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The Magnetic Field Strength in the Wall of the Local Bubble toward l, b ~ 300°, 0°
We present polarization measurements in the region around l, b =300°, 0°, toward stars with well-determined distances, primarilyin the range 40-200 pc. We argue that these observations tracepolarization caused by dust in the wall of the Local Bubble (LB). Usinga Chandrasekhar-Fermi analysis, we derive a plane-of-the-sky magneticfield strength, in the wall of the LB in this direction, of⊥>=8+5-3 μG, equivalent to a magneticpressure of PB/k~1.8×104 K cm-3.This pressure equals, to within the uncertainties, that in the bubbleinterior, as derived from EUVE observations, assuming collisionalionization equilibrium. Such a magnetic field could help us explain theobserved low O VI column density associated with the LB wall.
| Dwarfs in the Local Region
We present lithium, carbon, and oxygen abundance data for a sample ofnearby dwarfs-a total of 216 stars-including samples within 15 pc of theSun, as well as a sample of local close giant planet (CGP) hosts (55stars) and comparison stars. The spectroscopic data for this work have aresolution of R~60,000, a signal-to-noise ratio >150, and spectralcoverage from 475 to 685 nm. We have redetermined parameters and derivedadditional abundances (Z>10) for the CGP host and comparison samples.From our abundances for elements with Z>6 we determine the meanabundance of all elements in the CGP hosts to range from 0.1 to 0.2 dexhigher than nonhosts. However, when relative abundances ([x/Fe]) areconsidered we detect no differences in the samples. We find nodifference in the lithium contents of the hosts versus the nonhosts. Theplanet hosts appear to be the metal-rich extension of local regionabundances, and overall trends in the abundances are dominated byGalactic chemical evolution. A consideration of the kinematics of thesample shows that the planet hosts are spread through velocity space;they are not exclusively stars of the thin disk.
| High-Resolution Spectroscopy of Ursa Major Moving Group Stars
We use new and extant literature spectroscopy to address abundances andmembership for UMa moving group stars. We first compare the UMa, Coma,and Hyades H-R diagrams via a homogeneous set of isochrones and findthat these three aggregates are essentially coeval; this (near)coevality can explain the indistinguishable distributions of UMa andHyades dwarfs in the chromospheric emission versus color plane. Ourspectroscopy of cool UMa dwarfs reveals striking abundanceanomalies-trends with Teff, ionization state, and excitationpotential-like those recently seen in young, cool M34, Pleaides, andHyades dwarfs. In particular, the trend of rising λ7774-based O Iabundance with declining Teff is markedly subdued in UMacompared to the Pleiades, suggesting a dependence on age or metallicity.Recent photometric metallicity estimates for several UMa dwarfs aremarkedly low compared to the group's canonical metallicity, and similardeviants are seen among cool Hyads as well. Our spectroscopy does notconfirm these curious photometric estimates, which seem to be calledinto question for cool dwarfs. Despite disparate sources of Li data, ourhomogeneous analysis indicates that UMa members evince remarkably smallscatter in the Li-Teff plane for Teff>=5200 K.Significant star-to-star scatter suggested by previous studies is seenfor cooler stars. Comparison with the consistently determined HyadesLi-Teff trend reveals differences that are qualitativelyconsistent with this cluster's larger [Fe/H] (and perhaps slightlygreater age). However, quantitative comparison with standard stellarmodels indicates the differences are smaller than expected, suggestingthe action of a fourth parameter beyond age, mass, and [Fe/H]controlling Li depletion. The UMa-Coma cool star Li abundances may showa slight 0.2 dex difference; however, this may be mass-independent andthus more consistent with a modest initial Li abundance difference.This paper includes data taken at the McDonald Observatory of theUniversity of Texas at Austin.Based on observations obtained at Kitt Peak National Observatory, adivision of the National Optical Astronomy Observatories, which isoperated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy,Inc., under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation.
| A high sampling-density polarization study of the Southern Coalsack
We present a densely sampled map of visual polarimetry of stars in thedirection of the Southern Coalsack dark cloud. Our sample consists ofnew polarimetric observations of 225 stars drawn from thespectrophotometric survey of Seidensticker, and an additional 173 stars,covering the surrounding areas of the cloud, taken from the literature.Because all the target stars have at least spectroscopic parallaxes, wecan reliably investigate the spatial origins of the polarization, inthree dimensions. We decompose the polarization into three components,due to (i) the wall of the local hot bubble, (ii) the Coalsack cloud and(iii) material in the Carina spiral arm. The polarization due to theCoalsack varies, both in alignment efficiency (p/AV) and inthe dispersion in polarization angle, across the cloud. Using asimplified radiative transfer treatment we show that the measuredpolarization in background gas is significantly affected by foregroundpolarization, and specifically that the analysis of the Coalsackpolarization must take the effects of the local hot bubble wall intoconsideration. Correcting for this effect as well as for the internalline-of-sight averaging in the Coalsack, we find, based on aChandrasekhar-Fermi analysis, a plane-of-the-sky magnetic field for theCoalsack cloud of = 93 +/- 23 μG. Asystematic error, best described by a multiplicative factor between 0.5and 1.5, additionally arises from radiative transfer effectuncertainties. We propose that this high value for the magnetic field inthe cloud envelope is due to the fact that the Coalsack cloud isembedded in the hot interior of the Upper Centaurus-Lupus superbubble.
| Tentative Identification of Interstellar Dust in the Magnetic Wall of the Heliosphere
Observations of the weak polarization of light from nearby stars,reported by Tinbergen, are consistent with polarization by small (radius<0.14 μm), interstellar dust grains entrained in the magnetic wallof the heliosphere. The region of maximum polarization is towardecliptic coordinates (λ, β)~(295deg,0deg), corresponding to (l, b) = (20°, -21°). Thedirection of maximum polarization is offset along the ecliptic longitudeby ~35° from the nose of the heliosphere and extends to low eclipticlatitudes. An offset is also seen between the region with thebest-aligned dust grains, λ~281deg-330deg,and the upwind direction of the undeflected large grains,λ~259deg, β~+8deg, which are observedby Ulysses and Galileo to be flowing into the heliosphere. In thealigned-grain region, the strength of polarization anticorrelates withecliptic latitude, indicating that the magnetic wall is predominantly atnegative ecliptic latitudes. An extension of the magnetic wall toβ<0deg, formed by the interstellar magnetic fieldBIS draped over the heliosphere, is consistent withpredictions by Linde (1998). A consistent interpretation follows if themaximum-polarization region traces the heliosphere magnetic wall in adirection approximately perpendicular to BIS, while theregion of best-aligned dust samples the region where BISdrapes smoothly over the heliosphere with maximum compression. Thesedata are consistent with BIS being tilted by 60° withrespect to the ecliptic plane and parallel to the Galactic plane.Interstellar dust grains captured in the heliosheath may also introducea weak, but important, large-scale contaminant for the cosmic microwavebackground signal with a symmetry consistent with the relative tilts ofBIS and the ecliptic.
| 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.
| Stars within 15 Parsecs: Abundances for a Northern Sample
We present an abundance analysis for stars within 15 pc of the Sunlocated north of -30° declination. We have limited our abundancesample to absolute magnitudes brighter than +7.5 and have eliminatedseveral A stars in the local vicinity. Our final analysis list numbers114 stars. Unlike Allende Prieto et al. in their consideration of a verysimilar sample, we have enforced strict spectroscopic criteria in thedetermination of atmospheric parameters. Nevertheless, our results arevery similar to theirs. We determine the mean metallicity of the localregion to be <[Fe/H]>=-0.07 using all stars and -0.04 when interlopersfrom the thick disk are eliminated.
| On the ages of exoplanet host stars
We obtained spectra, covering the CaII H and K region, for 49 exoplanethost (EH) stars, observable from the southern hemisphere. We measuredthe chromospheric activity index, R'{_HK}. We compiled previouslypublished values of this index for the observed objects as well as theremaining EH stars in an effort to better smooth temporal variations andderive a more representative value of the average chromospheric activityfor each object. We used the average index to obtain ages for the groupof EH stars. In addition we applied other methods, such as: Isochrone,lithium abundance, metallicity and transverse velocity dispersions, tocompare with the chromospheric results. The kinematic method is a lessreliable age estimator because EH stars lie red-ward of Parenago'sdiscontinuity in the transverse velocity dispersion vs dereddened B-Vdiagram. The chromospheric and isochrone techniques give median ages of5.2 and 7.4 Gyr, respectively, with a dispersion of 4 Gyr. The medianage of F and G EH stars derived by the isochrone technique is 1-2 Gyrolder than that of identical spectral type nearby stars not known to beassociated with planets. However, the dispersion in both cases is large,about 2-4 Gyr. We searched for correlations between the chromosphericand isochrone ages and L_IR/L* (the excess over the stellarluminosity) and the metallicity of the EH stars. No clear tendency isfound in the first case, whereas the metallicy dispersion seems toslightly increase with age.
| A photometric survey of stars with circumstellar material
We present the result of a follow-up Strömgren photometric surveyof sixteen southern bright stars with circumstellar material, in orderto detect possible weak photometric variations. We found new variationsof the β~ Pictoris brightness from 1999 to 2002 with a weaklong-term variation of ~-0.8× 10-3 mag per year, overabout 3 years. These variations look similar to those seen from 1975 to1981 and from 1995 to 1998 (Nitschelm et al. 2000, A&AS, 145, 275).They can be due to differential occultation by dust inhomogeneitiestransiting the star through the years. We detected new periodicvariations for HD 256 (HR 10) with periods ranging from 0.35 day to 6.69days during several months. These variations may also be interpreted interms of variable obscuration due to structures in the circumstellardisk suspected to be surrounding this star.
| Abundance trends in kinematical groups of the Milky Way's disk
We have compiled a large catalogue of metallicities and abundance ratiosfrom the literature in order to investigate abundance trends of severalalpha and iron peak elements in the thin disk and the thick disk of theGalaxy. The catalogue includes 743 stars with abundances of Fe, O, Mg,Ca, Ti, Si, Na, Ni and Al in the metallicity range -1.30 < [Fe/H]< +0.50. We have checked that systematic differences betweenabundances measured in the different studies were lower than randomerrors before combining them. Accurate distances and proper motions fromHipparcos and radial velocities from several sources have been retreivedfor 639 stars and their velocities (U, V, W) and galactic orbits havebeen computed. Ages of 322 stars have been estimated with a Bayesianmethod of isochrone fitting. Two samples kinematically representative ofthe thin and thick disks have been selected, taking into account theHercules stream which is intermediate in kinematics, but with a probabledynamical origin. Our results show that the two disks are chemicallywell separated, they overlap greatly in metallicity and both showparallel decreasing alpha elements with increasing metallicity, in theinterval -0.80 < [Fe/H] < -0.30. The Mg enhancement with respectto Fe of the thick disk is measured to be 0.14 dex. An even largerenhancement is observed for Al. The thick disk is clearly older than thethin disk with tentative evidence of an AMR over 2-3 Gyr and a hiatus instar formation before the formation of the thin disk. We do not observea vertical gradient in the metallicity of the thick disk. The Herculesstream has properties similar to that of the thin disk, with a widerrange of metallicity. Metal-rich stars assigned to the thick disk andsuper-metal-rich stars assigned to the thin disk appear as outliers inall their properties.
| Isochrone ages for field dwarfs: method and application to the age-metallicity relation
A new method is presented to compute age estimates from theoreticalisochrones using temperature, luminosity and metallicity data forindividual stars. Based on Bayesian probability theory, this methodavoids the systematic biases affecting simpler strategies and providesreliable estimates of the age probability distribution function forlate-type dwarfs. Basic assumptions concerning the a priori parameterdistribution suitable for the solar neighbourhood are combined with thelikelihood assigned to the observed data to yield the complete posteriorage probability. This method is especially relevant for G dwarfs in the3-15 Gyr range of ages, crucial to the study of the chemical anddynamical history of the Galaxy. In many cases, it yields markedlydifferent results from the traditional approach of reading the derivedage from the isochrone nearest to the data point. We show that thestrongest process affecting the traditional approach is that of stronglyfavouring computed ages near the end-of-main-sequence lifetime. TheBayesian method compensates for this potential bias and generallyassigns much higher probabilities to lower main-sequence ages, comparedwith short-lived evolved stages. This has a strong influence on anyapplication to galactic studies, especially given the presentuncertainties on the absolute temperature scale of the stellar evolutionmodels. In particular, the known mismatch between the model predictionsand the observations for moderately metal-poor dwarfs (-1 < [Fe/H]< -0.3) has a dramatic effect on the traditional age determination.We apply our method to the classic sample of Edvardsson et al., whoderived the age-metallicity relation (AMR) of 189 field dwarfs withprecisely determined abundances. We show how much of the observedscatter in the AMR is caused by the interplay between the systematicbiases affecting the traditional age determination, the colour mismatchwith the evolution models and the presence of undetected binaries. Usingnew parallax, temperature and metallicity data, our age determinationfor the same sample indicates that the intrinsic dispersion in the AMRis at most 0.15 dex and probably lower. In particular, we show that old,metal-rich objects ([Fe/H]~ 0.0 dex, age > 5 Gyr) and young,metal-poor objects ([Fe/H] < -0.5 dex, age < 6 Gyr) in manyobserved AMR plots are artefacts caused by too simple a treatment of theage determination. The incompatibility of those AMR plots with awell-mixed interstellar medium may therefore only be apparent.Incidentally, our results tend to restore confidence in the method ofage determination from the chromospheric activity for field dwarfs.
| Lithium abundances of the local thin disc stars
Lithium abundances are presented for a sample of 181 nearby F and Gdwarfs with accurate Hipparcos parallaxes. The stars are on circularorbits about the Galactic centre and, hence, are identified as belongingto the thin disc. This sample is combined with two published surveys toprovide a catalogue of lithium abundances, metallicities ([Fe/H]),masses, and ages for 451 F-G dwarfs, almost all belonging to the thindisc. The lithium abundances are compared and contrasted with publishedlithium abundances for F and G stars in local open clusters. The fieldstars span a larger range in [Fe/H] than the clusters for which [Fe/H]~=0.0 +/- 0.2. The initial (i.e. interstellar) lithium abundance of thesolar neighbourhood, as derived from stars for which astration oflithium is believed to be unimportant, is traced from logɛ(Li) =2.2 at [Fe/H]=-1 to logɛ(Li) = 3.2 at +0.1. This form for theevolution is dependent on the assumption that astration of lithium isnegligible for the stars defining the relation. An argument is advancedthat this latter assumption may not be entirely correct, and, theevolution of lithium with [Fe/H] may be flatter than previouslysupposed. A sharp Hyades-like Li dip is not seen among the field starsand appears to be replaced by a large spread among lithium abundances ofstars more massive than the lower mass limit of the dip. Astration oflithium by stars of masses too low to participate in the Li dip isdiscussed. These stars show little to no spread in lithium abundance ata given [Fe/H] and mass.
| Submillimetre observations and modelling of Vega-type stars
We present new submillimetre observations of Vega-excess stars, andconsistent modelling for all known Vega-excess stars with submillimetredata. Our analysis uses dust grain models with realistic opticalproperties, with the aim of determining physical parameters of theunresolved discs from just their spectral energy distributions (SEDs).For the resolved targets, we find that different objects require verydifferent dust grain properties in order to fit the image data and SEDsimultaneously. Fomalhaut and Vega require solid dust grains, while HR4796 and HD 141569 can only be fitted using porous grains. The olderstars tend to have grains which are less porous than the younger stars,which may indicate that collisions in the discs have reprocessed theinitially fluffy grains into a more solid form. ɛ Eri appears to bedeficient in small dust grains compared with our best-fitting model.This may show that it is important to include all the factors that causethe size distribution to depart from a simple power law for grains closeto the radiation pressure blow-out limit. Alternatively, thisdiscrepancy may be due to some external influence on the disc (e.g. aplanet).When the model is applied to the unresolved targets, an estimate of thedisc size can be made. However, the large diversity in dust compositionfor the resolved discs means that we cannot make a reliable assumptionas to the composition of the grains in an unresolved disc, and there iscorresponding uncertainty in the disc size. In addition, the poor fitfor ɛ Eri shows that the model cannot always account for the SEDeven if the disc size is known. These two factors mean that it may notbe possible to determine the size of a disc without actually resolvingit.
| A search for debris discs around stars with giant planets
Eight nearby stars with known giant planets have been searched forthermal emission in the submillimetre arising from dust debris. The nullresults imply quantities of dust typically less than 0.02 Earth massesper star. Conversely, literature data for 20 Sun-like stars with debrisdiscs show that <= 5 per cent have gas giants inside a fewastronomical units - but the dust distribution suggests that nearly allhave more distant planets. The lack of overlap in these systems - i.e.few stars possess both inner planets and a disc - indicates that thesephenomena either are not connected or are mutually exclusive. Comparisonwith an evolutionary model shows that debris masses are predicted to below by the stellar ages of 2-8 Gyr (unless the colliding parent bodiesare quite distant, located beyond 100-200 au), but it remains to beexplained why stars that do have debris should preferentially only havedistant planets. A simple idea is proposed that could produce theselargely different systems, invoking a difference in the primordial discmass. Large masses promote fast gas giant growth and inwards migration,whereas small masses imply slow evolution, low-mass gas giants andoutwards migration that increases the collision rate of Kuiper Belt-likeobjects. This explanation neglects other sources of diversity betweendiscs (such as density and planetesimal composition and orbits), but itdoes have the merit of matching the observational results.
| A near-infrared stellar spectral library: I. H-band spectra.
This paper presents the H band near-infrared (NIR) spectral library of135 solar type stars covering spectral types O5-M3 and luminosityclasses I-V as per MK classification. The observations were carried outwith 1.2 meter Gurushikhar Infrared Telescope (GIRT), at Mt. Abu, Indiausing a NICMOS3 HgCdTe 256 x 256 NIR array based spectrometer. Thespectra have a moderate resolution of 1000 (about 16 A) at the H bandand have been continuum shape corrected to their respective effectivetemperatures. This library and the remaining ones in J and K bands oncereleased will serve as an important database for stellar populationsynthesis and other applications in conjunction with the newly formedlarge optical coude feed stellar spectral library of Valdes et al.(2004). The complete H-Band library is available online at: http://vo.iucaa.ernet.in/~voi/NIR_Header.html
| The Rise of the s-Process in the Galaxy
From newly obtained high-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio spectrathe abundances of the elements La and Eu have been determined over thestellar metallicity range -3<[Fe/H]<+0.3 in 159 giant and dwarfstars. Lanthanum is predominantly made by the s-process in the solarsystem, while Eu owes most of its solar system abundance to ther-process. The changing ratio of these elements in stars over a widemetallicity range traces the changing contributions of these twoprocesses to the Galactic abundance mix. Large s-process abundances canbe the result of mass transfer from very evolved stars, so to identifythese cases we also report carbon abundances in our metal-poor stars.Results indicate that the s-process may be active as early as[Fe/H]=-2.6, although we also find that some stars as metal-rich as[Fe/H]=-1 show no strong indication of s-process enrichment. There is asignificant spread in the level of s-process enrichment even at solarmetallicity.
| Synthetic Lick Indices and Detection of α-enhanced Stars. II. F, G, and K Stars in the -1.0 < [Fe/H] < +0.50 Range
We present an analysis of 402 F, G, and K solar neighborhood stars, withaccurate estimates of [Fe/H] in the range -1.0 to +0.5 dex, aimed at thedetection of α-enhanced stars and at the investigation of theirkinematical properties. The analysis is based on the comparison of 571sets of spectral indices in the Lick/IDS system, coming from fourdifferent observational data sets, with synthetic indices computed withsolar-scaled abundances and with α-element enhancement. We useselected combinations of indices to single out α-enhanced starswithout requiring previous knowledge of their main atmosphericparameters. By applying this approach to the total data set, we obtain alist of 60 bona fide α-enhanced stars and of 146 stars withsolar-scaled abundances. The properties of the detected α-enhancedand solar-scaled abundance stars with respect to their [Fe/H] values andkinematics are presented. A clear kinematic distinction betweensolar-scaled and α-enhanced stars was found, although a one-to-onecorrespondence to ``thin disk'' and ``thick disk'' components cannot besupported with the present data.
| Stellar Chemical Signatures and Hierarchical Galaxy Formation
To compare the chemistries of stars in the Milky Way dwarf spheroidal(dSph) satellite galaxies with stars in the Galaxy, we have compiled alarge sample of Galactic stellar abundances from the literature. Whenkinematic information is available, we have assigned the stars tostandard Galactic components through Bayesian classification based onGaussian velocity ellipsoids. As found in previous studies, the[α/Fe] ratios of most stars in the dSph galaxies are generallylower than similar metallicity Galactic stars in this extended sample.Our kinematically selected stars confirm this for the Galactic halo,thin-disk, and thick-disk components. There is marginal overlap in thelow [α/Fe] ratios between dSph stars and Galactic halo stars onextreme retrograde orbits (V<-420 km s-1), but this is notsupported by other element ratios. Other element ratios compared in thispaper include r- and s-process abundances, where we find a significantoffset in the [Y/Fe] ratios, which results in a large overabundance in[Ba/Y] in most dSph stars compared with Galactic stars. Thus, thechemical signatures of most of the dSph stars are distinct from thestars in each of the kinematic components of the Galaxy. This resultrules out continuous merging of low-mass galaxies similar to these dSphsatellites during the formation of the Galaxy. However, we do not ruleout very early merging of low-mass dwarf galaxies, since up to one-halfof the most metal-poor stars ([Fe/H]<=-1.8) have chemistries that arein fair agreement with Galactic halo stars. We also do not rule outmerging with higher mass galaxies, although we note that the LMC and theremnants of the Sgr dwarf galaxy are also chemically distinct from themajority of the Galactic halo stars. Formation of the Galaxy's thickdisk by heating of an old thin disk during a merger is also not ruledout; however, the Galaxy's thick disk itself cannot be comprised of theremnants from a low-mass (dSph) dwarf galaxy, nor of a high-mass dwarfgalaxy like the LMC or Sgr, because of differences in chemistry.The new and independent environments offered by the dSph galaxies alsoallow us to examine fundamental assumptions related to thenucleosynthesis of the elements. The metal-poor stars ([Fe/H]<=-1.8)in the dSph galaxies appear to have lower [Ca/Fe] and [Ti/Fe] than[Mg/Fe] ratios, unlike similar metallicity stars in the Galaxy.Predictions from the α-process (α-rich freeze-out) would beconsistent with this result if there have been a lack of hypernovae indSph galaxies. The α-process could also be responsible for thevery low Y abundances in the metal-poor stars in dSph's; since [La/Eu](and possibly [Ba/Eu]) are consistent with pure r-process results, thelow [Y/Eu] suggests a separate r-process site for this light(first-peak) r-process element. We also discuss SNe II rates and yieldsas other alternatives, however. In stars with higher metallicities([Fe/H]>=-1.8), contributions from the s-process are expected; [(Y,La, and Ba)/Eu] all rise as expected, and yet [Ba/Y] is still muchhigher in the dSph stars than similar metallicity Galactic stars. Thisresult is consistent with s-process contributions from lower metallicityAGB stars in dSph galaxies, and is in good agreement with the slowerchemical evolution expected in the low-mass dSph galaxies relative tothe Galaxy, such that the build-up of metals occurs over much longertimescales. Future investigations of nucleosynthetic constraints (aswell as galaxy formation and evolution) will require an examination ofmany stars within individual dwarf galaxies.Finally, the Na-Ni trend reported in 1997 by Nissen & Schuster isconfirmed in Galactic halo stars, but we discuss this in terms of thegeneral nucleosynthesis of neutron-rich elements. We do not confirm thatthe Na-Ni trend is related to the accretion of dSph galaxies in theGalactic halo.
| Empirically Constrained Color-Temperature Relations. II. uvby
A new grid of theoretical color indices for the Strömgren uvbyphotometric system has been derived from MARCS model atmospheres and SSGsynthetic spectra for cool dwarf and giant stars having-3.0<=[Fe/H]<=+0.5 and 3000<=Teff<=8000 K. Atwarmer temperatures (i.e., 8000-2.0. To overcome thisproblem, the theoretical indices at intermediate and high metallicitieshave been corrected using a set of color calibrations based on fieldstars having well-determined distances from Hipparcos, accurateTeff estimates from the infrared flux method, andspectroscopic [Fe/H] values. In contrast with Paper I, star clustersplayed only a minor role in this analysis in that they provided asupplementary constraint on the color corrections for cool dwarf starswith Teff<=5500 K. They were mainly used to test thecolor-Teff relations and, encouragingly, isochrones thatemploy the transformations derived in this study are able to reproducethe observed CMDs (involving u-v, v-b, and b-y colors) for a number ofopen and globular clusters (including M67, the Hyades, and 47 Tuc)rather well. Moreover, our interpretations of such data are verysimilar, if not identical, with those given in Paper I from aconsideration of BV(RI)C observations for the sameclusters-which provides a compelling argument in support of thecolor-Teff relations that are reported in both studies. Inthe present investigation, we have also analyzed the observedStrömgren photometry for the classic Population II subdwarfs,compared our ``final'' (b-y)-Teff relationship with thosederived empirically in a number of recent studies and examined in somedetail the dependence of the m1 index on [Fe/H].Based, in part, on observations made with the Nordic Optical Telescope,operated jointly on the island of La Palma by Denmark, Finland, Iceland,Norway, and Sweden, in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de losMuchachos of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias.Based, in part, on observations obtained with the Danish 1.54 mtelescope at the European Southern Observatory, La Silla, Chile.
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| Library of flux-calibrated echelle spectra of southern late-type dwarfs with different activity levels
We present Echelle spectra of 91 late-type dwarfs, of spectral typesfrom F to M and of different levels of chromospheric activity, obtainedwith the 2.15 m telescope of the CASLEO Observatory located in theArgentinean Andes. Our observations range from 3890 to 6690 Å, ata spectral resolution from 0.141 to 0.249 Å per pixel(R=λ/δ λ ≈ 26 400). The observations were fluxcalibrated with the aid of long slit spectra. A version of thecalibrated spectra is available via the World Wide Web.Table 2 is also 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/414/699The spectra are available as FITS and ascii-files at the URL:http://www.iafe.uba.ar/cincunegui/spectra/Table2.html. They are alsoavailable 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/414/699. When convertingthe fits to ascii, the spectra were oversampled to a constant δλ ≈ 0.15 Å.Table 2 is also available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous
| Magnetic activity in HD 111456, a young F5-6 main-sequence star
We present spectroscopic and photometric observations of the young F5-6V field star HD 111456 which exhibits emission coresin the Ca Ii H and K lines and a filling in the H\alpha line. Absorptionlines of He I D_3 and Li I are clearly detected and we give a new valueof v\sin i=41.5 km s-1. Although the limit of magneticactivity detectability at optical wavelengths occurs around F5-6spectral types, HD 111456 shows unusual chromosphericactivity. High UV fluxes in the C Ii, C Iv, Si Ii and Si Iv lines and astrong X-ray emission confirm that HD 111456 is oneof the most active F5-6 V star. The Ca Ii and H\alpha chromosphericemission fluxes do not show any detectable variation on time scales offew days, as well as uvby photometry. A possible explanation in terms ofa very high level of magnetic activity and a homogeneous distribution ofactive regions, both at chromospheric and photospheric level, or a verylow inclination of the rotation axis with respect to the line of sightis proposed. From 1998 to 2001 the radial velocity varies indicating apossible binary system, but the spectral distribution of HD 111456 isbetter reproduced by a single normal F5 V star, and composite spectrasimulations (Ca Ii, H\alpha) with a normal inactive F star and a veryactive low-mass K-M star are not able to reproduce the observedemissions.Based on observations collected at the Observatoire de Haute Provence(CNRS), France, and at the Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania, Italy.
| 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.
| Stellar Kinematic Groups. II. A Reexamination of the Membership, Activity, and Age of the Ursa Major Group
Utilizing Hipparcos parallaxes, original radial velocities and recentliterature values, new Ca II H and K emission measurements,literature-based abundance estimates, and updated photometry (includingrecent resolved measurements of close doubles), we revisit the UrsaMajor moving group membership status of some 220 stars to produce afinal clean list of nearly 60 assured members, based on kinematic andphotometric criteria. Scatter in the velocity dispersions and H-Rdiagram is correlated with trial activity-based membership assignments,indicating the usefulness of criteria based on photometric andchromospheric emission to examine membership. Closer inspection,however, shows that activity is considerably more robust at excludingmembership, failing to do so only for <=15% of objects, perhapsconsiderably less. Our UMa members demonstrate nonzero vertex deviationin the Bottlinger diagram, behavior seen in older and recent studies ofnearby young disk stars and perhaps related to Galactic spiralstructure. Comparison of isochrones and our final UMa group membersindicates an age of 500+/-100 Myr, some 200 Myr older than thecanonically quoted UMa age. Our UMa kinematic/photometric members' meanchromospheric emission levels, rotational velocities, and scattertherein are indistinguishable from values in the Hyades and smaller thanthose evinced by members of the younger Pleiades and M34 clusters,suggesting these characteristics decline rapidly with age over 200-500Myr. None of our UMa members demonstrate inordinately low absolutevalues of chromospheric emission, but several may show residual fluxes afactor of >=2 below a Hyades-defined lower envelope. If one defines aMaunder-like minimum in a relative sense, then the UMa results maysuggest that solar-type stars spend 10% of their entire main-sequencelives in periods of precipitously low activity, which is consistent withestimates from older field stars. As related asides, we note six evolvedstars (among our UMa nonmembers) with distinctive kinematics that liealong a 2 Gyr isochrone and appear to be late-type counterparts to diskF stars defining intermediate-age star streams in previous studies,identify a small number of potentially very young but isolated fieldstars, note that active stars (whether UMa members or not) in our samplelie very close to the solar composition zero-age main sequence, unlikeHipparcos-based positions in the H-R diagram of Pleiades dwarfs, andargue that some extant transformations of activity indices are notadequate for cool dwarfs, for which Ca II infrared triplet emissionseems to be a better proxy than Hα-based values for Ca II H and Kindices.
| 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
| Rotation in Globular Cluster stars. Turn-off and subgiant stars in NGC 104, NGC 6397 and NGC 6752
We present a derivation of upper limits to the rotation of Main Sequencestars in three globular clusters using spectra obtained during timeallocated to the ESO Large Programs 165-L0263 and 167.D-0173, with UVESat VLT2 (Kueyen). The stars analyzed in this work do not show anyevidence of high values of rotational velocities as far as the outerlayers are concerned, in particular robust estimates for the upperlimits of the values of the mean projected rotational velocities areplaced, about /line{vrot sin i} = 3.5+/- 0.2 kms-1 and about /line{vrot sin i}=4.7+/-0.2 kms-1 for, respectively, the program turn-off and subgiantstars. On the basis of statistical considerations, assuming thatinclination of the rotational axis i is randomly oriented, and that allstars within the same group rotate at the same rate, we obtain estimatesfor the values of the true rotational velocities. These values are upperlimits to the true rotational velocities if there is some star-to-starscatter in rotational or macro-turbulent velocities. The mean values ofthese upper limits for vrot for the stars of the samespectral type averaged over the three clusters are found to berespectively, /line{v}rot<=3.5+/-0.4 km s-1 and/line{v}rot<=2.6+/-1.1 km s-1. Thus, theexplanation for the large rotational velocities found for the HorizontalBranch stars must be looked for either in the rotation of the core notdetectable in the outer layers (Sills & Pinsennault \cite{sill}) orin the acquisition of angular momentum during their evolution.Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory,Chile.
| Oxygen line formation in late-F through early-K disk/halo stars. Infrared O I triplet and [O I] lines
In order to investigate the formation of O I 7771-5 and [O I] 6300/6363lines, extensive non-LTE calculations for neutral atomic oxygen werecarried out for wide ranges of model atmosphere parameters, which areapplicable to early-K through late-F halo/disk stars of variousevolutionary stages.The formation of the triplet O I lines was found to be well described bythe classical two-level-atom scattering model, and the non-LTEcorrection is practically determined by the parameters of theline-transition itself without any significant relevance to the detailsof the oxygen atomic model. This simplifies the problem in the sensethat the non-LTE abundance correction is essentially determined only bythe line-strength (Wlambda ), if the atmospheric parametersof Teff, log g, and xi are given, without any explicitdependence of the metallicity; thus allowing a useful analytical formulawith tabulated numerical coefficients. On the other hand, ourcalculations lead to the robust conclusion that LTE is totally valid forthe forbidden [O I] lines.An extensive reanalysis of published equivalent-width data of O I 7771-5and [O I] 6300/6363 taken from various literature resulted in theconclusion that, while a reasonable consistency of O I and [O I]abundances was observed for disk stars (-1 <~ [Fe/H] <~ 0), theexistence of a systematic abundance discrepancy was confirmed between OI and [O I] lines in conspicuously metal-poor halo stars (-3 <~[Fe/H] <~ -1) without being removed by our non-LTE corrections, i.e.,the former being larger by ~ 0.3 dex at -3 <~ [Fe/H] <~ -2.An inspection of the parameter-dependence of this discordance indicatesthat the extent of the discrepancy tends to be comparatively lessenedfor higher Teff/log g stars, suggesting the preference ofdwarf (or subgiant) stars for studying the oxygen abundances ofmetal-poor stars.Tables 2, 5, and 7 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/402/343 and Table\ref{tab3} is only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org
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