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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
| Photometric and Ca II H and K Spectroscopic Variations in Nearby Sun-like Stars with Planets. III.
We present the results of an analysis of time-series photometry, Ca II Hand K spectrophotometry, and high-dispersion visible spectra of ninenearby Sun-like stars recently identified as having planets. For the sixstars whose presumed planets have orbital periods of less than 4 months(τ Boo, 51 Peg, υ And, ρ1 Cnc, ρ CrB, and70 Vir), sine-curve fits to the photometric data show no variations withsemiamplitude greater than 1 or 2 parts in 104. Photometricvariations in 47 UMa are similarly small, although our photometric dataof this star are slightly affected by variability of the comparisonstar. Nonvariability at this level of precision is sufficient to ruleout surface magnetic activity as the cause of the observedradial-velocity variations in these seven stars and makes nonradialpulsations unlikely as well. Thus, our photometry provides indirect butstrong support for true reflex motions-planets-in these seven stars, butcannot yet so support the planetary hypothesis for the two additionalstars, 16 Cyg B and Gl 411. Continued photometric monitoring of theshort-period systems may soon result in the direct detection of theseplanets in reflected light. We have used our photometric fluxes tosearch for possible transits of the extrasolar planets. Transitsdefinitely do not occur in τ Boo, 51 Peg, υ And, andρ1 Cnc, and probably do not occur in ρ CrB and 70Vir. Our transit-search results are inconclusive for 47 UMa, and wecannot address the issue for 16 Cyg B and Gl 411. The precision of ourphotometry is sufficient to detect transits of planets even if they arenot gas giants, as currently assumed, but much smaller objects withrocky compositions. The chance of finding at least one transit in thesix stars is ~40%. We find significant year-to-year photometricvariability only in τ Boo, which is not only the youngest star inthe sample but also the star with the shallowest convective zone. Theinterseasonal range in its yearly mean photometric flux is ~0.002 mag,roughly twice the 0.0008 mag decadal variation in the Sun's totalirradiance. Monitoring of the relative Ca II H and K fluxes beganbetween 1966 and 1968 for 51 Peg, τ Boo, ρ CrB, and Gl 411,between 1990 and 1993 for 47 UMa, 70 Vir, 16 Cyg B, andρ1 Cnc, and in 1996 for υ And. The data have beennewly recalibrated for improved long-term instrumental stability,resulting in better precision of the Ca II records. Five of the ninestars in this study have little or no detectable year-to-year variationin Ca II flux. The remaining four show moderate or pronouncedvariability: τ Boo, whose radial-velocity and photometric variationshave comparatively high amplitudes; Gl 411, whose planetary companionwas inferred astrometrically, not spectroscopically; ρ1Cnc, which may undergo decadal cyclic activity; and υ And, whichshows moderate year-to-year variability. Except for 47 UMa,intraseasonal variability consistent with rotation was detected in theCa II records of all stars. However, the rotation periods determined forυ And, 70 Vir, and 16 Cyg B are of low confidence. Anexamination of the recalibrated Ca II records for 51 Peg finds arotation period of 22 days, in contrast to our previous result of 37days. Ages have been estimated from the mean Ca II flux and, wherepossible, the rotation period. We find general consistency with the agesdetermined by others comparing properties determined fromhigh-resolution spectroscopy to evolutionary models, although theuncertainties are, in general, large. Based on observations made atMount Wilson Observatory, operated by the Mount Wilson Institute, underan agreement with the Carnegie Institution of Washington and theautomatic photoelectric telescope at Fairborn Observatory in thePatagonia Mountains of southern Arizona.
| Radial velocities. Measurements of 2800 B2-F5 stars for HIPPARCOS
Radial velocities have been determined for a sample of 2930 B2-F5 stars,95% observed by the Hipparcos satellite in the north hemisphere and 80%without reliable radial velocity up to now. Observations were obtainedat the Observatoire de Haute Provence with a dispersion of 80Ä,mm(-1) with the aim of studying stellar and galactic dynamics.Radial velocities have been measured by correlation with templates ofthe same spectral class. The mean obtained precision is 3.0 km s(-1)with three observations. A new MK spectral classification is estimatedfor all stars. Based on observations made at the Haute ProvenceObservatory, France and on data from The Hipparcos Catalogue, ESA.Tables 4, 5 and 6 are only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.htm
| The Photometric Variability of Sun-like Stars: Observations and Results, 1984--1995
Using differential Stromgren b, y photometry, we monitored thebrightness variations of 41 program stars and their 73 comparison starsfrom 1984 through 1995. The predominantly main-sequence program starsspanned ranges of temperature and mean chromospheric activity centeredon solar values. About 40% of all the stars showed measurablevariability, typically at levels below 0.01 mag (~1%), on bothnight-to-night and year-to-year timescales. The variability correlatedwith mean chromospheric activity and advancing spectral type. We presentdifferential light curves and statistical descriptions of ourobservations.
| Properties of Sun-like Stars with Planets: rho 1 Cancris, tau Bootis, and upsilon Andromedae
Planets have been reported orbiting the Sun-like stars rho 1 Cnc, tauBoo, and upsilon And based on low-amplitude radial velocity variations.We have derived information on the first two stars from analysis ofspectra, as well as parallel records of high-precision Stromgren b and yphotometry and Ca II H + K fluxes. In the case of rho 1 Cnc, the upperlimit (peak to peak) of nondetection of photometric variability at theorbital period is Delta y ~ 0.0004 mag. The possibility of a planetarytransit cannot be ruled out completely from the photometric data.Variations of the Ca II fluxes suggest a rotational period of ~42 days,in agreement with the inferred v sin i ~ 2 km s-1. The age of rho 1 Cncis ~5 Gyr, based on its average Ca II flux and a relation between Ca IIflux and age. The star tau Boo, unlike the other reported solar-typestars with planets, is relatively young (~2 Gyr). Despite its young age,it is photometrically nonvariable at the orbital period with anamplitude of Delta (b + y)/2 ~ 0.0004 mag (peak to peak); however,small-amplitude interseasonal variability is seen. No planetary transitswere found in the photometry, which limits the inclination of theplanet's orbital plane to Earth's line of sight to less than 83 deg(where 90 deg is coplanar). The Ca II record shows a weakly significantrotational period near 3.3 days, coincident with the orbital period ofthe companion. The Ca II record also shows a period of 116 days that haspersisted for 30 years and is not seen in the photometric record. Thepersistence and timescale of this Ca II variation mean that it has nocounterpart in Sun-like magnetic activity. The amplitude of the reflexvelocity of the parent star (~450 m s-1) is much larger than the radialvelocity perturbations expected from the presence of either surfaceinhomogeneities or line-bisector variations. Thus the anticipatedperturbations from those stellar effects do not refute the inference ofreflex velocities. We have few Ca II flux measurements for upsilon And.Its age and rotational period are estimated to be ~5 Gyr and 12 days,respectively. Our results for rho 1 Cnc and tau Boo are consistent withthe explanation of planets as the cause of the velocity variations.
| Stroemgren photometry of F- and G-type stars brighter than V = 9.6. I. UVBY photometry
Within the framework of a large photometric observing program, designedto investigate the Galaxy's structure and evolution, Hβ photometryis being made for about 9000 stars. As a by-product, supplementary uvbyphotometry has been made. The results are presented in a cataloguecontaining 6924 uvby observations of 6190 stars, all south ofδ=+38deg. The overall internal rms errors of one observation(transformed to the standard system) of a program star in the interval6.5
| Speckle interferometric measurements of binary stars. IV
Speckle interferometric observations of interferometric binaries, closevisual double stars, and nearby stars suspected to be binaries have beenobtained with the 3.6-meter Canada-France-Hawaii telescope. As a part ofthis program, the stars Gl 616.2 and Gl 831 are clearly resolved as abinary for the first time, and Gl 793.1 appears to be marginallyresolved. Gl 747.2 and Gl 866 are confirmed as double stars.
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Bootes |
| Right ascension: | 13h50m06.23s |
| Declination: | +18°37'44.2" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 6.826 |
| Distance: | 84.602 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | -42.8 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -23.6 |
| B-T magnitude: | 7.232 |
| V-T magnitude: | 6.86 |
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INHABITED SKY
