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Reliability Checks on the Indo-US Stellar Spectral Library Using Artificial Neural Networks and Principal Component Analysis
The Indo-US coudé feed stellar spectral library (CFLIB) madeavailable to the astronomical community recently by Valdes et al. (2004,ApJS, 152, 251) contains spectra of 1273 stars in the spectral region3460 to 9464Å at a high resolution of 1Å (FWHM) and a widerange of spectral types. Cross-checking the reliability of this databaseis an important and desirable exercise since a number of stars in thisdatabase have no known spectral types and a considerable fraction ofstars has not so complete coverage in the full wavelength region of3460-9464Å resulting in gaps ranging from a few Å to severaltens of Å. We use an automated classification scheme based onArtificial Neural Networks (ANN) to classify all 1273 stars in thedatabase. In addition, principal component analysis (PCA) is carried outto reduce the dimensionality of the data set before the spectra areclassified by the ANN. Most importantly, we have successfullydemonstrated employment of a variation of the PCA technique to restorethe missing data in a sample of 300 stars out of the CFLIB.
| Caroline Herschel's catalogue of nebulae
Not Available
| Extended envelopes around Galactic Cepheids. II. Polaris and δ Cephei from near-infrared interferometry with CHARA/FLUOR
We present the results of long-baseline interferometric observations ofthe classical Cepheids Polaris and δ Cep in the near infrared K'band (1.9-2.3 μm), using the FLUOR instrument of the CHARA Array.Following our previous detection of a circumstellar envelope (CSE)around ℓ Car (Kervella et al. 2006), we report similar detectionsaround Polaris and δ Cep. Owing to the large data set acquired onPolaris, in both the first and second lobes of visibility function, wehave detected the presence of a circum-stellar envelope (CSE), locatedat 2.4±0.1 stellar radii, accounting for 1.5±0.4% of thestellar flux in the K band. A similar model is applied to the δCep data, which shows improved agreement compared to a model withoutCSE. Finally, we find that the bias in estimating the angular diameterof δ Cep in the framework of the Baade-Wesselink method(Mérand et al 2005b) is of the order of 1% or less in the K band.A complete study of the influence of the CSE is proposed in thiscontext, showing that at the optimum baseline for angular diametervariation detection, the bias is of the order of the formal precision inthe determination of the δ Cep pulsation amplitude (1.6%).
| Stellar Parameters and Photospheric Abundances of Late-G Giants: Properties of the Targets of the Okayama Planet Search Program
Towards clarifying the properties of late-G giants, for which we arecurrently conducting a planet-search project at Okayama AstrophysicalObservatory, an extensive spectroscopic study has been performed for ourfirst target sample of fifty-seven G6-G9 III stars, in order toestablish the atmospheric parameters (Teff, log g,vt, and [Fe/H]), the stellar mass along with the evolutionarystatus, and the photospheric abundances of various elements. It wasconfirmed that the conventional spectroscopic method of parameterdetermination using Fe I / II lines with the assumption of LTE workssuccessfully for these evolved stars. We determined the abundances(relative to the Sun) of 19 elements, and examined how their [X/Fe]ratios behave themselves with the run of [Fe/H]. While the trends appearto be similar to those exhibited by disk dwarfs for a number ofelements, some elements (C, O, Na) showed appreciable anomalies, whichmay be interpreted as being due to a dredge-up of nuclear-processedmaterial. Since the [Fe/H] values of these stars tend to be somewhatbiased towards a subsolar regime, some mechanism of slightly reducingthe metallicity might be suspected.
| Radial-Velocity Variability of G-Type Giants: First Three Years of the Okayama Planet Search Program
We report on the radial-velocity variability of G-type giants based onthe results of precise Doppler measurements of 57 stars that wereobserved for the first 3 years of the Okayama Planet Search Program.This program aims to search for planets around intermediate-mass starsin their evolved stages as late-G giants. We found that most of thetargets with B ‑ V < 1.0 have radial-velocity scatters ofσ 10 m s-1, with the most stable reaching levels of6‑8 m s-1, while those with B ‑ V > 1.0 typically showσ 20 m s-1. In total, about 60% of the targets are stable inradial velocity to a level of σ < 15 m s-1 over 1-3 years, andabout 90% have σ < 30 m s-1. We found that 4 stars (HD 30557,HD 34559, HD 68077, and HD 85444) show significant long-termradial-velocity trends, suggesting that they are probably orbited byunseen stellar or substellar companions. Three stars (HD 79181, HD104985, and HD 141680) show periodic radial-velocity variations. HD104985 is the first planet-harboring star discovered from our survey.The properties of the variations in these 3 stars have been, and willbe, extensively discussed in separate papers. Relatively large, but notapparently periodic, radial-velocity variations of σ > 30 m s-1are found in 4 stars (HD 41597, HD 134190, HD 161178, and HD 176598).For most of the stars without showing any significant periodicity, wecan exclude companions with K > 50 m s-1, or m2sini > 1.8 MJ (a/AU)1/2(M*/Mȯ)1/2 for orbital radii a ≲ 1‑2 AU.
| Group, field and isolated early-type galaxies - I. Observations and nuclear data
This is the first paper of a series on the investigation of stellarpopulation properties and galaxy evolution of an observationallyhomogeneous sample of early-type galaxies in groups, field and isolatedgalaxies.Here we present high signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) long-slit spectroscopyof 86 nearby elliptical and S0 galaxies. Eight of them are isolated,selected according to a rigorous criterion, which guarantees a genuinelow-density subsample. The present survey has the advantage of coveringa larger wavelength range than normally found in the literature, whichincludes [OIII]λ5007 and Hα, both lines important foremission correction. Among the 86 galaxies with S/N >= 15 (perresolution element, for re/8 central aperture), 57 have theirHβ-index corrected for emission (the average correction is 0.190Åin Hβ) and 42 galaxies reveal [OIII]λ5007 emission,of which 16 also show obvious Hα emission. Most of the galaxies inthe sample do not show obvious signs of disturbances nor tidal featuresin the morphologies, although 11 belong to the Arp catalogue of peculiargalaxies; only three of them (NGC 750, 751 and 3226) seem to be stronglyinteracting. We present the measurement of 25 central line-strengthindices calibrated to the Lick/IDS system. Kinematic information isobtained for the sample. We analyse the line-strength index versusvelocity dispersion relations for our sample of mainly low-densityenvironment galaxies, and compare the slope of the relations withcluster galaxies from the literature. Our main findings are that theindex-σ0 relations presented for low-density regionsare not significantly different from those of cluster E/S0s. The slopeof the index-σ0 relations does not seem to change forearly-type galaxies of different environmental densities, but thescatter of the relations seems larger for group, field and isolatedgalaxies than for cluster galaxies.
| The Vertical Stellar Kinematics in Face-On Barred Galaxies: Estimating the Ages of Bars
In order to perform a detailed study of the stellar kinematics in thevertical axis of bars, we obtained high signal-to-noise spectra alongthe major and minor axes of the bars in a sample of 14 face-on galaxiesand used them to determine the line-of-sight stellar velocitydistribution, parameterized as a Gauss-Hermite series. With these data,we developed a diagnostic tool that allows one to distinguish betweenrecently formed and evolved bars, as well as to estimate their ages,assuming that bars form in vertically thin disks that are recognizableby low values for the vertical velocity dispersion σz.Through N-body realizations of bar unstable disk galaxies we were alsoable to check the timescales involved in the processes that give bars animportant vertical structure. We show that σz inevolved bars is roughly 100 km s-1, which translates to aheight scale of about 1.4 kpc, giving support to scenarios in whichbulges form through disk material. Furthermore, the bars in ournumerical simulations have values for σz generallysmaller than 50 km s-1, even after evolving for 2 Gyr,suggesting that a slow process is responsible for making bars asvertically thick as we observe. We verify theoretically that theSpitzer-Schwarzschild mechanism is quantitatively able to explain theseobservations if we assume that giant molecular clouds are twice asconcentrated along the bar as in the rest of the disk.
| Diameters of Mira Stars Measured Simultaneously in the J, H, and K' Near-Infrared Bands
We present the first spatially resolved observations of a sample of 23Mira stars simultaneously measured in the near-infrared J, H, and K'bands. The technique used was optical long-baseline interferometry, andwe present for each star visibility amplitude measurements as a functionof wavelength. We also present characteristic sizes at each spectralband, obtained by fitting the measured visibilities to a simple uniformdisk model. This approach reveals the general relation J diameter < Hdiameter < K' diameter.
| A catalog of bright calibrator stars for 200-m baseline near-infrared stellar interferometry
We present in this paper a catalog of reference stars suitable forcalibrating infrared interferometric observations. In the K band,visibilities can be calibrated with a precision of 1% on baselines up to200 meters for the whole sky, and up to 300 meters for some part of thesky. This work, extending to longer baselines a previous catalogcompiled by Bordé et al. (2002, A&A, 393, 183), isparticularl y well adapted to hectometric-class interferometers such asthe Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI, Glindemann et al. 2003,Proc. SPIE, 4838, 89) or the CHARA array (ten Brummelaar et al. 2003,Proc. SPIE, 4838, 69) when one is observing well-resolved, high-surfacebrightness objects (K 8). We use the absolute spectro-photometriccalibration method introduced by Cohen et al. (1999, AJ, 117, 1864) toderive the angular diameters of our new set of 948 G8-M0 calibratorstars extracted from the IRAS, 2MASS and MSX catalogs. Angular stellardiameters range from 0.6 mas to 1.8 mas (median is 1.1 mas) with amedian precision of 1.35%. For both the northern and southernhemispheres, the closest calibrator star is always less than 10°away.
| Nearby early-type galaxies with ionized gas. I. Line-strength indices of the underlying stellar population
With the aim of building a data-set of spectral properties of wellstudied early-type galaxies showing emission lines, we presentintermediate resolution spectra of 50 galaxies in the nearby Universe.The sample, which covers several of the E and S0 morphologicalsub-classes, is biased toward objects that might be expected to haveongoing and recent star formation, at least in small amounts, because ofthe presence of the emission lines. The emission is expected to comefrom the combination of active galactic nuclei and star formationregions within the galaxies. Sample galaxies are located in environmentscorresponding to a broad range of local galaxy densities, althoughpredominantly in low density environments. Our long-slit spectra coverthe 3700-7250 Å wavelength range with a spectral resolution of≈7.6 Å at 5550 Å. The specific aim of this paper, and ourfirst step in the investigation, is to map the underlying galaxy stellarpopulation by measuring, along the slit positioned along the galaxymajor axis, line-strength indices at several, homogeneousgalacto-centric distances. For each object we extracted 7luminosity-weighted apertures (with radii 1.5´´,2.5´´, 10´´, r_e/10, r_e/8, r_e/4 and r_e/2)corrected for the galaxy ellipticity and 4 gradients (0 ≤ r ≤r_e/16, r_e/16 ≤ r ≤ r_e/8, r_e/8 ≤ r ≤ r_e/4 and r_e/4≤ r ≤ r_e/2). For each aperture and gradient we measured 25line-strength indices: 21 of the set defined by the Lick-IDS“standard” system (Trager et al. [CITE], ApJS, 116, 1) and 4introduced by Worthey & Ottaviani ([CITE], ApJS, 111, 377).Line-strength indices have been transformed to the Lick-IDS system.Indices derived then include Hβ, Mg1, Mg2, Mgb, MgFe, Fe5270,Fe5335 commonly used in classic index-index diagrams. The paperintroduces the sample, presents the observations, describes the datareduction procedures, the extraction of apertures and gradients, thedetermination and correction of the line-strength indices, the procedureadopted to transform them into the Lick-IDS System and the proceduresadopted for the emission correction. We finally discuss the comparisonsbetween our dataset and line-strength indices available in theliterature. A significant fraction, about 60%, of galaxies in thepresent sample has one previous measurement in the Lick-IDS system butbasically restricted within the r_e/8 region. Line-strength measuresobtained both from apertures and gradients outside this area and withinthe r_e/8 region, with the present radial mapping, are completely new.Full appendix and Figs. 8 to 13 are only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org Full Tables 6, 7, 9 and 10 are only availableat the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) orvia http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/433/497 Based onobservations obtained at the European Southern Observatory, La Silla,Chile (Programs Nr. 60.A-0647 and 61.A-0406).
| CHARM2: An updated Catalog of High Angular Resolution Measurements
We present an update of the Catalog of High Angular ResolutionMeasurements (CHARM, Richichi & Percheron \cite{CHARM}, A&A,386, 492), which includes results available until July 2004. CHARM2 is acompilation of direct measurements by high angular resolution methods,as well as indirect estimates of stellar diameters. Its main goal is toprovide a reference list of sources which can be used for calibrationand verification observations with long-baseline optical and near-IRinterferometers. Single and binary stars are included, as are complexobjects from circumstellar shells to extragalactic sources. The presentupdate provides an increase of almost a factor of two over the previousedition. Additionally, it includes several corrections and improvements,as well as a cross-check with the valuable public release observationsof the ESO Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). A total of 8231entries for 3238 unique sources are now present in CHARM2. Thisrepresents an increase of a factor of 3.4 and 2.0, respectively, overthe contents of the previous version of CHARM.The catalog 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/431/773
| Determination of fundamental characteristics for stars of the F, G, and K spectral types. The surface gravities and metallicity parameters.
Not Available
| The Indo-US Library of Coudé Feed Stellar Spectra
We have obtained spectra for 1273 stars using the 0.9 m coudéfeed telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. This telescope feedsthe coudé spectrograph of the 2.1 m telescope. The spectra havebeen obtained with the no. 5 camera of the coudé spectrograph anda Loral 3K×1K CCD. Two gratings have been used to provide spectralcoverage from 3460 to 9464 Å, at a resolution of ~1 Å FWHMand at an original dispersion of 0.44 Å pixel-1. For885 stars we have complete spectra over the entire 3460 to 9464 Åwavelength region (neglecting small gaps of less than 50 Å), andpartial spectral coverage for the remaining stars. The 1273 stars havebeen selected to provide broad coverage of the atmospheric parametersTeff, logg, and [Fe/H], as well as spectral type. The goal ofthe project is to provide a comprehensive library of stellar spectra foruse in the automated classification of stellar and galaxy spectra and ingalaxy population synthesis. In this paper we discuss thecharacteristics of the spectral library, viz., details of theobservations, data reduction procedures, and selection of stars. We alsopresent a few illustrations of the quality and information available inthe spectra. The first version of the complete spectral library is nowpublicly available from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory(NOAO) via ftp and http.
| 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.
| 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.
| Precise radial velocity measurements of G and K giants. Multiple systems and variability trend along the Red Giant Branch
We present the results of our radial velocity (RV) measurements of G andK giants, concentrating on the presence of multiple systems in oursample. Eighty-three giants have been observed for 2.5 years with thefiber-fed echelle spectrograph FEROS at the 1.52 m ESO telescope in LaSilla, Chile. Seventy-seven stars (93%) of the targets have beenanalyzed for RV variability using simultaneous Th-Ar calibration and across-correlation technique. We estimate the long-term precision of ourmeasurement as better than 25 m s-1. Projected rotationalvelocities have been measured for most stars of the sample. Within ourtime-base only 21 stars (or 27%) show variability below 2\sigma, whilethe others show RV variability with amplitudes up to several kms-1. The large amplitude (several km s-1) andshape (high eccentricity) of the RV variations for 11 of the programstars are consistent with stellar companions, and possibly brown dwarfcompanions for two of the program stars. In those systems for which afull orbit could be derived, the companions have minimum masses from0.6 M\sun down to 0.1 M\sun. To thesemultiple systems we add the two candidates of giant planets alreadydiscovered in the sample. This analysis shows that multiple systemscontribute substantially to the long-term RV variability of giant stars,with about 20% of the sample being composed of multiple systems despitescreening our sample for known binary stars. After removing binaries,the range of RV variability in the whole sample clearly decreases, butthe remaining stars retain a statistical trend of RV variability withluminosity: luminous cool giants with B-V≥1.2 show RV variationswith \sigma_{/lineRV} > 60 m s-1, while giants with B-V< 1.2 including those in the clump region exhibit less variability orthey are constant within our accuracy. The same trend is observed withrespect to absolute visual magnitudes: brighter stars show a largerdegree of variability and, when plotted in the RV variability vs.magnitude diagram a trend of increasing RV scatter with luminosity isseen. The amplitude of RV variability does not increase dramatically, aspredicted, for instance, by simple scaling laws. At least two luminousand cooler stars of the sample show a correlation between RV andchromospheric activity and bisector asymmetry, indicating that in thesetwo objects RV variability is likely induced by the presence of(chromospheric) surface structures.Based on observations collected at the 1.52 m-ESO telescope at the LaSilla Observatory from Oct 1999 to Feb. 2002 under ESO programs and theESO-Observatório Nacional, Brazil, agreement and in part onobservations collected on the Alfred Jensch 2 m telescope of theThüringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg.
| Kinematics of 10 Early-Type Galaxies from Hubble Space Telescope and Ground-based Spectroscopy
We present stellar kinematics for a sample of 10 early-type galaxiesobserved using the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) aboardthe Hubble Space Telescope and the Modular Spectrograph on the MDMObservatory 2.4 m telescope. These observations are a part of an ongoingprogram to understand the coevolution of supermassive black holes andtheir host galaxies. Our spectral ranges include either the calciumtriplet absorption lines at 8498, 8542, and 8662 Å or the Mg babsorption at 5175 Å. The lines are used to derive line-of-sightvelocity distributions (LOSVDs) of the stars using a maximum penalizedlikelihood method. We use Gauss-Hermite polynomials to parameterize theLOSVDs and find predominantly negative h4 values (boxy distributions) inthe central regions of our galaxies. One galaxy, NGC 4697, hassignificantly positive central h4 (high tail weight). The majority ofgalaxies have a central velocity dispersion excess in the STISkinematics over ground-based velocity dispersions. The galaxies with thestrongest rotational support, as quantified withvmax/σSTIS, have the smallest dispersionexcess at STIS resolution. The best-fitting, general, axisymmetricdynamical models (described in a companion paper) require black holes inall cases, with masses ranging from 106.5 to 109.3Msolar. We replot these updated masses on theMBH-σ relation and show that the fit to only these 10galaxies has a slope consistent with the fits to larger samples. Thegreatest outlier is NGC 2778, a dwarf elliptical with relatively poorlyconstrained black hole mass. The two best candidates for pseudobulges,NGC 3384 and NGC 7457, do not deviate significantly from the establishedrelation between MBH and σ. Neither do the threegalaxies that show the most evidence of a recent merger, NGC 3608, NGC4473, and NGC 4697.Based in part on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble SpaceTelescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which isoperated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy,Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555. These observations are associatedwith proposal GO-7388.
| The Wilson-Bappu effect: A tool to determine stellar distances
Wilson & Bappu (\cite{orig}) have shown the existence of aremarkable correlation between the width of the emission in the core ofthe K line of Ca II and the absolute visual magnitude of late-typestars.Here we present a new calibration of the Wilson-Bappu effect based on asample of 119 nearby stars. We use, for the first time, widthmeasurements based on high resolution and high signal to noise ratio CCDspectra and absolute visual magnitudes from the Hipparcos database.Our primary goal is to investigate the possibility of using theWilson-Bappu effect to determine accurate distances to single stars andgroups.The result of our calibration fitting of the Wilson-Bappu relationshipis MV=33.2-18.0 log W0, and the determinationseems free of systematic effects. The root mean square error of thefitting is 0.6 mag. This error is mostly accounted for by measurementerrors and intrinsic variability of W0, but in addition apossible dependence on the metallicity is found, which becomes clearlynoticeable for metallicities below [Fe/H] ~ -0.4. This detection ispossible because in our sample [Fe/H] ranges from -1.5 to 0.4.The Wilson-Bappu effect can be used confidently for all metallicitiesnot lower than ~ -0.4, including the LMC. While it does not provideaccurate distances to single stars, it is a useful tool to determineaccurate distances to clusters and aggregates, where a sufficient numberof stars can be observed.We apply the Wilson-Bappu effect to published data of the open cluster M67; the retrieved distance modulus is of 9.65 mag, in very goodagreement with the best distance estimations for this cluster, based onmain sequence fitting.Observations collected at ESO, La Silla.
| Precise radial velocity measurements of G and K giants. First results
We present the first results of our precise radial velocity (RV)measurements of G and K giants. A number of stars from our list of 80targets have been observed for 14 months using the fibre-fed echellespectrograph FEROS at the 1.52 m ESO telescope in La Silla, Chile. Thissample increases the number of giants surveyed with precise stellarradial velocity measurements at least by a factor of 10. During thisperiod we are able to estimate the long-term accuracy of our measurementas better than 11 m s-1. We use the simultaneous Th-Arcalibration and cross-correlation technique to compute the radialvelocity by applying a numerical template for K-type stars. Standarddeviation sigma of mean radial velocity variations between 3 ms-1 and 4 km s-1 with timescales between severaldays and years are measured for 21 of G and K giants which are presentedin this paper. Fifteen stars show definite variability above 3 sigma ofour measurement uncertainties. Two stars with RV variations above 800 ms-1 are tentatively identified as new binaries. Althoughdefinitive trends between RV variations and stellar evolutionary statuscannot yet be established, all the luminous cool giants of our sampleseem to have significant radial velocity variations, while those starsin the giant's clump region can be either variable or constant.Based on observations collected at the ESO 1.52 m telescope at the LaSilla Observatory under program ESO No. 64.L-0047, 65.L-0571, 66.D-0592and from Nov. 99 to Feb. 01 under the ESO-Observatório Nacional,Brazil, agreement.}
| Line Absorption as a Metallicity Index for Giant Stars
The fraction of light removed from a star's spectrum by the spectrallines, the line absorption, is shown to be a precise empirical indicatorof metallicity. We measured the line absorption in 89 class III giantstars in a 42.5 Å window between 6219.0 and 6261.5 Å andthen calibrated these values against published metallicities. We showthat the line absorption can be measured precisely enough to improve themetallicity precision about fivefold over the original calibrationmetallicities, reaching a precision of 0.01 dex in favorable cases.
| Post-T Tauri Stars in the Nearest OB Association
We present results of a spectroscopic survey of X-ray- andproper-motion-selected samples of late-type stars in the LowerCentaurus-Crux (LCC) and Upper Centaurus-Lupus (UCL) subgroups of thenearest OB association: Scorpius-Centaurus. The primary goals of thesurvey are to determine the star formation history of the OB subgroupsand to assess the frequency of accreting stars in a sample dominated by``post-T Tauri'' pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars. We investigate twosamples: (1) proper-motion candidates from the ACT Catalog and TychoReference Catalog (TRC) with X-ray counterparts in the ROSAT All-SkySurvey (RASS) Bright Source Catalog and (2) G- and K-type stars in theHipparcos catalog found to be candidate members by de Zeeuw et al. Weobtained optical spectra of 130 candidates with the Siding Spring 2.3 mdual-beam spectrograph. PMS stars were identified by (1) strong Liλ6707 absorption, (2) subgiant surface gravities, (3) propermotions consistent with Sco-Cen membership, and (4) H-R diagrampositions consistent with being PMS. We find 93% of the RASS-ACT/TRCstars to be probable PMS members, compared with 73% of the Hipparcoscandidates. We demonstrate that measuring the gravity-sensitive bandratio of Sr II λ4077 to Fe I λ4071 is a valuable means ofdiscriminating PMS and zero-age main-sequence (ZAMS) stars. Usingsecular parallaxes and Hipparcos, Tycho-2, and Two Micron All Sky Surveyphotometry, we construct an H-R diagram. Depending on the choice ofpublished evolutionary tracks, we find the mean ages of the PMSpopulations to range between 17 and 23 Myr for LCC and 15 and 22 Myr forUCL. Taking into account observational errors, it appears that 95% ofthe low-mass star formation in each subgroup must have occurred in lessthan 8 Myr (LCC) and 12 Myr (UCL). Using the Bertelli et al. tracks, wefind main-sequence turnoff ages for Hipparcos B-type members to be16+/-1 Myr for LCC and 17+/-1 Myr for UCL. Contrary to previousfindings, it appears that LCC is coeval with, or slightly older than,UCL. The secular parallaxes of the Sco-Cen PMS stars yield distances of85-215 pc, with 12 of the LCC members lying within 100 pc of the Sun.Only one out of 110 (0.9+2.1-0.8%; 1 σ) PMSsolar-type stars in the sample with ages of 13+/-1 (s.e.)+/-6 (1σ) Myr and masses of 1.3+/-0.2 (1 σ) Msolar showsboth enhanced Hα emission and a K-band excess indicative ofaccretion from a truncated circumstellar disk: the nearby (d~=86 pc)classical T Tauri star PDS 66.
| Line-strength indices and velocity dispersions for 148 early-type galaxies in different environments
We have derived high quality line-strength indices and velocitydispersions for a sample of 148 early-type galaxies in differentenvironments. The wavelength region covered by the observations (lambda=~ 4600 to 6600 Å) includes the Lick/IDS indices Hβ,Mg1, Mg2, Mgb, Fe5015, Fe5270, Fe5335, Fe5406,Fe5709, Fe5782, NaD, TiO1 and TiO2. The data areintended to address possible differences of the stellar populations ofearly-type galaxies in low- and high-density environments. This paperdescribes the sample properties, explains the data reduction andpresents the complete list of all the measurements. Most galaxies of thesample (85%) had no previous measurements of any Lick/IDS indices andfor 30% of the galaxies we present first-time determinations of theirvelocity dispersions. Special care is taken to identify galaxies withemission lines. We found that 62 per cent of the galaxies in the samplehave emission lines, as measured by the equivalent width of the [OIII]5007Å line, EW[OIII] > 0.3 Å. Tables 5 and 6 are onlyavailable in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/ A+A/395/431. They are also available via ftp atftp.mpe.mpg.de in the directory people/dthomas/Beuing02 or via WWW atftp://ftp.mpe.mpg.de/people/dthomas/Beuing02.
| Line-Depth Ratios: Temperature Indices for Giant Stars
Ratios of the depths of appropriately chosen spectral lines are shown tobe excellent indicators of stellar temperatures for giant stars in theG3 to K3 spectral type range. We calibrate five line-depth ratiosagainst B-V and R-I color indices and then translate these intotemperatures. Our goal is to set up line-depth ratios to (1) accuratelymonitor any temperature variations of a few degrees or less that mayoccur during magnetic cycles or oscillations and (2) rank giantsprecisely on a temperature coordinate. This is not an absolutecalibration of stellar temperatures. We show how giant spectra can bemisleading because of the complex dependences of spectral lines onmetallicity and absolute magnitude as well as temperature, and it isessential to make corrections to accommodate these complications. Thefive line-depth ratios we use yield precision for monitoring, i.e.,detecting temperature variations, of 4 K from a single exposure. Rankinggiants by temperature can be done with errors of ~25 K but could beimproved with better determinations of the metallicity andabsolute-magnitude corrections.
| The properties of field elliptical galaxies at intermediate redshift - II. Photometry and spectroscopy of an HST-selected sample
A sample of field early-type galaxies (E/S0) at intermediate redshift(z~0.1-0.6) is selected, based on morphology and colours from HST-WFPC2parallel images. Photometric structural parameters (effective radiusRe and effective surface brightness SBe) arederived through the F606W and F814W filters, using luminosity profilefitting and two-dimensional fitting techniques. The combined parameterthat enters the Fundamental Plane(logRe-βSBe, with β~0.32) is shown tosuffer from significantly smaller uncertainties (rms 0.03) than theindividual structural parameters (e.g. ~15 per cent rms on the effectiveradius). High signal-to-noise ratio, intermediate-resolution spectra,taken at the ESO 3.6-m telescope, yield redshifts for 35 galaxies andcentral velocity dispersions for 22 galaxies. Central velocitydispersions are derived using a library of stellar templates covering awide range of spectral types, in order to study the effects of templatemismatches. The average random error on the central velocity dispersionis found to be 8 per cent, and the average systematic error caused bytemplate mismatch is found to be 5 per cent. The errors in the velocitydispersion measurement and the effects of template mismatches arestudied by means of extensive Monte Carlo simulations. In addition, weinvestigate whether the determination of the velocity dispersion issensitive to the spectral range used, finding that the value of velocitydispersion is unchanged when the spectral regions that include theabsorption features Ca H and K and NaD are masked out during the fit.
| Accurate Vsin i measurements in M 67: The angular momentum evolution of 1.2 Msun stars
By using FEROS spectrograph commissioning observations, we build acalibration of the FEROS cross-correlation function (CCF) to determineaccurate projected rotational velocities Vsin i for slow rotating F-Kdwarf and giant stars. We apply this calibration to a sample of 28 mainsequence, turnoff and giant stars belonging to the old open cluster M67. We find that the stars behave in a very regular manner, depending ontheir position in the Color-Magnitude (C-M) diagram. Early main sequenceG stars have a rotational velocity two times larger than the Sun, andthey show a possible trend with (B-V) color, in that redder colorscorrespond to lower Vsin i. The stars at the turnoff are the fastestrotators, with Vsin i between 6.3 and 7.6 km s-1, while starsjust above the turn-off are already significantly slower , with valuesbetween 4.6 and 4.9 km s-1. Along the Red Giant Branch (RGB),rotation decreases smoothly and for stars above (B-V)ga1 , only upperlimits can be found, including for 4 clump stars. Analyzing the angularmomentum history of 1.2 Msun stars with the help oftheoretical evolutionary tracks, we see that these stars probably obeydifferent angular momentum evolution laws on the main sequence and alongthe RGB: while on the main sequence some extra braking is required inaddition to angular momentum conservation, along the RGB the data arewell represented by the IOmega =C law. Finally, comparing the Vsin i ofthe M 67 turnoff stars with their main sequence progenitors in theyounger open clusters NGC 3680 and Hyades we find that the youngerclusters show substantially higher rotation rates. This indicates that1.2 Msun stars do experience main sequence braking. Thiscould be relevant also for the interpretation of the nature of the``Lithium gap''. Based on observations collected at ESO, La Silla.
| Catalogue of Apparent Diameters and Absolute Radii of Stars (CADARS) - Third edition - Comments and statistics
The Catalogue, available at the Centre de Données Stellaires deStrasbourg, consists of 13 573 records concerning the results obtainedfrom different methods for 7778 stars, reported in the literature. Thefollowing data are listed for each star: identifications, apparentmagnitude, spectral type, apparent diameter in arcsec, absolute radiusin solar units, method of determination, reference, remarks. Commentsand statistics obtained from CADARS are given. The Catalogue isavailable in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcar?J/A+A/367/521
| K-Band Calibration of the Red Clump Luminosity
The average near-infrared (K-band) luminosity of 238 Hipparcos red clumpgiants is derived and then used to measure the distance to the Galacticcenter. These Hipparcos red clump giants have been previously employedas I-band standard candles. The advantage of the K-band is a decreasedsensitivity to reddening and perhaps a reduced systematic dependence onmetallicity. In order to investigate the latter, and also to refer ourcalibration to a known metallicity zero point, we restrict our sample ofred clump calibrators to those with abundances derived fromhigh-resolution spectroscopic data. The mean metallicity of the sampleis [Fe/H]=-0.18 dex (σ=0.17 dex). The data are consistent with nocorrelation between MK and [Fe/H] and only weakly constrainthe slope of this relation. The luminosity function of the sample peaksat MK=-1.61+/-0.03 mag. Next, we assemble published opticaland near-infrared photometry for ~20 red clump giants in a Baade'swindow field with a mean metallicity of [Fe/H]=-0.17+/-0.09 dex, whichis nearly identical to that of the Hipparcos red clump. Assuming thatthe average (V-I)0 and (V-K)0 colors of these twored clumps are the same, the extinctions in the Baade's window field arefound to be AV=1.56, AI=0.87, andAK=0.15, in agreement with previous estimates. We derive thedistance to the Galactic center: (m-M)0=14.58+/-0.11 mag, orR=8.24+/-0.42 kpc. The uncertainty in this distance measurement isdominated by the small number of Baade's window red clump giantsexamined here.
| Evolution of X-ray activity of 1-3 Msun late-type stars in early post-main-sequence phases
We have investigated the variation of coronal X-ray emission duringearly post-main-sequence phases for a sample of 120 late-type starswithin 100 pc, and with estimated masses in the range 1-3Msun, based on Hipparcos parallaxes and recent evolutionarymodels. These stars were observed with the ROSAT/PSPC, and the dataprocessed with the Palermo-CfA pipeline, including detection andevaluation of X-ray fluxes (or upper limits) by means of a wavelettransform algorithm. We have studied the evolutionary history of X-rayluminosity and surface flux for stars in selected mass ranges, includingstars with inactive A-type progenitors on the main sequence and lowermass solar-type stars. Our stellar sample suggests a trend of increasingX-ray emission level with age for stars with masses M > 1.5Msun, and a decline for lower-mass stars. A similar behaviorholds for the average coronal temperature, which follows a power-lawcorrelation with the X-ray luminosity, independently of their mass andevolutionary state. We have also studied the relationship between X-rayluminosity and surface rotation rate for stars in the same mass ranges,and how this relationships departs from the Lx ~vrot2 law followed by main-sequence stars. Ourresults are interpreted in terms of a magnetic dynamo whose efficiencydepends on the stellar evolutionary state through the mass-dependentchanges of the stellar internal structure, including the properties ofenvelope convection and the internal rotation profile.
| Determination of the characteristics of stars of spectral types F,G,K. The effective temperatures.
Not Available
| A catalog of rotational and radial velocities for evolved stars
Rotational and radial velocities have been measured for about 2000evolved stars of luminosity classes IV, III, II and Ib covering thespectral region F, G and K. The survey was carried out with the CORAVELspectrometer. The precision for the radial velocities is better than0.30 km s-1, whereas for the rotational velocity measurementsthe uncertainties are typically 1.0 km s-1 for subgiants andgiants and 2.0 km s-1 for class II giants and Ib supergiants.These data will add constraints to studies of the rotational behaviourof evolved stars as well as solid informations concerning the presenceof external rotational brakes, tidal interactions in evolved binarysystems and on the link between rotation, chemical abundance and stellaractivity. In this paper we present the rotational velocity v sin i andthe mean radial velocity for the stars of luminosity classes IV, III andII. Based on observations collected at the Haute--Provence Observatory,Saint--Michel, France and at the European Southern Observatory, LaSilla, Chile. Table \ref{tab5} also available in electronic form at CDSvia anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Schlangenträger |
| Right ascension: | 18h07m18.40s |
| Declination: | +08°44'02.0" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 4.64 |
| Distance: | 72.939 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | 9.5 |
| Proper motion Dec: | 30.8 |
| B-T magnitude: | 5.838 |
| V-T magnitude: | 4.745 |
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