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Infrared Spectra and Visibilities as Probes of the Outer Atmospheres of Red Supergiant Stars
In the light of the recent results of the stellar interferometry, weexamine the nature of the extra molecular layer outside the photosphereof red supergiant stars, so far studied mostly with the use of theinfrared spectra. Although the visibility data are more direct probes ofthe spatial structure of the outer atmosphere, it is essential that theyare analyzed in combination with the spectral data. In the case of theM2 supergiant μ Cephei, several sets of data, both spectra andvisibilities, strongly suggested the presence of an extra molecularlayer (which we referred to as ``MOLsphere'' for simplicity), and thebasic parameters of the MOLsphere are estimated to be excitationtemperature Tex~1600 K, column densities of CO andH2O molecules Ncol~3.0×1020cm-2, and located at about one stellar radius above thephotosphere or Rin~2.0R*. The result showsreasonable agreement with the one based on the infrared spectra alone,and the model inferred from the spectra is now fully supported with therecent visibility data. In the case of the M2 supergiant αOrionis, the infrared spectra and visibilities show a consistent picturein that its MOLsphere is closer to the photosphere(Rin~1.3R*) with higher gas temperature(Tex~2250 K) and lower gas column density(Ncol~1020 cm-2), compared with that ofμ Cep. Some controversy on the interpretation of the mid-infrareddata of α Orionis can be reconciled. Given that the presence ofthe extra molecular layer is reasonably well established, the majorunsolved problem is how to understand the origin of such a rather warmand dense layer in the outer atmosphere.
| Water Vapor on Supergiants: The 12 μm TEXES Spectra of μ Cephei
Several recent papers have argued for warm, semidetached, molecularlayers surrounding red giant and supergiant stars, a concept known as aMOLsphere. Spectroscopic and interferometric analyses have oftencorroborated this general picture. Here we present high-resolutionspectroscopic data of pure rotational lines of water vapor at 12 μmfor the supergiant μ Cep. This star has often been used to test theconcept of molecular layers around supergiants. Given the prediction ofan isothermal, optically thick water vapor layer in local thermodynamicequilibrium around the star (MOLsphere), we expected the 12 μm linesto be in emission or at least in absorption but filled in by emissionfrom the molecular layer around the star. Our data, however, show thecontrary; we find definite absorption. Thus, our data do not easily fitinto the suggested isothermal MOLsphere scenario. The 12 μm lines,therefore, put new, strong constraints on the MOLsphere concept and onthe nature of water seen in signatures across the spectra of early Msupergiants. We also find that the absorption is even stronger than thatcalculated from a standard, spherically symmetric model photospherewithout any surrounding layers. A cool model photosphere, representingcool outer layers, is, however, able to reproduce the lines, but thismodel does not account for water vapor emission at 6 μm. Thus, aunified model for water vapor on μ Cep appears to be lacking. It doesseem necessary to model the underlying photospheres of these supergiantsin their whole complexity. The strong water vapor lines clearly revealinadequacies of classical model atmospheres.
| Investigating Disk Evolution: A High Spatial Resolution Mid-Infrared Survey of T Tauri Stars
We present a high spatial resolution, 10-20 μm survey of 65 T Tauribinary stars in Taurus, Ophiuchus, and Corona Australis using the Keck10 m telescopes. Designed to probe the inner ~1 AU region of thecircumstellar disks around the individual stellar components in thesebinary systems, this study increases the number of binaries withspatially resolved measurements at 10 μm by a factor of ~5. Combinedwith resolved near-infrared photometry and spectroscopic accretiondiagnostics, we find that ~10% of stars with a mid-infrared excess donot appear to be accreting. In contrast to an actively accreting disksystem, these passive disks have significantly lower near-infraredcolors that are, in most cases, consistent with photospheric emission,suggesting the presence of an inner disk hole. In addition, thereappears to be a spectral type/mass dependence associated with thepresence of a passive disk, with all passive disks occurring aroundM-type stars. The presence of a passive disk does not appear to berelated to the fact that these objects are in visual binary systems; thepassive disk systems span the entire range of binary separations presentin the sample, and a similar fraction of passive disks is observed in asample of single stars. The possibility that the passive disks arecaused by the presence of an as yet undetected companion at a smallseparation (0.3-3 AU) is possible for any individual system; however, itcannot account for the spectral type dependence of the passive disksample as a whole. We propose that these passive disks represent asubset of T Tauri stars that are undergoing significant disk evolution.The fraction of observed passive disks and the observed spectral typedependence can both be explained by models of disk evolution thatinclude disk photoevaporation from the central star.
| Le message de la lumiere.
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| Visual Star Colours from Instrumental Photometry
In order to display graphically the visual colours of stars and otherastronomical objects, photometric broadband R, V, B colours are used toproxy for the r, g, b colours of the three visual sensors of the eye.From photometric Johnson B-V and V-R colour indices, R, V, and Bmagnitudes (V = 0) are calculated, and from these the respectivebrightnesses (r, v = 1 = g, and b) are calculated. After suitablenormalization these are then placed in a ternary diagram having r, g,and b as the vertices. All B-V and V-R are adjusted so that the Sunfalls in the same place as a blackbody at 5800 K. The resulting ternaryplot shows all of its objects (stars, planets) in their visual coloursat their relative positions in the ternary diagram. The star coloursdisplayed on a computer monitor screen or as a print with a colourprinter are more vivid than the usual visual impressions of isolatedstars, undoubtedly because of properties of the dark-adapted eye, butdouble-star pairs with contrasting colours correspond nicely totelescopic visual impressions.
| The epoch of the constellations on the Farnese Atlas and their origin in Hipparchus's lost catalogue
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| A Mid-Infrared Imaging Survey of Embedded Young Stellar Objects in the ρ Ophiuchi Cloud Core
Results of a comprehensive, new, ground-based mid-infrared imagingsurvey of the young stellar population of the ρ Ophiuchi cloud arepresented. Data were acquired at the Palomar 5 m and at the Keck 10 mtelescopes with the MIRLIN and LWS instruments, at 0.5" and 0.25"resolutions, respectively. Of 172 survey objects, 85 were detected.Among the 22 multiple systems observed, 15 were resolved and theirindividual component fluxes determined. A plot of the frequencydistribution of the detected objects with SED spectral slope shows thatYSOs spend ~4×105 yr in the flat-spectrum phase,clearing out their remnant infall envelopes. Mid-infrared variability isfound among a significant fraction of the surveyed objects and is foundto occur for all SED classes with optically thick disks. Large-amplitudenear-infrared variability, also found for all SED classes with opticallythick disks, seems to occur with somewhat higher frequency at theearlier evolutionary stages. Although a general trend of mid-infraredexcess and near-infrared veiling exists progressing through SED classes,with Class I objects generally exhibiting rK>=1,flat-spectrum objects with rK>=0.58, and Class III objectswith rK=0, Class II objects exhibit the widest range ofrK values, ranging from 0<=rK<=4.5. However,the highly variable value of veiling that a single source can exhibit inany of the SED classes in which active disk accretion can take place isstriking and is direct observational evidence for highly time-variableaccretion activity in disks. Finally, by comparing mid-infrared versusnear-infrared excesses in a subsample with well-determined effectivetemperatures and extinction values, disk-clearing mechanisms areexplored. The results are consistent with disk clearing proceeding fromthe inside out.
| Near-Infrared Water Lines in V838 Monocerotis
V838 Monocerotis had an intriguing, nova-like outburst in 2002 Januarythat has subsequently led to several studies of the object. It is nowrecognized that the outburst of V838 Mon and its evolution are differentfrom those of a classical nova or other classes of well-known eruptivevariables. V838 Mon, along with two other objects that have analogousproperties, appears to make up a new class of eruptive variables. Thereare limited infrared studies of V838 Mon. Here we present near-infraredH-band (1.5-1.75 μm) spectra of V838 Mon from late 2002 to the end of2004. The principal new result from our work is the detection of severalrotation-vibration lines of water in the H-band spectra. The observedwater lines have been modeled to first establish that they are indeeddue to water. Subsequently the temperature and column densities of theabsorbing material, from where the water absorption features originate,are derived. From our analysis, we find that the water features arisefrom a cool, ~750-900 K, region around V838 Mon that appears to begradually cooling with time.
| Spectroscopic Constants, Abundances, and Opacities of the TiH Molecule
Using previous measurements and quantum chemical calculations to derivethe molecular properties of the TiH molecule, we obtain new values forits rovibrational constants, thermochemical data, spectral line lists,line strengths, and absorption opacities. Furthermore, we calculate theabundance of TiH in M and L dwarf atmospheres and conclude that it ismuch higher than previously thought. We find that the TiH/TiO ratioincreases strongly with decreasing metallicity, and at high temperaturescan exceed unity. We suggest that, particularly for subdwarf L and Mdwarfs, spectral features of TiH near ~0.52 and 0.94 μm and in the Hband may be more easily measurable than heretofore thought. The recentpossible identification in the L subdwarf 2MASS J0532 of the 0.94 μmfeature of TiH is in keeping with this expectation. We speculate thatlooking for TiH in other dwarfs and subdwarfs will shed light on thedistinctive titanium chemistry of the atmospheres of substellar-massobjects and the dimmest stars.
| Radial Distribution of Dust Grains around HR 4796A
We present high dynamic range images of circumstellar dust around HR4796A that were obtained with MIRLIN at the Keck II telescope atλ=7.9, 10.3, 12.5, and 24.5 μm. We also present a newcontinuum measurement at 350 μm obtained at the Caltech SubmillimeterObservatory. Emission is resolved in Keck images at 12.5 and 24.5 μmwith point-spread function FWHM values of 0.37" and 0.55", respectively,and confirms the presence of an outer ring centered at 70 AU. Unresolvedexcess infrared emission is also detected at the stellar position andmust originate well within 13 AU of the star. A model of dust emissionfitted to flux densities at 12.5, 20.8, and 24.5 μm indicates thatdust grains are located 4+3-2 AU from the starwith effective size 28+/-6 μm and an associated temperature of260+/-40 K. We simulate all extant data with a simple model ofexozodiacal dust and an outer exo-Kuiper ring. A two-component outerring is necessary to fit both Keck thermal infrared and Hubble SpaceTelescope scattered-light images. Bayesian parameter estimates yield atotal cross-sectional area of 0.055 AU2 for grains roughly 4AU from the star, and an outer-dust disk composed of a narrowlarge-grain ring embedded within a wider ring of smaller grains. Thenarrow ring is 14+/-1 AU wide with inner radius 66+/-1 AU and totalcross-sectional area 245 AU2. The outer ring is 80+/-15 AUwide with inner radius 45+/-5 AU and total cross-sectional area 90AU2. Dust grains in the narrow ring are about 10 times largerand have lower albedos than those in the wider ring. These propertiesare consistent with a picture in which radiation pressure dominates thedispersal of an exo-Kuiper belt.
| A new look at the position of the 1604 Supernova (V843 Ophiuchi)
The position of the supernova of 1604 (V843 Oph) is re-assessed, withrelevant discussion pertaining to the present-day remnant, 3C 358.
| Optical Spectroscopy of the Surface Population of the ρ Ophiuchi Molecular Cloud: The First Wave of Star Formation
We present the results of optical spectroscopy of 139 stars obtainedwith the Hydra multiobject spectrograph. The objects extend over a 1.3deg2 area surrounding the main cloud of the ρ Ophcomplex. The objects were selected from narrowband images to haveHα in emission. Using the presence of strong Hα emission,lithium absorption, location in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, orpreviously reported X-ray emission, we were able to identify 88 objectsas young stars associated with the cloud. Strong Hα emission wasconfirmed in 39 objects with line widths consistent with their origin inmagnetospheric accretion columns. Two of the strongest emission-lineobjects are young, X-ray-emitting brown dwarf candidates with M8spectral types. Comparisons of the bolometric luminosities and effectivetemperatures with theoretical models suggest a median age for thispopulation of 2.1 Myr, which is significantly older than the agesderived for objects in the cloud core. It appears that these starsformed contemporaneously with low-mass stars in the Upper Scorpiussubgroup, likely triggered by massive stars in the Upper Centaurussubgroup.
| VLA Observations of ζ Aurigae: Confirmation of the Slow Acceleration Wind Density Structure
Studies of the winds from single K and early M evolved stars indicatethat these flows typically reach a significant fraction of theirterminal velocity within the first couple of stellar radii. The mostdetailed spatially resolved information of the extended atmospheres ofthese spectral types comes from the ζ Aur eclipsing binaries.However, the wind acceleration inferred for the evolved primaries inthese systems appears significantly slower than for stars of similarspectral type. Since there are no successful theories for mass loss fromK and early M evolved stars, it is important to place strong empiricalconstraints on potential models and determine whether this difference inacceleration is real or an artifact of the analyses. We have undertakena radio continuum monitoring study of ζ Aurigae (K4 Ib + B5 V)using the Very Large Array to test the wind density model of Baade etal. that is based on Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Goddard HighResolution Spectrograph ultraviolet spectra. ζ Aur was monitored atcentimeter wavelengths over a complete orbital cycle, and fluxvariations during the orbit are found to be of similar magnitude tovariations at similar orbital phases in the adjacent orbit. Duringeclipse, the flux does not decrease, showing that the radio emissionoriginates from a volume substantially larger thanR3K~(150Rsolar)3 surroundingthe B star. Using the one-dimensional density model of the K4 Ibprimary's wind derived from HST spectral line profile modeling andelectron temperature estimates from previous optical and new HSTstudies, we find that the predicted radio fluxes are consistent withthose observed. Three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations indicate thatthe accretion flow perturbations near the B star do not contributesignificantly to the total radio flux from the system, consistent withthe radio eclipse observations. Our radio observations confirm the slowwind acceleration for the evolved K4 Ib component. ζ Aur's velocitystructure does not appear to be typical of single stars with similarspectral types. This highlights the need for more comprehensivemultiwavelength studies for both single stars, which have been sadlyneglected, and other ζ Aur systems to determine if its windproperties are typical.
| The sub-arcsecond dusty environment of Eta Carinae
The core of the nebula surrounding Eta Carinae has been observed withthe VLT Adaptive Optics system NACO and with the interferometerVLTI/MIDI to constrain spatially and spectrally the warm dustyenvironment and the central object. In particular, narrow-band images at3.74 μm and 4.05 μm reveal the butterfly shaped dusty environmentclose to the central star with unprecedented spatial resolution. A voidwhose radius corresponds to the expected sublimation radius has beendiscovered around the central source. Fringes have been obtained in theMid-IR which reveal a correlated flux of about 100 Jy situated 0.3arcsec south-east of the photocenter of the nebula at 8.7 μm, whichcorresponds with the location of the star as seen in other wavelengths.This correlated flux is partly attributed to the central object, andthese observations provide an upper limit for the SED of the centralsource from 2.2 μm to 13.5 μm. Moreover, we have been able tospectrally disperse the signal from the nebula itself at PA = 318degree, i.e. in the direction of the bipolar nebula (~310°) withinthe MIDI field of view of 3 arcsec. A large amount of corundum (Al2O3)is discovered, peaking at 0.6 arcsec-1.2 arcsec south-east from thestar, whereas the dust content of the Weigelt blobs is dominated bysilicates. We discuss the mechanisms of dust formation which are closelyrelated to the geometry of this Butterfly nebulae.
| First results from the ESO VLTI calibrators program
The ESO Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) is one of the leadinginterferometric facilities. It is equipped with several 8.2 and 1.8 mtelescopes, a large number of baselines up to 200 m, and with severalsubsystems designed to enable high quality measurements and to improvesignificantly the limits of sensitivities currently available tolong-baseline interferometry. The full scientific potential of the VLTIcan be exploited only if a consistent set of good quality calibrators isavailable. For this, a large number of observations of potentialcalibrators have been obtained during the commissioning phase of theVLTI. These data are publicly available. We briefly describe theinterferometer, the VINCI instrument used for the observations, the dataflow from acquisition to processed results, and we present and commenton the volume of observations gathered and scrutinized. The result is alist of 191 calibrator candidates, for which a total of 12 066observations can be deemed of satisfactory quality. We present a generalstatistical analysis of this sample, using as a starting point theangular diameters previously available in the literature. We derive thegeneral characteristics of the VLTI transfer function, and its trendwith time in the period 2001 through mid-2004. A second paper will bedevoted to a detailed investigation of a selected sample, aimed atestablishing a VLTI-based homogeneous system of calibrators.
| 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
| Infrared Irradiance Calibration
Infrared astronomical measurements are calibrated against referencesources, usually primary standard stars that are, in turn, calibratedeither by direct or indirect means. A direct calibration compares thestar with a certified source, typically a blackbody. Indirect methodsextrapolate a direct measurement of the flux at one wavelength to theflux at another. Historically, α Lyr (Vega) has been used as theprimary standard as it is bright, easily accessible from the northernhemisphere, and is well calibrated in the visual. Until recently, thedirect absolute infrared calibrations of α Lyr and those derivedfrom the absolute solar flux scaled to the observed spectral energydistributions of solar type stars increasingly diverged with wavelengthfrom those obtained using a model atmosphere to extrapolate the absolutevisual flux of Vega into the infrared. The exception is the directcalibration by the 1996/97 Midcourse Space Experiment of the absolutefluxes for a number of the commonly used infrared standard stars,including Vega.
| Improved Baade-Wesselink surface brightness relations
Recent, and older accurate, data on (limb-darkened) angular diameters iscompiled for 221 stars, as well as BVRIJK[12][25] magnitudes for thoseobjects, when available. Nine stars (all M-giants or supergiants)showing excess in the [12-25] colour are excluded from the analysis asthis may indicate the presence of dust influencing the optical andnear-infrared colours as well. Based on this large sample,Baade-Wesselink surface brightness (SB) relations are presented fordwarfs, giants, supergiants and dwarfs in the optical and near-infrared.M-giants are found to follow different SB relations from non-M-giants,in particular in V versus V-R. The preferred relation for non-M-giantsis compared to the earlier relation by Fouqué and Gieren (basedon 10 stars) and Nordgren et al. (based on 57 stars). Increasing thesample size does not lead to a lower rms value. It is shown that theresiduals do not correlate with metallicity at a significant level. Thefinally adopted observed angular diameters are compared to thosepredicted by Cohen et al. for 45 stars in common, and there isreasonable overall, and good agreement when θ < 6 mas.Finally, I comment on the common practice in the literature to average,and then fix, the zero-point of the V versus V-K, V versus V-R and Kversus J-K relations, and then rederive the slopes. Such a commonzero-point at zero colour is not expected from model atmospheres for theV-R colour and depends on gravity. Relations derived in this way may bebiased.
| Detection possibility of the pair-annihilation neutrinos from the neutrino-cooled pre-supernova star
The signal produced in neutrino observatories by the pair-annihilationneutrinos emitted from a 20 Msolar pre-supernova star at thesilicon burning phase is estimated. The spectrum of the neutrinos withan average energy ~2 MeV is calculated with the use of the Monte Carlomethod. A few relevant reactions for neutrinos and anti-neutrinos inmodern detectors are considered. The most promising results are fromν¯e+p-->n+e+ reaction. During theSi-burning phase we expect 1.27 neutrons/day/kton of water to beproduced by neutrinos from a star located at a distance of 1 kpc. Smalladmixture of effective neutron-absorbers as e.g. NaCl orGdCl3 makes these neutrons easily visible because ofCherenkov light produced by electrons which were hit by ~8 MeV photoncascade emitted by Cl or Gd nuclei. The estimated rate of neutronproduction for SNO and Super-Kamiokande is, respectively, 2.2 and 41events per day for a star at 1 kpc. For future detectors UNO andHyper-Kamiokande we expect 5.6 and 6.9 events per day even for a star 10kpc away. This would make it possible to foresee a massive star death afew days before its core collapse. Importance of such a detection fortheoretical astrophysics is discussed.
| Fluorine : an elementary mystery.
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| Optical Interferometry Comes of Age
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| Astronomical seeing at the Magdalena Ridge Observatory
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| Infrared stellar populations in the central parts of the Milky Way galaxy
Near- and mid-IR survey data from DENIS and ISOGAL are used toinvestigate the structure and formation history of the inner 10°(1.4 kpc) of the Milky Way galaxy. Synthetic bolometric corrections andextinction coefficients in the near- and mid-infrared (mid-IR) arederived for stars of different spectral types, to allow thetransformation of theoretical isochrones into observablecolour-magnitude diagrams. The observed IR colour-magnitude diagrams areused to derive the extinction, metallicity and age for individual stars.The inner galaxy is dominated by an old population (>~7 Gyr). Inaddition, an intermediate-age population (~200 Myr-7 Gyr) is detected,which is consistent with the presence of a few hundred asymptotic giantbranch stars with heavy mass loss. Furthermore, young stars (<~200Myr) are found across the inner bulge. The metallicities of thesestellar population components are discussed. These results can beinterpreted in terms of an early epoch of intense star formation andchemical enrichment that shaped the bulk of the bulge and nucleus, and amore continuous star formation history that gradually shaped the discfrom the accretion of subsolar metallicity gas from the halo. A possibleincrease in star formation ~200 Myr ago might have been triggered by aminor merger. Ever since the formation of the first stars, mechanismshave been at play that mix the populations from the nucleus, bulge anddisc. Luminosity functions across the inner Galactic plane indicate thepresence of an inclined (bar) structure at >~1 kpc from the GalacticCentre, near the inner Lindblad resonance. The innermost part of thebulge, within ~1 kpc from the Galactic Centre, seems azimuthallysymmetric.
| NLTE Radiative Transfer in the Extended Atmospheres and Winds of Cool Stars
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| Guilt by Association: The 13 Micron Dust Emission Feature and Its Correlation to Other Gas and Dust Features
A study of all full-scan spectra of optically thin oxygen-richcircumstellar dust shells in the database produced by the ShortWavelength Spectrometer on ISO reveals that the strength of severalinfrared spectral features correlates with the strength of the 13 μmdust feature. These correlated features include dust features at 19.8and 28.1 μm and the bands produced by warm carbon dioxide molecules(the strongest of which are at 13.9, 15.0, and 16.2 μm). The databasedoes not provide any evidence for a correlation of the 13 μm featurewith a dust feature at 32 μm, and it is more likely that a weakemission feature at 16.8 μm arises from carbon dioxide gas ratherthan dust. The correlated dust features at 13, 20, and 28 μm tend tobe stronger with respect to the total dust emission in semiregular andirregular variables associated with the asymptotic giant branch than inMira variables or supergiants. This family of dust features also tendsto be stronger in systems with lower infrared excesses and thus lowermass-loss rates. We hypothesize that the dust features arise fromcrystalline forms of alumina (13 μm) and silicates (20 and 28 μm).Based on observations with the ISO, a European Space Agency (ESA)project with instruments funded by ESA member states (especially thePrincipal Investigator countries: France, Germany, the Netherlands, andthe United Kingdom) and with the participation of the Institute of Spaceand Astronautical Science (ISAS) and the National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration (NASA).
| Angular Diameters of Stars from the Mark III Optical Interferometer
Observations of 85 stars were obtained at wavelengths between 451 and800 nm with the Mark III Stellar Interferometer on Mount Wilson, nearPasadena, California. Angular diameters were determined by fitting auniform-disk model to the visibility amplitude versus projected baselinelength. Half the angular diameters determined at 800 nm have formalerrors smaller than 1%. Limb-darkened angular diameters, effectivetemperatures, and surface brightnesses were determined for these stars,and relationships between these parameters are presented. Scatter inthese relationships is larger than would be expected from themeasurement uncertainties. We argue that this scatter is not due to anunderestimate of the angular diameter errors; whether it is due tophotometric errors or is intrinsic to the relationship is unresolved.The agreement with other observations of the same stars at the samewavelengths is good; the width of the difference distribution iscomparable to that estimated from the error bars, but the wings of thedistribution are larger than Gaussian. Comparison with infraredmeasurements is more problematic; in disagreement with models, coolerstars appear systematically smaller in the near-infrared than expected,warmer stars larger.
| Infrared Colors and Variability of Evolved Stars from COBE DIRBE Data
For a complete 12 μm flux-limited sample of 207 IRAS sources(F12>=150 Jy, |b|>=5deg), the majority ofwhich are AGB stars (~87%), we have extracted light curves in seveninfrared bands between 1.25 and 60 μm using the database of theDiffuse Infrared Background Experiment (DIRBE) instrument on the CosmicBackground Explorer (COBE) satellite. Using previous infrared surveys,we filtered these light curves to remove data points affected by nearbycompanions and obtained time-averaged flux densities and infraredcolors, as well as estimates of their variability at each wavelength. Inthe time-averaged DIRBE color-color plots, we find clear segregation ofsemiregulars, Mira variables, carbon stars, OH/IR stars, and red giantswithout circumstellar dust (i.e., V-[12]<5) and with little or novisual variation (ΔV<0.1 mag). The DIRBE 1.25-25 μm colorsbecome progressively redder and the variability in the DIRBE databaseincreases along the oxygen-rich sequence nondusty slightly varying redgiants-->SRb/Lb-->SRa-->Mira-->OH/IR and the carbon-richSRb/Lb-->Mira sequence. This supports previous assertions that theseare evolutionary sequences involving the continued production andejection of dust. The carbon stars are redder than their oxygen-richcounterparts for the same variability type, except in theF12/F25 ratio, where they are bluer. Of the 28sources in the sample not previous noted to be variable, 18 are clearlyvariable in the DIRBE data, with amplitudes of variation of ~0.9 mag at4.9 μm and ~0.6 mag at 12 μm, consistent with them being verydusty Mira-like variables. We also present individual DIRBE light curvesof a few selected stars. The DIRBE light curves of the semiregularvariable L2 Pup are particularly remarkable. The maxima at1.25, 2.2, and 3.5 μm occur 10-20 days before those at 4.9 and 12μm, and, at 4.9 and 12 μm, another maximum is seen between the twonear-infrared maxima.
| VLA Radio Positions of Stars: 1978-1995
VLA astrometric positions of the radio emission from 52 stars arereported, from observations obtained between 1978 and 1995. Thepositions of these stars have been obtained and reduced in a uniformmanner. Based on our measurements, the offset of the optical (Hipparcos)frame from the radio reference frame is in agreement with the Hipparcosextragalactic link results, within their mean errors. Comparison of theVLA measurements with the Hipparcos optical positions confirms earlierestimates of the accuracy of these positions as 30 mas. Long-termmeasurements of UX Ari have improved its proper motion.
| Local Heating in the Galactic Center Western Arc
We present arcsecond resolution, 10.8, 11.7, and 18.2 μm images ofthe central few parsecs of the Galaxy. These images show for the firsttime the clumpiness of the dust in the western arc. The 11.7 and 18.2μm images of part of the western arc were used to evaluate the dusttemperature and optical depth distribution of this region. We seeseveral mid-infrared emission peaks that coincide with dust temperaturepeaks and regions of low optical depth, and we infer the presence ofembedded sources in the western arc. Minimum luminosity estimates fortwo of these sources (5×104 Lsolar and2×104 Lsolar) suggest that the circumnuclearring is being locally heated by relatively young stars.
| Catalogue of averaged stellar effective magnetic fields. I. Chemically peculiar A and B type stars
This paper presents the catalogue and the method of determination ofaveraged quadratic effective magnetic fields < B_e > for 596 mainsequence and giant stars. The catalogue is based on measurements of thestellar effective (or mean longitudinal) magnetic field strengths B_e,which were compiled from the existing literature.We analysed the properties of 352 chemically peculiar A and B stars inthe catalogue, including Am, ApSi, He-weak, He-rich, HgMn, ApSrCrEu, andall ApSr type stars. We have found that the number distribution of allchemically peculiar (CP) stars vs. averaged magnetic field strength isdescribed by a decreasing exponential function. Relations of this typehold also for stars of all the analysed subclasses of chemicalpeculiarity. The exponential form of the above distribution function canbreak down below about 100 G, the latter value representingapproximately the resolution of our analysis for A type stars.Table A.1 and its references are only available in electronic form atthe CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/407/631 and Tables 3 to 9are only available in electronic form at http://www.edpsciences.org
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