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Kinematics and metallicity analysis for nearby F, G and K stars
A sample containing 1 026 stars of spectral types F, G, and K, mainlydwarfs, from the solar neighbourhood with available space velocities andmetallicities is treated. The treatment comprises a statistical analysisof the metallicity and velocity data and calculation of galactocentricorbits. Sample stars identified as members of the galactic halo aredetached from the rest of the sample based on the values of theirmetallicities, velocity components and galactocentric orbits. Inidentifying halo stars a new, kinematical, criterion is proposed. Exceptone, these halo stars are the metal-poorest ones in the sample. Besides,they have very high velocities with respect to LSR. On the other hand,the separation between the thin disc and thick one is done statisticallybased on LSR space velocities, membership probability (Schwarzschilddistribution with assumed parameters) and galactocentric orbits. In themetallicity these two groups are not much different. For each of thethree subsamples the mean motion and velocity ellipsoid are calculated.The elements of the velocity ellipsoids agree well with the values foundin the literature, especially for the thin disc. The fractions of thesubsystems found for the present sample are: thin disc 93%, thick disc6%, halo 1%. The sample stars established to be members of the thin discare examined for existence of star streams. Traces of both, known andunknown, star streams are not found.
| Chemical Inhomogeneities in the Milky Way Stellar Halo
We have compiled a sample of 699 stars from the recent literature withdetailed chemical abundance information (spanning –4.2lsim [Fe/H]lsim+0.3), and we compute their space velocities and Galactic orbitalparameters. We identify members of the inner and outer stellar halopopulations in our sample based only on their kinematic properties andthen compare the abundance ratios of these populations as a function of[Fe/H]. In the metallicity range where the two populations overlap(–2.5lsim [Fe/H] lsim–1.5), the mean [Mg/Fe] of the outerhalo is lower than the inner halo by –0.1 dex. For [Ni/Fe] and[Ba/Fe], the star-to-star abundance scatter of the inner halo isconsistently smaller than in the outer halo. The [Na/Fe], [Y/Fe],[Ca/Fe], and [Ti/Fe] ratios of both populations show similar means andlevels of scatter. Our inner halo population is chemically homogeneous,suggesting that a significant fraction of the Milky Way stellar halooriginated from a well-mixed interstellar medium. In contrast, our outerhalo population is chemically diverse, suggesting that anothersignificant fraction of the Milky Way stellar halo formed in remoteregions where chemical enrichment was dominated by local supernovaevents. We find no abundance trends with maximum radial distance fromthe Galactic center or maximum vertical distance from the Galactic disk.We also find no common kinematic signature for groups of metal-poorstars with peculiar abundance patters, such as the α-poor stars orstars showing unique neutron-capture enrichment patterns. Several starsand dwarf spheroidal systems with unique abundance patterns spend themajority of their time in the distant regions of the Milky Way stellarhalo, suggesting that the true outer halo of the Galaxy may have littleresemblance to the local stellar halo.
| Searching for the metal-weak thick disc in the solar neighbourhood
An abundance analysis is presented of 60 metal-poor stars drawn fromcatalogues of nearby stars provided by Arifyanto et al. and Schuster etal. In an attempt to isolate a sample of metal-weak thick disc stars, weapplied the kinematic criteria Vrot >=100kms-1,|ULSR| <= 140kms-1 (LSR -local standard of rest) and |WLSR| <= 100kms-1.14 stars satisfying these criteria and having [Fe/H] <= -1.0 areincluded in the sample of 60 stars. Eight of the 14 have [Fe/H] >=-1.3 and may be simply thick disc stars of slightly lower than average[Fe/H]. The other six have [Fe/H] from -1.3 to -2.3 and are eithermetal-weak thick disc stars or halo stars with kinematics mimickingthose of the thick disc. The sample of 60 stars is completed by eightthick disc stars, 20 stars of a hybrid nature (halo or thick disc stars)and 18 stars with kinematics distinctive of the halo.
| Speckle interferometry of metal-poor stars in the solar neighborhood. I
We report the results of speckle-interferometric observations of 109high proper-motion metalpoor stars made with the 6-m telescope of theSpecial Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Weresolve eight objects—G102-20, G191-55, BD+19° 1185A, G89-14,G87-45, G87-47, G111-38, and G114-25—into individual componentsand we are the first to astrometrically resolve seven of these stars.New resolved systems included two triple (G111-38, G87-47) and onequadruple (G89-14) star. The ratio ofsingle-to-binary-to-triple-to-quadruple systems among the stars of oursample is equal to 71:28:6:1.
| Pulkovo compilation of radial velocities for 35495 stars in a common system.
Not Available
| uvby-β photometry of high-velocity and metal-poor stars. XI. Ages of halo and old disk stars
New uvby-β data are provided for 442 high-velocity and metal-poorstars; 90 of these stars have been observed previously by us, and 352are new. When combined with our previous two photometric catalogues, thedata base is now made up of 1533 high-velocity and metal-poor stars, allwith uvby-β photometry and complete kinematic data, such as propermotions and radial velocities taken from the literature. Hipparcos, plusa new photometric calibration for Mv also based on theHipparcos parallaxes, provide distances for nearly all of these stars;our previous photometric calibrations give values for E(b-y) and [Fe/H].The [Fe/H], V(rot) diagram allows us to separate these stars intodifferent Galactic stellar population groups, such as old-thin-disk,thick-disk, and halo. The X histogram, where X is our stellar-populationdiscriminator combining V(rot) and [Fe/H], and contour plots for the[Fe/H], V(rot) diagram both indicate two probable components to thethick disk. These population groups and Galactic components are studiedin the (b-y)0, Mv diagram, compared to theisochrones of Bergbusch & VandenBerg (2001, ApJ, 556, 322), toderive stellar ages. The two thick-disk groups have the meancharacteristics: ([Fe/H], V(rot), Age, σW') ≈ (-0.7dex, 120 km s-1, 12.5 Gyr, 62.0 km s-1), and≈(-0.4, 160, 10.0, 45.8). The seven most metal-poor halo groups,-2.31 ≤ [Fe/H] ≤ -1.31, show a mean age of 13.0 ± 0.2(mean error) Gyr, giving a mean difference from the WMAP results for theage of the Universe of 0.7 ± 0.3 Gyr. These results for the agesand components of the thick disk and for the age of the Galactic halofield stars are discussed in terms of various models and ideas for theformation of galaxies and their stellar populations.
| Lithium and Lithium Depletion in Halo Stars on Extreme Orbits
We have determined Li abundances in 55 dwarfs and subgiants that aremetal-poor (-3.6<[Fe/H]<-0.7) and have extreme orbital kinematics.Our purpose is to examine the Li abundance in the Li plateau stars andits decrease in low-temperature, low-mass stars. For the stars in oursample we have determined chemical profiles given in 2002 by Stephens& Boesgaard. The Li observations are primarily from the echellespectrograph on the 10 m Keck I telescope, with HIRES covering 4700-6800Å with a spectral resolution of ~48,000. The spectra have highsignal-to-noise ratios, from 70 to 700 pixel-1, with a medianof 140. The Li I resonance doublet was detected in 42 of the 55 stars.Temperatures were found spectroscopically by Stephens & Boesgaard.Abundances or upper limits were determined for all stars, with typicalerrors of 0.06 dex. Corrections for the deviations from nonlocalthermodynamical equilibrium for Li in the stellar atmospheres have beenmade, which range from -0.04 to +0.11 dex. Our 14 dwarf and turnoffstars on the Li plateau with temperatures greater than 5700 K and[Fe/H]<-1.5 give A(Li)=logN(Li)/N(H)+12.00 of 2.215+/-0.110,consistent with earlier results. We find a dependence of the Liabundance on metallicity as measured by [Fe/H] and the Fe-peak elementsCr and Ni, with a slope of ~0.18. We have examined the possible trendsof A(Li) with the chemical abundances of other elements and find similardependences of A(Li) with the α-elements Mg, Ca, and Ti. Theseslopes are slightly steeper at ~0.20, resulting from an excess in[α/Fe] with decreasing [Fe/H]. For the n-capture, rare-earthelement Ba, we find a relation between A(Li) and [Ba/H] that has ashallower slope of ~0.13 over a range of 2.6 dex in [Ba/H], the Liabundance spans only a factor of 2. We have also examined the possibletrends of A(Li) with the characteristics of the orbits of our halostars. We find no trends in A(Li) with kinematic or dynamic properties.For the stars with temperatures below the Li plateau, there are severalinteresting results. The group of metal-poor stars possess, on average,more Li at a given temperature than metal-rich stars. When we divide thecool stars into smaller subsets with similar metallicities, we findtrends of A(Li) with temperature for the different metallicity groups.The decrease in A(Li) sets in at hotter temperatures for the highermetallicity stars than for the lower metallicity stars. The increased Lidepletion in cooler stars could be a result of the increased action ofconvection, since cooler stars have deeper convection zones. This wouldalso make it easier for additional mixing mechanisms, such as thoseinduced by rotation, to have a greater effect in cooler stars. Since themodel depth of the convection zone is almost independent of metallicityat a given effective temperature, the apparent metallicity dependence ofthe Li depletion in our data may be pointing to subtle but poorlyunderstood mixing effects in low-mass halo dwarfs. Predictions for Lidepletion from standard and nonstandard models seem to underestimate thedegree of depletion inferred from the observations of the cool stars.
| Kinematics, ages and metallicities for F- and G-type stars in the solar neighbourhood
A new metallicity distribution and an age-metallicity relation arepresented for 437 nearby F and G turn-off and sub-giant stars selectedfrom radial velocity data of Nidever et al. Photometric metallicitiesare derived from uvby- Hβ photometry, and the stellar ages from theisochrones of Bergbusch & VandenBerg as transformed to uvbyphotometry using the methods of Clem et al.The X (stellar population) criterion of Schuster et al., which combinesboth kinematic and metallicity information, provides 22 thick-discstars. σW= 32 +/- 5 km s-1,= 154 +/- 6 km s-1 and<[M/H]>=-0.55 +/- 0.03 dex for these thick-disc stars, which is inagreement with values from previous studies of the thick disc.α-element abundances which are available for some of thesethick-disc stars show the typical α-element signatures of thethick disc, supporting the classification procedure based on the Xcriterion.Both the scatter in metallicity at a given age and the presence of old,metal-rich stars in the age-metallicity relation make it difficult todecide whether or not an age-metallicity relation exists for the olderthin-disc stars. For ages greater than 3 Gyr, our results agree with theother recent studies that there is almost no correlation between age andmetallicity, Δ([M/Fe])/Δ(age) =-0.01 +/- 0.005 dexGyr-1. For the 22 thick-disc stars there is a range in agesof 7-8 Gyr, but again almost no correlation between age and metallicity.For the subset of main-sequence stars with extra-solar planets, theage-metallicity relation is very similar to that of the total sample,very flat, the main difference being that these stars are mostlymetal-rich, [M/H]>~-0.2 dex. However, two of these stars have[M/H]~-0.6 dex and have been classified as thick-disc stars. As for thetotal sample, the range in ages for these stars with extra-solarplanetary systems is considerable with a nearly uniform distributionover 3 <~ age <~ 13 Gyr.
| Spectroscopic Properties of Cool Stars (SPOCS). I. 1040 F, G, and K Dwarfs from Keck, Lick, and AAT Planet Search Programs
We present a uniform catalog of stellar properties for 1040 nearby F, G,and K stars that have been observed by the Keck, Lick, and AAT planetsearch programs. Fitting observed echelle spectra with synthetic spectrayielded effective temperature, surface gravity, metallicity, projectedrotational velocity, and abundances of the elements Na, Si, Ti, Fe, andNi, for every star in the catalog. Combining V-band photometry andHipparcos parallaxes with a bolometric correction based on thespectroscopic results yielded stellar luminosity, radius, and mass.Interpolating Yonsei-Yale isochrones to the luminosity, effectivetemperature, metallicity, and α-element enhancement of each staryielded a theoretical mass, radius, gravity, and age range for moststars in the catalog. Automated tools provide uniform results and makeanalysis of such a large sample practical. Our analysis method differsfrom traditional abundance analyses in that we fit the observed spectrumdirectly, rather than trying to match equivalent widths, and wedetermine effective temperature and surface gravity from the spectrumitself, rather than adopting values based on measured photometry orparallax. As part of our analysis, we determined a new relationshipbetween macroturbulence and effective temperature on the main sequence.Detailed error analysis revealed small systematic offsets with respectto the Sun and spurious abundance trends as a function of effectivetemperature that would be inobvious in smaller samples. We attempted toremove these errors by applying empirical corrections, achieving aprecision per spectrum of 44 K in effective temperature, 0.03 dex inmetallicity, 0.06 dex in the logarithm of gravity, and 0.5 kms-1 in projected rotational velocity. Comparisons withprevious studies show only small discrepancies. Our spectroscopicallydetermined masses have a median fractional precision of 15%, but theyare systematically 10% higher than masses obtained by interpolatingisochrones. Our spectroscopic radii have a median fractional precisionof 3%. Our ages from isochrones have a precision that variesdramatically with location in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. We planto extend the catalog by applying our automated analysis technique toother large stellar samples.
| A Catalog of Northern Stars with Annual Proper Motions Larger than 0.15" (LSPM-NORTH Catalog)
The LSPM catalog is a comprehensive list of 61,977 stars north of theJ2000 celestial equator that have proper motions larger than 0.15"yr-1 (local-background-stars frame). The catalog has beengenerated primarily as a result of our systematic search for high propermotion stars in the Digitized Sky Surveys using our SUPERBLINK software.At brighter magnitudes, the catalog incorporates stars and data from theTycho-2 Catalogue and also, to a lesser extent, from the All-SkyCompiled Catalogue of 2.5 million stars. The LSPM catalog considerablyexpands over the old Luyten (Luyten Half-Second [LHS] and New LuytenTwo-Tenths [NLTT]) catalogs, superseding them for northern declinations.Positions are given with an accuracy of <~100 mas at the 2000.0epoch, and absolute proper motions are given with an accuracy of ~8 masyr-1. Corrections to the local-background-stars propermotions have been calculated, and absolute proper motions in theextragalactic frame are given. Whenever available, we also give opticalBT and VT magnitudes (from Tycho-2, ASCC-2.5),photographic BJ, RF, and IN magnitudes(from USNO-B1 catalog), and infrared J, H, and Ks magnitudes(from 2MASS). We also provide an estimated V magnitude and V-J color fornearly all catalog entries, useful for initial classification of thestars. The catalog is estimated to be over 99% complete at high Galacticlatitudes (|b|>15deg) and over 90% complete at lowGalactic latitudes (|b|>15deg), down to a magnitudeV=19.0, and has a limiting magnitude V=21.0. All the northern starslisted in the LHS and NLTT catalogs have been reidentified, and theirpositions, proper motions, and magnitudes reevaluated. The catalog alsolists a large number of completely new objects, which promise to expandvery significantly the census of red dwarfs, subdwarfs, and white dwarfsin the vicinity of the Sun.Based on data mining of the Digitized Sky Surveys (DSSs), developed andoperated by the Catalogs and Surveys Branch of the Space TelescopeScience Institute (STScI), Baltimore.Developed with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), aspart of the NASA/NSF NStars program.
| 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.
| Chromospheric Ca II Emission in Nearby F, G, K, and M Stars
We present chromospheric Ca II H and K activity measurements, rotationperiods, and ages for ~1200 F, G, K, and M type main-sequence stars from~18,000 archival spectra taken at Keck and Lick Observatories as a partof the California and Carnegie Planet Search Project. We have calibratedour chromospheric S-values against the Mount Wilson chromosphericactivity data. From these measurements we have calculated medianactivity levels and derived R'HK, stellar ages,and rotation periods from general parameterizations for 1228 stars,~1000 of which have no previously published S-values. We also presentprecise time series of activity measurements for these stars.Based on observations obtained at Lick Observatory, which is operated bythe University of California, and on observations obtained at the W. M.Keck Observatory, which is operated jointly by the University ofCalifornia and the California Institute of Technology. The KeckObservatory was made possible by the generous financial support of theW. M. Keck Foundation.
| 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.
| High-Precision Near-Infrared Photometry of a Large Sample of Bright Stars Visible from the Northern Hemisphere
We present the results of 8 yr of infrared photometric monitoring of alarge sample of stars visible from Teide Observatory (Tenerife, CanaryIslands). The final archive is made up of 10,949 photometric measuresthrough a standard InSb single-channel photometer system, principally inJHK, although some stars have measures in L'. The core of this list ofstars is the standard-star list developed for the Carlos SánchezTelescope. A total of 298 stars have been observed on at least twooccasions on a system carefully linked to the zero point defined byVega. We present high-precision photometry for these stars. The medianuncertainty in magnitude for stars with a minimum of four observationsand thus reliable statistics ranges from 0.0038 mag in J to 0.0033 magin K. Many of these stars are faint enough to be observable with arraydetectors (42 are K>8) and thus to permit a linkage of the bright andfaint infrared photometric systems. We also present photometry of anadditional 25 stars for which the original measures are no longeravailable, plus photometry in L' and/or M of 36 stars from the mainlist. We calculate the mean infrared colors of main-sequence stars fromA0 V to K5 V and show that the locus of the H-K color is linearlycorrelated with J-H. The rms dispersion in the correlation between J-Hand H-K is 0.0073 mag. We use the relationship to interpolate colors forall subclasses from A0 V to K5 V. We find that K and M main-sequence andgiant stars can be separated on the color-color diagram withhigh-precision near-infrared photometry and thus that photometry canallow us to identify potential mistakes in luminosity classclassification.
| 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.
| Radial Velocities for 889 Late-Type Stars
We report radial velocities for 844 FGKM-type main-sequence and subgiantstars and 45 K giants, most of which had either low-precision velocitymeasurements or none at all. These velocities differ from the standardstars of Udry et al. by 0.035 km s-1 (rms) for the 26 FGKstandard stars in common. The zero point of our velocities differs fromthat of Udry et al.: =+0.053km s-1. Thus, these new velocities agree with the best knownstandard stars both in precision and zero point, to well within 0.1 kms-1. Nonetheless, both these velocities and the standardssuffer from three sources of systematic error, namely, convectiveblueshift, gravitational redshift, and spectral type mismatch of thereference spectrum. These systematic errors are here forced to be zerofor G2 V stars by using the Sun as reference, with Vesta and day sky asproxies. But for spectral types departing from solar, the systematicerrors reach 0.3 km s-1 in the F and K stars and 0.4 kms-1 in M dwarfs. Multiple spectra were obtained for all 889stars during 4 years, and 782 of them exhibit velocity scatter less than0.1 km s-1. These stars may serve as radial velocitystandards if they remain constant in velocity. We found 11 newspectroscopic binaries and report orbital parameters for them. Based onobservations obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operatedjointly by the University of California and the California Institute ofTechnology, and on observations obtained at the Lick Observatory, whichis operated by the University of California.
| A Survey of Proper-Motion Stars. XVI. Orbital Solutions for 171 Single-lined Spectroscopic Binaries
We report 25,563 radial velocity measurements for 1359 single-linedstars in the Carney-Latham sample of 1464 stars selected for high propermotion. For 171 of these, we present spectroscopic orbital solutions. Wefind no obvious difference between the binary characteristics in thehalo and the disk populations. The observed frequency is the same, andthe period distributions are consistent with the hypothesis that the twosets of binaries were drawn from the same parent population. Thissuggests that metallicity in general, and radiative opacities inparticular, have little influence over the fragmentation process thatleads to short-period binaries. All the binaries with periods shorterthan 10 days have nearly circular orbits, while the binaries withperiods longer than 20 days exhibit a wide range of eccentricities and amedian value of 0.37. For the metal-poor high-velocity halo binaries inour sample, the transition from circular to eccentric orbits appears tooccur at about 20 days, supporting the conclusion that tidalcircularization on the main sequence is important for the oldestbinaries in the Galaxy. Some of the results presented here usedobservations made with the Multiple Mirror Telescope, a joint facilityof the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Arizona.
| Revised Coordinates and Proper Motions of the Stars in the Luyten Half-Second Catalog
We present refined coordinates and proper-motion data for the highproper-motion (HPM) stars in the Luyten Half-Second (LHS) catalog. Thepositional uncertainty in the original Luyten catalog is typicallygreater than 10" and is often greater than 30". We have used the digitalscans of the POSS I and POSS II plates to derive more accurate positionsand proper motions of the objects. Out of the 4470 candidates in the LHScatalog, 4323 objects were manually reidentified in the POSS I and POSSII scans. A small fraction of the stars were not found because of thelack of finder charts and digitized POSS II scans. The uncertainties inthe revised positions are typically ~2" but can be as high as ~8" in afew cases, which is a large improvement over the original data.Cross-correlation with the Tycho-2 and Hipparcos catalogs yielded 819candidates (with mR<~12). For these brighter sources, theposition and proper-motion data were replaced with the more accurateTycho-2/Hipparcos data. In total, we have revised proper-motionmeasurements and coordinates for 4040 stars and revised coordinates for4330 stars. The electronic version of the paper5 contains the updated information on all 4470stars in the LHS catalog.
| Abundances from High-Resolution Spectra of Kinematically Interesting Halo Stars
There are stars in the halo of the Galaxy whose orbital properties aredistinctly different from the majority of the halo population. Onesuggestion to account for these kinematically peculiar stars is thatthey have been gravitationally subsumed by the Milky Way through thebreakup of nearby dwarf galaxies. One test of this hypothesis lies indetermining the chemical composition of the deviant halo stars relativeto that of normal (``native'') halo field stars. The possibly accretedstars are predicted to have different chemical enrichments due to aslower rate of star formation in nearby low-mass spheroidal or irregulargalaxies. We have obtained echelle spectra of metal-poor halo dwarfswith unusual orbital properties: from the outer halo, from the ``high''halo, and on retrograde orbits. Our spectra are at high spectralresolution (35,000-48,000) and high signal-to-noise ratios (median value140), primarily from the Keck I 10 m telescope with HIRES (53 stars),but also from the echelle spectrometer of the KPNO Mayall 4 m Telescope(three stars). The spectra cover a large spectral range: ~4000-6800Å. The strengths of approximately 9000 lines have been measured todetermine the stellar parameters (Teff, logg, [Fe/H], andξ) and the abundances of 10 elements, including Na, α-fusionproducts (Mg, Si, Ca, Ti), iron peak elements (Cr, Fe, Ni), and neutroncapture elements (Y, Ba). A model atmosphere was computed for each star,which was used to determine the composition under the assumption of LTE.The comparison of the abundances with the kinematic properties revealedno special trends, except that the ratio of the mean of theα-fusion elements to Fe is weakly correlated with stellarapogalactica in the sense that the outermost stars have lower ratios of[α/Fe] than those with smaller apogalactica. The hallmark of anaccreted halo star is presumed to be a deficiency (compared with normalstars) of the α-elements (e.g., O, Mg, Si, Ca, Ti) with respect toFe, a consequence of sporadic bursts of star formation within the dwarfgalaxies. However, we have found no new stars with such subsolar ratiosof [α/Fe]. For BD +80°245 we derive [α/Fe]=-0.22 inagreement with earlier results. For all four of our α-elementratios, [Mg/Fe], [Si/Fe], [Ca/Fe], and [Ti/Fe], we find high values atlow metallicities that decrease to near-solar values at highmetallicities. The slope of the mean [α/Fe] with [Fe/H] isapproximately -0.15. At a given metallicity, the outer halo stars havelower [α/Fe] than the inner halo stars. There is a spread in[α/Fe] beyond the individual measurement errors at both high andlow [Fe/H]. It appears that the ratios of [Na/Fe] and [Mg/Fe] increasetogether. The ratio of [Ni/Fe] is persistently mildly deficient relativeto solar. The ratio of [Ba/Fe] increases with [Fe/H]. The kinematicallypeculiar stars in our sample must have had their origins in localizedstar-forming regions far removed from the Galactic center. They do notcarry the chemical signature of an accreted population. It seems clearthat the chemical enrichment in our sample comes primarily from Type IIsupernovae with only a small component from Type Ia supernovae. Ourstars would have formed at most ~1 Gyr after the beginning of a starformation episode in the remote halo. The general conclusion extractedfrom these data is that the formation of the nascent Milky Way was notdominated by the late accretion of dwarf galaxies like the ones thatcurrently orbit the Galaxy. However, the assimilation of fragments earlyin the evolution of the Galaxy is a natural by-product of hierarchicalmodels of structure formation and can explain many properties of thehalo population.
| The Abundance of CN. Calcium and Heavy Elements in High Velocity Stars.
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1997AJ....114..825E&db_key=AST
| The Ross 451 Group of Halo Stars
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1996AJ....112.2661E&db_key=AST
| A Survey of Proper Motion Stars. XIII. The Halo Population
Based on our expanded sample of metallicities and kinematics for a largesample of stars selected from the Lowell Proper Motion Catalog, we studyseveral questions relating to the halo stellar population(s) in ourGalaxy. For [m/H]≤-1.4, there does not seem to be any variation with[m/H] in the mean values of the V velocity (i.e., angular momentumrelated to that in the disk) or the Galactic orbital eccentricities. Further, in spite of the strong kinematical biases in our sample, starswith very low metallicities are found that have small V velocities (highorbital angular momenta) and low orbital eccentricities. These resultscontradict the model that the metal-poor stars are a single populationthat is only the relic of the earliest stages of the Galaxy's collapse. There are signs that some of the metal-poor stars in the solarneighborhood are due to accretion events and, perhaps, also to theearliest stages of the formation of the Galactic disk. Regardingaccretion, we confirm Majewski's [ApJS, 78, 87 (1992)] finding of aretrograde rotation among stars that reach S kpc or more from the plane. These stars do not show any radial metallicity gradient, and may beyounger on average than dynamically hot, metal-poor stars closer to theplane. These latter stars show net prograde rotation and a radialmetallicity gradient, suggestive of a dissipative process in theearliest stages of disk formation. The correlation between metallicityand perigalacticon found by Ryan & Norris [AJ, 101, 1835 (1991a)]disappears when care is taken to exclude the stars that may have beenaccreted by our Galaxy. The field star results complement those forglobular clusters found by other workers, notably Zinn (1993), whoargued for two populations of metal-poor clusters, one apparently inretrograde rotation with no radial metallicity gradient and slightlyyounger ages, and the other with prograde rotation, a weak radialmetallicity gradient, and slightly older ages. The field stars andglobular clusters do differ slightly, however. Their metallicitydistributions differ, with the field stars showing a larger fraction ofthe most metal-poor stars. This could be caused by accretion of Dracodwarf galaxy-like objects, with very low metallicities and no globularclusters. We see in our data, particularly in the V vs>Rapo< plane, possible signs of large-scale kinematicsubstructure suggestive of specific accretion events. We also see signsfor the Preston et al. [AJ, 108, 538 (1994)] low-metallicity,intermediate kinematics, and younger age stellar population. However,the strength of the signal in our data suggests that a fairly largefraction of its stars may be old. On the other hand, the "away" versus"toward" mystery of Croswell et al. [Al, 93, 1445 (1987)] hasdisappeared: the numbers of stars approaching and receding from theplane agree with expectations. Finally, we point out that the model ofNorris [ApJ, 431, 645 (1994)] for a proto-disk population that is hotterdynamically than the accreted halo components does not agree with ourexpanded data sample. We suggest that the proto-disk component wasdynamically cooler when the mean metallicity was very low.
| Determination of effective temperatures for an extended sample of dwarfs and subdwarfs (F0-K5).
We have applied the InfraRed Flux Method (IRFM) to a sample of 475dwarfs and subdwarfs in order to derive their effective temperatureswith a mean accuracy of about 1.5%. We have used the new homogeneousgrid of theoretical model atmosphere flux distributions developed byKurucz (1991, 1993) for the application of the IRFM. The atmosphericparameters of the stars cover, roughly, the ranges:3500K<=T_eff_<=8000K -3.5<=[Fe/H]<=+0.53.5<=log(g)<=5. The monocromatic infrared fluxes at the continuum,and the bolometric fluxes are derived using recent results, whichsatisfy the accuracy requeriments of the work. Photometric calibrationshave been revised and applied to estimate metallicities, although directspectroscopic determinations were preferred when available. The adoptedinfrared absolute flux calibration, based on direct optical measurementsof angular stellar diameters, sets the effective temperatures determinedusing the IRFM on the same scale than those obtained by direct methods.We derive three temperatures, T_J_, T_H_ and T_K_, for each star usingthe monochromatic fluxes at different infrared wavelengths in thephotometric bands J, H, and K. They show good consistency over 4000 K,and no trend with wavelength may be appreciated. We provide a detaileddescription of the steps followed for the application of the IRFM, aswell as the sources of the errors associated to the different inputs ofthe method, and their transmission into the final temperatures. We alsoprovide comparison with previous works.
| Ca II H and K Filter Photometry on the UVBY System. II. The Catalog of Observations
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1995AJ....109.2828T&db_key=AST
| Broad band JHK infrared photometry of an extended sample of late type dwarfs and subdwarfs.
The results of a long term programme of broad band JHK photometry, for asample of 360 late type stars, made at the Observatorio del Teide(Tenerife, Spain) are presented. Transformations between thesemagnitudes and those of several currently used systems (CIT (Elias etal. 1982 and Carney 1983), Johnson (Johnson 1966, and Lee 1970), and ESO(Bouchet et al. 1991)) are proposed. A comparison to the narrow-bandsystem of Selby et al. (1988) has been made, in order to check theaccuracy of the photometric system. A mean internal accuracy better than0.02mag in the three bands can be inferred from the comparison to thelarge number of stars in common with Carney (1983), and from thedispersion of the multiple measured stars. The list of standards, thefilter passbands and effective wavelengths, together with correlationsbetween the extinction coefficients, ultimately characterize thephotometric IR system of the Observatorio del Teide (TCS). Data ofcomparable quality previously published have been added in order tocomplete the sample. This way the final sample consists of 550 stars.From the analysis of optical and IR colour:colour diagrams, we maydeduce that the range F0-K0 is properly sampled for0.1>[Fe/H]>-3.0. In the range K0-M4, no reliable photometricestimates of metallicity can be assigned, and only a small number ofstars have spectroscopic determination of the metallicity. Nevertheless,after kinematical considerations, the stars in this spectral range arealso expected to sample the galactic populations of dwarfs. Themetallicity effects on the IR and optical colour:colour diagrams arebriefly discussed.
| A survey of proper motion stars. 12: an expanded sample
We report new photometry and radial velocities for almost 500 stars fromthe Lowell Proper Motion Catalog. We combine these results with ourprior sample and rederive stellar temperatures based on the photometry,reddening, metallicities (using chi squared matching of our 22,500 lowSignal to Noise (S/N) high resolution echelle spectra with a grid ofsynthetic spectra), distances, space motions, and Galactic orbitalparameters for 1269 (kinematics) and 1261 (metallicity) of the 1464stars in the complete survey. The frequency of spectroscopic binariesfor the metal-poor ((m/H) less than or equal to -1.2) stars with periodsshorter than 3000 days is at least 15%. The spectroscopic binaryfrequency for metal-rich stars ((m/H) greater than -0.5) appears to belower, about 9%, but this may be a selection effect. We also discussspecial classes of stars, including treatment of the double-linedspectroscopic binaries, and identification of subgiants. Four possiblenew members of the class of field blue stragglers are noted. We pointout the detection of three possible new white dwarfs, six broad-lined(binary) systems, and discuss briefly the three already knownnitrogen-rich halo dwarfs. The primary result of this paper will beavailable on CD-ROM, in the form of a much larger table.
| The chromospheric emission-age relation for stars of the lower main sequence and its implications for the star formation rate
An attempt is made to formulate the relationship between age andchromospheric emission (CE) in late-type dwarf stars. Evidence isreviewed that a deterministic relationship of this type actually exists,and that for stars of known age, either a power-law relation or a curvecorresponding to a constant star formation rate fits equally well.Further observations should be able to demonstrate either that there isa real excess of young stars near the sun or that the evolution of CEfor a low-mass star goes through a slow initial decline, a rapid declineat intermediate ages, and finally a slow decline for old stars like thesun.
| Subdwarf studies. II - Abundances and kinematics from medium resolution spectra. III - The halo metallicity distribution
Stars previously identified as having UV excesses are observed at 1-Aresolution in the Ca II K-line region. Comparisons of these data withother samples and with Monte Carlo simulations involving a singlecomponent halo have yielded estimates of halo velocity dispersions androtation velocity, corrected for the kinematic biases in the sample. Itis suggested that the data are not consistent with a model in which thehalo formed from star formation in a dissipating, collapsing cloud; theyare, however, reconcilable with the formation of the halo stars bynumerous, independently evolving gas clouds. The metallicitydistribution of a sample of 372 kinematically selected halo stars isthen constructed, with a view to selection effects in the data. Goodagreement is noted between the globular cluster metallicity distributionand a stochastic model with a mean of 10 enrichments/fragment.
| Ubvy-beta photometry of high-velocity and metal-poor stars. III - Metallicities and ages of the halo stars
The interstellar color excesses, E(b-y) and the metallicities, Fe/Habundance ratio, are determined for the 711 high-velocity and metal-poorstars in the catalog of ubvy-beta photometry compiled by Schuster andNissen (1988). It is found that 220 of these are halo stars and that 15percent of these halo stars have colors that are significantly affectedby interstellar reddening. A minimum age of 18-20 Gyr is determined forthe halo stars. The results suggest that a pressure-supported slowuniform collapse controlled the formation and evolution of the Galaxy.
| Four-color UVBY and H-beta photometry of high-velocity and metal-poor stars. I - The catalogue of observations
A catalog of four-color uvby and H-beta photometry for 711 high-velocityand metal-poor stars is given. The selection of the stars and theobserving and reduction techniques used to obtain these data arediscussed. The photometry has been transformed closely onto the standarduvby-beta system. The errors of the data have been estimated using bothinternal and external comparisons. The data are uniform over the sky;that is, there are no significant north-south differences. For the largemajority of stars the mean errors of V, m1, c1, and beta are less than +or - 0.008 mag, and the error of b-y is less than + or - 0.005 mag.Values of V, b-y and beta and rough photometric classifications aregiven for 63 red and/or evolved stars that fall outside the range of thephotometric transformations.
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Taurus |
| Right ascension: | 03h24m50.36s |
| Declination: | +12°15'23.7" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 10.691 |
| Proper motion RA: | 569.8 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -495.1 |
| B-T magnitude: | 11.493 |
| V-T magnitude: | 10.758 |
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