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Observation and modelling of main-sequence star chromospheres - XIX. FIES and FEROS observations of dM1 stars
We present 187 high-resolution spectra for 62 different M1 dwarfs fromobservations obtained with the FIbre-fed Echelle Spectrograph (FIES) onthe Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT) and from observations with theFibre-fed Extended Range Echelle Spectrograph (FEROS) from the EuropeanSouthern Observatory (ESO) data base. We also compiled othermeasurements available in the literature.We observed two stars, Gl 745A and Gl 745B, with no Ca II line coreemission and H? line equivalent widths (EWs) of only 0.171 and0.188 Å, respectively. We also observed another very low activityM1 dwarf, Gl 63, with an H? line EW of only 0.199 Å. Theseare the lowest activity M dwarfs ever observed and are of particularinterest for the non-local thermodynamic equilibrium radiative transfermodelling of M1 dwarfs.Thanks to the high signal-to-noise ratio of most of our spectra, we wereable to measure the Ca II H&K full width at half-maximum (FWHM) formost of our stars. We find good correlations between the FWHM values andthe mean Ca II line EW for dM1 stars. Then the FWHM seems to saturatefor dM1e stars. Our previous models of M1 dwarfs can reproduce the FWHMfor dM1e stars and the most active dM1 stars, but fail to reproduce theobservations of lower activity M1 dwarfs. We believe this is due to aneffect of metallicity. We also investigate the dependence of theH? line FWHM as a function of its EW. We find that the modelsglobally agree with the observations including subwarfs, but tend toproduce too narrow profiles for dM1e stars.We re-investigate the correlation between the Ca II line mean EW and theabsolute magnitude. With our new data that notably include several M1subdwarfs, we find a slightly different and better correlation with aslope of -0.779 instead of -0.909. We also re-investigatethe variations of the H? line EW as a function of radius and findthat the EW increases continuously with increasing radius. This confirmsour previous finding that the level of magnetic activity in M1 dwarfsincreases with the radius.For the first time, we investigate the Wilson-Bappu correlation for agiven spectral type. We find a rather linear correlation for stars ofabsolute magnitude greater than 9.6, but below this value the FWHM seemsto saturate. In fact, we show that these Wilson-Bappu type correlationsare activity-FWHM correlations and are due to the diminishing columnmass of the transition region with decreasing activity level. Based onobservations available at the European Southern Observatory data basesand on Hipparcos parallax measurements.
| Potential Members of Stellar Kinematic Groups within 30 pc of the Sun
We analyze the kinematic histories of stars within 30 pc of the Sun, forwhich three-dimensional spatial coordinates and three-dimensionalvelocity vectors are available. From this sample, we extract members ofstellar kinematic groups (SKGs) in the following manner. First, weconsider in the three-dimensional velocity space centered on the localstandard of rest, a sphere with a radius of 8 km s-1centered on the mean velocity vector of a particular SKG. Around eachSKG velocity center, we have found a significant excess of starscompared to background field stars. For each candidate, in thethree-dimensional spatial coordinate space, its trajectory is tracedback in time by the age of the relevant SKG to obtain the estimateddistance from the SKG center at the time of the SKG's birth by theepicyclic approximation and harmonic vertical motion. It often happensthat a star is a candidate member of multiple SKGs. Then we rank thecandidacy to multiple SKGs based on the smallness of distanceseparations. In this manner, we have kinematically selected 238candidates. We further impose at least one of the following qualitativecriteria for being a member: spectral type A or B, variability, or EUVand X-ray emission. We have finally selected 137 candidate members ofSKGs out of a sample of 966 stars.
| Observation and modelling of main-sequence star chromospheres - XV. New constraints on the dynamo mechanisms for dM1 stars
With the help of measures of rotation, radius and metallicity for aselected sample of dM1 stars (with Teff= 3460 ± 60 K),we aim to set new constraints on the dynamo mechanisms.We recover 913 high-resolution spectra for 97 different M1 dwarfs fromthe European Southern Observatory and Observatoire de Haute Provencedata bases. We present 660 new measurements of the Ca II resonance linesand 913 new measurements of the H? line for dM1 stars. We alsocompile other measurements available in the literature. In total, weobtain 2216 measures of the Ca II lines for 113 different dM1 stars.This represents the largest compilation of chromospheric linemeasurements at a single spectral type.We cross-correlate these magnetic activity indicators with variousstellar parameters to set new constraints on the dynamo mechanisms andon the properties of the outer atmosphere.We find a correlation of the Ca II line mean equivalent width with theabsolute magnitude and the metallicity. We correct the Ca II linemeasures from the metallicity effect and find that the surface flux inthe Ca II lines grows roughly as the power of 3.6 of the stellar radius.This corrected flux is a direct measure of magnetic activity at thechromospheric level. We find that the total magnetic activity levelgrows roughly as the power of 5.6 of the stellar radius. This trend isconfirmed by the correlation between the H? line and absolutemagnitude and the H? line luminosity and stellar radius: theH? luminosity grows roughly as the volume of the star for lowactivity dM1 stars and as the power of roughly 5/2 of the stellar radiusfor dM1e stars. The advantage of the H? line is that its formationin not dependent on metallicity.In contrast to the Ca II line, we find no correlation betweenLX and the absolute magnitude. We find that LXroughly correlates with the Ca II luminosity although the correlation isnot very good. This correlation shows that LX grows as thepower of 3/2 of the Ca II luminosity, i.e. the coronal emission growsfaster than the chromospheric emission.We find a correlation between the corrected Ca II line equivalent widthand P/sin i, i.e. the Ca II surface flux grows as the power of -1.5 ofthe rotation period. We also find a correlation between FX,the X-ray surface flux, and P/sin i: FX? (P/sini)-3.7. In other words, the coronal emission is much moredependent on the rotation period than the chromospheric emission.We find that the level of magnetic activity in dM1 stars is moredependent on the stellar radius than on rotation at the chromosphericlevel. We discuss the implications of these results on the models ofstellar dynamos. Based on observations available at Observatoire deHaute Provence and the European Southern Observatory data bases and onHipparcos parallax measurements.
| Bayesian inference of stellar parameters and interstellar extinction using parallaxes and multiband photometry
Astrometric surveys provide the opportunity to measure the absolutemagnitudes of large numbers of stars, but only if the individualline-of-sight extinctions are known. Unfortunately, extinction is highlydegenerate with stellar effective temperature when estimated frombroad-band optical/infrared photometry. To address this problem, Iintroduce a Bayesian method for estimating the intrinsic parameters of astar and its line-of-sight extinction. It uses both photometry andparallaxes in a self-consistent manner in order to provide anon-parametric posterior probability distribution over the parameters.The method makes explicit use of domain knowledge by employing theHertzsprung-Russell Diagram (HRD) to constrain solutions and to ensurethat they respect stellar physics. I first demonstrate this method byusing it to estimate effective temperature and extinction from BVJHKdata for a set of artificially reddened Hipparcos stars, for whichaccurate effective temperatures have been estimated from high-resolutionspectroscopy. Using just the four colours, we see the expected strongdegeneracy (positive correlation) between the temperature andextinction. Introducing the parallax, apparent magnitude and the HRDreduces this degeneracy and improves both the precision (reduces theerror bars) and the accuracy of the parameter estimates, the latter byabout 35 per cent. The resulting accuracy is about 200 K in temperatureand 0.2 mag in extinction. I then apply the method to estimate theseparameters and absolute magnitudes for some 47 000 F, G, K Hipparcosstars which have been cross-matched with Two-Micron All-Sky Survey(2MASS). The method can easily be extended to incorporate the estimationof other parameters, in particular metallicity and surface gravity,making it particularly suitable for the analysis of the 109stars from Gaia.
| Chromospheric Activity and Jitter Measurements for 2630 Stars on the California Planet Search
We present time series measurements of chromospheric activity for morethan 2600 main-sequence and subgiant stars on the California PlanetSearch (CPS) program with spectral types ranging from about F5V to M4Vfor main-sequence stars and from G0IV to about K5IV for subgiants. Thelarge data set of more than 44,000 spectra allows us to identify anempirical baseline floor for chromospheric activity as a function ofcolor and height above the main sequence. We define ?S as anexcess in emission in the Ca II H and K lines above the baselineactivity floor and define radial velocity jitter as a function of?S and B - V for main-sequence and subgiant stars. Although thejitter for any individual star can always exceed the baseline level, wefind that K dwarfs have the lowest level of jitter. The lack ofcorrelation between observed jitter and chromospheric activity in Kdwarfs suggests that the observed jitter is dominated by instrumental oranalysis errors and not astrophysical noise sources. Thus, given thelong-term precision for the CPS program, radial velocities are notcorrelated with astrophysical noise for chromospherically quiet K dwarfstars, making these stars particularly well suited for the highestprecision Doppler surveys. Chromospherically quiet F and G dwarfs andsubgiants exhibit higher baseline levels of astrophysical jitter than Kdwarfs. Despite the fact that the rms in Doppler velocities iscorrelated with the mean chromospheric activity, it is rare to seeone-to-one correlations between the individual time series activity andDoppler measurements, diminishing the prospects for correctingactivity-induced velocity variations in F and G dwarfs.Based on observations obtained at the Keck Observatory and LickObservatory, which are operated by the University of California.
| Towards a new full-sky list of radial velocity standard stars
Aims: The calibration of the Radial Velocity Spectrometer (RVS)onboard the ESA Gaia satellite (to be launched in 2012) requires a listof standard stars with a radial velocity (RV) known with an accuracy ofat least 300 m s-1. The IAU commission 30 lists of RVstandard stars are too bright and not dense enough. Methods: Wedescribe the selection criteria due to the RVS constraints for buildingan adequate full-sky list of at least 1000 RV standards from cataloguesalready published in the literature. Results: A preliminary listof 1420 candidate standard stars is built and its properties are shown.An important re-observation programme has been set up in order to insurewithin it the selection of objects with a good stability until the endof the Gaia mission (around 2018). Conclusions: The present listof candidate standards is available at CDS and usable for many otherprojects.Complete Table 2 is only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/524/A10
| Observation and modelling of main-sequence star chromospheres - XIV. Rotation of dM1 stars
We have measured v sin i for a selected sample of dM1-typestars. We give 114 measurements of v sin i for 88 different stars, andsix upper detection limits. These are the first measurements of v sin ifor most of the stars studied here. This represents the largest sampleof v sin i measurements for M dwarfs at a given spectral type. For thesemeasurements, we used four different spectrographs: HARPS (ESO), SOPHIE(OHP), ÉLODIE (OHP) and UVES (ESO). Two of these spectrographs(HARPS and SOPHIE) are particularly stable in wavelength since they weredesigned for exoplanet searches.We measured v sin i down to an accuracy of 0.3kms-1 for thehighest resolution spectrographs and a detection limit of about1kms-1. We show that this unprecedented accuracy for M dwarfsin our data set is possible because all the targets have the samespectral type. This is an advantage and it facilitates the determinationof the narrowest line profiles for v sin i ~ 0. Although it is possibleto derive the zero-point profiles using several spectral types at atime. These values were combined with other measurements taken from theliterature. The total sample represents detected rotation for 100 stars(10 dM1e and 90 dM1 stars). We confirm our finding of Paper VII that thedistribution of the projected rotation period is bimodal for dM1 starswith a much larger sample, i.e. there are two groups of stars: the fastrotators with P/sin i ~ 4.5d and the slow rotators with P/sin i ~ 14.4d.There is a gap between these two groups. We find that the distributionof stars as a function of P/sin i has two very abrupt cuts, below 10dand above 18d. There are very few stars observed out of this range10-18d. We also observe that the distribution increases slightly from 18to 10d.We find that the M1 subdwarfs (very low metallicity dwarfs) rotate withan average period of P/sin i ~ 7.2d, which is about twice faster as themain group of normal M1 dwarfs. We also find a correlation for P/sin ito decrease with stellar radius among dM1e stars. Such a trend is alsoobserved in dM1 stars.We also derive metallicity and radius for all our target stars using thesame method as in Paper VII. We notably found that 11 of our targetstars are subdwarfs with metallicities below -0.5dex.Based on observations available at Observatoire de Haute Provence andthe European Southern Observatory data bases and on Hipparcos parallaxmeasurements.E-mail: eric_houdebine@yahoo.fr
| Potential Members of Stellar Kinematical Groups within 20 pc of the Sun
We analyze the kinematical histories of stars within 20 pc of the Sun,for which three-dimensional spatial coordinates and three-dimensionalvelocity vectors are available. From this sample, we extract members ofstellar kinematical groups (SKGs) in the following manner. First, in thethree-dimensional velocity space centered on the local standard of rest,we consider a sphere with a radius of 8 km s-1 centeredon the mean velocity vector of a particular SKG. Around each SKGvelocity center, we have found a significant excess of stars compared tobackground stars. For each candidate, in the three-dimensional spatialcoordinate space, its trajectory is traced back in time by the age ofthe relevant SKG, to estimate the distance from the SKG center at thetime of the SKG's birth by the epicycle approximation and verticalharmonic motion. It often happens that a star is a candidate member ofmultiple SKGs. Then we rank the candidacy to multiple SKGs based on thesmallness of distance separations. In this manner, we have kinematicallyselected 74 candidate members of SKGs out of a sample of 383 stars. Ifwe take into account stellar properties, the number is reduced to 68.
| Accurate Coordinates and 2MASS Cross Identifications for (Almost) All Gliese Catalog Star
We provide precise J2000, epoch 2000 coordinates, andcross-identifications to sources in the 2MASS Point Source Catalog fornearly all stars in the Gliese, Gliese-Jahreiss, and Woolley catalogs ofnearby stars. The only Gliese objects where we were not successful aretwo Gliese sources that are actually QSOs; two proposed companions tobrighter stars, which we believe do not exist; four stars included inone of the catalogs but identified there as only optical companions; oneprobable plate flaw; and two stars that simply remain unrecovered. Forthe 4251 recovered stars, 2693 have coordinates based on Hipparcospositions, 1549 have coordinates based on 2MASS data, and 9 havepositions from other astrometric sources. All positions have beencalculated at epoch 2000 using proper motions from the literature, whichare also given here.
| UBV(RI)C JHK observations of Hipparcos-selected nearby stars
We present homogeneous, standardized UBV(RI)C photometry forover 700 nearby stars selected on the basis of Hipparcos parallaxes.Additionally, we list JHK photometry for about half of these stars, aswell as L photometry for 86 of the brightest. A number of stars withpeculiar colours or anomalous locations in various colour-magnitudediagrams are discussed.
| Rotation and Magnetic Activity in a Sample of M-Dwarfs
We have analyzed the rotational broadening and chromospheric activity ina sample of 123 M-dwarfs, using spectra taken at the W.M. KeckObservatory as part of the California Planet Search program. We findthat only seven of these stars are rotating more rapidly than ourdetection threshold of v sin i ? 2.5 km s-1.Rotation appears to be more common in stars later than M3 than in theM0-M2.5 mass range: we estimate that less than 10% of early-M stars aredetectably rotating, whereas roughly a third of those later than M4 showsigns of rotation. These findings lend support to the view thatrotational braking becomes less effective in fully convective stars. Bymeasuring the equivalent widths of the Ca II H and K lines for the starsin our sample, and converting these to approximate L Ca/Lbol measurements, we also provide constraints on theconnection between rotation and magnetic activity. Measurable rotationis a sufficient, but not necessary condition for activity in our sample:all the detectable rotators show strong Ca II emission, but so too do asmall number of non-rotating stars, which we presume may lie at highinclination angles relative to our line of sight. Our data areconsistent with a "saturation-type" rotation-activity relationship, withactivity roughly independent of rotation above a threshold velocity ofless than 6 km s-1. We also find weak evidence for a"gap" in L Ca/L bol between a highly activepopulation of stars, which typically are detected as rotators, andanother much less active group.
| Observation and modelling of main-sequence stellar chromospheres - VII. Rotation and metallicity of dM1 stars
We have measured v sini and metallicity from high-resolutionspectroscopic observations of a selected sample of dM1-type stars.To measure v sini, we first selected three template stars known fortheir slow rotation or their very low activity levels and thencross-correlated their spectra with those of our target stars. Theexcess broadening of the cross-correlation peaks gives v sini. Formetallicity, we compiled all available measurements from the literatureand correlated them with the stellar radius. Provided the parallax isknown, this new method allows us to derive metallicities for all ourtarget stars.We measured v sini to an accuracy of 2 kms-1. These valueswere combined with other measurements taken from the literature. We havedetected rotation in seven dM1e stars and 11 dM1 stars and upper limitsfor 20 other dM1 stars. Our results show that the distribution of therotation period may be bimodal for dM1 stars, i.e. there are two groupsof stars: the fast rotators with Prot ~ 6 d and the slowrotators with Prot ~ 24 d. There is a gap between these twogroups.We obtained a correlation between metallicity and stellar radius whichallows us to derive metallicities for all stars in our sample and moregenerally for all dM1 stars with [M/H] in the range -1.5 to 0.5 dex,with a reasonable accuracy. We compare this correlation to models andfind a significant disagreement in radii. However, the observed shape ofthe correlation is globally reproduced by the models. We derive themetallicity for 87 M1 dwarfs and subdwarfs.Based on observations collected at Observatoire de Haute Provence andthe European Southern Observatory and on Hipparcos parallaxmeasurements.E-mail: eric_houdebine@yahoo.fr
| M dwarfs: effective temperatures, radii and metallicities
We empirically determine effective temperatures and bolometricluminosities for a large sample of nearby M dwarfs, for which highaccuracy optical and infrared photometry is available. We introduce anew technique which exploits the flux ratio in different bands as aproxy of both effective temperature and metallicity. Our temperaturescale for late-type dwarfs extends well below 3000K (almost to the browndwarf limit) and is supported by interferometric angular diametermeasurements above 3000K. Our metallicities are in excellent agreement(usually within 0.2dex) with recent determinations via independenttechniques. A subsample of cool M dwarfs with metallicity estimatesbased on hotter Hipparcos common proper motion companions indicates ourmetallicities are also reliable below 3000K, a temperature rangeunexplored until now. The high quality of our data allows us to identifya striking feature in the bolometric luminosity versus temperatureplane, around the transition from K to M dwarfs. We have compared oursample of stars with theoretical models and conclude that thistransition is due to an increase in the radii of the M dwarfs, a featurewhich is not reproduced by theoretical models.
| The effect of activity on stellar temperatures and radii
Context: Recent analyses of low-mass eclipsing binary stars haveunveiled a significant disagreement between the observations andpredictions of stellar structure models. Results show that theoreticalmodels underestimate the radii and overestimate the effectivetemperatures of low-mass stars but yield luminosities that accord withobservations. A hypothesis based upon the effects of stellar activitywas put forward to explain the discrepancies. Aims: In this paper westudy the existence of the same trend in single active stars and providea consistent scenario to explain systematic differences between activeand inactive stars in the H-R diagram reported earlier. Methods: Theanalysis is done using single field stars of spectral types late-K and Mand computing their bolometric magnitudes and temperatures throughinfrared colours and spectral indices. The properties of the stars insamples of active and inactive stars are compared statistically toreveal systematic differences. Results: After accounting for a numberof possible bias effects, active stars are shown to be cooler thaninactive stars of similar luminosity therefore implying a larger radiusas well, in proportions that are in excellent agreement with those foundfrom eclipsing binaries. Conclusions: The present results generalisethe existence of strong radius and temperature dependences on stellaractivity to the entire population of low-mass stars, regardless of theirmembership in close binary systems.Tables 1 and 2 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/478/507
| Further observations of Hipparcos red stars and standards for UBV(RI)C photometry
We present homogeneous and standardized UBV(RI)C JHKphotometry for over 100 M stars selected from an earlier paper on thebasis of apparent photometric constancy. L photometry has been obtainedfor stars brighter than about L = 6. Most of the stars have asubstantial number of UBV(RI)C observations and, it is hoped,will prove useful as red supplementary standards. Additionally, we listJHK photometry for nearly 300 Hipparcos red stars not selected asstandards, as well as L photometry for the brightest stars.
| Pulkovo compilation of radial velocities for 35495 stars in a common system.
Not Available
| Ca II H and K Chromospheric Emission Lines in Late-K and M Dwarfs
We have measured the profiles of the Ca II H and K chromosphericemission lines in 147 main-sequence stars of spectral type M5-K7 (masses0.30-0.55 Msolar) using multiple high-resolution spectraobtained during 6 years with the HIRES spectrometer on the Keck Itelescope. Remarkably, the average FWHM, equivalent widths, and lineluminosities of Ca II H and K increase by a factor of 3 with increasingstellar mass over this small range of stellar masses. We fit the Ca II Hand K lines with a double-Gaussian model to represent both thechromospheric emission and the non-LTE central absorption. Most of thesample stars display a central absorption that is typically redshiftedby ~0.1 km s-1 relative to the emission. This implies thatthe higher level, lower density chromospheric material has a smalleroutward velocity (or higher inward velocity) by 0.1 km s-1than the lower level material in the chromosphere, but the nature ofthis velocity gradient remains unknown. The FWHM of the Ca II H and Kemission lines increase with stellar luminosity, reminiscent of theWilson-Bappu effect in FGK-type stars. Both the equivalent widths andFWHM exhibit modest temporal variability in individual stars. At a givenvalue of MV, stars exhibit a spread in both the equivalentwidth and FWHM of Ca II H and K, due both to a spread in fundamentalstellar parameters, including rotation rate, age, and possiblymetallicity, and to the spread in stellar mass at a given MV.The K line is consistently wider than the H line, as expected, and itscentral absorption is more redshifted, indicating that the H and K linesform at slightly different heights in the chromosphere where thevelocities are slightly different. The equivalent width of Hαcorrelates with Ca II H and K only for stars having Ca II equivalentwidths above ~2 Å, suggesting the existence of a magneticthreshold above which the lower and upper chromospheres become thermallycoupled.Based on observations obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which isoperated jointly by the University of California and the CaliforniaInstitute of Technology. Keck time has been granted by both NASA and theUniversity of California.
| Calibration of the Infrared Telescope Facility National Science Foundation Camera Jupiter Galileo Data Set
The NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, setaside some time on about 500 nights from 1995 to 2002, when the NSFCAMfacility infrared camera was mounted and Jupiter was visible, for astandardized set of observations of Jupiter in support of the Galileomission. The program included observations of Jupiter, nearby referencestars, and dome flats in five filters: narrowband filters centered at1.58, 2.28, and 3.53 μm, and broader L' and M' bands that probe theatmosphere from the stratosphere to below the main cloud layer. Thereference stars were not cross-calibrated against standards. Weperformed follow-up observations to calibrate these stars and Jupiter in2003 and 2004. We present a summary of the calibration of the Galileosupport monitoring program data set. We present calibrated magnitudes ofthe six most frequently observed stars, calibrated reflectivities, andbrightness temperatures of Jupiter from 1995 to 2004, and a simplemethod of normalizing the Jovian brightness to the 2004 results. Ourstudy indicates that the NSFCAM's zero-point magnitudes were not stablefrom 1995 to early 1997, and that the best Jovian calibration possiblewith this data set is limited to about +/-10%. The raw images andcalibration data have been deposited in the Planetary Data System.
| The Cornell High-Order Adaptive Optics Survey for Brown Dwarfs in Stellar Systems. I. Observations, Data Reduction, and Detection Analyses
In this first of a two-paper sequence, we report techniques and resultsof the Cornell High-Order Adaptive Optics Survey (CHAOS) for brown dwarfcompanions. At the time of this writing, this study represents the mostsensitive published population survey of brown dwarf companions tomain-sequence stars for separations akin to our own outer solar system.The survey, conducted using the Palomar 200 inch (5 m) Hale Telescope,consists of Ks coronagraphic observations of 80 main-sequencestars out to 22 pc. At 1" separation from a typical target system, thesurvey achieves median sensitivities 10 mag fainter than the parentstar. In terms of companion mass, the survey achieves typicalsensitivities of 25MJ (1 Gyr), 50MJ (solar age),and 60MJ (10 Gyr), using the evolutionary models of Baraffeand coworkers. Using common proper motion to distinguish companions fromfield stars, we find that no systems show positive evidence of asubstellar companion (searchable separation ~1"-15" projected separation~10-155 AU at the median target distance). In the second paper of theseries we will present our Monte Carlo population simulations.
| 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.
| The component star masses in RW Tri
We use time-resolved spectra of the cataclysmic variable RW Tri in the Iand K bands to determine the orbital velocity of the secondary starusing skew-mapping and cross-correlation techniques respectively. Wefind radial velocity amplitudes of 250 +/- 47 km s-1 in the Iband, and 221 +/- 29 km s-1 in the K band. We also determinethe rotational velocity of the secondary star using the K-band data andfind a Vrot sin i of 120 +/- 20 km s-1. Acombination of these results coupled with an estimate of the effect ofheating on the secondary star suggests a mass ratioM2/M1 in the range 0.6-1.1 the mass ratio rangewith no correction for heating is 0.5-0.8. These lead to most likelyestimates of the primary and secondary star masses in the range 0.4-0.7and 0.3-0.4 Msolar respectively. Further refinement of thestellar masses is hampered by uncertain knowledge of the white dwarforbital velocity, and we discuss evidence that at least some estimatesof the white dwarf velocity are contaminated by non-orbital components.
| Infrared L'band (lambda-cen- ~3.9 mu-m) observations with TIFR near-infrared camera (TIRCAM).
TIRCAM is based on the SBRC InSb Focal Plane Array (58 x 62 pixels)sensitive between 1- 5 μm. TIRCAM system is described in Ojha et al.(2002). TIRCAM had its first light observations during March-April 2001from Gurusikhar 1.2m PRL telescope at Mt. Abu. After having thesuccessful first run in 2001, the TIRCAM was used for the L bandobservations of a few scientific targets in combination with freshtelescope mirrors in Nov. 2002 &Jan. 2003 (the aluminising operationof the primary &secondary mirrors of 1.2m telescope was carried outin mid 2002). Several at 3.9 μm. We could detect the stars upto ~ 7mag in L band from the Gurusikhar site. The TIRCAM L mag of detectedstars in Trapezium cluster were compared with the L band (3.5 μm)data of Muench et al. (2002). These measurements are in good agreementwith each other considering the two different center wavelengths. Weplan to explore TIRCAM's performance in the broad L (3.5 μm) &M(4.5 μm) bands from Hanle site in near future.
| 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.
| Hipparcos red stars in the HpV_T2 and V I_C systems
For Hipparcos M, S, and C spectral type stars, we provide calibratedinstantaneous (epoch) Cousins V - I color indices using newly derivedHpV_T2 photometry. Three new sets of ground-based Cousins V I data havebeen obtained for more than 170 carbon and red M giants. These datasetsin combination with the published sources of V I photometry served toobtain the calibration curves linking Hipparcos/Tycho Hp-V_T2 with theCousins V - I index. In total, 321 carbon stars and 4464 M- and S-typestars have new V - I indices. The standard error of the mean V - I isabout 0.1 mag or better down to Hp~9 although it deteriorates rapidly atfainter magnitudes. These V - I indices can be used to verify thepublished Hipparcos V - I color indices. Thus, we have identified ahandful of new cases where, instead of the real target, a random fieldstar has been observed. A considerable fraction of the DMSA/C and DMSA/Vsolutions for red stars appear not to be warranted. Most likely suchspurious solutions may originate from usage of a heavily biased color inthe astrometric processing.Based on observations from the Hipparcos astrometric satellite operatedby the European Space Agency (ESA 1997).}\fnmsep\thanks{Table 7 is onlyavailable 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/qcat?J/A+A/397/997
| 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.
| UBV(RI)C photometry of Hipparcos red stars
We present homogeneous and standardized UBV(RI)C photometryfor nearly 550 M stars selected from the Hipparcos satellite data baseusing the following selection criteria: lack of obvious variability (noHipparcos variability flag); δ<+10°(V-I)>1.7 and Vmagnitude fainter than about 7.6. Comparisons are made between thecurrent photometry, other ground-based data sets and Hipparcosphotometry. We use linear discriminant analysis to determine aluminosity segregation criterion for late-type stars, and principalcomponent analysis to study the statistical structure of the colourindices and to calibrate absolute magnitude in terms of (V-I) for thedwarf stars. Various methods are used to determine the mean absolutemagnitude of the giant stars. We find 10 dwarf stars, apparentlypreviously unrecognized (prior to Hipparcos) as being within 25pc,including five within 20pc.
| 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.
| The Palomar/MSU Nearby Star Spectroscopic Survey. III. Chromospheric Activity, M Dwarf Ages, and the Local Star Formation History
We present high-resolution echelle spectroscopy of 676 nearby M dwarfs.Our measurements include radial velocities, equivalent widths ofimportant chromospheric emission lines, and rotational velocities forrapidly rotating stars. We identify several distinct groups by theirHα properties and investigate variations in chromospheric activityamong early (M0-M2.5) and mid (M3-M6) dwarfs. Using a volume-limitedsample together with a relationship between age and chromosphericactivity, we show that the rate of star formation in the immediate solarneighborhood has been relatively constant over the last 4 Gyr. Inparticular, our results are inconsistent with recent large bursts ofstar formation. We use the correlation between Hα activity and ageas a function of color to set constraints on the properties of L and Tdwarf secondary components in binary systems. We also identify a numberof interesting stars, including rapid rotators, radial velocityvariables, and spectroscopic binaries. Observations were made at the 60inch telescope at Palomar Mountain, which is jointly owned by theCalifornia Institute of Technology and the Carnegie Institution ofWashington.
| Meeting the Cool Neighbors. II. Photometry of Southern NLTT Stars
We present BVRI photometry of 180 bright, southern nearby-starcandidates. The stars were selected from the New Luyten Two-Tenthsproper-motion catalog based on optical/infrared colors, constructed bycombining Luyten's mr estimates with near-infrared photometryfrom the Two Micron All Sky Survey. Photometric parallaxes derived fromV-Ks, V-I, and I-J colors, combined with the limitedavailable astrometry, show that as many as 108 stars may lie within 20pc of the Sun. Of these, 53 are new to nearby-star catalogs, includingthree within 10 pc of the Sun.
| Late-type members of young stellar kinematic groups - I. Single stars
This is the first paper of a series aimed at studying the properties oflate-type members of young stellar kinematic groups. We concentrate ourstudy on classical young moving groups such as the Local Association(Pleiades moving group, 20-150Myr), IC 2391 supercluster (35Myr), UrsaMajor group (Sirius supercluster, 300Myr), and Hyades supercluster(600Myr), as well as on recently identified groups such as the Castormoving group (200Myr). In this paper we compile a preliminary list ofsingle late-type possible members of some of these young stellarkinematic groups. Stars are selected from previously established membersof stellar kinematic groups based on photometric and kinematicproperties as well as from candidates based on other criteria such astheir level of chromospheric activity, rotation rate and lithiumabundance. Precise measurements of proper motions and parallaxes takenfrom the Hipparcos Catalogue, as well as from the Tycho-2 Catalogue, andpublished radial velocity measurements are used to calculate theGalactic space motions (U, V, W) and to apply Eggen's kinematic criteriain order to determine the membership of the selected stars to thedifferent groups. Additional criteria using age-dating methods forlate-type stars will be applied in forthcoming papers of this series. Afurther study of the list of stars compiled here could lead to a betterunderstanding of the chromospheric activity and their age evolution, aswell as of the star formation history in the solar neighbourhood. Inaddition, these stars are also potential search targets for directimaging detection of substellar companions.
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Sextans |
| Right ascension: | 10h25m10.84s |
| Declination: | -10°13'43.3" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 10.168 |
| Distance: | 12.489 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | -693.9 |
| Proper motion Dec: | 120.2 |
| B-T magnitude: | 12.407 |
| V-T magnitude: | 10.353 |
Catalogs and designations:
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