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Local subgiants and time-scales of disc formation
Detailed evolutionary tracks and basic stellar parameters for the nearbysubgiants 104 Tau and HD 168443 are presented and discussed. Both serveas invaluable key stars for accurate age-datings, especially as theypossess the chemical signatures intermediate to the stars of the thick-and thin-disc population. We derive τ =9.7-0.6+0.8 Gyr for 104 Tau and τ =9.8-0.8+1.0 Gyr for HD 168443, very much in linewith their local sibling HR 7569 at τ = 9.1 +/- 1.0 Gyr that wasformerly presented in Bernkopf, Fiedler & Fuhrmann. Both, 104 Tauand HD 168443, thus add to our local sample of the rare but veryrelevant subgiants for the disc formation time-scales and support thenotion of a thick disc as an extremely old τ >= 12 Gyrsingle-burst population, and a thin disc that has a local age of τ ~8 Gyr.
| Spectroscopic Properties of Cool Stars (SPOCS). I. 1040 F, G, and K Dwarfs from Keck, Lick, and AAT Planet Search Programs
We present a uniform catalog of stellar properties for 1040 nearby F, G,and K stars that have been observed by the Keck, Lick, and AAT planetsearch programs. Fitting observed echelle spectra with synthetic spectrayielded effective temperature, surface gravity, metallicity, projectedrotational velocity, and abundances of the elements Na, Si, Ti, Fe, andNi, for every star in the catalog. Combining V-band photometry andHipparcos parallaxes with a bolometric correction based on thespectroscopic results yielded stellar luminosity, radius, and mass.Interpolating Yonsei-Yale isochrones to the luminosity, effectivetemperature, metallicity, and α-element enhancement of each staryielded a theoretical mass, radius, gravity, and age range for moststars in the catalog. Automated tools provide uniform results and makeanalysis of such a large sample practical. Our analysis method differsfrom traditional abundance analyses in that we fit the observed spectrumdirectly, rather than trying to match equivalent widths, and wedetermine effective temperature and surface gravity from the spectrumitself, rather than adopting values based on measured photometry orparallax. As part of our analysis, we determined a new relationshipbetween macroturbulence and effective temperature on the main sequence.Detailed error analysis revealed small systematic offsets with respectto the Sun and spurious abundance trends as a function of effectivetemperature that would be inobvious in smaller samples. We attempted toremove these errors by applying empirical corrections, achieving aprecision per spectrum of 44 K in effective temperature, 0.03 dex inmetallicity, 0.06 dex in the logarithm of gravity, and 0.5 kms-1 in projected rotational velocity. Comparisons withprevious studies show only small discrepancies. Our spectroscopicallydetermined masses have a median fractional precision of 15%, but theyare systematically 10% higher than masses obtained by interpolatingisochrones. Our spectroscopic radii have a median fractional precisionof 3%. Our ages from isochrones have a precision that variesdramatically with location in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. We planto extend the catalog by applying our automated analysis technique toother large stellar samples.
| The Planet-Metallicity Correlation
We have recently carried out spectral synthesis modeling to determineTeff, logg, vsini, and [Fe/H] for 1040 FGK-type stars on theKeck, Lick, and Anglo-Australian Telescope planet search programs. Thisis the first time that a single, uniform spectroscopic analysis has beenmade for every star on a large Doppler planet search survey. We identifya subset of 850 stars that have Doppler observations sufficient todetect uniformly all planets with radial velocity semiamplitudes K>30m s-1 and orbital periods shorter than 4 yr. From this subsetof stars, we determine that fewer than 3% of stars with-0.5<[Fe/H]<0.0 have Doppler-detected planets. Above solarmetallicity, there is a smooth and rapid rise in the fraction of starswith planets. At [Fe/H]>+0.3 dex, 25% of observed stars have detectedgas giant planets. A power-law fit to these data relates the formationprobability for gas giant planets to the square of the number of metalatoms. High stellar metallicity also appears to be correlated with thepresence of multiple-planet systems and with the total detected planetmass. This data set was examined to better understand the origin of highmetallicity in stars with planets. None of the expected fossilsignatures of accretion are observed in stars with planets relative tothe general sample: (1) metallicity does not appear to increase as themass of the convective envelopes decreases, (2) subgiants with planetsdo not show dilution of metallicity, (3) no abundance variations for Na,Si, Ti, or Ni are found as a function of condensation temperature, and(4) no correlations between metallicity and orbital period oreccentricity could be identified. We conclude that stars with extrasolarplanets do not have an accretion signature that distinguishes them fromother stars; more likely, they are simply born in higher metallicitymolecular clouds.Based on observations obtained at Lick and Keck Observatories, operatedby the University of California, and the Anglo-Australian Observatories.
| Chromospheric Ca II Emission in Nearby F, G, K, and M Stars
We present chromospheric Ca II H and K activity measurements, rotationperiods, and ages for ~1200 F, G, K, and M type main-sequence stars from~18,000 archival spectra taken at Keck and Lick Observatories as a partof the California and Carnegie Planet Search Project. We have calibratedour chromospheric S-values against the Mount Wilson chromosphericactivity data. From these measurements we have calculated medianactivity levels and derived R'HK, stellar ages,and rotation periods from general parameterizations for 1228 stars,~1000 of which have no previously published S-values. We also presentprecise time series of activity measurements for these stars.Based on observations obtained at Lick Observatory, which is operated bythe University of California, and on observations obtained at the W. M.Keck Observatory, which is operated jointly by the University ofCalifornia and the California Institute of Technology. The KeckObservatory was made possible by the generous financial support of theW. M. Keck Foundation.
| Nearby stars of the Galactic disk and halo. III.
High-resolution spectroscopic observations of about 150 nearby stars orstar systems are presented and discussed. The study of these and another100 objects of the previous papers of this series implies that theGalaxy became reality 13 or 14 Gyr ago with the implementation of amassive, rotationally-supported population of thick-disk stars. The veryhigh star formation rate in that phase gave rise to a rapid metalenrichment and an expulsion of gas in supernovae-driven Galactic winds,but was followed by a star formation gap for no less than three billionyears at the Sun's galactocentric distance. In a second phase, then, thethin disk - our ``familiar Milky Way'' - came on stage. Nowadays ittraces the bright side of the Galaxy, but it is also embedded in a hugecoffin of dead thick-disk stars that account for a large amount ofbaryonic dark matter. As opposed to this, cold-dark-matter-dominatedcosmologies that suggest a more gradual hierarchical buildup throughmergers of minor structures, though popular, are a poor description forthe Milky Way Galaxy - and by inference many other spirals as well - if,as the sample implies, the fossil records of its long-lived stars do notstick to this paradigm. Apart from this general picture that emergeswith reference to the entire sample stars, a good deal of the presentwork is however also concerned with detailed discussions of manyindividual objects. Among the most interesting we mention the bluestraggler or merger candidates HD 165401 and HD 137763/HD 137778, thelikely accretion of a giant planet or brown dwarf on 59 Vir in itsrecent history, and HD 63433 that proves to be a young solar analog at\tau200 Myr. Likewise, the secondary to HR 4867, formerly suspectednon-single from the Hipparcos astrometry, is directly detectable in thehigh-resolution spectroscopic tracings, whereas the visual binary \chiCet is instead at least triple, and presumably even quadruple. Withrespect to the nearby young stars a complete account of the Ursa MajorAssociation is presented, and we provide as well plain evidence foranother, the ``Hercules-Lyra Association'', the likely existence ofwhich was only realized in recent years. On account of its rotation,chemistry, and age we do confirm that the Sun is very typical among itsG-type neighbors; as to its kinematics, it appears however not unlikelythat the Sun's known low peculiar space velocity could indeed be thecause for the weak paleontological record of mass extinctions and majorimpact events on our parent planet during the most recent Galactic planepassage of the solar system. Although the significance of thiscorrelation certainly remains a matter of debate for years to come, wepoint in this context to the principal importance of the thick disk fora complete census with respect to the local surface and volumedensities. Other important effects that can be ascribed to this darkstellar population comprise (i) the observed plateau in the shape of theluminosity function of the local FGK stars, (ii) a small thoughsystematic effect on the basic solar motion, (iii) a reassessment of theterm ``asymmetrical drift velocity'' for the remainder (i.e. the thindisk) of the stellar objects, (iv) its ability to account for the bulkof the recently discovered high-velocity blue white dwarfs, (v) itsmajor contribution to the Sun's 220 km s-1 rotationalvelocity around the Galactic center, and (vi) the significant flatteningthat it imposes on the Milky Way's rotation curve. Finally we note ahigh multiplicity fraction in the small but volume-complete local sampleof stars of this ancient population. This in turn is highly suggestivefor a star formation scenario wherein the few existing single stellarobjects might only arise from either late mergers or the dynamicalejection of former triple or higher level star systems.
| A new Böhm-Vitense gap in the temperature range 5560 to 5610 K in the main sequence hm-Vitense gap in the main sequence
Highly precise temperatures (σ = 10-15 K) have been determinedfrom line depth ratios for a set of 248 F-K field dwarfs of about solarmetallicity (-0.5 < [Fe/H] < +0.4), based on high resolution (R=42000), high S/N echelle spectra. A new gap has been discovered in thedistribution of stars on the Main Sequence in the temperature range 5560to 5610 K. This gap coincides with a jump in the microturbulent velocityVt and the well-known Li depression near 5600 K in fielddwarfs and open clusters. As the principal cause of the observeddiscontinuities in stellar properties we propose the penetration of theconvective zone into the inner layers of stars slightly less massivethan the Sun and related to it, a change in the temperature gradient.Based on spectra collected with the ELODIE spectrograph at the 1.93-mtelescope of the Observatoire de Haute-Provence (France).Full Table 1 is only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org
| Chemical enrichment and star formation in the Milky Way disk. III. Chemodynamical constraints
In this paper, we investigate some chemokinematical properties of theMilky Way disk, by using a sample composed by 424 late-type dwarfs. Weshow that the velocity dispersion of a stellar group correlates with theage of this group, according to a law proportional to t0.26,where t is the age of the stellar group. The temporal evolution of thevertex deviation is considered in detail. It is shown that the vertexdeviation does not seem to depend strongly on the age of the stellargroup. Previous studies in the literature seem to not have found it dueto the use of statistical ages for stellar groups, rather thanindividual ages. The possibility to use the orbital parameters of a starto derive information about its birthplace is investigated, and we showthat the mean galactocentric radius is likely to be the most reliablestellar birthplace indicator. However, this information cannot bepresently used to derive radial evolutionary constraints, due to anintrinsic bias present in all samples constructed from nearby stars. Anextensive discussion of the secular and stochastic heating mechanismscommonly invoked to explain the age-velocity dispersion relation ispresented. We suggest that the age-velocity dispersion relation couldreflect the gradual decrease in the turbulent velocity dispersion fromwhich disk stars form, a suggestion originally made by Tinsley &Larson (\cite{tinsley}, ApJ, 221, 554) and supported by several morerecent disk evolution calculations. A test to distinguish between thetwo types of models using high-redshift galaxies is proposed.Full Table 1 is 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/423/517
| The Geneva-Copenhagen survey of the Solar neighbourhood. Ages, metallicities, and kinematic properties of 14 000 F and G dwarfs
We present and discuss new determinations of metallicity, rotation, age,kinematics, and Galactic orbits for a complete, magnitude-limited, andkinematically unbiased sample of 16 682 nearby F and G dwarf stars. Our63 000 new, accurate radial-velocity observations for nearly 13 500stars allow identification of most of the binary stars in the sampleand, together with published uvbyβ photometry, Hipparcosparallaxes, Tycho-2 proper motions, and a few earlier radial velocities,complete the kinematic information for 14 139 stars. These high-qualityvelocity data are supplemented by effective temperatures andmetallicities newly derived from recent and/or revised calibrations. Theremaining stars either lack Hipparcos data or have fast rotation. Amajor effort has been devoted to the determination of new isochrone agesfor all stars for which this is possible. Particular attention has beengiven to a realistic treatment of statistical biases and errorestimates, as standard techniques tend to underestimate these effectsand introduce spurious features in the age distributions. Our ages agreewell with those by Edvardsson et al. (\cite{edv93}), despite severalastrophysical and computational improvements since then. We demonstrate,however, how strong observational and theoretical biases cause thedistribution of the observed ages to be very different from that of thetrue age distribution of the sample. Among the many basic relations ofthe Galactic disk that can be reinvestigated from the data presentedhere, we revisit the metallicity distribution of the G dwarfs and theage-metallicity, age-velocity, and metallicity-velocity relations of theSolar neighbourhood. Our first results confirm the lack of metal-poor Gdwarfs relative to closed-box model predictions (the ``G dwarfproblem''), the existence of radial metallicity gradients in the disk,the small change in mean metallicity of the thin disk since itsformation and the substantial scatter in metallicity at all ages, andthe continuing kinematic heating of the thin disk with an efficiencyconsistent with that expected for a combination of spiral arms and giantmolecular clouds. Distinct features in the distribution of the Vcomponent of the space motion are extended in age and metallicity,corresponding to the effects of stochastic spiral waves rather thanclassical moving groups, and may complicate the identification ofthick-disk stars from kinematic criteria. More advanced analyses of thisrich material will require careful simulations of the selection criteriafor the sample and the distribution of observational errors.Based on observations made with the Danish 1.5-m telescope at ESO, LaSilla, Chile, and with the Swiss 1-m telescope at Observatoire deHaute-Provence, France.Complete Tables 1 and 2 are only available in electronic form at the CDSvia anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/418/989
| 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.
| Contributions to the Nearby Stars (NStars) Project: Spectroscopy of Stars Earlier than M0 within 40 Parsecs: The Northern Sample. I.
We have embarked on a project, under the aegis of the Nearby Stars(NStars)/Space Interferometry Mission Preparatory Science Program, toobtain spectra, spectral types, and, where feasible, basic physicalparameters for the 3600 dwarf and giant stars earlier than M0 within 40pc of the Sun. In this paper, we report on the results of this projectfor the first 664 stars in the northern hemisphere. These resultsinclude precise, homogeneous spectral types, basic physical parameters(including the effective temperature, surface gravity, and overallmetallicity [M/H]), and measures of the chromospheric activity of ourprogram stars. Observed and derived data presented in this paper arealso available on the project's Web site.
| Stellar Archaeology: A Keck Pilot Program on Extremely Metal-Poor Stars From the Hamburg/ESO Survey. III. The Lead (Pb) Star HE 0024-2523
We present a detailed abundance analysis, including spectral syntheses,of a very metal-poor ([Fe/H]~=-2.7) peculiar main-sequence star (HE0024-2523) detected during the course of the Keck Pilot Program. Radialvelocities of this star were obtained during four different observingruns over a time span of 1.1 yr and demonstrate that it is clearly ashort-period spectroscopic binary. An orbital solution was obtained, andorbital parameters were determined with high precision. The rotationalvelocity was also measured (vrotsini=9.7+/-1.5 kms-1) rotation appears likely to be synchronous with theorbit. The abundance analysis and spectral syntheses indicate that theobject is a CH star characterized by extreme s-process enrichment,likely due to mass accretion from an evolved companion that has nowprobably become a white dwarf. The lead (Pb) abundance of (HE 0024-2523)is very high, the same as that of the recently discovered lead-rich,metal-poor star CS 29526-110, [Pb/Fe]=+3.3. The abundance ratio of theheavy to light s-elements, as characterized by Pb and Ba, [Pb/Ba]=+1.9,is the highest yet found for any metal-poor star and is about 0.7 dexhigher than that of CS 29526-110. On the basis of the measured isotopicratio of carbon (C12/C13~6) we argue that the massdonor must have had an original mass of at least ~3 Msolar.The unusually short period of this CH star suggests that it underwent apast common-envelope phase with its evolved companion. Our results arecompared with the latest available models for asymptotic giant branchyields and s-process nucleosynthesis. We also discuss the possibleconnection between HE 0024-2523, the lithium depletion of halo stars,and halo blue straggler formation.Based in part on observations obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory,which is operated jointly by the California Institute of Technology, theUniversity of California, and NASA.
| Multiplicity among solar-type stars. III. Statistical properties of the F7-K binaries with periods up to 10 years
Two CORAVEL radial velocity surveys - one among stars in the solarneighbourhood, the other in the Pleiades and in Praesepe - are merged toderive the statistical properties of main-sequence binaries withspectral types F7 to K and with periods up to 10 years. A sample of 89spectroscopic orbits was finally obtained. Among them, 52 relate to afree-of-bias selection of 405 stars (240 field stars and 165 clusterstars). The statistics corrected for selection effects yield thefollowing results: (1) No discrepancy is found between the binariesamong field stars and the binaries in open cluster. The distributions ofmass ratios, of periods, the period-eccentricity diagram and the binaryfrequencies are all within the same error intervals. (2) Thedistribution of mass ratios presents two maxima: a broad peak from q ~0.2 to q ~ 0.7, and a sharp peak for q > 0.8 (twins). Both arepresent among the early-type as well as among the late-type part of thesample, indicating a scale-free formation process. The peak for q >0.8 gradually decreases when long-period binaries are considered.Whatever their periods, the twins have eccentricities significantlylower than the other binaries, confirming a difference in the formationprocesses. Twins could be generated by in situ formation followed byaccretion from a gaseous envelope, whereas binaries with intermediatemass ratios could be formed at wide separations, but they are madecloser by migration led by interactions with a circumbinary disk. (3)The frequency of binaries with P<10 years is about 14%. (4) About0.3% of binaries are expected to appear as false positives in a planetsearch. Therefore, the frequency of planetary systems among stars ispresently 7+4-2%. The extension of thedistribution of mass ratios in the planetary range would result in avery sharp and very high peak, well separated from the binary stars withlow mass ratios. Based on photoelectric radial-velocity measurementscollected at Haute-Provence observatory and on observations made withthe ESA Hipparcos astrometry satellite.
| Radial Velocities for 889 Late-Type Stars
We report radial velocities for 844 FGKM-type main-sequence and subgiantstars and 45 K giants, most of which had either low-precision velocitymeasurements or none at all. These velocities differ from the standardstars of Udry et al. by 0.035 km s-1 (rms) for the 26 FGKstandard stars in common. The zero point of our velocities differs fromthat of Udry et al.: =+0.053km s-1. Thus, these new velocities agree with the best knownstandard stars both in precision and zero point, to well within 0.1 kms-1. Nonetheless, both these velocities and the standardssuffer from three sources of systematic error, namely, convectiveblueshift, gravitational redshift, and spectral type mismatch of thereference spectrum. These systematic errors are here forced to be zerofor G2 V stars by using the Sun as reference, with Vesta and day sky asproxies. But for spectral types departing from solar, the systematicerrors reach 0.3 km s-1 in the F and K stars and 0.4 kms-1 in M dwarfs. Multiple spectra were obtained for all 889stars during 4 years, and 782 of them exhibit velocity scatter less than0.1 km s-1. These stars may serve as radial velocitystandards if they remain constant in velocity. We found 11 newspectroscopic binaries and report orbital parameters for them. Based onobservations obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operatedjointly by the University of California and the California Institute ofTechnology, and on observations obtained at the Lick Observatory, whichis operated by the University of California.
| Revised Coordinates and Proper Motions of the Stars in the Luyten Half-Second Catalog
We present refined coordinates and proper-motion data for the highproper-motion (HPM) stars in the Luyten Half-Second (LHS) catalog. Thepositional uncertainty in the original Luyten catalog is typicallygreater than 10" and is often greater than 30". We have used the digitalscans of the POSS I and POSS II plates to derive more accurate positionsand proper motions of the objects. Out of the 4470 candidates in the LHScatalog, 4323 objects were manually reidentified in the POSS I and POSSII scans. A small fraction of the stars were not found because of thelack of finder charts and digitized POSS II scans. The uncertainties inthe revised positions are typically ~2" but can be as high as ~8" in afew cases, which is a large improvement over the original data.Cross-correlation with the Tycho-2 and Hipparcos catalogs yielded 819candidates (with mR<~12). For these brighter sources, theposition and proper-motion data were replaced with the more accurateTycho-2/Hipparcos data. In total, we have revised proper-motionmeasurements and coordinates for 4040 stars and revised coordinates for4330 stars. The electronic version of the paper5 contains the updated information on all 4470stars in the LHS catalog.
| A revision of the solar neighbourhood metallicity distribution
We present a revised metallicity distribution of dwarfs in the solarneighbourhood. This distribution is centred on solar metallicity. Weshow that previous metallicity distributions, selected on the basis ofspectral type, are biased against stars with solar metallicity orhigher. A selection of G-dwarf stars is inherently biased againstmetal-rich stars and is not representative of the solar neighbourhoodmetallicity distribution. Using a sample selected on colour, we obtain adistribution where approximately half the stars in the solarneighbourhood have metallicities higher than [Fe/H]=0. The percentage ofmid-metal-poor stars ([Fe/H]<-0.5) is approximately 4 per cent, inagreement with present estimates of the thick disc. In order to have ametallicity distribution comparable to chemical evolution modelpredictions, we convert the star fraction to mass fraction, and showthat another bias against metal-rich stars affects dwarf metallicitydistributions, due to the colour (or spectral type) limits of thesamples. Reconsidering the corrections resulting from the increasingthickness of the stellar disc with age, we show that the simpleclosed-box model with no instantaneous recycling approximation gives areasonable fit to the observed distribution. Comparisons with theage-metallicity relation and abundance ratios suggest that the simpleclosed-box model may be a viable model of the chemical evolution of theGalaxy at solar radius.
| 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
| Nearby Microlensing Events: Identification of the Candidates for theSpace Interferometry Mission
The Space Interferometry Mission (SIM) is the instrument of choice whenit comes to observing astrometric microlensing events where nearby,usually high proper motion, stars (``lenses'') pass in front of moredistant stars (``sources''). Each such encounter produces a deflectionin the source's apparent position that, when observed by SIM, can leadto a precise mass determination of the nearby lens star. We search forlens-source encounters during the 2005-2015 period using Hipparcos, ACT,and NLTT to select lenses, and USNO-A2.0 to search for the correspondingsources, and rank these by the SIM time required for a 1% massmeasurement. For Hipparcos and ACT lenses, the lens distance andlens-source impact parameter are precisely determined so that the eventsare well characterized. We present 32 candidates beginning with a 61 CygA event in 2012 that requires only a few minutes of SIM time. ProximaCentauri and Barnard's star each generate several events. For NLTTlenses, the distance is known only to a factor of 3, and the impactparameter only to 1''. Together, these produce uncertaintiesof a factor ~10 in the amount of SIM time required. We present a list of146 NLTT candidates and show how single-epoch CCD photometry of thecandidates could reduce the uncertainty in SIM time to a factor of ~1.5.
| Metallicity effects on the chromospheric activity-age relation for late-type dwarfs
We show that there is a relationship between the age excess, defined asthe difference between the stellar isochrone and chromospheric ages, andthe metallicity as measured by the index [Fe/H] for late-type dwarfs.The chromospheric age tends to be lower than the isochrone age formetal-poor stars, and the opposite occurs for metal-rich objects. Wesuggest that this could be an effect of neglecting the metallicitydependence of the calibrated chromospheric emission-age relation. Wepropose a correction to account for this dependence. We also investigatethe metallicity distributions of these stars, and show that there aredistinct trends according to the chromospheric activity level. Inactivestars have a metallicity distribution which resembles the metallicitydistribution of solar neighbourhood stars, while active stars appear tobe concentrated in an activity strip on the logR'_HKx[Fe/H] diagram. Weprovide some explanations for these trends, and show that thechromospheric emission-age relation probably has different slopes on thetwo sides of the Vaughan-Preston gap.
| Kinematics and Metallicity of Stars in the Solar Region
Several samples of nearby stars with the most accurate astrometric andphotometric parameters are searched for clues to their evolutionaryhistory. The main samples are (1) the main-sequence stars with b - ybetween 0.29 and 0.59 mag (F3 to K1) in the Yale parallax catalog, (2) agroup of high-velocity subgiants studied spectroscopically by Ryan &Lambert, and (3) high-velocity main-sequence stars in the extensiveinvestigation by Norris, Bessel, & Pickles. The major conclusionsare as follows: (1) The oldest stars (halo), t >= 10-12 Gyr, haveV-velocities (in the direction of Galactic rotation and referred to theSun) in the range from about -50 to -800 km s^-1 and have aheavy-element abundance [Fe/H] of less than about -0.8 dex. The agerange of these objects depends on our knowledge of globular clusterages, but if age is correlated with V-velocity, the youngest may be M22and M28 (V ~ -50 km s^-1) and the oldest NGC 3201 (V ~ -500 km s^-1) andassorted field stars. (2) The old disk population covers the large agerange from about 2 Gyr (Hyades, NGC 752) to 10 or 12 Gyr (Arcturusgroup, 47 Tuc), but the lag (V) velocity is restricted to less thanabout 120 km s^-1 and [Fe/H] >= -0.8 or -0.9 dex. The [Fe/H] ~ -0.8dex division between halo and old disk, near t ~ 10-12 Gyr, is marked bya change in the character of the CN index (C_m) and of the blanketingparameter K of the DDO photometry. (3) The young disk population, t <2 Gyr, is confined exclusively to a well-defined area of the (U, V)velocity plane. The age separating young and old disk stars is also thatseparating giant evolution of the Hyades (near main-sequence luminosity)and M67 (degenerate helium cores and a large luminosity rise) kinds. Thetwo disk populations are also separated by such indexes as the g-indexof Geveva photometry. There appears to be no obvious need to invokeexogeneous influences to understand the motion and heavy-elementabundance distributions of the best-observed stars near the Sun.Individual stars of special interest include the parallax star HD 55575,which may be an equal-component binary, and the high-velocity star HD220127, with a well-determined space velocity near 1000 km s^-1.
| Photometry of Stars with Large Proper Motion
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1996AJ....112.2300W&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 importance of surface inhomogeneities for K and M dwarf chromospheric fluxes
We present published and archived spectroscopic and spectrophotometricdata of H-alpha, Ca II, Mg II, and X-rays for a large sample of K and Mdwarfs. The data set points to the importance that surfaceinhomogeneities have in the flux luminosity diagrams in these late-typedwarfs, irrespective of whether the Balmer lines are in emission orabsorption. Although supporting the fact that cooler stars exhibitincreasing levels of surface activity, evident through an increasingincidence of Balmer emission, surface inhomogeneities, or variations inthe local temperature and density structure, at the chromospheric level,dominate the total Ca II and Mg II fluxes. We show that the flux-fluxand luminosity-luminosity relations indicate differing extents ofinhomogeneity from the chromosphere through to the corona. A goodcorrelation between Ca II and Mg II fluxes indicates that they areformed in overlapping regions of the chromosphere, so that thecontribution of surface inhomogeneities is not evident from thisparticular flux-flux diagram. In the region of the upper chromospherethrough to the transition and corona, the correlation between Ly-alphaand X-ray fluxes indicates regions with similar levels of arealinhomogeneity. This appears to be uncorrelated with that at thechromospheric level.
| UVBY - beta photometry of high-velocity and metal-poor stars. VI - A second catalogue, and stellar populations of the Galaxy
A second catalog of uvby-beta photometry for 553 high-velocity stars ispresented. Combining the catalogs, reliable (Fe/H) values are obtainedfor 1214 stars and reliable kinematic parameters for 1149. The totalsample contains at least three significant, distinct stellar populationswith properties very similar to those given in the literature of the oldthin disk, thick disk, and halo. The thick-disk component has mean(Fe/H) about -0.50 +/- 0.10 dex and sigma(Fe/H) about 0.25 +/- 0.03 dex,but there is evidence for a significant thick-disk contribution down to(Fe/H) about -1.4. A diagonal cut in the V(rot), (Fe/H) diagramindicates that there is not a chemical gradient in the Galactic halo.The mean V(rot), mean (Fe/H) curve for the whole sample indicates thatthe halo evolved mostly independently of the disk.
| Parallaxes and proper motions. XIX - The subdwarf sequence
Parallaxes and proper motions are presented for 19 stars in 15 starfields. Four of the stars were discovered in the course of the measuresto have significantly large proper motions and the data for them areincluded in the tables. The other 15 are all stars considered to besubluminous. Photometric and metallicity data for most of them arepresented. They appear not to conform to a straight linear relationbetween (FE/H) determined from the measured ultraviolet excess and theabsolute magnitude corrected to a B-V color of 0.6.
| A radio optical reference frame. III - Additional radio and optical positions in the Southern Hemisphere
Radio and optical positions are presented for southern hemisphereextragalactic sources from the Parkes 2.7 GHz survey. Sixty-one sourceswere observed with Mark III VLBI at 8.4 GHz between Tidbinbilla,Australia, and Hartebeesthoek, South Africa. The results presented arepart of the effort to establish a global reference frame of 400extragalactic radio sources. Radio positions with about 10 milliarcsecerrors have been estimated for 39 sources not previously in the presentradio reference frame catalog, and provisional positions were obtainedfor two additional sources, bringing the total number of catalog sourcesto 276. The principal source of error is the uncalibrated ionosphere. Ofthe remaining sources five were completely undetected, six were eithertoo faint or too resolved, and nine had previous catalog positions.Optical positions on the FK5 system have also been measured for foursouthern sources using prime focus plates from the Anglo-Australian 4 mtelescope with an accuracy of 0.06 arcsec. This raises to 40 the numberof radio sources with accurately measured positions for their opticalcounterparts.
| The near-IR NA I doublet and CA II triplet in late-type stars and the determination of stellar atmosphere parameters
CCD spectroscopic observations in the near-IR (7990-8680 A) for a sampleof 144 late type stars are presented. The dependence of the Na I doublet(8183 and 8194 A) and the Ca II triplet (8498, 8542 and 8662 A) onstellar atmospheric parameters is investigated. It is confirmed in starsof spectral types later than G0 a dependence of line strength oneffective temperature, surface gravity, and metallicity in goodagreement with previous studies. However, the present sample containsmany more very late type stars than previous studies, and these starsshow a strong dependence of Ca-II triplet strength on temperature. Theselines, together with the (R - I) color index which is known to be a goodtemperature indicator, were used to estimate the metal abundance and thesurface gravity of the present program stars.
| CA II H and K measurements made at Mount Wilson Observatory, 1966-1983
Summaries are presented of the photoelectric measurements of stellar CaII H and K line intensity made at Mount Wilson Observatory during theyears 1966-1983. These results are derived from 65,263 individualobservations of 1296 stars. For each star, for each observing season,the maximum, minimum, mean, and variation of the instrumental H and Kindex 'S' are given, as well as a measurement of the accuracy ofobservation. A total of 3110 seasonal summaries are reported. Factorswhich affect the ability to detect stellar activity variations andaccurately measure their amplitudes, such as the accuracy of the H and Kmeasurements and scattered light contamination, are discussed. Relationsare given which facilitate intercomparison of 'S' values with residualintensities derived from ordinary spectrophotometry, and for convertingmeasurements to absolute fluxes.
| K- and M-type dwarf stars within 25 parsecs of the sun. I - The age-chromospheric activity relations from H-alpha equivalent widths
The available equivalent-width measurements of H-alpha in dwarf K and Mstars within 25 pc of the sun indicate that, as a chromosphericdiagnostic, the H-alpha decay rate is about t exp 0.5. The decay rate ofline emission in Mg II h and k (Ca II H and K) is about t exp 0.3. Thedecay rates are derived from observations of members of a few stellarsuperclusters and groups, for which the consistency of results arguesstrongly for the importance of more data. The only major inconsistencyencountered is for the unique HR 1614 group which, in theage/chromospheric-activity progression, gives different results from MgII h and k and from WH-alpha.
| Chromospheric activity in evolved stars - The rotation-activity connection and the binary-single dichotomy
A tabulation of measured values of the Ca II H and K (S) index aretransformed to the original Mount Wilson definition of the index. Thetabulation includes main-sequence, evolved, single, and tidally coupled(RS CVn) binary stars. The (S) indices are analyzed against Wilson's(1976) I(HK) intensity estimates, showing that Wilson's estimates areonly a two-state indicator. Ca II H and K fluxes are computed andcalibrated with published values of rotation periods. It is found thatthe single and binary stars are consistent with a single relationshipbetween rotation and Ca II excess emission flux.
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Cocher |
| Right ascension: | 05h46m01.89s |
| Declination: | +37°17'04.7" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 7.341 |
| Distance: | 20.576 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | 488.1 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -509.5 |
| B-T magnitude: | 8.405 |
| V-T magnitude: | 7.429 |
Catalogs and designations:
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