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Atlas and Catalog of Dark Clouds Based on Digitized Sky Survey I
We present a quantitative atlas and catalog of dark clouds derived byusing the optical database ``Digitized Sky Survey I''. Applying atraditional star-count technique to 1043 plates contained in thedatabase, we produced an AV map covering the entire region inthe galactic latitude range |b| ≤ 40°. The map was drawn at twodifferent angular resolutions of 6' and 18', and is shown in detail in aseries of figures in this paper. Based on the AV map, weidentified 2448 dark clouds and 2841 clumps located inside them. Somephysical parameters, such as the position, extent, and opticalextinction, were measured for each of the clouds and clumps. We alsosearched for counterparts among already known dark clouds in theliterature. The catalog of dark clouds presented in this paper lists thecloud parameters as well as the counterparts.
| Can Life Develop in the Expanded Habitable Zones around Red Giant Stars?
We present some new ideas about the possibility of life developingaround subgiant and red giant stars. Our study concerns the temporalevolution of the habitable zone. The distance between the star and thehabitable zone, as well as its width, increases with time as aconsequence of stellar evolution. The habitable zone moves outward afterthe star leaves the main sequence, sweeping a wider range of distancesfrom the star until the star reaches the tip of the asymptotic giantbranch. Currently there is no clear evidence as to when life actuallyformed on the Earth, but recent isotopic data suggest life existed atleast as early as 7×108 yr after the Earth was formed.Thus, if life could form and evolve over time intervals from5×108 to 109 yr, then there could behabitable planets with life around red giant stars. For a 1Msolar star at the first stages of its post-main-sequenceevolution, the temporal transit of the habitable zone is estimated to beseveral times 109 yr at 2 AU and around 108 yr at9 AU. Under these circumstances life could develop at distances in therange 2-9 AU in the environment of subgiant or giant stars, and in thefar distant future in the environment of our own solar system. After astar completes its first ascent along the red giant branch and the Heflash takes place, there is an additional stable period of quiescent Hecore burning during which there is another opportunity for life todevelop. For a 1 Msolar star there is an additional109 yr with a stable habitable zone in the region from 7 to22 AU. Space astronomy missions, such as proposed for the TerrestrialPlanet Finder (TPF) and Darwin, that focus on searches for signatures oflife on extrasolar planets, should also consider the environments ofsubgiants and red giant stars as potentially interesting sites forunderstanding the development of life. We performed a preliminaryevaluation of the difficulty of interferometric observations of planetsaround red giant stars compared to a main-sequence star environment. Weshow that pathfinder missions for TPF and Darwin, such as Eclipse andFKSI, have sufficient angular resolution and sensitivity to search forhabitable planets around some of the closest evolved stars of thesubgiant and red giant class.
| Single-Visit Photometric and Obscurational Completeness
We report a method that uses ``completeness'' to estimate the number ofextrasolar planets discovered by an observing program with adirect-imaging instrument. We develop a completeness function forEarth-like planets on ``habitable'' orbits for an instrument with acentral field obscuration, uniform sensitivity in an annular detectionzone, and limiting sensitivity that is expressed as a ``deltamagnitude'' with respect to the star, determined by systematic effects(given adequate exposure time). We demonstrate our method of estimationby applying it to our understanding of the coronagraphic version of theTerrestrial Planet Finder (TPF-C) mission as of 2004 October. Weestablish an initial relationship between the size, quality, andstability of the instrument's optics and its ability to meet missionscience requirements. We provide options for increasing the fidelity andversatility of the models on which our method is based, and we discusshow the method could be extended to model the TPF-C mission as a wholeto verify that its design can meet the science requirements.
| S4N: A spectroscopic survey of stars in the solar neighborhood. The Nearest 15 pc
We report the results of a high-resolution spectroscopic survey of allthe stars more luminous than M_V = 6.5 mag within 14.5 pc from the Sun.The Hipparcos catalog's completeness limits guarantee that our survey iscomprehensive and free from some of the selection effects in othersamples of nearby stars. The resulting spectroscopic database, which wehave made publicly available, includes spectra for 118 stars obtainedwith a resolving power of R ≃ 50 000, continuous spectral coveragebetween 362-921 nm, and typical signal-to-noise ratios in therange 150-600. We derive stellar parameters and perform a preliminaryabundance and kinematic analysis of the F-G-K stars in the sample. Theinferred metallicity ([Fe/H]) distribution is centered at about -0.1dex, and shows a standard deviation of 0.2 dex. A comparison with largersamples of Hipparcos stars, some of which have been part of previousabundance studies, suggests that our limited sample is representative ofa larger volume of the local thin disk. We identify a number ofmetal-rich K-type stars which appear to be very old, confirming theclaims for the existence of such stars in the solar neighborhood. Withatmospheric effective temperatures and gravities derived independentlyof the spectra, we find that our classical LTE model-atmosphere analysisof metal-rich (and mainly K-type) stars provides discrepant abundancesfrom neutral and ionized lines of several metals. This ionizationimbalance could be a sign of departures from LTE or inhomogeneousstructure, which are ignored in the interpretation of the spectra.Alternatively, but seemingly unlikely, the mismatch could be explainedby systematic errors in the scale of effective temperatures. Based ontransitions of majority species, we discuss abundances of 16 chemicalelements. In agreement with earlier studies we find that the abundanceratios to iron of Si, Sc, Ti, Co, and Zn become smaller as the ironabundance increases until approaching the solar values, but the trendsreverse for higher iron abundances. At any given metallicity, stars witha low galactic rotational velocity tend to have high abundances of Mg,Si, Ca, Sc, Ti, Co, Zn, and Eu, but low abundances of Ba, Ce, and Nd.The Sun appears deficient by roughly 0.1 dex in O, Si, Ca, Sc, Ti, Y,Ce, Nd, and Eu, compared to its immediate neighbors with similar ironabundances.Based on observations made with the 2.7 m telescope at the McDonaldObservatory of the University of Texas at Austin (Texas), and the 1.52 mtelescope at the European Southern Observatory (La Silla, Chile) underthe agreement with the CNPq/Observatorio Nacional (Brazil).Tables 3-5 are only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/420/183
| NEXXUS: A comprehensive ROSAT survey of coronal X-ray emission among nearby solar-like stars
We present a final summary of all ROSAT X-ray observations of nearbystars. All available ROSAT observations with the ROSAT PSPC, HRI and WFChave been matched with the CNS4 catalog of nearby stars and the resultsgathered in the Nearby X-ray and XUV-emitting Stars data base, availablevia www from the Home Page of the Hamburger Sternwarte at the URLhttp://www.hs.uni-hamburg.de/DE/For/Gal/Xgroup/nexxus. Newvolume-limited samples of F/G-stars (dlim = 14 pc), K-stars(dlim = 12 pc), and M-stars (dlim = 6 pc) areconstructed within which detection rates of more than 90% are obtained;only one star (GJ 1002) remains undetected in a pointed follow-upobservation. F/G-stars, K-stars and M-stars have indistinguishablesurface X-ray flux distributions, and the lower envelope of the observeddistribution at FX ≈ 104 erg/cm2/sis the X-ray flux level observed in solar coronal holes. Large amplitudevariations in X-ray flux are uncommon for solar-like stars, but maybemore common for stars near the bottom of the main sequence; a largeamplitude flare is reported for the M star LHS 288. Long term X-raylight curves are presented for α Cen A/B and Gl 86, showingvariations on time scales of weeks and demonstrating that α Cen Bis a flare star.Tables 1-3 are also available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/417/651
| Improved Astrometry and Photometry for the Luyten Catalog. II. Faint Stars and the Revised Catalog
We complete construction of a catalog containing improved astrometry andnew optical/infrared photometry for the vast majority of NLTT starslying in the overlap of regions covered by POSS I and by the secondincremental Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) release, approximately 44%of the sky. The epoch 2000 positions are typically accurate to 130 mas,the proper motions to 5.5 mas yr-1, and the V-J colors to0.25 mag. Relative proper motions of binary components are measured to 3mas yr-1. The false-identification rate is ~1% for11<~V<~18 and substantially less at brighter magnitudes. Theseimprovements permit the construction of a reduced proper-motion diagramthat, for the first time, allows one to classify NLTT stars intomain-sequence (MS) stars, subdwarfs (SDs), and white dwarfs (WDs). We inturn use this diagram to analyze the properties of both our catalog andthe NLTT catalog on which it is based. In sharp contrast to popularbelief, we find that NLTT incompleteness in the plane is almostcompletely concentrated in MS stars, and that SDs and WDs are detectedalmost uniformly over the sky δ>-33deg. Our catalogwill therefore provide a powerful tool to probe these populationsstatistically, as well as to reliably identify individual SDs and WDs.
| Lithium and rotation in F and G dwarfs and subgiants
Lithium abundances have been determined in 127 F and G Pop I stars basedon new measurements of the equivalent width of the lambda 6707 ÅLi I line from their high resolution CCD spectra. Distances and absolutemagnitudes of these stars have been obtained from the HipparcosCatalogue and their masses and ages derived, enabling us to investigatethe behaviour of lithium as a function of these parameters. Based ontheir location on the HR diagram superposed on theoretical evolutionarytracks, the sample of the stars has been chosen to ensure that they havemore or less completed their Li depletion on the main sequence. A largespread in the Li abundances is found at any given effective temperatureespecially in the already spun down late F and early G stars. Thisspread persists even if the ``Li-dip'' stars that have evolved from themain sequence temperature interval 6500-6800 K are excluded. Stars inthe mass range up to 2 M/Msun when divided into threemetallicity groups show a linear correlation between Li abundance andmass, albeit with a large dispersion around it which is not fullyaccounted for by age either. The large depletions and the observedspread in Li are in contrast to the predictions of the standard stellarmodel calculations and suggest that they are aided by non-standardprocesses depending upon variables besides mass, age and metallicity.The present study was undertaken to examine, in particular, the effectsof rotation on the depletion of Li. No one-to-one correlation is foundbetween the Li abundance and the present projected rotational velocity.Instead the observed abundances seem to be dictated by the rotationalhistory of the star. However, it is noted that even this interpretationis subject to the inherent limitation in the measurement of the observedLi EQW for large rotational velocities.Table 1 is only available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymousftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/409/251
| Automated spectroscopic abundances of A and F-type stars using echelle spectrographs. II. Abundances of 140 A-F stars from ELODIE
Using the method presented in Erspamer & North (\cite{erspamer},hereafter Paper I), detailed abundances of 140 stars are presented. Theuncertainties characteristic of this method are presented and discussed.In particular, we show that for a S/N ratio higher than 200, the methodis applicable to stars with a rotational velocity as high as 200 kms-1. There is no correlation between abundances and Vsin i,except a spurious one for Sr, Sc and Na which we explain by the smallnumber of lines of these elements combined with a locally biasedcontinuum. Metallic giants (Hauck \cite{hauck}) show larger abundancesthan normal giants for at least 8 elements: Al, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Niand Ba. The anticorrelation for Na, Mg, Si, Ca, Fe and Ni with Vsin isuggested by Varenne & Monier (\cite{varenne99}) is not confirmed.The predictions of the Montréal models (e.g. Richard et al.\cite{richard01}) are not fulfilled in general. However, a correlationbetween left [(Fe)/(H)right ] and log g is found for stars of 1.8 to 2.0M_sun. Various possible causes are discussed, but the physical realityof this correlation seems inescapable.Based on observations collected at the 1.93 m telescope at theObservatoire de Haute-Provence (St-Michel l'Observatoire, France) andCORALIE.Based on observations collected at the Swiss 1.2 m Leonard Eulertelescopes at the European Southern Observatory (La Silla, Chile).Tables 5 and 6 are only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u.strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/398/1121
| Catalogue of Apparent Diameters and Absolute Radii of Stars (CADARS) - Third edition - Comments and statistics
The Catalogue, available at the Centre de Données Stellaires deStrasbourg, consists of 13 573 records concerning the results obtainedfrom different methods for 7778 stars, reported in the literature. Thefollowing data are listed for each star: identifications, apparentmagnitude, spectral type, apparent diameter in arcsec, absolute radiusin solar units, method of determination, reference, remarks. Commentsand statistics obtained from CADARS are given. The Catalogue isavailable in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcar?J/A+A/367/521
| The proper motions of fundamental stars. I. 1535 stars from the Basic FK5
A direct combination of the positions given in the HIPPARCOS cataloguewith astrometric ground-based catalogues having epochs later than 1939allows us to obtain new proper motions for the 1535 stars of the BasicFK5. The results are presented as the catalogue Proper Motions ofFundamental Stars (PMFS), Part I. The median precision of the propermotions is 0.5 mas/year for mu alpha cos delta and 0.7mas/year for mu delta . The non-linear motions of thephotocentres of a few hundred astrometric binaries are separated intotheir linear and elliptic motions. Since the PMFS proper motions do notinclude the information given by the proper motions from othercatalogues (HIPPARCOS, FK5, FK6, etc.) this catalogue can be used as anindependent source of the proper motions of the fundamental stars.Catalogue (Table 3) is only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strastg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/365/222
| The Age of beta Pictoris
We have reanalyzed data for the proposed moving group associated withbeta Pictoris in order to determine if the group (or part of it) is realand, if so, to derive an improved age estimate for beta Pic. By usingnew, more accurate proper motions from PPM and Hipparcos and a few newradial velocities, we conclude that on kinematic grounds, most of theproposed members of the moving group are not, in fact, associated withbeta Pic. However, two M dwarfs-or three, actually, since one of them isa nearly equal mass binary-have space motions that coincide with that ofbeta Pic to within 1 km s^-1 with small error bars. Based on acolor-magnitude diagram derived from accurate photometry and Hipparcosparallaxes, these two possible proper-motion companions to beta Pic arevery young; we derive an age of ~20 Myr by comparison with theoreticaltracks from F. D'Antona & I. Mazzitelli. In fact, the proposed betaPic companions comprise two of the three youngest M dwarfs in the sampleof 160 dM stars for which we have data. The chromospheric and coronalactivities of these two stars also confirm that they are quite young. Weargue that the probability that two of the three youngest nearby Mdwarfs would accurately share the space motion of beta Pic by chance isquite small, and therefore we believe that beta Pic and the two M dwarfs(GL 799 and GL 803) were formed together. The estimated age for beta Picis then 20+/-10 Myr, where the uncertainty in the age arises primarilyfrom possible errors in the pre-main-sequence isochrones and in theconversion from color to effective temperature. This young age for betaPic supports the contention that the IR excess for the Vega-like starsis age dependent.
| A Second Catalog of Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2 Filter Photometry: Ultraviolet Photometry of 614 Stars
Ultraviolet photometry from the Wisconsin Experiment Package on theOrbiting Astronomical Observatory 2 (OAO 2) is presented for 614 stars.Previously unpublished magnitudes from 12 filter bandpasses withwavelengths ranging from 1330 to 4250 Å have been placed on thewhite dwarf model atmosphere absolute flux scale. The fluxes wereconverted to magnitudes using V=0 for F(V)=3.46x10^-9 ergs cm^-2 s^-1Å^-1, or m_lambda=-2.5logF_lambda-21.15. This second catalogeffectively doubles the amount of OAO 2 photometry available in theliterature and includes many objects too bright to be observed withmodern space observatories.
| The ROSAT all-sky survey catalogue of the nearby stars
We present X-ray data for all entries of the Third Catalogue of NearbyStars \cite[(Gliese & Jahreiss 1991)]{gli91} that have been detectedas X-ray sources in the ROSAT all-sky survey. The catalogue contains1252 entries yielding an average detection rate of 32.9 percent. Inaddition to count rates, source detection parameters, hardness ratios,and X-ray fluxes we also list X-ray luminosities derived from Hipparcosparallaxes. Catalogue also available at CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| Chromospheric models for late A-type stars
The chromospheres of alpha Aql (Altair) and alpha Cep (Alderamin) areinvestigated. Different semi-empirical model atmospheres areconstructed, and the predicted spectra are compared to the observationsof the hydrogen Lyman-alpha line (IUE) and carbon (both neutral andionized) multiplets (GHRS-HST). It is found that chromospheric models atlow temperature ( ~ 10000 K) which fit the Lalpha line, produce C iilines in absorption, contrary to observations. Among the modelsinvestigated, only those with a mean temperature of ~ 20000 K are ableto fit simultaneously the Lalpha and C ii lines. Provisional referencemodels are proposed for alpha Aql. The lower emission of alpha Cep withrespect to alpha Aql is better explained by a difference of column massthan by a difference of temperature. The chromospheric column mass ratio(alpha Cep / alpha Aql) is estimated to about 0.8. For both stars, therelatively narrow dips of the C ii emission feature cannot be of stellarorigin, owing to the fast rotation, but of interstellar absorptionnature. Based on observations by the IUE satellite collected atVillafranca ESA IUE Observatory and at the GSFC NASA IUE Observatory.Also based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble SpaceTelescope, obtained from the data archive, at the Space TelescopeScience Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universitiesfor Research in Astronomy, Inc., under contract NAS 5-26555.
| The Pleiades and alpha Persei Clusters
The upper-main-sequence members of the Pleiades and alpha Perseiclusters, considered as members of the Local Association, yield meanparallaxes that are only 4% larger than the mean values from Hipparcosobservations. The (log T_eff, M_V) diagram reveals that in thetemperature range from 6000 to 8000 K, the Hyades and alpha Perseimain-sequence members are nearly identical and several tenths of amagnitude brighter than similar stars on the Pleiades main sequence. Thedeparture of the Pleiades main sequence cannot be traced to either ageor heavy-element abundance differences in the range thought to apply tothese clusters. A 50% increase in the helium abundance of Pleiades overHyades stars could account for the luminosity difference. Alternativeexplanations are that the Pleiades cluster is rejected from superclustermembership and/or that the Hipparcos parallax results for the Pleiadesare in error by some 10%.
| Determination of the temperatures of selected ISO flux calibration stars using the Infrared Flux Method
Effective temperatures for 420 stars with spectral types between A0 andK3, and luminosity classes between II and V, selected for a fluxcalibration of the Infrared Space Observatory, ISO, have been determinedusing the Infrared Flux Method (IRFM). The determinations are based onnarrow and wide band photometric data obtained for this purpose, andtake into account previously published narrow-band measures oftemperature. Regression coefficients are given for relations between thedetermined temperatures and the photometric parameters (B2-V1), (b-y)and (B-V), corrected for interstellar extinction through use ofHipparcos parallaxes. A correction for the effect of metallicity on thedetermination of integrated flux is proposed. The importance of aknowledge of metallicity in the representation of derived temperaturesfor Class V, IV and III stars by empirical functions is discussed andformulae given. An estimate is given for the probable error of eachtemperature determination. Based on data from the ESA HipparcosAstrometry Satellite.
| The ROSAT all-sky survey catalogue of optically bright late-type giants and supergiants
We present X-ray data for all late-type (A, F, G, K, M) giants andsupergiants (luminosity classes I to III-IV) listed in the Bright StarCatalogue that have been detected in the ROSAT all-sky survey.Altogether, our catalogue contains 450 entries of X-ray emitting evolvedlate-type stars, which corresponds to an average detection rate of about11.7 percent. The selection of the sample stars, the data analysis, thecriteria for an accepted match between star and X-ray source, and thedetermination of X-ray fluxes are described. Catalogue only available atCDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| Towards a fundamental calibration of stellar parameters of A, F, G, K dwarfs and giants
I report on the implementation of the empirical surface brightnesstechnique using the near-infrared Johnson broadband { (V-K)} colour assuitable sampling observable aimed at providing accurate effectivetemperatures of 537 dwarfs and giants of A-F-G-K spectral-type selectedfor a flux calibration of the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). Thesurface brightness-colour correlation is carefully calibrated using aset of high-precision angular diameters measured by moderninterferometry techniques. The stellar sizes predicted by thiscorrelation are then combined with the bolometric flux measurementsavailable for a subset of 327 ISO standard stars in order to determineone-dimensional { (T, V-K)} temperature scales of dwarfs and giants. Theresulting very tight relationships show an intrinsic scatter induced byobservational photometry and bolometric flux measurements well below thetarget accuracy of +/- 1 % required for temperature determinations ofthe ISO standards. Major improvements related to the actual directcalibration are the high-precision broadband { K} magnitudes obtainedfor this purpose and the use of Hipparcos parallaxes for dereddeningphotometric data. The temperature scale of F-G-K dwarfs shows thesmallest random errors closely consistent with those affecting theobservational photometry alone, indicating a negligible contributionfrom the component due to the bolometric flux measurements despite thewide range in metallicity for these stars. A more detailed analysisusing a subset of selected dwarfs with large metallicity gradientsstrongly supports the actual bolometric fluxes as being practicallyunaffected by the metallicity of field stars, in contrast with recentresults claiming somewhat significant effects. The temperature scale ofF-G-K giants is affected by random errors much larger than those ofdwarfs, indicating that most of the relevant component of the scattercomes from the bolometric flux measurements. Since the giants have smallmetallicities, only gravity effects become likely responsible for theincreased level of scatter. The empirical stellar temperatures withsmall model-dependent corrections are compared with the semiempiricaldata by the Infrared Flux Method (IRFM) using the large sample of 327comparison stars. One major achievement is that all empirical andsemiempirical temperature estimates of F-G-K giants and dwarfs are foundto be closely consistent between each other to within +/- 1 %. However,there is also evidence for somewhat significant differential effects.These include an average systematic shift of (2.33 +/- 0.13) % affectingthe A-type stars, the semiempirical estimates being too low by thisamount, and an additional component of scatter as significant as +/- 1 %affecting all the comparison stars. The systematic effect confirms theresults from other investigations and indicates that previousdiscrepancies in applying the IRFM to A-type stars are not yet removedby using new LTE line-blanketed model atmospheres along with the updatedabsolute flux calibration, whereas the additional random component isfound to disappear in a broadband version of the IRFM using an infraredreference flux derived from wide rather than narrow band photometricdata. Table 1 and 2 are only available in the electronic form of thispaper
| An ultraviolet, optical and infrared study of Herbig Ae/Be stars
We have selected a list of 45 Herbig Ae/Be-type candidates on the baseof their IRAS colors and their spectral types. We propose the presenceof a broad infrared excess as a defining criterion for these stars,rather than the detection of circumstellar nebulosity. In this way, ourselection also includes more evolved young stars, that are no longerembedded in their star-forming region. A few objects in our sample arewell-known Herbig Ae/Be stars, others are new. New optical andnear-infrared photometric observations, as well as ultraviolet ones, arepresented. The position of the objects in several color-color diagrams,as well as their de-reddened energy distributions, permit a reliableclassification. Three objects probably are binaries with a coolsecondary, 9 appear to be related to the Vega-type stars and 33 objectscan be classified as genuine Herbig Ae/Be stars. The majority of theHerbig Ae/Be stars have a dusty environment consisting of a distinct hotand cool component. These isolated Herbig Ae/Be stars suggest anevolution from embedded Herbig Ae/Be stars to beta Pictoris-likemain-sequence stars, an evolution in which planet formation may play animportant role. Based on observations obtained at the European SouthernObservatory, La Silla, Chile; and at the Swiss Telescope, La Silla,Chile; and at the Swiss Telescope, Hochalpine ForschungsstationJungfraujoch, Switzerland, and with the International UltravioletExplorer (IUE)
| The Angular Momentum of Main Sequence Stars and Its Relation to Stellar Activity
Rotational velocities are reported for intermediate-mass main sequencestars it the field. The measurements are based on new, high S/N CCDspectra from the Coudé Feed Telescope of the Kitt Peak NationalObservatory. We analyze these rotation rates for a dependence on bothmass and age. We compare the average rotation speeds of the field starswith mean velocities for young stars in Orion, the Alpha Persei cluster,the Pleiades, and the Hyades. The average rotation speeds of stars moremassive than $\sim1.6$ \msun\experience little or no change during theevolutionary lifetimes of these stars on the zero age main sequence orwithin the main sequence band. Less massive stars in the range betwee n1.6\msun\ and 1.3\msun\ also show little decline in mean rotation ratewhile they are on the main sequence, and at most a factor of 2 decreasein velocity as they evolve off the main sequence. The {\it e}-foldingtime for the loss of angular momentum b y the latter group of stars isat least 1--2 billion years. This inferred characteristic time scale forspindown is far longer than the established rotational braking time forsolar-type stars with masses below $\sim1.3$ \msun. We conclude from acomparison of the trends in rotation with trends in chromospheric andcoronal activity that the overall decline in mean rotation speed alongthe main sequence, from $\sim2$ \msun\ down to $\sim1.3$ \msun, isimposed during the pre-main sequence phase of evolution, and that thispattern changes little thereafter while the star resides on the mainsequence. The magnetic activity implicated in the rotational spindown ofthe Sun and of similar stars during their main sequence lifetimes mus ttherefore play only a minor role in determining the rotation rates ofthe intermediate mass stars, either because a solar-like dynamo is weakor absent, or else the geometry of the magnetic field is appreciablyless effective in removing angular momentu m from these stars. (SECTION:Stars)
| Coronae on solar-like stars.
The results of a complete and sensitive X-ray survey of all known starsof spectral type A, F, and G in the immediate solar vicinity withdistances less than 13pc are presented. The X-ray data were obtainedprimarily from the ROSAT all-sky survey (RASS); those program stars notdetected in the RASS data, were subsequently studied in the ROSATpointed observation program. The detection rate among the F stars in thesample is 95%, that of the G stars 83%, the non-detections being due tosurvey observations. On the other hand, none of the A-stars withspectral type earlier than A7 could be detected even in sensitivepointings. I conclude from this that coronal formation in stars withsurface convection zones is universal. The X-ray luminosities range overabout four orders of magnitude, and can be well described with alog-normal distribution. Large X-ray outputs are correlated withkinematic age as assessed from space motions. I show the existence of acorrelation between the total emitted X-ray surface flux and spectralhardness, such that more luminous objects tend to have larger spectralhardness, thus implying higher coronal temperatures. The mean X-raysurface fluxes span the same range as is observed for various solarcoronal features, with a rather well-defined minimum X-ray flux beingpresent; this minimum X-ray surface flux agrees very well with the X-raysurface flux of solar coronal holes. It therefore appears that a coronalhole represents the minimum state of "activity" not only for the Sun butalso for other stars. I discuss a few implications of this findingespecially with regard to properties of stars in Maunder minima states.
| Searching for chromospheric Lyman-α emission in A-F stars from IUE high resolution spectra.
With the aim of locating the boundary for the onset of chromosphericemission in the H-R diagram we have undertaken a spectroscopic study ofthe hydrogen Ly-α, using the IUE short wavelength spectrograph inthe high resolution mode. We report here on the analysis of IUE spectraof 11 A-F type stars. We have detected Ly-α emission in stars asearly as A7 (B-V=0.19), establishing a new limit for the presence ofchromospheres. The constant or the slowly decreasing trend of theLy-α flux for B-V<0.5 is related to the decreasing trend ofX-ray emission in the same spectral type region. From the interstellarabsorption feature affecting the stellar Ly-α emission, the Hicolumn density is estimated.
| Angular pointing and guidance for the Sydney University Stellar Interferometer
The Sydney University Stellar Interferometer (SUSI) uses siderostats(plane, alt-azimuth mounted mirrors) to reflect starlight into theinstrument. The analysis of the pointing and guidance of the siderostatsby traditional methods is not practical and vector algebra has been usedto develop the required algorithms. Real siderostats will not be idealand can be modelled by a set of parameters. The methods for determiningthe model parameters and for incorporating them into the guidance andpointing algorithms is described. Field rotation also affects theoperation of SUSI, and the field rotation angle and related quantitiesare also determined.
| The Pulkovo Spectrophotometric Catalog of Bright Stars in the Range from 320 TO 1080 NM
A spectrophotometric catalog is presented, combining results of numerousobservations made by Pulkovo astronomers at different observing sites.The catalog consists of three parts: the first contains the data for 602stars in the spectral range of 320--735 nm with a resolution of 5 nm,the second one contains 285 stars in the spectral range of 500--1080 nmwith a resolution of 10 nm and the third one contains 278 stars combinedfrom the preceding catalogs in the spectral range of 320--1080 nm with aresolution of 10 nm. The data are presented in absolute energy unitsW/m(2) m, with a step of 2.5 nm and with an accuracy not lower than1.5--2.0%.
| A microwave survey of southern early-type stars
A multi-epoch survey with the Parkes telescope of a completedistance-limited sample of 57 stars earlier than F6 has detectedpossible 8.4-GHz emission from 16 stars. Single-epoch partial synthesisobservations with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) at 4.8GHz on 27 stars from the same sample (including the possible Parkesdetections) found no emission at the stellar positions above a fluxdensity limit of 1.2-1.9 mJy, but the maps show that the Parkesdetections are not merely the results of confusion of sources within theParkes beam. Three early F stars with UV and/or X-ray emission wereobserved simultaneously at 4.8 and 8.4 GHz in 12-h syntheses with the6-element ATCA. Two of these stars were from the above sample and thethird was the supergiant Alpha Carinae. We detected only alphaCar withflux densities of 300+/-65 and 140+/-65 muJy at 4.8 and 8.6 GHz(S~nu^-1.3+/-1.3). We discuss the legitimacy of the Parkes 3-6sigmadetections and show that, although none has been detected by synthesisobservations, there is no compelling reason for rejecting them on theinternal evidence. The power emitted by the supergiant alphaCar issimilar to that of the 16 possible Parkes detections, although itsactivity index is orders of magnitude lower. We show that this emissioncannot be thermal bremsstrahlung from the 10^7.2-K corona of the starbut is probably synchrotron emission from a magnetically maintainedcorona.
| An analysis of nine moving-blusters.
Not Available
| Pre-Main-Sequence Stars in the Pleiades Supercluster
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1995AJ....110.1749E&db_key=AST
| Vitesses radiales. Catalogue WEB: Wilson Evans Batten. Subtittle: Radial velocities: The Wilson-Evans-Batten catalogue.
We give a common version of the two catalogues of Mean Radial Velocitiesby Wilson (1963) and Evans (1978) to which we have added the catalogueof spectroscopic binary systems (Batten et al. 1989). For each star,when possible, we give: 1) an acronym to enter SIMBAD (Set ofIdentifications Measurements and Bibliography for Astronomical Data) ofthe CDS (Centre de Donnees Astronomiques de Strasbourg). 2) the numberHIC of the HIPPARCOS catalogue (Turon 1992). 3) the CCDM number(Catalogue des Composantes des etoiles Doubles et Multiples) byDommanget & Nys (1994). For the cluster stars, a precise study hasbeen done, on the identificator numbers. Numerous remarks point out theproblems we have had to deal with.
| The determination of T_eff_ of B, A and F main sequence stars from the continuum between 3200 A and 3600 A.
A method of determination of the effective temperature of B, A and Fmain sequence stars is proposed, using the slope of the continuumbetween 3200A and 3600A. The effective temperature calibration is basedon a sample of stars with energy distributions known from UV to the red.We have determined the Balmer jump and the effective temperatures for235 main sequence stars. The temperatures found have been compared withthose derived by Underhill et al. (1979), Kontizas & Theodossiou(1980), Theodossiou (1985), Morossi & Malagnini (1985). Thecomparison showed good agreement for most of the stars in common. On theother hand, the temperatures derived from the reddening-free colourfactor QUV, from the colour index (m1965-V) and from (B-V), given inGulati et al. (1989), are systematically lower than our temperatures,however the differences are within one-sigma error.
| Statistical studies of visual double and multiple stars. II. A catalogue of nearby wide binary and multiple systems.
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1994RMxAA..28...43P&db_key=AST
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Triangle austral |
| Right ascension: | 15h55m08.50s |
| Declination: | -63°25'50.0" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 2.85 |
| Distance: | 12.309 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | 0 |
| Proper motion Dec: | 0 |
| B-T magnitude: | 3.18 |
| V-T magnitude: | 2.851 |
Catalogs and designations:
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