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Correlation patterns between 11 diffuse interstellar bands and ultraviolet extinction
We relate the equivalent widths of 11 diffuse interstellar bands,measured in the spectra of 49 stars, to different colour excesses in theultraviolet. We find that most of the observed bands correlatepositively with the extinction in the neighbourhood of the2175-Åbump. Correlation with colour excesses in other parts of theextinction curve is more variable from one diffuse interstellar band toanother; we find that some diffuse bands (5797, 5850 and 6376 Å)correlate positively with the overall slope of the extinction curve,while others (5780 and 6284 Å) exhibit negative correlation. Wediscuss the implications of these results on the links between thediffuse interstellar band carriers and the properties of theinterstellar grains.
| Herbig Ae/Be Stars in nearby OB Associations
We have carried out a study of the early-type stars in nearby OBassociations spanning an age range of ~3-16 Myr, with the aim ofdetermining the fraction of stars that belong to the Herbig Ae/Be class.We studied the B, A, and F stars in the nearby (<=500 pc) OBassociations Upper Scorpius, Perseus OB2, Lacerta OB1, and Orion OB1,with membership determined from Hipparcos data. We also included in ourstudy the early-type stars in the Trumpler 37 cluster, part of the CepOB2 association. We obtained spectra for 440 Hipparcos stars in theseassociations, from which we determined accurate spectral types, visualextinctions, effective temperatures, luminosities and masses, usingHipparcos photometry. Using colors corrected for reddening, we find thatthe Herbig Ae/Be stars and the classical Be (CBe) stars occupy clearlydifferent regions in the JHK diagram. Thus, we use the location on theJHK diagram, as well as the presence of emission lines and of strong 12μm flux relative to the visual, to identify the Herbig Ae/Be stars inthe associations. We find that the Herbig Ae/Be stars constitute a smallfraction of the early-type stellar population even in the youngerassociations. Comparing the data from associations with different agesand assuming that the near-infrared excess in the Herbig Ae/Be starsarises from optically thick dusty inner disks, we determined theevolution of the inner disk frequency with age. We find that the innerdisk frequency in the age range 3-10 Myr in intermediate-mass stars islower than that in the low-mass stars (<1 Msolar) inparticular, it is a factor of ~10 lower at ~3 Myr. This indicates thatthe timescales for disk evolution are much shorter in theintermediate-mass stars, which could be a consequence of more efficientmechanisms of inner disk dispersal (viscous evolution, dust growth, andsettling toward the midplane).
| B Star Rotational Velocities in h and χ Persei: A Probe of Initial Conditions during the Star Formation Epoch?
Projected rotational velocities (vsini) have been measured for 216 B0-B9stars in the rich, dense h and χ Persei double cluster and comparedwith the distribution of rotational velocities for a sample of fieldstars having comparable ages (t~12-15 Myr) and masses (M~4-15Msolar). For stars that are relatively little evolved fromtheir initial locations on the zero-age main sequence (ZAMS) (those withmasses M~4-5 Msolar), the mean vsini measured for the h andχ Per sample is slightly more than 2 times larger than the meandetermined for field stars of comparable mass, and the cluster and fieldvsini distributions differ with a high degree of significance. Forsomewhat more evolved stars with masses in the range 5-9Msolar, the mean vsini in h and χ Per is 1.5 times thatof the field; the vsini distributions differ as well, but with a lowerdegree of statistical significance. For stars that have evolvedsignificantly from the ZAMS and are approaching the hydrogen exhaustionphase (those with masses in the range 9-15 Msolar), thecluster and field star means and distributions are only slightlydifferent. We argue that both the higher rotation rates and the patternof rotation speeds as a function of mass that differentiatemain-sequence B stars in h and χ Per from their field analogs werelikely imprinted during the star formation process rather than a resultof angular momentum evolution over the 12-15 Myr cluster lifetime. Wespeculate that these differences may reflect the effects of the higheraccretion rates that theory suggests are characteristic of regions thatgive birth to dense clusters, namely, (1) higher initial rotationspeeds; (2) higher initial radii along the stellar birth line, resultingin greater spin-up between the birth line and the ZAMS; and (3) a morepronounced maximum in the birth line radius-mass relationship thatresults in differentially greater spin-up for stars that become mid- tolate-B stars on the ZAMS.
| On the evolutionary status of Be stars. I. Field Be stars near the Sun
A sample of 97 galactic field Be stars were studied by taking intoaccount the effects induced by the fast rotation on their fundamentalparameters. All program stars were observed in the BCDspectrophotometric system in order to minimize the perturbationsproduced by the circumstellar environment on the spectral photosphericsignatures. This is one of the first attempts at determining stellarmasses and ages by simultaneously using model atmospheres andevolutionary tracks, both calculated for rotating objects. The stellarages (τ) normalized to the respective inferred time that eachrotating star can spend in the main sequence phase (τ_MS) reveal amass-dependent trend. This trend shows that: a) there are Be starsspread over the whole interval 0 τ/τ_MS 1 of themain sequence evolutionary phase; b) the distribution of points in the(τ/τMS,M/Mȯ) diagram indicates thatin massive stars (M 12~Mȯ) the Be phenomenon ispresent at smaller τ/τ_MS age ratios than for less massive stars(M 12~Mȯ). This distribution can be due to: i)higher mass-loss rates in massive objets, which can act to reduce thesurface fast rotation; ii) circulation time scales to transport angularmomentum from the core to the surface, which are longer the lower thestellar mass.
| The primordial binary population. I. A near-infrared adaptive optics search for close visual companions to A star members of Scorpius OB2
We present the results of a near-infrared adaptive optics survey withthe aim to detect close companions to Hipparcos members in the threesubgroups of the nearby OB association Sco OB2: Upper Scorpius (US),Upper Centaurus Lupus (UCL) and Lower Centaurus Crux (LCC). We havetargeted 199 A-type and late B-type stars in the KS band, anda subset also in the J and H band. We find 151 stellar components otherthan the target stars. A brightness criterion is used to separate thesecomponents into 77 background stars and 74 candidate physical companionstars. Out of these 74 candidate companions, 41 have not been reportedbefore (14 in US; 13 in UCL; 14 in LCC). The angular separation betweenprimaries and observed companion stars ranges from 0.22'' to 12.4''. Atthe mean distance of Sco OB2 (130 pc) this corresponds to a projectedseparation of 28.6 AU to 1612 AU. Absolute magnitudes are derived forall primaries and observed companions using the parallax andinterstellar extinction for each star individually. For each object wederive the mass from KS, assuming an age of 5 Myr for the USsubgroup, and 20 Myr for the UCL and LCC subgroups. Companion starmasses range from 0.10 Mȯ to 3.0 Mȯ. Themass ratio distribution follows f(q) = q-Γ withΓ=0.33, which excludes random pairing. No close (ρ ≤3.75'') companion stars or background stars are found in the magnituderange 12 mag≤ KS ≤ 14 mag. The lack of stars withthese properties cannot be explained by low-number statistics, and mayimply a lower limit on the companion mass of 0.1Mȯ. Close stellar components with KS >14mag are observed. If these components are very low-mass companion stars,a gap in the companion mass distribution might be present. The smallnumber of close low-mass companion stars could support theembryo-ejection formation scenario for brown dwarfs. Our findings arecompared with and complementary to visual, spectroscopic, andastrometric data on binarity in Sco OB2. We find an overall companionstar fraction of 0.52 in this association. This is a lower limit sincethe data from the observations and from literature are hampered byobservational biases and selection effects. This paper is the first steptoward our goal to derive the primordial binary population in Sco OB2.Full Table 1 is only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.orgBased on observations collected with the ADONIS instrument at theEuropean Southern Observatory, La Silla, Chile (65.H-0568(A) and67.D-0220(A)).
| Toward an adequate method to isolate spectroscopic families of diffuse interstellar bands
We divide some of the observed diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) intofamilies that appear to have the spectral structure of single species.Three different methods are applied to separate such families, exploringthe best approach for future investigations of this type. Starting witha statistical treatment of the data, we found that statistical methodsby themselves give insufficient results. Two other methods of dataanalysis (`averaging equivalent widths' and `investigating the figureswith arranged spectrograms') were found to be more useful as tools forfinding the spectroscopic families of DIBs. On the basis of thesemethods, we suggest some candidates as `relatives' of 5780- and5797-Å bands.
| Formation scenarios for the young stellar associations between galactic longitudes l = 280degr - 360degr
We investigate the spatial distribution, the space velocities and agedistribution of the pre-main sequence (PMS) stars belonging toOphiuchus, Lupus and Chamaeleon star-forming regions (SFRs), and of theyoung early-type star members of the Scorpius-Centaurus OB association.These young stellar associations extend over the galactic longituderange from 280degr to 360degr , and are at a distance interval ofaround 100 and 200 pc. This study is based on a compilation ofdistances, proper motions and radial velocities from the literature forthe kinematic properties, and of basic stellar data for the constructionof Hertzsprung-Russel diagrams. Although there was no well-known OBassociation in Chamaeleon, the distances and the proper motions of agroup of 21 B- and A-type stars, taken from the Hipparcos Catalogue,lead us to propose that they form a young association. We show that theyoung early-type stars of the OB associations and the PMS stars of theSFRs follow a similar spatial distribution, i.e., there is no separationbetween the low and the high-mass young stars. We find no difference inthe kinematics nor in the ages of these two populations studied.Considering not only the stars selected by kinematic criteria but thewhole sample of young early-type stars, the scattering of their propermotions is similar to that of the PMS stars and all the young starsexhibit a common direction of motion. The space velocities of theHipparcos PMS stars of each SFR are compatible with the mean values ofthe OB associations. The PMS stars in each SFR span a wide range of ages(from 1 to 20 Myr). The ages of the OB subgroups are 8-10 Myr for UpperScorpius (US), and 16-20 Myr for Upper Centaurus Lupus (UCL) and forLower Centaurus Crux (LCC). Thus, our results do not confirm that UCL isolder than the LCC association. Based on these results and theuncertainties associated with the age determination, we cannot say thatthere is indeed a difference in the age of the two populations. Weanalyze the different scenarios for the triggering of large-scalestar-formation that have been proposed up to now, and argue that mostprobably we are observing a spiral arm that passes close to the Sun. Thealignment of young stars and molecular clouds and the average velocityof the stars in the opposite direction to the Galactic rotation agreewith the expected behavior of star formation in nearby spiral arms.Tables 1 to 4 are only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/404/913
| Rotational Velocities of B Stars
We measured the projected rotational velocities of 1092 northern B starslisted in the Bright Star Catalogue (BSC) and calibrated them againstthe 1975 Slettebak et al. system. We found that the published values ofB dwarfs in the BSC average 27% higher than those standards. Only 0.3%of the stars have rotational velocities in excess of two-thirds of thebreakup velocities, and the mean velocity is only 25% of breakup,implying that impending breakup is not a significant factor in reducingrotational velocities. For the B8-B9.5 III-V stars the bimodaldistribution in V can be explained by a set of slowly rotating Ap starsand a set of rapidly rotating normal stars. For the B0-B5 III-V starsthat include very few peculiar stars, the distributions in V are notbimodal. Are the low rotational velocities of B stars due to theoccurrence of frequent low-mass companions, planets, or disks? Therotational velocities of giants originating from late B dwarfs areconsistent with their conservation of angular momentum in shells.However, we are puzzled by why the giants that originate from the earlyB dwarfs, despite having 3 times greater radii, have nearly the samerotational velocities. We find that all B-type primaries in binarieswith periods less than 2.4 days have synchronized rotational and orbitalmotions; those with periods between 2.4 and 5.0 days are rotating withina factor 2 of synchronization or are ``nearly synchronized.'' Thecorresponding period ranges for A-type stars are 4.9 and 10.5 days, ortwice as large. We found that the rotational velocities of the primariesare synchronized earlier than their orbits are circularized. The maximumorbital period for circularized B binaries is 1.5 days and for Abinaries is 2.5 days. For stars of various ages from 107.5 to1010.2 yr the maximum circularized periods are a smoothexponential function of age.
| The mass ratio distribution of B-type visual binaries in the Sco OB2 association
A sample of 115 B-type stars in the Sco OB2 association is examined forexistence of visual companions in the J and K_s bands, using the ADONISnear-infrared adaptive optics system and coronograph. Practically allthe components in the separation range 0farcs3 -6farcs4 (45-900 AU) andmagnitudes down to K = 16 were detected. The K and J - K photometry ofthe primaries and differential photometry and astrometry of the 96secondaries are presented. Ten secondaries are new physical components,as inferred from the photometric and statistical criteria, while therest of the newly detected objects are faint background stars. After asmall correction for detection incompleteness and a conversion of thefluxes into masses, an unbiased distribution of the components massratio q was derived. The power law f(q)~ q-0.5 fits theobservations well, whereas a q-1.8 distribution, whichcorresponds to a random pairing of stars, is rejected. The companionstar fraction is 0.20+/-0.04 per decade of separation which iscomparable to the highest measured binary fraction among low-mass PMSstars and ~ 1.6 times higher than the binary fraction of low-mass dwarfsin the solar neighborhood and in open clusters in the same separationrange. Based on observations collected at the European SouthernObservatory, La Silla, Chile (ESO programme 65.H-0179). Tables 1, 3 andthe full version of Table 2 are only available in electronic form at theCDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/382/92
| Astrometric radial velocities. III. Hipparcos measurements of nearby star clusters and associations
Radial motions of stars in nearby moving clusters are determined fromaccurate proper motions and trigonometric parallaxes, without any use ofspectroscopy. Assuming that cluster members share the same velocityvector (apart from a random dispersion), we apply a maximum-likelihoodmethod on astrometric data from Hipparcos to compute radial and spacevelocities (and their dispersions) in the Ursa Major, Hyades, ComaBerenices, Pleiades, and Praesepe clusters, and for theScorpius-Centaurus, alpha Persei, and ``HIP 98321'' associations. Theradial motion of the Hyades cluster is determined to within 0.4 kms-1 (standard error), and that of its individual stars towithin 0.6 km s-1. For other clusters, Hipparcos data yieldastrometric radial velocities with typical accuracies of a few kms-1. A comparison of these astrometric values withspectroscopic radial velocities in the literature shows a good generalagreement and, in the case of the best-determined Hyades cluster, alsopermits searches for subtle astrophysical differences, such as evidencefor enhanced convective blueshifts of F-dwarf spectra, and decreasedgravitational redshifts in giants. Similar comparisons for the ScorpiusOB2 complex indicate some expansion of its associations, albeit slowerthan expected from their ages. As a by-product from the radial-velocitysolutions, kinematically improved parallaxes for individual stars areobtained, enabling Hertzsprung-Russell diagrams with unprecedentedaccuracy in luminosity. For the Hyades (parallax accuracy 0.3 mas), itsmain sequence resembles a thin line, possibly with wiggles in it.Although this main sequence has underpopulated regions at certaincolours (previously suggested to be ``Böhm-Vitense gaps''), suchare not visible for other clusters, and are probably spurious. Futurespace astrometry missions carry a great potential for absoluteradial-velocity determinations, insensitive to the complexities ofstellar spectra. Based on observations by the ESA Hipparcos satellite.Extended versions of Tables \ref{tab1} and \ref{tab2} are available inelectronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr(130.79.125.8) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/381/446
| Far-ultraviolet extinction and diffuse interstellar bands
We relate the equivalent widths of the major diffuse interstellar bands(DIBs) near 5797 and 5780Å with different colour excesses,normalized by E(B-V), which characterize the growth of interstellarextinction in different wavelength ranges. It is demonstrated that thetwo DIBs correlate best with different parts of the extinction curve,and the ratio of these diffuse bands is best correlated with thefar-ultraviolet (UV) rise. A number of peculiar lines of sight are alsofound, indicating that the carriers of some DIBs and the far-UVextinction can be separated in certain environments, e.g. towards thePer OB2 association.
| A Search for High-Velocity Be Stars
We present an analysis of the kinematics of Be stars based uponHipparcos proper motions and published radial velocities. We findapproximately 23 of the 344 stars in our sample have peculiar spacemotions greater than 40 km s-1 and up to 102 kms-1. We argue that these high-velocity stars are the resultof either a supernova that disrupted a binary or ejection by closeencounters of binaries in young clusters. Be stars spun up by binarymass transfer will appear as high-velocity objects if there wassignificant mass loss during the supernova explosion of the initiallymore massive star, but the generally moderate peculiar velocities of BeX-ray binaries indicate that the progenitors lose most of their massprior to the supernova (in accordance with model predictions). Binaryformation models for Be stars predict that most systems bypass thesupernova stage (and do not receive runaway velocities) to createultimately Be+white dwarf binaries. The fraction of Be stars spun up bybinary mass transfer remains unknown, since the post-mass transfercompanions are difficult to detect.
| High and intermediate-resolution spectroscopy of Be stars 4481 lines
We present an atlas of Hγ , He i lambda 4471 and Mg ii lambda 4481line profiles obtained in a 10 year observation period of 116 Be stars,which enabled many of them to be observed at quite different emissionepochs. From the best fit of the observed He i lambda 4471 line profileswith non-LTE, uniform (Teff,log g) and full limb-darkenedmodel line profiles, we determined the V sin i of the program stars. Toaccount, to some degree, for the line formation peculiarities related tothe rapid rotation-induced non-uniform distributions of temperature andgravity on the stellar surface, the fit was achieved by considering(Teff,log g) as free parameters. This method produced V sin iestimations that correlate with the rotational velocities determined bySlettebak (1982) within a dispersion sigma <= 30 km s-1and without any systematic deviation. They can be considered as given inthe new Slettebak's et al. (1975) system. Only 13 program stars havediscrepant V sin i values. In some objects, this discrepancy could beattributed to binary effects. Using the newly determined V sin iparameters, we found that the ratio of true rotational velocitiesV/Vc of the program Be stars has a very low dispersion aroundthe mean value. Assuming then that all the stars are rigid rotators withthe same ratio V(/lineω)/Vc, we looked for the value of/line ω that better represents the distribution of V sini/Vc for randomly oriented rotational axes. We obtained/lineω = 0.795. This value enabled us to determine the probableinclination angle of the stellar rotation axis of the program stars. Inthe observed line profiles of Hγ , He i lambda 4471, Mg ii lambda4481 and Fe ii lambda 4351 we measured several parameters related to theabsorption and/or emission components, such as: equivalent width,residual emission and/or absorption intensity, FWHM, emission peakseparations, etc. The parameters related to the Hγ line emissionprofiles were used to investigate the structure of the nearbyenvironment of the central star. From the characteristics of thecorrelations between these quantities and the inferred inclinationangle, we concluded that in most of cases the Hγ line emissionforming regions may not be strongly flattened. Using a simplerepresentation of the radiation flux emitted by the star+envelopesystem, we derived first order estimates of physical parameterscharacterizing the Hγ line emission formation region. Thus, weobtained that the total extent of the Hγ region is Rf=~ 2.5 +/- 1.0 R* and that the density distribution in theselayers can be mimicked with a power law rho ~ R-alpha , wherealpha =2.5+2.2-0.6. The same approach enabled usto estimate the optical depth of the Hγ line emission formationregion. From its dependence with the aspect angle, we concluded thatthese regions are caracterized by a modest flattening and that the rho(equator)/rho (pole) density contrast of the circumstellar envelope nearthe star should be two orders of magnitude lower than predicted bymodels based on a priori disc-shaped circumstellar envelopes. We foundthat the separation between the emission peaks, Deltap, andthe full width at half maximum, Delta 1/2, of the Hγline emission are not only sensitive to kinematic effects, but to lineoptical depth as well. This finding agrees with previous theoreticalpredictions and confirms that Huang's (1972) relation overestimates theextent of the Hγ line emission formation region. Data obtained atCASLEO operated under agreement between the CONICET and the NationalUniversities of La Plata, Córdoba and San Juan, Argentina, at ESOLa Silla, Chile and at OHP, France.}\fnmsep\thanks{Tables 2 to 7 andFigs. 1 and 2 are only available in full in electronic form at 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/378/861}} \subtitle{Anatlas of Hγ , He {\fontsize {10pt}{12pt}\selectfont I} 4471 and Mg{\fontsize {10pt}{12pt}\selectfont II
| Statistical analysis of intrinsic polarization, IR excess and projected rotational velocity distributions of classical Be stars
We present the results of statistical analyses of a sample of 627 Bestars. The parameters of intrinsic polarization (p*),projected rotational velocity (v sin i), and near IR excesses have beeninvestigated. The values of p* have been estimated for a muchlarger and more representative sample of Be stars (~490 objects) thanpreviously. We have confirmed that most Be stars of early spectral typehave statistically larger values of polarization and IR excesses incomparison with the late spectral type stars. It is found that thedistributions of p* diverge considerably for the differentspectral subgroups. In contrast to late spectral types (B5-B9.5), thedistribution of p* for B0-B2 stars does not peak at the valuep*=0%. Statistically significant differences in the meanprojected rotational velocities (/line{vsin i}) are found for differentspectral subgroups of Be stars in the sense that late spectral typestars (V luminosity class) generally rotate faster than early types, inagreement with previously published results. This behaviour is, however,not obvious for the III-IV luminosity class stars. Nevertheless, thecalculated values of the ratio vt/vc of the truerotational velocity, vt, to the critical velocity forbreak-up, vc, is larger for late spectral type stars of allluminosity classes. Thus, late spectral type stars appear to rotatecloser to their break-up rotational velocity. The distribution of nearIR excesses for early spectral subgroups is bi-modal, the position ofthe second peak displaying a maximum value E(V-L)~ 1 . m 3for O-B1.5 stars, decreasing to E(V-L)~0. m8 for intermediatespectral types (B3-B5). It is shown that bi-modality disappears for latespectral types (B6-B9.5). No correlations were found betweenp* and near IR excesses and between E(V-L) and vsin i for thedifferent subgroups of Be stars. In contrast to near IR excesses, arelation between p* and far IR excesses at 12 mu m is clearlyseen. A clear relation between p* and vsin i (as well asbetween p* and /line{vsin i}/vc) is found by thefact that plots of these parameters are bounded by a ``triangular"distribution of p*: vsin i, with a decrease of p*towards very small and very large vsin i (and /line{vsini}/vc) values. The latter behaviour can be understood in thecontext of a larger oblateness of circumstellar disks for the stars witha rapid rotation. From the analysis of correlations between differentobservational parameters we conclude that circumstellar envelopes forthe majority of Be stars are optically thin disks with the range of thehalf-opening angle of 10degr
| 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
| A moving group of young stars in Carina-Vela
Accurate two-colour photometry and proper motions of 7096 young X-raystars in the ROSAT All-Sky Survey Bright Star Catalogue, version 1RXS,are extracted from the Tycho-2 Catalogue. The sample is dominated by redmain-sequence and possibly pre-main-sequence stars. On a global propermotion convergence map, two features are very prominent: the nearbysection of the Gould Belt and the Hyades convergent point. Theappearance of the Gould Belt feature with its peak at (l=244.3°,b=-12.6°) is quite similar to that of Hipparcos OB stars. When onlystars with proper motions drawing close to that point are selected,strong concentrations of stars in the direction of the Sco-Cen complexare found. Another concentration, not corresponding to any known OBassociation, is detected between the position of the Lower CentaurusCrux and Vela OB2 associations. It is a new young moving group locatedin Carina and Vela, and a near extension of the Sco-Cen complex.Contrary to the classical Gould Belt OB associations, the Carina-Velamoving group has a considerable geometric depth, the closest membersbeing as near as 30pc from the Sun. IC 2391, one of the youngest andclosest open clusters on the sky, is a part of the Carina-Vela movinggroup. The Carina-Vela moving group does not link the Sco-Cen complexwith the Vela OB associations, because the latter is much more distantthan the outer limit of the sample. It is more likely that the younglate-type population of the Scorpio-Centaurus-Carina moving groupstretches towards the Sun and possibly beyond it.
| A new survey of diffuse interstellar bands (5650 - 6865 Å)
This paper presents a new systematic survey of diffuse interstellarbands in the optical wavelength range from 5650 to 6865 Ä based onechelle spectra of medium-reddened early-type stars acquired at McDonaldObservatory. Adding up interstellar spectra of the same type (as it wasdone by Krełowski et al. \cite{K97}) we reached a very highsignal-to-noise ratio. In this spectral range 89 new features have beendiscovered, 62 of them certain. In the whole spectral range of thissurvey we have found 240 features, 213 of them certain. Figure~4 is onlyavailable in electronic form at http://www.edpsciences.org
| The 74th Special Name-list of Variable Stars
We present the Name-list introducing GCVS names for 3153 variable starsdiscovered by the Hipparcos mission.
| A HIPPARCOS Census of the Nearby OB Associations
A comprehensive census of the stellar content of the OB associationswithin 1 kpc from the Sun is presented, based on Hipparcos positions,proper motions, and parallaxes. It is a key part of a long-term projectto study the formation, structure, and evolution of nearby young stellargroups and related star-forming regions. OB associations are unbound``moving groups,'' which can be detected kinematically because of theirsmall internal velocity dispersion. The nearby associations have a largeextent on the sky, which traditionally has limited astrometricmembership determination to bright stars (V<~6 mag), with spectraltypes earlier than ~B5. The Hipparcos measurements allow a majorimprovement in this situation. Moving groups are identified in theHipparcos Catalog by combining de Bruijne's refurbished convergent pointmethod with the ``Spaghetti method'' of Hoogerwerf & Aguilar.Astrometric members are listed for 12 young stellar groups, out to adistance of ~650 pc. These are the three subgroups Upper Scorpius, UpperCentaurus Lupus, and Lower Centaurus Crux of Sco OB2, as well as VelOB2, Tr 10, Col 121, Per OB2, alpha Persei (Per OB3), Cas-Tau, Lac OB1,Cep OB2, and a new group in Cepheus, designated as Cep OB6. Theselection procedure corrects the list of previously known astrometricand photometric B- and A-type members in these groups and identifiesmany new members, including a significant number of F stars, as well asevolved stars, e.g., the Wolf-Rayet stars gamma^2 Vel (WR 11) in Vel OB2and EZ CMa (WR 6) in Col 121, and the classical Cepheid delta Cep in CepOB6. Membership probabilities are given for all selected stars. MonteCarlo simulations are used to estimate the expected number of interloperfield stars. In the nearest associations, notably in Sco OB2, thelater-type members include T Tauri objects and other stars in the finalpre-main-sequence phase. This provides a firm link between the classicalhigh-mass stellar content and ongoing low-mass star formation. Detailedstudies of these 12 groups, and their relation to the surroundinginterstellar medium, will be presented elsewhere. Astrometric evidencefor moving groups in the fields of R CrA, CMa OB1, Mon OB1, Ori OB1, CamOB1, Cep OB3, Cep OB4, Cyg OB4, Cyg OB7, and Sct OB2, is inconclusive.OB associations do exist in many of these regions, but they are eitherat distances beyond ~500 pc where the Hipparcos parallaxes are oflimited use, or they have unfavorable kinematics, so that the groupproper motion does not distinguish it from the field stars in theGalactic disk. The mean distances of the well-established groups aresystematically smaller than the pre-Hipparcos photometric estimates.While part of this may be caused by the improved membership lists, arecalibration of the upper main sequence in the Hertzsprung-Russelldiagram may be called for. The mean motions display a systematicpattern, which is discussed in relation to the Gould Belt. Six of the 12detected moving groups do not appear in the classical list of nearby OBassociations. This is sometimes caused by the absence of O stars, but inother cases a previously known open cluster turns out to be (part of) anextended OB association. The number of unbound young stellar groups inthe solar neighborhood may be significantly larger than thoughtpreviously.
| Five-colour photometry of OB-stars in the Southern Hemisphere
Observations of OB-stars, made in 1959 and 1960 at the Leiden SouthernStation near Hartebeespoortdam, South Africa, with the VBLUW photometerattached to the 90 cm light-collector, are given in this paper. They arecompared with photometry obtained by \cite[Graham (1968),]{gra68}\cite[Walraven & Walraven (1977),]{wal77} \cite[Lub & Pel(1977)]{lub77} and \cite[Van Genderen et al. (1984).]{gen84} Formulaefor the transformation of the present observations to those of\cite[Walraven & Walraven (1977)]{wal77} and \cite[Lub & Pel(1977)]{lub77} are given. Table 4 is only available in electronic format the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) orvia http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| On correlations between diffuse interstellar bands
One way to better apprehend the problem of diffuse interstellar bands(DIBs) is to search for correlations between the bands in a large sampleof spectra towards various lines of sight: a strict correlation mayimply that a common carrier is at the origin of the bands, whereas anon-correlation means that different species are involved. We proposethis observational test for 10 DIBs collected in up to 62 Galactic linesof sight. Strong DIBs do not strictly correlate, and sometimes thecorrelation is very poor. Only one example of a strict correlation hasbeen found in our sample between the DIBs at 6614 and 6196 Ä, thatcould signify a single carrier for those two bands. The general absenceof strict correlations is discussed in the context of molecular carriersfor the DIBs.
| Polarimetry of the young Herbig AE star HD 139614. Differences of polarimetric behaviour of Vega-type stars
We present optical polarimetric data of the Herbig Ae star HD 139614 anddiscuss its behaviour relative to similar stars. In spite of a low levelof polarization (~ 0.05-0.2%), polarimetric variability on a time-scaleof days was detected during a four night synoptic study. The differencein the level of the polarization for HD 139614 relative to other HerbigAe/Be stars such as HD 141569, HD 142666 and HD 169142 might be due tothe inclinations and viewing aspects of their circumstellar disks and totheir different evolutionary stages. This hypothesis is consistent withthe photometric behaviour of these stars, their v sin i values andspectral energy distribution in the near and far IR.
| The Scorpius OB2 Complex
The Sco OB2 complex is a member of the Local Association. Theassociation contains pre-main-sequence stars in addition to objects some3 x 10^7 yr old. If it is assumed that stars in wide binaries arecoeval, then the He-weak variables in the supercluster arepre-main-sequence, elevated above that sequence by an amount similar tothat of the 3 x 10^7 yr old, normal stars but contracting toward thesequence, not evolving from it. The apparent great depth of theassociation is probably a result of some foreground superclustermembers, superposed on Sco OB2, and a rift in the absorption cloudbetween Scorpius and Ophiuchus. The adjoining Chamaeleon complex alsoappears to be a member of the supercluster.
| Investigation of the variability of bright Be stars using HIPPARCOS photometry
The high accuracy and the homogeneity of Hipparcos data for bright starshave allowed us to quantify the degree of variability of Be stars. Thisdegree has been found to be highly dependent on the temperature of thestar. Rapid variability is the main feature of the 86% of early Be andless than 20% of late Be stars taking into account the limit ofdetection considered. In addition to Be stars reported in the Hipparcoscatalogue (ESA 1997) as short-period variables, we have been able toenlarge the number of detections as well as to confirm periodspreviously determined. Be stars that show larger amplitude rapidvariations are proposed as candidates for a search of multiperiodicityi.e. as non-radial pulsators. We have also searched for the presence ofoutbursts and fading events in the Hipparcos data. Outbursts have beenfrequently and preferentially detected in early Be stars with rather lowto moderate v sini while fading events seem to be more conspicuous instars with higher v sini. Mid-term and long-term variations have alsobeen investigated. Several stars have shown some evidence of temporaryquasi-periodic oscillations ranging between 10 and 200 days. Finallyinformation concerning long-term variations is reported. Cycles shorterthan or equal to the Hipparcos mission have mainly been detected instars earlier than B6. Long-term time scales of late Be stars areconfirmed to be longer by far. Tables 1 and 2 are only available inelectronic form at CDS via ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) orvia http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| An X-ray study of the PMS population of the Upper Sco-Cen association
We have searched for low-mass pre-main-sequence stars in the nearbyUpper Sco-Cen star-forming region using ROSAT observations analyzed withan innovative source detection method based on wavelet transforms. In a5.2 ksec ROSAT PSPC image we find 32 sources down to a limiting flux of3.9 10(-14) erg cm(-2) s(-1) . In two HRI observations that cover withgreater sensitivity approximately one-third of the same region we find17 sources, down to a limiting flux of 1.4 10(-14) erg cm(-2) s(-1) .Half of the HRI sources were not detected either in the PSPC pointedobservation nor are they reported in the ROSAT Bright Source Catalog,nor in the final analysis of Einstein IPC data of the same region, whichresulted in the detection of 18 sources down to a limiting flux of 9.110(-14) erg cm(-2) s(-1) . Considering all the available X-ray datatogether, we have a total of 50 distinct X-ray sources, of which only 13were previously reported as Einstein IPC sources in a sky region ofnearly the same area as that surveyed in the present work. Our newanalysis allows us to largely increase the census of likely PMS stars inthe Upper Sco-Cen region and shows that the IPC survey of PMS stars inthis region by Walter and collaborators is more severely incomplete thanpreviously reported. The likely PMS nature of the stellar counterpartsof the faint X-ray sources is supported by follow-up opticalspectroscopy of some of these sources, as well as by the presence ofvariability of X-ray emission in a substantial fraction of them, and bythe characteristics of available X-ray spectral information.
| The Tokyo PMC catalog 90-93: Catalog of positions of 6649 stars observed in 1990 through 1993 with Tokyo photoelectric meridian circle
The sixth annual catalog of the Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle(PMC) is presented for 6649 stars which were observed at least two timesin January 1990 through March 1993. The mean positions of the starsobserved are given in the catalog at the corresponding mean epochs ofobservations of individual stars. The coordinates of the catalog arebased on the FK5 system, and referred to the equinox and equator ofJ2000.0. The mean local deviations of the observed positions from theFK5 catalog positions are constructed for the basic FK5 stars to comparewith those of the Tokyo PMC Catalog 89 and preliminary Hipparcos resultsof H30.
| Groupings of Strong and Weak Diffuse Interstellar Bands Formed by Common Carriers
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1997PASP..109.1135K&db_key=AST
| High S/N Echelle spectroscopy in young stellar groups. II. Rotational velocities of early-type stars in SCO OB2.
We investigate the rotational velocities of early-type stars in the ScoOB2 association. We measure v.sin(i) for 156 established and probablemembers of the association. The measurements are performed with threedifferent techniques, which are in increasing order of expectedv.sin(i): 1) converting the widths of spectral lines directly tov.sin(i), 2) comparing artificially broadened spectra of low v.sin(i)stars to the target spectrum, 3) comparing the HeI λ4026 lineprofile to theoretical models. The sample is extended with literaturedata for 47 established members of Sco OB2. Analysis of the v.sin(i)distributions shows that there are no significant differences betweenthe subgroups of Sco OB2. We find that members of the binary populationof Sco OB2 on the whole rotate more slowly than the single stars. Inaddition, we find that the B7-B9 single star members rotatesignificantly faster than their B0-B6 counterparts. We test varioushypotheses for the distribution of v.sin(i) in the association. Theresults show that we cannot clearly exclude any form of randomdistribution of the direction and/or magnitude of the intrinsicrotational velocity vector. We also investigate the effects of rotationon colours in the Walraven photometric system. We show that positions ofB7-B9 single dwarfs above the main sequence are a consequence ofrotation. This establishes the influence of rotation on the Walravencolours, due primarily to surface gravity effects.
| Far-Ultraviolet Stellar Photometry: Fields Centered on rho Ophiuchi and the Galactic Center
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1996ApJS..104..101S&db_key=AST
| The ROSAT all-sky survey catalogue of optically bright OB-type stars.
For the detailed statistical analysis of the X-ray emission of hot starswe selected all stars of spectral type O and B listed in the Yale BrightStar Catalogue and searched for them in the ROSAT All-Sky Survey. Inthis paper we describe the selection and preparation of the data andpresent a compilation of the derived X-ray data for a complete sample ofbright OB stars.
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Scorpius |
| Right ascension: | 15h53m55.80s |
| Declination: | -23°58'41.0" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 5.42 |
| Distance: | 120.482 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | -13.7 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -25.3 |
| B-T magnitude: | 5.342 |
| V-T magnitude: | 5.394 |
Catalogs and designations:
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