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Constraints on Long-period Planets from an L'- and M-band Survey of Nearby Sun-like Stars: Modeling Results
We have carried out an L'- and M-band adaptive optics (AO) extrasolarplanet imaging survey of 54 nearby, Sun-like stars using the Clio cameraat the MMT. Our survey concentrates more strongly than all others todate on very nearby F, G, and K stars, in that we have prioritizedproximity higher than youth. Our survey is also the first to includeextensive observations in the M band, which supplemented the primary L'observations. These longer-wavelength bands are most useful for verynearby systems in which low-temperature planets with red IR colors(i.e., H - L', H - M) could be detected. The survey detectedno planets, but set interesting limits on planets and brown dwarfs inthe star systems we investigated. We have interpreted our null result bymeans of extensive Monte Carlo simulations and constrained thedistributions of extrasolar planets in mass M and semimajor axis a. Ifplanets are distributed according to a power law with dN vprop M? a ? dMda, normalized to be consistentwith radial velocity (RV) statistics, we find that a distribution with? = -1.1 and ? = -0.46, truncated at 110 AU, isruled out at the 90% confidence level. These particular values of? and ? are significant because they represent the mostplanet-rich case consistent with current statistics from RVobservations. With 90% confidence no more than 8.1% of stars like thosein our survey have systems with three widely spaced, massive planetslike the A star HR 8799. Our observations show that giant planets inlong-period orbits around Sun-like stars are rare, confirming theresults of shorter-wavelength surveys and increasing the robustness ofthe conclusion.Observations reported here were obtained at the MMT Observatory, a jointfacility of the University of Arizona and the Smithsonian Institution.
| Constraints on Long-period Planets from an L'- and M-band Survey of Nearby Sun-like Stars: Observations
We present the observational results of an L'- and M-band adaptiveoptics imaging survey of 54 nearby, Sun-like stars for extrasolarplanets, carried out using the Clio camera on the MMT. We haveconcentrated more strongly than all other planet-imaging surveys to dateon very nearby F, G, and K stars, prioritizing stellar proximity higherthan youth. Ours is also the first survey to include extensiveobservations in the M band, which supplement the primary L'observations. Models predict much better planet/star flux ratios at theL' and M bands than at more commonly used shorter wavelengths (i.e., theH band). We have carried out extensive blind simulations with fakeplanets inserted into the raw data to verify our sensitivity, and toestablish a definitive relationship between source significance in? and survey completeness. We find 97% confident-detectioncompleteness for 10? sources, but only 46% for 7?sources—raising concerns about the standard procedure of assuminghigh completeness at 5?, and demonstrating that blind sensitivitytests to establish the significance-completeness relation are animportant analysis step for all planet-imaging surveys. We discovered apreviously unknown ~0.15 M sun stellar companion to the F9star GJ 3876, at a projected separation of about 80 AU. Twelveadditional candidate faint companions are detected around other stars.Of these, 11 are confirmed to be background stars and one is apreviously known brown dwarf. We obtained sensitivity to planetary-massobjects around almost all of our target stars, with sensitivity toobjects below 3 M Jup in the best cases. Constraints onplanet populations based on this null result are presented in ourModeling Results paper.Observations reported here were obtained at the MMT Observatory, a jointfacility of the University of Arizona and the Smithsonian Institution.
| 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
| Ca II HK emission in rapidly rotating stars. Evidence for an onset of the solar-type dynamo
We present measurements of chromospheric Ca ii H&K activity for 481solar-like stars. To determine the activity we used the Mount Wilsonmethod and a newly developed method which allows to also measure Ca iiH&K emission features in very rapidly rotating stars. The newtechnique determines the activity by comparing the line shapes fromknown inactive slowly rotating template stars that have beenartificially broadened to spectra of rapid rotators. We have analyzedsolar-like stars ranging from T_eff = 5000 to 7800 K with rotationalvelocities up to 190 km s-1 in our sample of FOCES and FEROSspectra. The effects of the rotational broadening on the two methodshave been quantified. Our method has proven to produce consistentresults where S-Index values are available and offers the possibility tomeasure the chromospheric activity at the onset of the solar-likedynamo.Table 2 is only available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymousftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/493/1099
| Comparative statistics and origin of triple and quadruple stars
The statistics of catalogued quadruple stars consisting of two binaries(hierarchy 2 + 2), is studied in comparison with triple stars, withrespective sample sizes of 81 and 724. Seven representative quadruplesystems are discussed in greater detail. The main conclusions are asfollows. (i) Quadruple systems of ? Lyr type with similar massesand inner periods are common, in 42 per cent of the sample the outermass ratio is above 0.5 and the inner periods differ by less than 10times. (ii) The distributions of the inner periods in triple andquadruple stars are similar and bimodal. The inner mass ratios do notcorrelate with the inner periods. (iii) The statistics of outer periodsand mass ratios in triples and quadruples are different. The medianouter mass ratio in triples is 0.39 independently of the outer period,which has a smooth distribution. In contrast, the outer periods of 25per cent quadruples concentrate in the narrow range from 10 to 100yr,the outer mass ratios of these tight quadruples are above 0.6 and theirtwo inner periods are similar to each other. (iv) The outer and innermass ratios in triple and quadruple stars are not mutually correlated.In 13 per cent of quadruples both inner mass ratios are above 0.85(double twins). (v) The inner and outer orbital angular momenta andperiods in triple and quadruple systems with inner periods above 30dshow some correlation, the ratio of outer-to-inner periods is mostlycomprised between 5 and 104. In the systems with small periodratios the directions of the orbital spins are correlated, while in thesystems with large ratios they are not. The properties of multiple starsdo not correspond to the products of dynamical decay of small clusters,hence the N-body dynamics is not the dominant process of theirformation. On the other hand, rotationally driven (cascade)fragmentation possibly followed by migration of inner and/or outerorbits to shorter periods is a promising scenario to explain the originof triple and quadruple stars.
| Dynamical study of wide pairs of stars based on data from the WDS catalog
Using the method of apparent motion parameters, we have studied therelative motion of the components in 561 pairs of wide ( ρ >2″) and relatively nearby (Hipparcos parallaxes > 0.01″)visual double stars based on data from the WDS catalog. The minimummasses of the double stars have been calculated at given parallaxes. Wehave identified 358 optical pairs. For 11 stellar pairs, we have foundthe minimum mass to exceed the estimate corresponding to their spectraltypes and luminosities. This excess is 5 7 M ȯ for twostars, ADS 7446 and 9701.
| The main sequence from F to K stars of the solar neighbourhood in SDSS colours
For an understanding of Galactic stellar populations in the SDSS filtersystem well defined stellar samples are needed. The nearby stars providea complete stellar sample representative for the thin disc population.We compare the filter transformations of different authors applied tothe main sequence stars from F to K dwarfs to SDSS filter system anddiscuss the properties of the main sequence. The location of the meanmain sequence in colour-magnitude diagrams is very sensitive tosystematic differences in the filter transformation. A comparison withfiducial sequences of star clusters observed in g', r', and i' show goodagreement. Theoretical isochrones from Padua and from Dartmouth havestill some problems, especially in the (r-i) colours.
| The Gemini Deep Planet Survey
We present the results of the Gemini Deep Planet Survey, a near-infraredadaptive optics search for giant planets and brown dwarfs around 85nearby young stars. The observations were obtained with the Altairadaptive optics system at the Gemini North telescope, and angulardifferential imaging was used to suppress the speckle noise of thecentral star. Typically, the observations are sensitive to angularseparations beyond 0.5" with 5 σ contrast sensitivities inmagnitude difference at 1.6 μm of 9.5 at 0.5", 12.9 at 1", 15.0 at2", and 16.5 at 5". These sensitivities are sufficient to detect planetsmore massive than 2 MJ with a projected separation in therange 40-200 AU around a typical target. Second-epoch observations of 48stars with candidates (out of 54) have confirmed that all candidates areunrelated background stars. A detailed statistical analysis of thesurvey results is presented. Assuming a planet mass distributiondn/dm~m-1.2 and a semimajor-axis distributiondn/da~a-1, the 95% credible upper limits on the fraction ofstars with at least one planet of mass 0.5-13 MJ are 0.28 forthe range 10-25 AU, 0.13 for 25-50 AU, and 0.093 for 50-250 AU; thisresult is weakly dependent on the semimajor-axis distribution power-lawindex. The 95% credible interval for the fraction of stars with at leastone brown dwarf companion having a semimajor axis in the range 25-250 AUis 0.019+0.083-0.015, irrespective of anyassumption on the mass and semimajor-axis distributions. Theobservations made as part of this survey have resolved the stars HD14802, HD 166181, and HD 213845 into binaries for the first time.Based on observations obtained at the Gemini Observatory, which isoperated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy,Inc., under a cooperative agreement with the NSF on behalf of the Geminipartnership: the National Science Foundation (United States), theParticle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (United Kingdom), theNational Research Council (Canada), CONICYT (Chile), the AustralianResearch Council (Australia), CNPq (Brazil), and CONICET (Argentina).
| Pulkovo compilation of radial velocities for 35495 stars in a common system.
Not Available
| The 78th Name-List of Variable Stars
We present the next regular Name-List of variable stars containinginformation on 1706 variable stars recently designated in the system ofthe General Catalogue of Variable Stars.
| The Nearest Young Moving Groups
The latest results in the research of forming planetary systems have ledseveral authors to compile a sample of candidates for searching forplanets in the vicinity of the Sun. Young stellar associations areindeed excellent laboratories for this study, but some of them are notclose enough to allow the detection of planets through adaptive opticstechniques. However, the existence of very close young moving groups cansolve this problem. Here we have compiled the members of the nearestyoung moving groups, as well as a list of new candidates from ourcatalog of late-type stars that are possible members of young stellarkinematic groups, studying their membership through spectroscopic andphotometric criteria.
| Differential Radial Velocities and Stellar Parameters of Nearby Young Stars
Radial velocity searches for substellar-mass companions have focusedprimarily on stars older than 1 Gyr. Increased levels of stellaractivity in young stars hinders the detection of solar system analogs,and therefore until recently there has been a prejudice againstinclusion of young stars in radial velocity surveys. Adaptive opticssurveys of young stars have given us insight into the multiplicity ofyoung stars, but only for massive, distant companions. Understanding thelimit of the radial velocity technique, restricted to high-mass,close-orbiting planets and brown dwarfs, we began a survey of youngstars of various ages. While the number of stars needed to carry outfull analysis of the problems of planetary and brown dwarf populationand evolution is large, the beginning of such a sample is included here.We report on 61 young stars ranging in age from the β Pictorisassociation (~12 Myr) to the Ursa Major association (~300 Myr). Thisinitial search resulted in no stars showing evidence of companionslarger than ~1MJup-2MJup in short-period orbits atthe 3 σ level. We also present derived stellar parameters, as mosthave unpublished values. The chemical homogeneity of a cluster, andpresumably of an association, may help to constrain true membership, sowe present [Fe/H] abundances for the stars in our sample.
| How Dry is the Brown Dwarf Desert? Quantifying the Relative Number of Planets, Brown Dwarfs, and Stellar Companions around Nearby Sun-like Stars
Sun-like stars have stellar, brown dwarf, and planetary companions. Tohelp constrain their formation and migration scenarios, we analyze theclose companions (orbital period <5 yr) of nearby Sun-like stars. Byusing the same sample to extract the relative numbers of stellar, browndwarf, and planetary companions, we verify the existence of a very drybrown dwarf desert and describe it quantitatively. With decreasing mass,the companion mass function drops by almost 2 orders of magnitude from 1Msolar stellar companions to the brown dwarf desert and thenrises by more than an order of magnitude from brown dwarfs toJupiter-mass planets. The slopes of the planetary and stellar companionmass functions are of opposite sign and are incompatible at the 3σ level, thus yielding a brown dwarf desert. The minimum number ofcompanions per unit interval in log mass (the driest part of the desert)is at M=31+25-18MJ. Approximately 16%of Sun-like stars have close (P<5 yr) companions more massive thanJupiter: 11%+/-3% are stellar, <1% are brown dwarf, and 5%+/-2% aregiant planets. The steep decline in the number of companions in thebrown dwarf regime, compared to the initial mass function of individualstars and free-floating brown dwarfs, suggests either a differentspectrum of gravitational fragmentation in the formation environment orpost-formation migratory processes disinclined to leave brown dwarfs inclose orbits.
| Identification of a complete sample of northern ROSAT All-Sky Survey X-ray sources. VIII. The late-type stellar component
We present results of an investigation of the X-ray properties, agedistribution, and kinematical characteristics of a high-galacticlatitude sample of late-type field stars selected from the ROSAT All-SkySurvey (RASS). The sample comprises 254 RASS sources with opticalcounterparts of spectral types F to M distributed over six study areaslocated at |b| 20 °, and Dec ≥ -9 °. A detailed studywas carried out for the subsample of ~200 G, K, and M stars. Lithiumabundances were determined for 179 G-M stars. Radial velocities weremeasured for most of the 141 G and K type stars of the sample. Combinedwith proper motions these data were used to study the age distributionand the kinematical properties of the sample. Based on the lithiumabundances half of the G-K stars were found to be younger than theHyades (660 Myr). About 25% are comparable in age to the Pleiades (100Myr). A small subsample of 10 stars is younger than the Pleiades. Theyare therefore most likely pre-main sequence stars. Kinematically the PMSand Pleiades-type stars appear to form a group with space velocitiesclose to the Castor moving group but clearly distinct from the LocalAssociation.Based on observations collected at the German-Spanish AstronomicalCentre, Calar Alto, operated by the Max-Planck-Institut fürAstronomie, Heidelberg, jointly with the Spanish National Commission forAstronomy, and at the European Southern Observatory, La Silla, Chile.Tables A2-A4 are only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org
| 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
| Speckle Observations of Binary Stars with the WIYN Telescope. IV. Differential Photometry
Five hundred seventy-six magnitude difference measures are presented for260 binary stars. These measures are derived from CCD-based speckleobservations taken at the WIYN 3.5 m telescope at Kitt Peak NationalObservatory during the period 1997-2000. Separations of the systemsrange from over 1" down to near the diffraction limit of the telescope.A study of multiple measures of the same targets indicates that themeasures have a typical uncertainty of better than 0.13 mag per 2 minuteobservation, and that multiple observations can be averaged to arrive atsmaller uncertainties. Results presented here are also compared, insofaras it is possible, with measures in the Hipparcos Catalogue and toprevious studies using adaptive optics. No major systematic errors wereidentified.The WIYN Observatory is a joint facility of the University ofWisconsin-Madison, Indiana University, Yale University, and the NationalOptical Astronomy Observatory.
| Nearby stars of the Galactic disk and halo. III.
High-resolution spectroscopic observations of about 150 nearby stars orstar systems are presented and discussed. The study of these and another100 objects of the previous papers of this series implies that theGalaxy became reality 13 or 14 Gyr ago with the implementation of amassive, rotationally-supported population of thick-disk stars. The veryhigh star formation rate in that phase gave rise to a rapid metalenrichment and an expulsion of gas in supernovae-driven Galactic winds,but was followed by a star formation gap for no less than three billionyears at the Sun's galactocentric distance. In a second phase, then, thethin disk - our ``familiar Milky Way'' - came on stage. Nowadays ittraces the bright side of the Galaxy, but it is also embedded in a hugecoffin of dead thick-disk stars that account for a large amount ofbaryonic dark matter. As opposed to this, cold-dark-matter-dominatedcosmologies that suggest a more gradual hierarchical buildup throughmergers of minor structures, though popular, are a poor description forthe Milky Way Galaxy - and by inference many other spirals as well - if,as the sample implies, the fossil records of its long-lived stars do notstick to this paradigm. Apart from this general picture that emergeswith reference to the entire sample stars, a good deal of the presentwork is however also concerned with detailed discussions of manyindividual objects. Among the most interesting we mention the bluestraggler or merger candidates HD 165401 and HD 137763/HD 137778, thelikely accretion of a giant planet or brown dwarf on 59 Vir in itsrecent history, and HD 63433 that proves to be a young solar analog at\tau200 Myr. Likewise, the secondary to HR 4867, formerly suspectednon-single from the Hipparcos astrometry, is directly detectable in thehigh-resolution spectroscopic tracings, whereas the visual binary \chiCet is instead at least triple, and presumably even quadruple. Withrespect to the nearby young stars a complete account of the Ursa MajorAssociation is presented, and we provide as well plain evidence foranother, the ``Hercules-Lyra Association'', the likely existence ofwhich was only realized in recent years. On account of its rotation,chemistry, and age we do confirm that the Sun is very typical among itsG-type neighbors; as to its kinematics, it appears however not unlikelythat the Sun's known low peculiar space velocity could indeed be thecause for the weak paleontological record of mass extinctions and majorimpact events on our parent planet during the most recent Galactic planepassage of the solar system. Although the significance of thiscorrelation certainly remains a matter of debate for years to come, wepoint in this context to the principal importance of the thick disk fora complete census with respect to the local surface and volumedensities. Other important effects that can be ascribed to this darkstellar population comprise (i) the observed plateau in the shape of theluminosity function of the local FGK stars, (ii) a small thoughsystematic effect on the basic solar motion, (iii) a reassessment of theterm ``asymmetrical drift velocity'' for the remainder (i.e. the thindisk) of the stellar objects, (iv) its ability to account for the bulkof the recently discovered high-velocity blue white dwarfs, (v) itsmajor contribution to the Sun's 220 km s-1 rotationalvelocity around the Galactic center, and (vi) the significant flatteningthat it imposes on the Milky Way's rotation curve. Finally we note ahigh multiplicity fraction in the small but volume-complete local sampleof stars of this ancient population. This in turn is highly suggestivefor a star formation scenario wherein the few existing single stellarobjects might only arise from either late mergers or the dynamicalejection of former triple or higher level star systems.
| Contributions to the Nearby Stars (NStars) Project: Spectroscopy of Stars Earlier than M0 within 40 Parsecs: The Northern Sample. I.
We have embarked on a project, under the aegis of the Nearby Stars(NStars)/Space Interferometry Mission Preparatory Science Program, toobtain spectra, spectral types, and, where feasible, basic physicalparameters for the 3600 dwarf and giant stars earlier than M0 within 40pc of the Sun. In this paper, we report on the results of this projectfor the first 664 stars in the northern hemisphere. These resultsinclude precise, homogeneous spectral types, basic physical parameters(including the effective temperature, surface gravity, and overallmetallicity [M/H]), and measures of the chromospheric activity of ourprogram stars. Observed and derived data presented in this paper arealso available on the project's Web site.
| A systematic study of X-ray variability in the ROSAT all-sky survey
We present a systematic search for variability among the ROSAT All-SkySurvey (RASS) X-ray sources. We generated lightcurves for about 30 000X-ray point sources detected sufficiently high above background. For ourvariability study different search algorithms were developed in order torecognize flares, periods and trends, respectively. The variable X-raysources were optically identified with counterparts in the SIMBAD, theUSNO-A2.0 and NED data bases, but a significant part of the X-raysources remains without cataloged optical counterparts. Out of the 1207sources classified as variable 767 (63.5%) were identified with stars,118 (9.8%) are of extragalactic origin, 10 (0.8%) are identified withother sources and 312 (25.8%) could not uniquely be identified withentries in optical catalogs. We give a statistical analysis of thevariable X-ray population and present some outstanding examples of X-rayvariability detected in the ROSAT all-sky survey. Most prominent amongthese sources are white dwarfs, apparently single, yet neverthelessshowing periodic variability. Many flares from hitherto unrecognisedflare stars have been detected as well as long term variability in theBL Lac 1E1757.7+7034.The complete version of Table 7 is only available in electronic form atthe CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/403/247
| Nearby young stars
We present the results of an extensive all-sky survey of nearby stars ofspectral type F8 or later in a systematic search of young (zero-age mainsequence) objects. Our sample has been derived by cross-correlating theROSAT All-Sky Survey and the TYCHO catalogue, yielding a total of 754candidates distributed more or less randomly over the sky. Follow-upspectroscopy of these candidate objects has been performed on 748 ofthem. We have discovered a tight kinematic group of ten stars withextremely high lithium equivalent widths that are presumably youngerthan the Pleiades, but again distributed rather uniformly over the sky.Furthermore, about 43 per cent of our candidates have detectable levelsof lithium, thus indicating that these are relatively young objects withages not significantly above the Pleiades age.Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory,Chile (ESO No. 62.I-0650, 66.D-0159(A), 67.D-0236(A)).
| 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.
| Speckle Observations of Binary Stars with the WIYN Telescope. II. Relative Astrometry Measures during 1998-2000
Five hundred twelve relative astrometry measures are presented for 253double stars, including 53 double stars discovered by Hipparcos. In 15cases, relative astrometry is reported for the first time for newlyconfirmed pairs. In addition, 20 high-quality nondetections ofcompanions are reported for stars suspected of being nonsingle byHipparcos. Observations were taken using a fast-readout CCD camerasystem at the WIYN 3.5 m telescope at Kitt Peak, Arizona. In comparingthese measures with ephemeris predictions for binary stars with verywell known orbits, we find that the measurement precision is better than3 mas in separation and 1° in position angle per individualobservation. Measurement precision and detection capabilities are fullydiscussed, and confirmed orbital motion is reported in four cases of theHipparcos double star discoveries. The WIYN Observatory is a jointfacility of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Indiana University,Yale University, and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory.
| Statistics of spectroscopic sub-systems in visual multiple stars
A large sample of visual multiples of spectral types F5-M has beensurveyed for the presence of spectroscopic sub-systems. Some 4200 radialvelocities of 574 components were measured in 1994-2000 with thecorrelation radial velocity meter. A total of 46 new spectroscopicorbits were computed for this sample. Physical relations are establishedfor most of the visual systems and several optical components areidentified as well. The period distribution of sub-systems has a maximumat periods from 2 to 7 days, likely explained by a combination of tidaldissipation with triple-star dynamics. The fraction of spectroscopicsub-systems among the dwarf components of close visual binaries withknown orbits is similar to that of field dwarfs, from 11% to 18% percomponent. Sub-systems are more frequent among the components of widevisual binaries and among wide tertiary components to the known visualor spectroscopic binaries - 20% and 30%, respectively. In triple systemswith both outer (visual) and inner (spectroscopic) orbits known, we findan anti-correlation between the periods of inner sub-systems and theeccentricities of outer orbits which must be related to dynamicalstability constraints. Tables 1, 2, and 6 are 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/382/118
| The long-period companions of multiple stars tend to have moderate eccentricities
We examined the statistics of an angle gamma between the radius vectorof a visual companion of a multiple star and the vector of its apparentrelative motion in the system. Its distribution f(gamma ) is related tothe orbital eccentricity distribution in the investigated sample. Wefound that for the wide physical subsystems of the 174 objects from theMultiple Star Catalogue f(gamma ) is bell-shaped. The Monte-Carlosimulations have shown that our f(gamma ) corresponds to the populationof the moderate-eccentricity orbits and is not compatible with thelinear distribution f(e)=2e which follows from stellar dynamics andseems to hold for wide binaries. This points to the absence of highlyelongated orbits among the outer subsystems of multiple stars. Theconstraint of dynamical stability of triple systems is not sufficient toexplain the ``rounded-off'' outer orbits; instead, we speculate that itcan result from the angular momentum exchange in multiple systems duringtheir early evolution.
| Late-type members of young stellar kinematic groups - I. Single stars
This is the first paper of a series aimed at studying the properties oflate-type members of young stellar kinematic groups. We concentrate ourstudy on classical young moving groups such as the Local Association(Pleiades moving group, 20-150Myr), IC 2391 supercluster (35Myr), UrsaMajor group (Sirius supercluster, 300Myr), and Hyades supercluster(600Myr), as well as on recently identified groups such as the Castormoving group (200Myr). In this paper we compile a preliminary list ofsingle late-type possible members of some of these young stellarkinematic groups. Stars are selected from previously established membersof stellar kinematic groups based on photometric and kinematicproperties as well as from candidates based on other criteria such astheir level of chromospheric activity, rotation rate and lithiumabundance. Precise measurements of proper motions and parallaxes takenfrom the Hipparcos Catalogue, as well as from the Tycho-2 Catalogue, andpublished radial velocity measurements are used to calculate theGalactic space motions (U, V, W) and to apply Eggen's kinematic criteriain order to determine the membership of the selected stars to thedifferent groups. Additional criteria using age-dating methods forlate-type stars will be applied in forthcoming papers of this series. Afurther study of the list of stars compiled here could lead to a betterunderstanding of the chromospheric activity and their age evolution, aswell as of the star formation history in the solar neighbourhood. Inaddition, these stars are also potential search targets for directimaging detection of substellar companions.
| Kinematics of Hipparcos Visual Binaries. I. Stars with Orbital Solutions
A sample consisting of 570 binary systems is compiled from severalsources of visual binary stars with well-known orbital elements.High-precision trigonometric parallaxes (mean relative error about 5%)and proper motions (mean relative error about 3%) are extracted from theHipparcos Catalogue or from the reprocessed Hipparcos data. However, 13%of the sample stars lack radial velocity measurements. Computed galacticvelocity components and other kinematic parameters are used to dividethe sample stars into kinematic age groups. The majority (89%) of thesample stars, with known radial velocities, are the thin disk stars,9.5% binaries have thick disk kinematics and only 1.4% are halo stars.85% of thin disk binaries are young or medium age stars and almost 15%are old thin disk stars. There is an urgent need to increase the numberof the identified halo binary stars with known orbits and substantiallyimprove the situation with their radial velocity data.
| ICCD Speckle Observations of Binary Stars. XXIII. Measurements during 1982-1997 from Six Telescopes, with 14 New Orbits
We present 2017 observations of 1286 binary stars, observed by means ofspeckle interferometry using six telescopes over a 15 year period from1982 April to 1997 June. These measurements constitute the 23dinstallment in CHARA's speckle program at 2 to 4 m class telescopes andinclude the second major collection of measurements from the MountWilson 100 inch (2.5 m) Hooker Telescope. Orbital elements are alsopresented for 14 systems, seven of which have had no previouslypublished orbital analyses.
| The Vienna-KPNO search for Doppler-imaging candidate stars. I. A catalog of stellar-activity indicators for 1058 late-type Hipparcos stars
We present the results from a spectroscopic Ca ii H&K survey of 1058late-type stars selected from a color-limited subsample of the Hipparcoscatalog. Out of these 1058 stars, 371 stars were found to showsignificant H&K emission, most of them previously unknown; 23% withstrong emission, 36% with moderate emission, and 41% with weak emission.These spectra are used to determine absolute H&K emission-linefluxes, radial velocities, and equivalent widths of theluminosity-sensitive Sr ii line at 4077 Ä. Red-wavelengthspectroscopic and Strömgren y photometric follow-up observations ofthe 371 stars with H&K emission are used to additionally determinethe absolute Hα -core flux, the lithium abundance from the Li i6708 Å equivalent width, the rotational velocity vsin i, theradial velocity, and the light variations and its periodicity. Thelatter is interpreted as the stellar rotation period due to aninhomogeneous surface brightness distribution. 156 stars were found withphotometric periods between 0.29 and 64 days, 11 additional systemsshowed quasi-periodic variations possibly in excess of ~50 days. Further54 stars had variations but no unique period was found, and four starswere essentially constant. Altogether, 170 new variable stars werediscovered. Additionally, we found 17 new SB1 (plus 16 new candidates)and 19 new SB2 systems, as well as one definite and two possible new SB3systems. Finally, we present a list of 21 stars that we think are mostsuitable candidates for a detailed study with the Doppler-imagingtechnique. Tables A1--A3 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/Abstract.html
| The ROSAT Bright Survey: II. Catalogue of all high-galactic latitude RASS sources with PSPC countrate CR > 0.2 s-1
We present a summary of an identification program of the more than 2000X-ray sources detected during the ROSAT All-Sky Survey (Voges et al.1999) at high galactic latitude, |b| > 30degr , with countrate above0.2 s-1. This program, termed the ROSAT Bright Survey RBS, isto more than 99.5% complete. A sub-sample of 931 sources with countrateabove 0.2 s-1 in the hard spectral band between 0.5 and 2.0keV is to 100% identified. The total survey area comprises 20391deg2 at a flux limit of 2.4 x 10-12 ergcm-2 s-1 in the 0.5 - 2.0 keV band. About 1500sources of the complete sample could be identified by correlating theRBS with SIMBAD and the NED. The remaining ~ 500 sources were identifiedby low-resolution optical spectroscopy and CCD imaging utilizingtelescopes at La Silla, Calar Alto, Zelenchukskaya and Mauna Kea. Apartfrom completely untouched sources, catalogued clusters and galaxieswithout published redshift as well as catalogued galaxies with unusualhigh X-ray luminosity were included in the spectroscopic identificationprogram. Details of the observations with an on-line presentation of thefinding charts and the optical spectra will be published separately.Here we summarize our identifications in a table which contains opticaland X-ray information for each source. As a result we present the mostmassive complete sample of X-ray selected AGNs with a total of 669members and a well populated X-ray selected sample of 302 clusters ofgalaxies with redshifts up to 0.70. Three fields studied by us remainwithout optical counterpart (RBS0378, RBS1223, RBS1556). While the firstis a possible X-ray transient, the two latter are isolated neutron starcandidates (Motch et al. 1999, Schwope et al. 1999).
| Classification of EUV stellar sources detected by the ROSAT WFC. I. Photometric and radial velocity studies
We present the results of high-precision UBV(RI)_c photometricobservations and of spectroscopic radial velocity measurements obtainedat the European Southern Observatory for a sample of 51 cool starsdetected in the EUV by the ROSAT Wide Field Camera (WFC). Using alsorecent results from HIPPARCOS, we infer spectral types and investigatethe single or binary nature of the sample stars. Optical variability,with periods in the 0.4-13 day range, has been detected for the firsttime in 15 of these stars. based on data collected at the EuropeanSouthern Observatory, La Silla, Chile.}\fnmsep \thanks{Tables 1--5,Figs. 2-27 and the complete data set are available in electronic form atthe CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html}
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Leo |
| Right ascension: | 11h04m41.47s |
| Declination: | -04°13'15.9" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 7.6 |
| Distance: | 24.649 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | -178.6 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -102.9 |
| B-T magnitude: | 8.581 |
| V-T magnitude: | 7.681 |
Catalogs and designations:
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INHABITED SKY
