Revealing the Nature of HD 63401

P. Kashko, V. Khalack, O. Kobzar, D. Tvardovskyi, M. Perron-Cormier

HD 63401 is a known magnetic chemically peculiar (mCP) star that is rotating slowly and probably possesses a hydrodynamically stable stellar atmosphere. In the latter case the atomic diffusion mechanism enforced by the magnetic field can lead to a stratification of elemental abundances with optical depth. HD 63401 was recently observed with the space telescope TESS, and its light curve shows distinct variability, which is usually detected in the α² CVn type stars. Based on the analysis of the light curve we derived a rotational period of P = 2.414 ± 0.018 d and studied the variability of the effective temperature on this period. The estimates of the effective temperature and surface gravity were obtained from the best fit of Balmer line profiles observed in seven high-resolution spectra of the star acquired with the spectropolarimeter ESPaDOnS. The same spectra were used to perform an abundance analysis employing the modified ZEEMAN2 code. We have found that He, C, P, V, Y, and Dy are deficient in the atmosphere of HD 63401, while Na, Al, Si, Fe, Zn, and Sr are significantly overabundant.

Proceedings of the Polish Astronomical Society, vol. 11, 209-213 (2020)

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