Studies on stellar rotation. III. An improvement of the treatment of the brightening distribution of rotating and tidally distorted stars

We have computed new values of the gravity-darkening exponents β1 (GDE) incorporating the interior-atmosphere coupling by combining our method developed previously and the properties of modern atmosphere models. The mass range where this coupling is applied is extended in the present work from 0.08 to 40 M⊙. The effects of the alternative theories of convective transport of energy on GDEs is also investigated. These new values of GDEs are compared to recent observations and we found a good agreement, mainly at the crucial transition phase. In addition, the gravity-darkening coefficients y were computed for the u v b y U B V R I J H K passbands using recent atmosphere models instead of the black body approximation. All this information is made available in the form of tables and can be obtained from EDP Sciences, or for specific calculations, directly from the author.