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uvby-? photometry and kinematics of metal-poor stars: A search for moving groups in the Galactic Stellar Halo
The possible presence of moving groups in the local Galactic stellarhalo has been examined based on new uvby-? photometry for a sampleof 143 metal-poor stars joined to the photometry of 1553 stars from theprevious catalogues of Schuster & Nissen (1988), Schuster et al.(1993), and Schuster et al. (2006). This new set of photometric data,together with radial velocities and proper motions taken from theliterature, have allowed us to obtain Galactic space velocities U', V',and W' for nearly the entire sample. With this kinematic information,three diagrams: the [Fe/H] vs V_rot, the Bottlinger (V' vs U') and theToomre (V' vs (U'^2 + W'^2)^{1/2}) have been obtained and used toidentify probable groups of stars in common between them. Onceidentified, these groups were compared to moving groups reported in theliterature. In particular, probable members of the Kapteyn group and? Cen were identified.
| Beryllium and Alpha-element Abundances in a Large Sample of Metal-poor Stars
The light elements, Li, Be, and B, provide tracers for many aspects ofastronomy including stellar structure, Galactic evolution, andcosmology. We have made observations of Be in 117 metal-poor starsranging in metallicity from [Fe/H] = -0.5 to -3.5 with KeckI/HIRES. Our spectra are high resolution (~42,000) and high signal tonoise (the median is 106 per pixel). We have determined the stellarparameters spectroscopically from lines of Fe I, Fe II, Ti I, and Ti II.The abundances of Be and O were derived by spectrum synthesistechniques, while abundances of Fe, Ti, and Mg were found from manyspectral line measurements. There is a linear relationship between[Fe/H] and A(Be) with a slope of +0.88 ± 0.03 over three ordersof magnitude in [Fe/H]. We find that Be is enhanced relative to Fe;[Be/Fe] is +0.40 near [Fe/H] ~-3.3 and drops to 0.0 near [Fe/H]~-1.7. For the relationship between A(Be) and [O/H], we find agradual change in slope from 0.69 ± 0.13 for the Be-poor/O-poorstars to 1.13 ± 0.10 for the Be-rich/O-rich stars. Inasmuch asthe relationship between [Fe/H] and [O/H] seems robustly linear (slope =+0.75 ± 0.03), we conclude that the slope change in Be versus Ois due to the Be abundance. Much of the Be would have been formed in thevicinity of Type II supernova (SN II) in the early history of the Galaxyand by Galactic cosmic-ray (GCR) spallation in the later eras. AlthoughBe is a by-product of CNO, we have used Ti and Mg abundances asalpha-element surrogates for O in part because O abundances are rathersensitive to both stellar temperature and surface gravity. We find thatA(Be) tracks [Ti/H] very well with a slope of 1.00 ± 0.04. Italso tracks [Mg/H] very well with a slope of 0.88 ± 0.03. We havekinematic information on 114 stars in our sample and they divide equallyinto dissipative and accretive stars. Almost the full range of [Fe/H]and [O/H] is covered in each group. There are distinct differences inthe relationships of A(Be) and [Fe/H] and of A(Be) and [O/H] for thedissipative and the accretive stars. It is likely that the formation ofBe in the accretive stars was primarily in the vicinity of SN II, whilethe Be in the dissipative stars was primarily formed by GCR spallation.We find that Be is not as good a cosmochronometer as Fe. We have found aspread in A(Be) that is valid at the 4? level between [O/H] =-0.5 and -1.0, which corresponds to -0.9 and-1.6 in [Fe/H].
| Probing the Galactic thick disc vertical properties and interfaces
Aims: This work investigates the properties (metallicity andkinematics) and interfaces of the Galactic thick disc as a function ofheight above the Galactic plane. The main aim is to study the thick discin a place where it is the main component of the sample. Methods:We take advantage of former astrometric work in two fields of severalsquare degrees in which accurate proper motions were measured down toV-magnitudes of 18.5 in two directions, one near the north galactic poleand the other at a galactic latitude of 46° and galactic longitudenear 0°. Spectroscopic observations have been acquired in these twofields for a total of about 400 stars down to magnitude 18.0, atspectral resolutions of 3.5 to 6.25 Å. The spectra have beenanalysed with the code ETOILE, comparing the target stellar spectra witha grid of 1400 reference stellar spectra. This comparison allowed us toderive the parameters effective temperature, gravity, [Fe/H] andabsolute magnitude for each target star. Results: The MetallicityDistribution Function (MDF) of the thin-thick-disc-halo system isderived for several height intervals between 0 and 5 kpc above theGalactic plane. The MDFs show a decrease of the ratio of the thin tothick disc stars between the first and second kilo-parsec. This isconsistent with the classical modelling of the vertical density profileof the disc with 2 populations with different scale heights. A verticalmetallicity gradient, ?[Fe/H]/?z = -0.068 ± 0.009 dexkpc-1, is observed in the thick disc. It is discussed interms of scenarios of formation of the thick disc.Based on observations obtained at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope(CFHT) which is operated by the National Research Council of Canada, theInstitut National des Sciences de l'Univers of the Centre National de laRecherche Scientifique of France, and the University of Hawaii and atthe T193cm telescope, Observatoire de Haute-Provence, France.Full TablesA.1-A.3, B.1-B.3 are only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/525/A90
| The PASTEL catalogue of stellar parameters
Aims: The PASTEL catalogue is an update of the [Fe/H] catalogue,published in 1997 and 2001. It is a bibliographical compilation ofstellar atmospheric parameters providing (T_eff, log g, [Fe/H])determinations obtained from the analysis of high resolution, highsignal-to-noise spectra, carried out with model atmospheres. PASTEL alsoprovides determinations of the one parameter T_eff based on variousmethods. It is aimed in the future to provide also homogenizedatmospheric parameters and elemental abundances, radial and rotationalvelocities. A web interface has been created to query the catalogue onelaborated criteria. PASTEL is also distributed through the CDS databaseand VizieR. Methods: To make it as complete as possible, the mainjournals have been surveyed, as well as the CDS database, to findrelevant publications. The catalogue is regularly updated with newdeterminations found in the literature. Results: As of Febuary2010, PASTEL includes 30151 determinations of either T_eff or (T_eff,log g, [Fe/H]) for 16 649 different stars corresponding to 865bibliographical references. Nearly 6000 stars have a determination ofthe three parameters (T_eff, log g, [Fe/H]) with a high qualityspectroscopic metallicity.The catalogue can be queried through a dedicated web interface at http://pastel.obs.u-bordeaux1.fr/.It is also available in electronic form at the Centre de DonnéesStellaires in Strasbourg (http://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/VizieR?-source=B/pastel),at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) orvia http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/515/A111
| An absolutely calibrated Teff scale from the infrared flux method. Dwarfs and subgiants
Various effective temperature scales have been proposed over the years.Despite much work and the high internal precision usually achieved,systematic differences of order 100 K (or more) among various scales arestill present. We present an investigation based on the infrared fluxmethod aimed at assessing the source of such discrepancies and pin downtheir origin. We break the impasse among different scales by using alarge set of solar twins, stars which are spectroscopically andphotometrically identical to the Sun, to set the absolute zero point ofthe effective temperature scale to within few degrees. Our newlycalibrated, accurate and precise temperature scale applies to dwarfs andsubgiants, from super-solar metallicities to the most metal-poor starscurrently known. At solar metallicities our results validatespectroscopic effective temperature scales, whereas for [Fe/H]? -2.5our temperatures are roughly 100 K hotter than those determined frommodel fits to the Balmer lines and 200 K hotter than those obtained fromthe excitation equilibrium of Fe lines. Empirical bolometric correctionsand useful relations linking photometric indices to effectivetemperatures and angular diameters have been derived. Our results takefull advantage of the high accuracy reached in absolute calibration inrecent years and are further validated by interferometric angulardiameters and space based spectrophotometry over a wide range ofeffective temperatures and metallicities.Table 8 is only available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymousftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/512/A54
| An Overview of the Rotational Behavior of Metal-poor Stars
This paper describes the behavior of the rotational velocity inmetal-poor stars ([Fe/H] <= -0.5 dex) in different evolutionarystages, based on vsin i values from the literature. Our sample iscomprised of stars in the field and some Galactic globular clusters,including stars on the main sequence, the red giant branch (RGB), andthe horizontal branch (HB). The metal-poor stars are, mainly, slowrotators, and their vsin i distribution along the HR diagram is quitehomogeneous. Nevertheless, a few moderate to high values of vsin i arefound in stars located on the main sequence and the HB. We show that theoverall distribution of vsin i values is basically independent ofmetallicity for the stars in our sample. In particular, thefast-rotating main sequence stars in our sample present rotation ratessimilar to their metal-rich counterparts, suggesting that some of themmay actually be fairly young, in spite of their low metallicity, or elsethat at least some of them would be better classified as blue stragglerstars. We do not find significant evidence of evolution in vsin i valuesas a function of position on the RGB; in particular, we do not confirmprevious suggestions that stars close to the RGB tip rotate faster thantheir less-evolved counterparts. While the presence of fast rotatorsamong moderately cool blue HB stars has been suggested to be due toangular momentum transport from a stellar core that has retainedsignificant angular momentum during its prior evolution, we find thatany such transport mechanisms most likely operate very fast as the stararrives on the zero-age HB (ZAHB), since we do not find a link betweenevolution off the ZAHB and vsin i values. We present an extensivetabulation of all quantities discussed in this paper, including rotationvelocities, temperatures, gravities, and metallicities [Fe/H], as wellas broadband magnitudes and colors.
| The Geneva-Copenhagen survey of the solar neighbourhood. III. Improved distances, ages, and kinematics
Context: Ages, chemical compositions, velocity vectors, and Galacticorbits for stars in the solar neighbourhood are fundamental test datafor models of Galactic evolution. The Geneva-Copenhagen Survey of theSolar Neighbourhood (Nordström et al. 2004; GCS), amagnitude-complete, kinematically unbiased sample of 16 682 nearby F andG dwarfs, is the largest available sample with complete data for starswith ages spanning that of the disk. Aims: We aim to improve theaccuracy of the GCS data by implementing the recent revision of theHipparcos parallaxes. Methods: The new parallaxes yield improvedastrometric distances for 12 506 stars in the GCS. We also use theparallaxes to verify the distance calibration for uvby? photometryby Holmberg et al. (2007, A&A, 475, 519; GCS II). We add newselection criteria to exclude evolved cool stars giving unreliableresults and derive distances for 3580 stars with large parallax errorsor not observed by Hipparcos. We also check the GCS II scales of T_effand [Fe/H] and find no need for change. Results: Introducing thenew distances, we recompute MV for 16 086 stars, and U, V, W,and Galactic orbital parameters for the 13 520 stars that also haveradial-velocity measurements. We also recompute stellar ages from thePadova stellar evolution models used in GCS I-II, using the new valuesof M_V, and compare them with ages from the Yale-Yonsei andVictoria-Regina models. Finally, we compare the observed age-velocityrelation in W with three simulated disk heating scenarios to show thepotential of the data. Conclusions: With these revisions, thebasic data for the GCS stars should now be as reliable as is possiblewith existing techniques. Further improvement must await consolidationof the T_eff scale from angular diameters and fluxes, and the Gaiatrigonometric parallaxes. We discuss the conditions for improvingcomputed stellar ages from new input data, and for distinguishingdifferent disk heating scenarios from data sets of the size andprecision of the GCS.Full Table 1 is only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/501/941
| Automated classification of ELODIE stellar spectral library using probabilistic artificial neural networks
A Probabilistic Neural Network model has been used for automatedclassification of ELODIE stellar spectral library consisting of about2000 spectra into 158 known spectro-luminosity classes. The full spectrawith 561 flux bins and a PCA reduced set of 57, 26 and 16 componentshave been used for the training and test sessions. The results show aspectral type classification accuracy of 3.2 sub-spectral type andluminosity class accuracy of 2.7 for the full spectra and an accuracy of3.1 and 2.6 respectively with the PCA set. This technique will be usefulfor future upcoming large databases and their rapid classification.
| Strömgren Photometry of Galactic Globular Clusters. I. New Calibrations of the Metallicity Index
We present a new calibration of the Strömgren metallicity indexm1 using red giant (RG) stars in four globular clusters (GCs:M92, M13, NGC 1851, 47 Tuc) with metallicity ranging from -2.2 to -0.7,marginally affected by reddening [E(B-V)<=0.04] and with accurate(u,v,b,y) photometry. The main difference between the newmetallicity-index-color (MIC) relations and similar relations availablein the literature is that we have adopted the u-y and v-y colors insteadof b-y. These colors present a stronger sensitivity to effectivetemperature, and the MIC relations show a linear slope. The differencebetween photometric estimates and spectroscopic measurements for RGs inM71, NGC 288, NGC 362, NGC 6397, and NGC 6752 is 0.04+/-0.03 dex(σ=0.11 dex). We also apply the new MIC relations to 85 field RGswith metallicity ranging from -2.4 to -0.5 and accurate reddeningestimates. We find that the difference between photometric estimates andspectroscopic measurements is -0.14+/-0.01 dex (σ=0.17 dex). Wealso provide two sets of MIC relations based on evolutionary models thathave been transformed into the observational plane by adopting eithersemiempirical or theoretical color-temperature relations. We apply thesemiempirical relations to the nine GCs and find that the differencebetween photometric and spectroscopic metallicities is 0.04+/-0.03 dex(σ=0.10 dex). A similar agreement is found for the sample of fieldRGs, with a difference of -0.09+/-0.03 dex (with σ=0.19 dex). Thedifference between metallicity estimates based on theoretical relationsand spectroscopic measurements is -0.11+/-0.03 dex (σ=0.14 dex)for the nine GCs and -0.24+/-0.03 dex (σ=0.15 dex) for the fieldRGs. Current evidence indicates that new MIC relations providemetallicities with an intrinsic accuracy better than 0.2 dex.Based in part on observations collected with the 1.54 m Danish Telescopeoperated at ESO (La Silla, Chile) and with the Nordic Optical Telescope(NOT) operated at La Palma (Spain).
| Pulkovo compilation of radial velocities for 35495 stars in a common system.
Not Available
| Effective temperature scale and bolometric corrections from 2MASS photometry
We present a method to determine effective temperatures, angularsemi-diameters and bolometric corrections for population I and II FGKtype stars based on V and 2MASS IR photometry. Accurate calibration isaccomplished by using a sample of solar analogues, whose averagetemperature is assumed to be equal to the solar effective temperature of5777 K. By taking into account all possible sources of error we estimateassociated uncertainties to better than 1% in effective temperature andin the range 1.0-2.5% in angular semi-diameter for unreddened stars.Comparison of our new temperatures with other determinations extractedfrom the literature indicates, in general, remarkably good agreement.These results suggest that the effective temperaure scale of FGK starsis currently established with an accuracy better than 0.5%-1%. Theapplication of the method to a sample of 10 999 dwarfs in the Hipparcoscatalogue allows us to define temperature and bolometric correction (Kband) calibrations as a function of (V-K), [m/H] and log g. Bolometriccorrections in the V and K bands as a function of T_eff, [m/H] and log gare also given. We provide effective temperatures, angularsemi-diameters, radii and bolometric corrections in the V and K bandsfor the 10 999 FGK stars in our sample with the correspondinguncertainties.
| The lithium content of the Galactic Halo stars
Thanks to the accurate determination of the baryon density of theuniverse by the recent cosmic microwave background experiments, updatedpredictions of the standard model of Big Bang nucleosynthesis now yieldthe initial abundance of the primordial light elements withunprecedented precision. In the case of ^7Li, the CMB+SBBN value issignificantly higher than the generally reported abundances for Pop IIstars along the so-called Spite plateau. In view of the crucialimportance of this disagreement, which has cosmological, galactic andstellar implications, we decided to tackle the most critical issues ofthe problem by revisiting a large sample of literature Li data in halostars that we assembled following some strict selection criteria on thequality of the original analyses. In the first part of the paper wefocus on the systematic uncertainties affecting the determination of theLi abundances, one of our main goal being to look for the "highestobservational accuracy achievable" for one of the largest sets of Liabundances ever assembled. We explore in great detail the temperaturescale issue with a special emphasis on reddening. We derive four sets ofeffective temperatures by applying the same colour {T}_eff calibrationbut making four different assumptions about reddening and determine theLTE lithium values for each of them. We compute the NLTE corrections andapply them to the LTE lithium abundances. We then focus on our "best"(i.e. most consistent) set of temperatures in order to discuss theinferred mean Li value and dispersion in several {T}_eff and metallicityintervals. The resulting mean Li values along the plateau for [Fe/H]≤ 1.5 are A(Li)_NLTE = 2.214±0.093 and 2.224±0.075when the lowest effective temperature considered is taken equal to 5700K and 6000 K respectively. This is a factor of 2.48 to 2.81 (dependingon the adopted SBBN model and on the effective temperature range chosento delimit the plateau) lower than the CMB+SBBN determination. We findno evidence of intrinsic dispersion. Assuming the correctness of theCMB+SBBN prediction, we are then left with the conclusion that the Liabundance along the plateau is not the pristine one, but that halo starshave undergone surface depletion during their evolution. In the secondpart of the paper we further dissect our sample in search of newconstraints on Li depletion in halo stars. By means of the Hipparcosparallaxes, we derive the evolutionary status of each of our samplestars, and re-discuss our derived Li abundances. A very surprisingresult emerges for the first time from this examination. Namely, themean Li value as well as the dispersion appear to be lower (althoughfully compatible within the errors) for the dwarfs than for the turnoffand subgiant stars. For our most homogeneous dwarfs-only sample with[Fe/H] ≤ 1.5, the mean Li abundances are A(L)_NLTE = 2.177±0.071 and 2.215±0.074 when the lowest effective temperatureconsidered is taken equal to 5700 K and 6000 K respectively. This is afactor of 2.52 to 3.06 (depending on the selected range in {T}_eff forthe plateau and on the SBBN predictions we compare to) lower than theCMB+SBBN primordial value. Instead, for the post-main sequence stars thecorresponding values are 2.260±0.1 and 2.235±0.077, whichcorrespond to a depletion factor of 2.28 to 2.52. These results,together with the finding that all the stars with Li abnormalities(strong deficiency or high content) lie on or originate from the hotside of the plateau, lead us to suggest that the most massive of thehalo stars have had a slightly different Li history than their lessmassive contemporaries. In turn, this puts strong new constraints on thepossible depletion mechanisms and reinforces Li as a stellartomographer.
| Sulphur abundance in Galactic stars
We investigate sulphur abundance in 74 Galactic stars by using highresolution spectra obtained at ESO VLT and NTT telescopes. For the firsttime the abundances are derived, where possible, from three opticalmultiplets: Mult. 1, 6, and 8. By combining our own measurements withdata in the literature we assemble a sample of 253 stars in themetallicity range -3.2 [Fe/H] +0.5. Two important features,which could hardly be detected in smaller samples, are obvious from thislarge sample: 1) a sizeable scatter in [S/Fe] ratios around [Fe/H]-1; 2) at low metallicities we observe stars with [S/Fe] 0.4, aswell as stars with higher [S/Fe] ratios. The latter do not seem to bekinematically different from the former ones. Whether the latter findingstems from a distinct population of metal-poor stars or simply from anincreased scatter in sulphur abundances remains an open question.
| A Survey of Proper-Motion Stars. XVII. A Deficiency of Binary Stars on Retrograde Galactic Orbits and the Possibility that ω Centauri is Related to the Effect
We compare the frequency of field binary stars as a function of Galacticvelocity vectors and find a deficiency of such stars on stronglyretrograde orbits. Metal-poor stars moving on prograde Galactic orbitshave a binary frequency of 28%+/-3%, whereas the retrograde stars'binary frequency is only 10%+/-2% for V<=-300 km s-1. Nosuch binary deficiencies are seen for the U or W velocities, nor for[Fe/H]. Some mechanism exists that either disrupts binary systems orpreferentially adds single stars moving primarily on retrograde orbits.Theoretical analyses and critical evaluations of our observational dataappear to rule out preferential disruption of preexisting binary starsdue to such causes as tidal interactions with massive gravitationalperturbers, including giant molecular clouds, black holes, or theGalactic center.Dynamically evolved stellar ensembles, such as globular clusters,provide a possible source of single stars. Three lines of evidence ruleout this explanation. First, there is no mechanism to significantlyenhance dissolution of clusters moving on retrograde orbits. Second, astudy of globular clusters moving on prograde and retrograde orbits andwith perigalacticon distances such that they are unlikely to be affectedstrongly by central tidal effects shows that clusters moving on progradeGalactic orbits may be more evolved dynamically than clusters moving onretrograde orbits. Finally, we have undertaken a comprehensive searchfor star streams that might be discernible. Monte Carlo modelingsuggests that our sample may include one moving group, but it containsonly five stars. Although the Galactic orbit of this group passes nearthe Galactic center, it is not moving on a retrograde Galactic orbit andfalls short by a factor of at least 20 in supplying the necessary numberof single stars.There is one intriguing possibility to explain our results. A dissolveddwarf galaxy may have too large a velocity spread to be easily detectedin our sample using our technique. However, dwarf galaxies appear tooften show element-to-iron versus [Fe/H] abundance patterns that are notsimilar to the bulk of the stellar field and cluster halo stars. Weexplore the s-process elements Y and Ba. Eight stars in our sample havesuch elemental abundances already measured and also lie in the criticaldomain with -1.6<=[Fe/H]<=-1.0 and V<=-300 km s-1.The admittedly small samples appears to show a bimodal distribution in[Y/Fe], [Ba/Fe], and [α/Fe], where ``α'' represents anaverage abundance of Mg, Si, Ca, and Ti. This behavior is reminiscent ofthe difference in the abundances found between the globular clusterω Centauri and other globular clusters. It is also intriguing thatthe stars most similar to ω Cen in their chemical abundances showa relatively coherent set of kinematic properties, with a modestvelocity dispersion. The stars less like ω Cen define adynamically hot population. The binary frequency of the stars in ωCen does not appear to be enhanced, but detailed modeling of the radialvelocity data remains to be done.
| 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.
| SB9: The ninth catalogue of spectroscopic binary orbits
The Ninth Catalogue of Spectroscopic Binary Orbits(http://sb9.astro.ulb.ac.be) continues the series of compilations ofspectroscopic orbits carried out over the past 35 years by Batten andcollaborators. As of 2004 May 1st, the new Catalogue holds orbits for2386 systems. Some essential differences between this catalogue and itspredecessors are outlined and three straightforward applications arepresented: (1) completeness assessment: period distribution of SB1s andSB2s; (2) shortest periods across the H-R diagram; (3)period-eccentricity relation.
| A CCD imaging search for wide metal-poor binaries
We explored the regions within a radius of 25 arcsec around 473 nearby,low-metallicity G- to M-type stars using (VR)I optical filters andsmall-aperture telescopes. About 10% of the sample was searched up toangular separations of 90 arcsec. We applied photometric and astrometrictechniques to detect true physical companions to the targets. The greatmajority of the sample stars was drawn from the Carney-Latham surveys;their metallicities range from roughly solar to [Fe/H] = -3.5 dex. OurI-band photometric survey detected objects that are between 0 and 5 magfainter (completeness) than the target stars; the maximum dynamicalrange of our exploration is 9 mag. We also investigated the literature,and inspected images from the Digitized Sky Surveys to complete oursearch. By combining photometric and proper motion measurements, weretrieved 29 previously known companions, and identified 13 new propermotion companions. Near-infrared 2MASS photometry is provided for thegreat majority of them. Low-resolution optical spectroscopy (386-1000nm) was obtained for eight of the new companion stars. Thesespectroscopic data confirm them as cool, late-type, metal-depleteddwarfs, with spectral classes from esdK7 to sdM3. After comparison withlow-metallicity evolutionary models, we estimate the masses of theproper motion companion stars to be in the range 0.5-0.1Mȯ. They are moving around their primary stars atprojected separations between 32 and 57 000 AU. These orbitalsizes are very similar to those of solar-metallicity stars of the samespectral types. Our results indicate that about 15% of the metal-poorstars have stellar companions in wide orbits, which is in agreement withthe binary fraction observed among main sequence G- to M-type stars andT Tauri stars.Based on observations made with the IAC80 telescope operated on theisland of Tenerife by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias inthe Spanish Observatorio del Teide; also based on observations made withthe 2.2 m telescope of the German-Spanish Calar Alto Observatory(Almería, Spain), the William Herschel Telescope (WHT) operatedon the island of La Palma by the Isaac Newton Group in the SpanishObservatorio del Roque de los Muchachos (ORM) of the Instituto deAstrofísica de Canarias; and the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo(TNG) at the ORM.The complete Table 1 is only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/419/167
| The Geneva-Copenhagen survey of the Solar neighbourhood. Ages, metallicities, and kinematic properties of 14 000 F and G dwarfs
We present and discuss new determinations of metallicity, rotation, age,kinematics, and Galactic orbits for a complete, magnitude-limited, andkinematically unbiased sample of 16 682 nearby F and G dwarf stars. Our63 000 new, accurate radial-velocity observations for nearly 13 500stars allow identification of most of the binary stars in the sampleand, together with published uvbyβ photometry, Hipparcosparallaxes, Tycho-2 proper motions, and a few earlier radial velocities,complete the kinematic information for 14 139 stars. These high-qualityvelocity data are supplemented by effective temperatures andmetallicities newly derived from recent and/or revised calibrations. Theremaining stars either lack Hipparcos data or have fast rotation. Amajor effort has been devoted to the determination of new isochrone agesfor all stars for which this is possible. Particular attention has beengiven to a realistic treatment of statistical biases and errorestimates, as standard techniques tend to underestimate these effectsand introduce spurious features in the age distributions. Our ages agreewell with those by Edvardsson et al. (\cite{edv93}), despite severalastrophysical and computational improvements since then. We demonstrate,however, how strong observational and theoretical biases cause thedistribution of the observed ages to be very different from that of thetrue age distribution of the sample. Among the many basic relations ofthe Galactic disk that can be reinvestigated from the data presentedhere, we revisit the metallicity distribution of the G dwarfs and theage-metallicity, age-velocity, and metallicity-velocity relations of theSolar neighbourhood. Our first results confirm the lack of metal-poor Gdwarfs relative to closed-box model predictions (the ``G dwarfproblem''), the existence of radial metallicity gradients in the disk,the small change in mean metallicity of the thin disk since itsformation and the substantial scatter in metallicity at all ages, andthe continuing kinematic heating of the thin disk with an efficiencyconsistent with that expected for a combination of spiral arms and giantmolecular clouds. Distinct features in the distribution of the Vcomponent of the space motion are extended in age and metallicity,corresponding to the effects of stochastic spiral waves rather thanclassical moving groups, and may complicate the identification ofthick-disk stars from kinematic criteria. More advanced analyses of thisrich material will require careful simulations of the selection criteriafor the sample and the distribution of observational errors.Based on observations made with the Danish 1.5-m telescope at ESO, LaSilla, Chile, and with the Swiss 1-m telescope at Observatoire deHaute-Provence, France.Complete Tables 1 and 2 are only available in electronic form at the CDSvia anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/418/989
| 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.
| Rotation in Globular Cluster stars. Turn-off and subgiant stars in NGC 104, NGC 6397 and NGC 6752
We present a derivation of upper limits to the rotation of Main Sequencestars in three globular clusters using spectra obtained during timeallocated to the ESO Large Programs 165-L0263 and 167.D-0173, with UVESat VLT2 (Kueyen). The stars analyzed in this work do not show anyevidence of high values of rotational velocities as far as the outerlayers are concerned, in particular robust estimates for the upperlimits of the values of the mean projected rotational velocities areplaced, about /line{vrot sin i} = 3.5+/- 0.2 kms-1 and about /line{vrot sin i}=4.7+/-0.2 kms-1 for, respectively, the program turn-off and subgiantstars. On the basis of statistical considerations, assuming thatinclination of the rotational axis i is randomly oriented, and that allstars within the same group rotate at the same rate, we obtain estimatesfor the values of the true rotational velocities. These values are upperlimits to the true rotational velocities if there is some star-to-starscatter in rotational or macro-turbulent velocities. The mean values ofthese upper limits for vrot for the stars of the samespectral type averaged over the three clusters are found to berespectively, /line{v}rot<=3.5+/-0.4 km s-1 and/line{v}rot<=2.6+/-1.1 km s-1. Thus, theexplanation for the large rotational velocities found for the HorizontalBranch stars must be looked for either in the rotation of the core notdetectable in the outer layers (Sills & Pinsennault \cite{sill}) orin the acquisition of angular momentum during their evolution.Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory,Chile.
| IRFM temperature calibrations for the Vilnius, Geneva, RI(C) and DDO photometric systems
We have used the infrared flux method (IRFM) temperatures of a largesample of late type dwarfs given by Alonso et al. (\cite{alonso:irfm})to calibrate empirically the relations Teff=f (colour,[Fe/H]) for the Vilnius, Geneva, RI(C) (Cousins) and DDOphotometric systems. The resulting temperature scale and intrinsiccolour-colour diagrams for these systems are also obtained. From thisscale, the solar colours are derived and compared with those of thesolar twin 18 Sco. Since our work is based on the same Teffand [Fe/H] values used by Alonso et al. (\cite{alonso:escala}) tocalibrate other colours, we now have an homogeneous calibration for alarge set of photometric systems.Based on data from the GCPD.
| 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.
| Spectroscopic Binaries, Velocity Jitter, and Rotation in Field Metal-poor Red Giant and Red Horizontal-Branch Stars
We summarize 2007 radial velocity measurements of 91 metal-poor fieldred giants. Excluding binary systems with orbital solutions, ourcoverage averages 13.7 yr per star, with a maximum of 18.0 yr. We reportfour significant findings. (1) Sixteen stars are found to bespectroscopic binaries, and we present orbital solutions for 14 of them.The spectroscopic binary frequency of the metal-poor red giants, with[Fe/H]<=-1.4, for periods less than 6000 days, is 16%+/-4%, which isnot significantly different from that of comparable-metallicity fielddwarfs, 17%+/-2%. The two CH stars in our program, BD -1°2582 and HD135148, are both spectroscopic binaries. (2) Velocity jitter is presentamong about 40% of the giants with MV<=-1.4. The twobest-observed cases, HD 3008 and BD +22°2411, showpseudoperiodicities of 172 and 186 days, longer than any knownlong-period variable in metal-poor globular clusters. Photometricvariability seen in HD 3008 and three other stars showing velocityjitter hints that starspots are the cause. However, the phasing of thevelocity data with the photometry data from Hipparcos is not consistentwith a simple starspot model for HD 3008. We argue against orbitalmotion effects and radial pulsation, so rotational modulation remainsthe best explanation. The implied rotational velocities for HD 3008 andBD +22°2411, both with MV<=-1.4 and R~50Rsolar, exceed 12 km s-1. (3) Including HD 3008and BD +22°2411, we have found signs of significant excess linebroadening in eight of the 17 red giants with MV<=-1.4,which we interpret as rotation. In three cases, BD +30°2034, CD-37°14010, and HD 218732, the rotation is probably induced by tidallocking between axial rotation and the observed orbital motion with astellar companion. But this cannot explain the other five stars in oursample that display signs of significant rotation. This high frequencyof elevated rotational velocities does not appear to be caused bystellar mass transfer or mergers: there are too few main-sequencebinaries with short enough periods. We also note that the lack of anynoticeable increase in mean rotation at the magnitude level of the redgiant branch luminosity function ``bump'' argues against the rapidrotation's being caused by the transport of internal angular momentum tothe surface. Capture of a planetary-mass companion as a red giantexpands in radius could explain the high rotational velocities. (4) Wealso find significant rotation in at least six of the roughly 15 (40%)red horizontal-branch stars in our survey. It is likely that theenhanced rotation seen among a significant fraction of both blue and redhorizontal-branch stars arose when these stars were luminous red giants.Rapid rotation alone therefore appears insufficient cause to populatethe blue side of the horizontal branch. While the largest projectedrotational velocities seen among field blue and red horizontal-branchstars are consistent with their different sizes, neither are consistentwith the large values we find for the largest red giants. This suggeststhat some form of angular momentum loss (and possibly mass loss) hasbeen at work. Also puzzling is the apparent absence of rotation seen infield RR Lyrae variables. Angular momentum transfer and conservation inevolved metal-poor field stars thus pose many interesting questions forthe evolution of low-mass stars.
| Three-dimensional Spectral Classification of Low-Metallicity Stars Using Artificial Neural Networks
We explore the application of artificial neural networks (ANNs) for theestimation of atmospheric parameters (Teff, logg, and [Fe/H])for Galactic F- and G-type stars. The ANNs are fed withmedium-resolution (Δλ~1-2 Å) non-flux-calibratedspectroscopic observations. From a sample of 279 stars with previoushigh-resolution determinations of metallicity and a set of (external)estimates of temperature and surface gravity, our ANNs are able topredict Teff with an accuracy ofσ(Teff)=135-150 K over the range4250<=Teff<=6500 K, logg with an accuracy ofσ(logg)=0.25-0.30 dex over the range 1.0<=logg<=5.0 dex, and[Fe/H] with an accuracy σ([Fe/H])=0.15-0.20 dex over the range-4.0<=[Fe/H]<=0.3. Such accuracies are competitive with theresults obtained by fine analysis of high-resolution spectra. It isnoteworthy that the ANNs are able to obtain these results withoutconsideration of photometric information for these stars. We have alsoexplored the impact of the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) on the behaviorof ANNs and conclude that, when analyzed with ANNs trained on spectra ofcommensurate S/N, it is possible to extract physical parameter estimatesof similar accuracy with stellar spectra having S/N as low as 13. Takentogether, these results indicate that the ANN approach should be ofprimary importance for use in present and future large-scalespectroscopic surveys.
| Catalogue of [Fe/H] determinations for FGK stars: 2001 edition
The catalogue presented here is a compilation of published atmosphericparameters (Teff, log g, [Fe/H]) obtained from highresolution, high signal-to-noise spectroscopic observations. This newedition has changed compared to the five previous versions. It is nowrestricted to intermediate and low mass stars (F, G and K stars). Itcontains 6354 determinations of (Teff, log g, [Fe/H]) for3356 stars, including 909 stars in 79 stellar systems. The literature iscomplete between January 1980 and December 2000 and includes 378references. The catalogue is made up of two tables, one for field starsand one for stars in galactic associations, open and globular clustersand external galaxies. The catalogue is distributed through the CDSdatabase. Access to the catalogue with cross-identification to othersets of data is also possible with VizieR (Ochsenbein et al.\cite{och00}). The catalogue (Tables 1 and 2) is only available inelectronic form at the 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/373/159 and VizieRhttp://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/.
| Lithium abundances in metal-poor stars. I. New observations
We present the lithium measurements of a continuing programme of lightelement abundances in metal-poor stars. New equivalent widths of the Lii lambda 670.8 nm resonance line in 67 metal-poor stars covering themetallicity range -3.5 <= [Fe/H] <= -0.4 are reported. For abouthalf of this sample, the observations presented here represent the firstmeasurement of the Li i line. The sample allowed a statisticalcomparison with previous measurements from other authors and a study ofthe consistency and reliability of the quoted error bars. This papershows that for most of the stars these error bars are good estimates ofthe true uncertainties associated with the determination of theequivalent widths of the Li i line. However, about 20% of the stars withtwo or more independent measurements show discrepancies in the Li iequivalent widths; in these cases, other sources of uncertainty notproperly taken into account (binarity effects, cosmic rays, imperfectflat-field correction, continuum determination, etc.) could also beimportant. Conclusions on the possible lithium abundance trends versuseffective temperature or metallicity and on any intrinsic scatter shouldbe treated cautiously until their robustness vis-a-vis these additionaluncertainties is proved. Based on observations made with the IsaacNewton and Nordic Optical Telescopes, which are operated on the islandof La Palma by the Isaac Newton Group and the NOT ScientificAssociation, respectively, in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de losMuchachos of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias.
| Estimation of Stellar Metal Abundance. II. A Recalibration of the Ca II K Technique, and the Autocorrelation Function Method
We have recalibrated a method for the estimation of stellar metalabundance, parameterized as [Fe/H], based on medium-resolution (1-2Å) optical spectra (the majority of which cover the wavelengthrange 3700-4500 Å). The equivalent width of the Ca II K line (3933Å) as a function of [Fe/H] and broadband B-V color, as predictedfrom spectrum synthesis and model atmosphere calculations, is comparedwith observations of 551 stars with high-resolution abundances availablefrom the literature (a sevenfold increase in the number of calibrationstars that were previously available). A second method, based on theFourier autocorrelation function technique first described by Ratnatunga& Freeman, is used to provide an independent estimate of [Fe/H], ascalibrated by comparison with 405 standard-star abundances.Metallicities based on a combination of the two techniques for dwarfsand giants in the color range 0.30<=(B-V)_0<=1.2 exhibit anexternal 1 sigma scatter of approximately 0.10-0.20 dex over theabundance range -4.0<=[Fe/H]<=0.5. Particular attention has beengiven to the determination of abundance estimates at the metal-rich endof the calibration, where our previous attempt suffered from aconsiderable zero-point offset. Radial velocities, accurate toapproximately 10 km s^-1, are reported for all 551 calibration stars.
| Ca II H and K Photometry on the UVBY System. III. The Metallicity Calibration for the Red Giants
New photometry on the uvby Ca system is presented for over 300 stars.When combined with previous data, the sample is used to calibrate themetallicity dependence of the hk index for cooler, evolved stars. Themetallicity scale is based upon the standardized merger of spectroscopicabundances from 38 studies since 1983, providing an overlap of 122evolved stars with the photometric catalog. The hk index producesreliable abundances for stars in the [Fe/H] range from -0.8 to -3.4,losing sensitivity among cooler stars due to saturation effects athigher [Fe/H], as expected.
| A catalogue of [Fe/H] determinations: 1996 edition
A fifth Edition of the Catalogue of [Fe/H] determinations is presentedherewith. It contains 5946 determinations for 3247 stars, including 751stars in 84 associations, clusters or galaxies. The literature iscomplete up to December 1995. The 700 bibliographical referencescorrespond to [Fe/H] determinations obtained from high resolutionspectroscopic observations and detailed analyses, most of them carriedout with the help of model-atmospheres. The Catalogue is made up ofthree formatted files: File 1: field stars, File 2: stars in galacticassociations and clusters, and stars in SMC, LMC, M33, File 3: numberedlist of bibliographical references The three files are only available inelectronic form at the Centre de Donnees Stellaires in Strasbourg, viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5), or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| ROSAT all-sky survey observations of PopII field binaries: X-ray activity of old, metal-poor stellar coronae.
This study represents the first X-ray observations of an extended sampleof Pop II field binaries, aimed at investigating the properties of old,metal-poor stellar coronae. Analysing X-ray observations from the ROSATall-sky survey, we detected only 13 (out of 86) Pop II systems (15%detection rate). The X-ray luminosity function, taking into account bothdetections and upper limits, has its median at logL_x_<=28.1erg/s,indicating a low average X-ray luminosity, with a high-luminosity tailat logL_x_~29-31erg/s. The only extreme metal-poor system detected is HD89499. Thus, the detection rate of extreme Pop II systems is lower thanof intermediate Pop II, possibly indicating extreme Pop II to betypically less luminous. The X-ray luminosity is not very wellcorrelated with orbital period; long-period Pop II binaries may havehigh X-ray luminosities and, surprisingly, short-period systems are notper se strong X-ray emitters. For a subsample of emission-line Pop IIbinaries, i.e. the halo component analogs to the RS CVn binaries, themedian X-ray luminosity is at least one order of magnitude lower thanfor the RS CVns. The lower activity levels of the Pop II systems may becaused in part by the presence of fewer evolved stars in the sample andlower metallicity. The extremely old age of Pop II binaries may alsogive rise to the unexpectedly low X-ray luminosities of some systems(e.g., CD-481741, BD+53080).
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Hercule |
| Right ascension: | 18h33m16.85s |
| Declination: | +13°09'25.5" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 10.512 |
| Proper motion RA: | -37.5 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -274.2 |
| B-T magnitude: | 11.43 |
| V-T magnitude: | 10.588 |
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