseudo-equivalent widths (p-EW) of 13 neutral atomic lines, we have established relations between p-EW and spectral type. Such relations serve as a tool in determining the spectral type of an unknown dwarf star by means of measuring its p-EW. We employed the mass-luminosity relation to compute the masses of M dwarfs. Our calculations indicate these dwarfs to be in the range of 0.1 to 0.07 solar masses. This suggests that some of the late M dwarfs appear to be in the Brown dwarf regime. Assuming their radii of 0.1 solar radii, we calculated their surface gravity. The mean surface gravity is, log g = 5.38. Finally their effective temperature was determined by using the spectral-type iii temperature relationship. Our calculations show effective temperatures in the range of 3000 2300 K. Comparison of these values with models in literature show a good agreement. The absolute radial and rotational velocities of our targets were also calculated. Values of rotational velocities indicate that M dwarfs are, in general, slow rotators. Using our result and that from literature, we extended our study of rotational velocities to L dwarfs. Our observations show an increase in rotational velocities from late M to L dwarfs. We also find that the mean periods of M dwarfs are less than 10 hours. In order to improve our precision in measuring relative radial velocity (RV), we employed the use of deconvolution method. With this method we were able to ameliorate relative RV precision from 300 m/s to 200 m/s. This was a substantial improvement in our ability to detect gas-giant planets. However none of the 15 dwarfs we monitored indicate a presence of companions. This null result was then used to compute the upper limit to the binary frequency and close-in Jupiter mass planetary frequency. We find the binary frequency to be 11% while the planetary frequency was 1.20%.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 139-145).

M dwarfs are abundant and long-lived stellar objects. The formation of planets around stars in stellar systems is believed to be metallicity dependent. To determine the metallicity with synthetic spectrum analysis, the elements producing the absorption lines ofthe spectra first have to be identified. The aim of this thesis is to identify and list the elements or molecules that produce the absorption lines in the spectra of Barnard's star. This thesis was done at the Division for Astronomy and Space Physics at Uppsala University. High resolution infrared spectral data recorded in the J band 1.1–1.4 μm was downloaded from the CRIRES-POP database. The data had to be wavelength corrected due to the effects of Doppler shift. A modified IDL program was used to read the data files,normalize the flux to unity and plot the spectra. This procedure was also done with the telluric spectra using data from a solar flux atlas. The IDL program plotted the normalized spectra together in the same plot. With this procedure the absorption features originating from the earth’s atmosphere could be identified and discarded. The analysis of the spectral lines resulted in wavelength values which were tested against the VALD3 database to determine what elements were possibly responsible for the absorption features. The results are presented in a line list. It can be used with other software programs to determine the metallicity. The identified elements and molecules agrees in part with earlier measurements of stellar spectra from M dwarf stars except for a number of lines where no matching elements were found in the VALD3 database. A line list with possible elements in the photosphere of Barnard’s star can be constructed from the spectra using high-resolution infrared spectroscopy. / M dvärgstjärnor är de mest förekommande stjärnorna i vår galax. De har en mycket långlivslängd, vissa tusen gånger längre än vår sol. Det finns teorier om att planetbildning runt stjärnor styrs av halten av ämnen som inte är väte eller helium. Denna halt kallas metallicitet. För att på konstgjord eller syntetisk väg bestämma metalliciteten i Barnard’s stjärna, en M dvärg, behöver de ämnen som bidrar till absorptionslinjerna i fotosfären först identifieras. Målsättningen med detta arbete var att identifiera de grundämnen och eventuella molekyler som skapar absorptionslinjerna i spektrumet till Barnard’s stjärna. Detta arbete utfördes på institutionen för fysik och astronomi. Metoden använde ett modifierat IDL program för att läsa och plotta data. Högupplöst infraröd spektraldata från Jbandet (1.1–1.4 μm) till Barnard’s stjärna hämtades från CRIRES-POP databasen och data för det telluriska spektrumet från en databas med telluriska linjer. Därefter plottades de samtidigt i ett våglängdsöverlappande normaliserat spektra. I programmet gick absorptionslinjer som inte hade sitt ursprung i jordens atmosfär att urskilja manuellt. Då våglängderna för absorptionlinjerna bestämts, matades värden in i databasen VALD3. Analysen av de returnerade värdena från VALD3 genererade en resultatlista med de mest sannolika elementen för de olika absorptionsvåglängderna. Resultatlistan kan användas som ingångsvärde till program som syntetiskt beräknar metalliciteten. Resultaten överensstämmer till viss del med tidigare mätningar. Slutsatsen är att metoden med högupplöst infraröd spektral data kan användas för att bestämma en lista med element och molekyler från fotosfären i Barnard’s stjärna.

Stars form inside clouds of molecular gas and dust. In the early stages of stellar evolution the remainders of the initial cloud form a circumstellar disk. For the next few million years the disk will slowly dissipate via accretion, outflows, photoevaporation and planet growth while the star makes its way onto the Main Sequence. This stage of a star's life is referred to as the T Tauri phase and is characterised by high-level spectrophotometric variability. This thesis aims to study and map out the environments of T Tauri stars down to the very low mass regime by the means of time-domain monitoring. Different physical processes in the system manifest themselves as variability on different time- scales as well as produce characteristic spectroscopic and photometric features at various wave- lengths. In order to study young stellar objects in depth, the observing campaigns presented in this work were designed to cover a large range of time-scales - minutes, hours, days and months. Combining all the data, this thesis establishes a baseline of over a decade for some objects. The observations also cover a wide range of wavelengths from the optical to the mid-infrared part of the spectrum. The star RW Aur experienced two long-lasting dimming events in 2010 and 2014. This thesis presents a large collection of spectral and photometric measurements carried out just before and during the 2014 event. Spectral accretion signatures indicate no change in the accretion activity of the system. Photometry indicates that parallel to the dimming in the optical the star becomes brighter in the mid-infrared. The observations in this work combined with literature data suggest that the origin of the 2014 event is most likely obscuration of the star by hot dust from the disk being lifted into the disk wind. Very low mass stars (< 0.4 M⊙) are the most common type of star in the Galaxy. In order to understand the early stages of stellar evolution we must study young very low mass stars. This work investigates the photometric and spectroscopic variability of seven brown dwarfs in star forming regions near σ Ori and ε Ori. All targets exhibit optical photometric variability between from 0.1 to over 1.0 magnitude that persists on a time-scale of at least one decade. Despite the photometric variability no change in the spectral type is measured. In the cases where the stars are accreting, modelling of the spectral changes suggest the accretion flow is more homogeneous and less funnelled compared to Sun-like T Tauri stars. The non-accreting variables are more plausibly explained by obscuration by circumstellar material, possibly a ring made out of multiple clouds of dust grains and pebbles with varying optical depths. The star-disk systems studied in this thesis have some broader implications for star and planet formation theory. The case-study of RW Aur has unambiguously demonstrated that the planet- forming environment is very dynamic and can change dramatically on short time-scales, which in turn would have implications for the diversity of planetary systems found in the Galaxy. The Orion stars have shown that the current theory for the T Tauri stage of stellar evolution is valid down to the very low mass regime. The seven dwarfs are a good example for the evolutionary path of circumstellar disks, showing the transition from gas-high, flared accretion disks (σ Ori) to dust-dominated, depleted, structured debris disks (ε Ori).

Lightning is an important electrical phenomenon, known to exist in several Solar System planets. Amongst others, it carries information on convection and cloud formation, and may be important for pre-biotic chemistry. Exoplanets and brown dwarfs have been shown to host environments appropriate for the initiation of lightning discharges. In this PhD project, I aim to determine if lightning on exoplanets and brown dwarfs can be more energetic than it is known from Solar System planets, what are the most promising signatures to look for, and if these "exo-lightning" signatures can be detected from Earth. This thesis focuses on three major topics. First I discuss a lightning climatology study of Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus. I apply the obtained lightning statistics to extrasolar planets in order to give a first estimate on lightning occurrence on exoplanets and brown dwarfs. Next, I introduce a short study of potential lightning activity on the exoplanet HAT-P-11b, based on previous radio observations. Related to this, I discuss a first estimate of observability of lightning from close brown dwarfs, with the optical Danish Telescope. The final part of my project focuses on a lightning radio model, which is applied to study the energy and radio power released from lightning discharges in hot giant gas planetary and brown dwarf atmospheres. The released energy determines the observability of signatures, and the effect lightning has on the local atmosphere of the object. This work combines knowledge obtained from planetary and earth sciences and uses that to learn more about extrasolar systems. My main results show that lightning on exoplanets may be more energetic than in the Solar System, supporting the possibility of future observations and detection of lightning activity on an extrasolar body. My work provides the base for future radio, optical, and infrared search for "exo-lightning".

Cette thèse présente une étude empirique et théorique approfondie de l'évolution spectrale des étoiles naines blanches, avec un accent particulier sur les naines blanches chaudes. La composition atmosphérique (et donc l'apparence spectrale) de ces cadavres stellaires peut changer drastiquement avec le temps à mesure qu'ils se refroidissent. Ce phénomène est généralement interprété comme le résultat d'une compétition entre divers mécanismes de transport des éléments dans l'enveloppe stellaire (tels que la diffusion, la convection, les vents et l'accrétion), mais demeure mal compris à plusieurs égards. Il est impératif de remédier à cette situation pour être en mesure d'exploiter le potentiel immense des naines blanches pour notre compréhension du passé de la Galaxie. Pour mieux caractériser l'incidence de l'évolution spectrale, nous effectuons tout d'abord une analyse spectroscopique exhaustive de près de 2000 naines blanches chaudes (Teff > 30,000 K) observées par le relevé SDSS. Nous déterminons les propriétés atmosphériques (notamment la température effective et la composition de surface) de ces objets à l'aide d'un nouvel ensemble de modèles d'atmosphère calculé spécifiquement à cet effet. En examinant la fréquence relative des étoiles riches en hydrogène et riches en hélium en fonction de la température, nous obtenons pour la première fois un portrait empirique détaillé de l'évolution spectrale des naines blanches chaudes. Plus spécifiquement, nous déduisons (1) qu'environ une étoile sur quatre arrive sur la séquence de refroidissement avec une atmosphère d'hélium, et (2) qu'environ deux tiers de ces objets développent ultérieurement une atmosphère d'hydrogène. En outre, nous accordons une attention particulière aux naines blanches hybrides (qui montrent à la fois des traces d'hydrogène et d'hélium) de notre échantillon et à ce que ces objets distinctifs nous apprennent sur l'évolution spectrale. Nous étudions ensuite l'évolution spectrale d'un point de vue théorique en modélisant les transformations chimiques qui s'opèrent dans les naines blanches. Pour ce faire, nous utilisons le code d'évolution stellaire STELUM, qui inclut un traitement cohérent et réaliste du transport des éléments et nous permet donc de réaliser les simulations numériques d'évolution spectrale les plus sophistiquées à ce jour. Nous modélisons la diffusion de l'hydrogène résiduel dans une enveloppe d'hélium à haute température, qui mène ultimement à la formation d'une atmosphère d'hydrogène. Nous simulons également le mélange convectif de cette couche superficielle d'hydrogène avec la couche sous-jacente d'hélium à basse température, qui produit à nouveau une surface dominée par l'hélium. En outre, nous étudions le transport du carbone dans les étoiles riches en hélium, incluant à la fois le tri gravitationnel à haute température et le dragage convectif à basse température. Ces calculs donnent lieu à plusieurs résultats astrophysiques d'intérêt. Nous obtenons notamment une contrainte inédite sur la quantité d'hydrogène résiduel contenue dans les naines blanches chaudes dominées par l'hélium. Nous démontrons aussi que la bifurcation observée dans le diagramme couleur-magnitude des naines blanches découvertes par le satellite Gaia est une signature du processus de mélange convectif à basse température. Par ailleurs, nos modèles fournissent de précieuses informations sur les propriétés des étoiles polluées par le carbone, en particulier sur leur masse et leur zone convective. Enfin, le résultat le plus important de cette thèse est la résolution définitive du problème le plus sérieux de la théorie de l'évolution spectrale, soit le problème de l'origine de l'hydrogène à la surface des naines blanches de type DBA. / This thesis presents an in-depth empirical and theoretical study of the spectral evolution of white dwarf stars, with a particular focus on hot white dwarfs. The atmospheric composition (and thus the spectral appearance) of these stellar remnants can change drastically over time as they cool. This phenomenon is generally interpreted as the result of an interplay between various element transport mechanisms in the stellar envelope (such as diffusion, convection, winds, and accretion), but remains poorly understood in several respects. It is imperative to remedy this situation to be able to exploit the immense potential of white dwarfs for our understanding of the past of the Galaxy. To better characterize the incidence of spectral evolution, we first carry out an exhaustive spectroscopic analysis of nearly 2000 hot white dwarfs (Teff > 30,000 K) observed by the SDSS survey. We determine the atmospheric properties (in particular the effective temperature and surface composition) of these objects using a new set of model atmospheres calculated specifically for this purpose. By examining the relative frequency of hydrogen-rich and helium-rich stars as a function of temperature, we obtain for the first time a detailed empirical picture of the spectral evolution of hot white dwarfs. More specifically, we infer (1) that about one in four stars enters the cooling sequence with a helium atmosphere, and (2) that about two-thirds of these objects eventually develop a hydrogen atmosphere. Furthermore, we pay special attention to the hybrid white dwarfs (which exhibit traces of both hydrogen and helium) in our sample and to what can be learned about spectral evolution from these distinctive objects. We then study spectral evolution from a theoretical point of view by modeling the chemical transformations that take place in white dwarfs. To do this, we use the stellar evolution code STELUM, which includes a consistent and realistic treatment of element transport and therefore allows us to perform the most sophisticated numerical simulations of spectral evolution to date. We model the diffusion of residual hydrogen in a helium envelope at high temperature, which ultimately leads to the formation of a hydrogen atmosphere. We also simulate the convective mixing of this superficial hydrogen layer with the underlying helium layer at low temperature, which once again produces a helium-dominated surface. Furthermore, we study the transport of carbon in helium-rich stars, including both gravitational settling at high temperature and convective dredge-up at low temperature. These calculations give rise to several astrophysical results of interest. In particular, we obtain an unprecedented constraint on the amount of residual hydrogen contained within hot helium-dominated white dwarfs. We also demonstrate that the bifurcation observed in the color-magnitude diagram of white dwarfs discovered by the Gaia satellite is a signature of the convective mixing process at low temperature. Furthermore, our models provide valuable information on the properties of carbon-polluted stars, in particular on their mass and convective zone. Finally, the most important result of this thesis is the definitive resolution of the most serious problem of the theory of spectral evolution, namely the problem of the origin of hydrogen at the surface of DBA-type white dwarfs.