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Spitzer Observations of the Hyades: Circumstellar Debris Disks at 625 Myr of Age
We use the Spitzer Space Telescope to search for infrared excess at 24,70, and 160 μm due to debris disks around a sample of 45 FGK-typemembers of the Hyades. We supplement our observations with archival 24and 70 μm Spitzer data of an additional 22 FGK-type and 11 A-typeHyades members in order to provide robust statistics on the incidence ofdebris disks at 625 Myr of age, an era corresponding to the late heavybombardment in the solar system. We find that none of the 67 FGK-typestars in our sample show evidence for a debris disk, while 2 out of the11 A-type stars do. This difference in debris disk detection rate islikely to be due to a sensitivity bias in favor of early-type stars. Thefractional disk luminosity, Ldust/L*, of the disksaround the two A-type stars is ~4×10-5, a level that isbelow the sensitivity of our observations toward the FGK-type stars.However, our sensitivity limits for FGK-type stars are able to exclude,at the 2 σ level, frequencies higher than 12% and 5% of disks withLdust/L*>1×10-4 andLdust/L*>5×10-4, respectively.We also use our sensitivity limits and debris disk models to constrainthe maximum mass of dust, as a function of distance from the stars, thatcould remain undetected around our targets.
| Searching for Planets in the Hyades. V. Limits on Planet Detection in the Presence of Stellar Activity
We present the results of a radial velocity survey of a sample of Hyadesstars and discuss the effects of stellar activity on radial velocitymeasurements. The level of radial velocity scatter due to rotationalmodulation of stellar surface features for the Hyades is in agreementwith the 1997 predictions of Saar & Donahue-the maximum radialvelocity rms of up to ~50 m s-1, with an average rms of ~16 ms-1. In this sample of 94 stars we find one new binary, twostars with linear trends indicative of binary companions, and noclose-in giant planets. We discuss the limits on extrasolar planetdetection in the Hyades and the constraints imposed on radial velocitysurveys of young stars.Some of the data presented herein were obtained at the W. M. KeckObservatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among theCalifornia Institute of Technology, the University of California, andthe National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). TheObservatory was made possible by the generous financial support of theW. M. Keck Foundation. The authors wish to recognize and acknowledge thevery significant cultural role and reverence that the summit of MaunaKea has always had within the indigenous Hawaiian community. We are mostfortunate to have the opportunity to conduct observations from thismountain. Additional data were obtained with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope,which is operated by McDonald Observatory on behalf of the University ofTexas at Austin, the Pennsylvania State University, Stanford University,Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, andGeorg-August-Universität Göttingen.
| Searching for Planets in the Hyades. IV. Differential Abundance Analysis of Hyades Dwarfs
We present a differential abundance analysis of Hyades F-K dwarfs insearch for evidence of stellar enrichment from accretedhydrogen-deficient disk material. Metallicities and relative abundanceratios of several species have been determined. We derive a cluster mean[Fe/H]=0.13+/-0.01. Two stars show abundances ~0.2 dex larger than thecluster mean. In addition, one star, which was added by a recent studyas a cluster member, shows significantly lower abundances than thecluster mean. These three stars have questionable membershipcharacteristics. The remaining stars in the survey have an rms of 0.04dex in the differential [Fe/H] values. The Hyades cluster members haveapparently not been significantly chemically enriched. The abundanceratios of Si, Ti, Na, Mg, Ca, and Zn with respect to Fe are in theirsolar proportions.Some data presented herein were obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory,which is operated as a scientific partnership among the CaliforniaInstitute of Technology, the University of California, and the NationalAeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possibleby the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation.
| Searching for Planets in the Hyades. II. Some Implications of Stellar Magnetic Activity
The Hyades constitute a homogeneous sample of stars ideal forinvestigating the dependence of planet formation on the mass of thecentral star. Because of their youth, Hyades members are much morechromospherically active than stars traditionally surveyed for planetsusing high-precision radial velocity techniques. Therefore, we haveconducted a detailed investigation of whether magnetic activity of ourHyades target stars will interfere with our ability to make preciseradial velocity (vrad) searches for substellar companions. Wemeasure chromospheric activity (which we take as a proxy for magneticactivity) by computing the equivalent of the R'HKactivity index (which is corrected for photospheric contributions) fromthe Ca II K line. The value of is notconstant in the Hyades: we confirm that it decreases with increasingtemperature in the F stars and also find it decreases for stars coolerthan mid K. We examine correlations between simultaneously measuredR'HK and radial velocities using both a classicalstatistical test and a Bayesian odds ratio test. We find that there is asignificant correlation between R'HK and theradial velocity in only five of the 82 stars in this sample. Thus,simple R'HK-vrad correlations willgenerally not be effective in correcting the measured vradvalues for the effects of magnetic activity in the Hyades. We argue thatthis implies long-timescale activity variations (of order a few years;i.e., magnetic cycles or growth and decay of plage regions) will notsignificantly hinder our search for planets in the Hyades if the starsare closely monitored for chromospheric activity. The trends in theradial velocity scatter (σ'v) with, vsini, and Prot for ourstars is generally consistent with those found in field stars in theLick planet search data, with the notable exception of a shallowerdependence of σ'v on for F stars. Data presented hereinwere obtained at the W.M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as ascientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, theUniversity of California, and the National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration. The Observatory was made possible by the generousfinancial support of the W.M. Keck Foundation.
| 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
| A Hipparcos study of the Hyades open cluster. Improved colour-absolute magnitude and Hertzsprung-Russell diagrams
Hipparcos parallaxes fix distances to individual stars in the Hyadescluster with an accuracy of ~ 6 percent. We use the Hipparcos propermotions, which have a larger relative precision than the trigonometricparallaxes, to derive ~ 3 times more precise distance estimates, byassuming that all members share the same space motion. An investigationof the available kinematic data confirms that the Hyades velocity fielddoes not contain significant structure in the form of rotation and/orshear, but is fully consistent with a common space motion plus a(one-dimensional) internal velocity dispersion of ~ 0.30 kms-1. The improved parallaxes as a set are statisticallyconsistent with the Hipparcos parallaxes. The maximum expectedsystematic error in the proper motion-based parallaxes for stars in theouter regions of the cluster (i.e., beyond ~ 2 tidal radii ~ 20 pc) isla 0.30 mas. The new parallaxes confirm that the Hipparcos measurementsare correlated on small angular scales, consistent with the limitsspecified in the Hipparcos Catalogue, though with significantly smaller``amplitudes'' than claimed by Narayanan & Gould. We use the Tycho-2long time-baseline astrometric catalogue to derive a set of independentproper motion-based parallaxes for the Hipparcos members. The newparallaxes provide a uniquely sharp view of the three-dimensionalstructure of the Hyades. The colour-absolute magnitude diagram of thecluster based on the new parallaxes shows a well-defined main sequencewith two ``gaps''/``turn-offs''. These features provide the first directobservational support of Böhm-Vitense's prediction that (the onsetof) surface convection in stars significantly affects their (B-V)colours. We present and discuss the theoretical Hertzsprung-Russelldiagram (log L versus log T_eff) for an objectively defined set of 88high-fidelity members of the cluster as well as the delta Scuti startheta 2 Tau, the giants delta 1, theta1, epsilon , and gamma Tau, and the white dwarfs V471 Tau andHD 27483 (all of which are also members). The precision with which thenew parallaxes place individual Hyades in the Hertzsprung-Russelldiagram is limited by (systematic) uncertainties related to thetransformations from observed colours and absolute magnitudes toeffective temperatures and luminosities. The new parallaxes providestringent constraints on the calibration of such transformations whencombined with detailed theoretical stellar evolutionary modelling,tailored to the chemical composition and age of the Hyades, over thelarge stellar mass range of the cluster probed by Hipparcos.
| The Hyades: distance, structure, dynamics, and age
{We use absolute trigonometric parallaxes from the Hipparcos Catalogueto determine individual distances to members of the Hyades cluster, fromwhich the 3-dimensional structure of the cluster can be derived.Inertially-referenced proper motions are used to rediscuss distancedeterminations based on convergent-point analyses. A combination ofparallaxes and proper motions from Hipparcos, and radial velocities fromground-based observations, are used to determine the position andvelocity components of candidate members with respect to the clustercentre, providing new information on cluster membership: 13 newcandidate members within 20 pc of the cluster centre have beenidentified. Farther from the cluster centre there is a gradual mergingbetween certain cluster members and field stars, both spatially andkinematically. Within the cluster, the kinematical structure is fullyconsistent with parallel space motion of the component stars with aninternal velocity dispersion of about 0.3 km s(-1) . The spatialstructure and mass segregation are consistent with N-body simulationresults, without the need to invoke expansion, contraction, rotation, orother significant perturbations of the cluster. The quality of theindividual distance determinations permits the cluster zero-age mainsequence to be accurately modelled. The helium abundance for the clusteris determined to be Y =3D 0.26+/-0.02 which, combined with isochronemodelling including convective overshooting, yields a cluster age of625+/-50 Myr. The distance to the observed centre of mass (a conceptmeaningful only in the restricted context of the cluster memberscontained in the Hipparcos Catalogue) is 46.34+/-0.27 pc, correspondingto a distance modulus m-M=3D3.33+/-0.01 mag for the objects within 10 pcof the cluster centre (roughly corresponding to the tidal radius). Thisdistance modulus is close to, but significantly better determined than,that derived from recent high-precision radial velocity studies,somewhat larger than that indicated by recent ground-based trigonometricparallax determinations, and smaller than those found from recentstudies of the cluster convergent point. These discrepancies areinvestigated and explained. } Based on observations made with the ESAHipparcos astrometry satellite. Table~2 is also available in electronicform at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5)or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Bélier |
| Right ascension: | 02h55m16.28s |
| Declination: | +17°53'30.1" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 8.812 |
| Distance: | 52.938 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | 117.1 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -14 |
| B-T magnitude: | 9.691 |
| V-T magnitude: | 8.885 |
Catalogs and designations:
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INHABITED SKY
