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Bayesian inference of stellar parameters and interstellar extinction using parallaxes and multiband photometry
Astrometric surveys provide the opportunity to measure the absolutemagnitudes of large numbers of stars, but only if the individualline-of-sight extinctions are known. Unfortunately, extinction is highlydegenerate with stellar effective temperature when estimated frombroad-band optical/infrared photometry. To address this problem, Iintroduce a Bayesian method for estimating the intrinsic parameters of astar and its line-of-sight extinction. It uses both photometry andparallaxes in a self-consistent manner in order to provide anon-parametric posterior probability distribution over the parameters.The method makes explicit use of domain knowledge by employing theHertzsprung-Russell Diagram (HRD) to constrain solutions and to ensurethat they respect stellar physics. I first demonstrate this method byusing it to estimate effective temperature and extinction from BVJHKdata for a set of artificially reddened Hipparcos stars, for whichaccurate effective temperatures have been estimated from high-resolutionspectroscopy. Using just the four colours, we see the expected strongdegeneracy (positive correlation) between the temperature andextinction. Introducing the parallax, apparent magnitude and the HRDreduces this degeneracy and improves both the precision (reduces theerror bars) and the accuracy of the parameter estimates, the latter byabout 35 per cent. The resulting accuracy is about 200 K in temperatureand 0.2 mag in extinction. I then apply the method to estimate theseparameters and absolute magnitudes for some 47 000 F, G, K Hipparcosstars which have been cross-matched with Two-Micron All-Sky Survey(2MASS). The method can easily be extended to incorporate the estimationof other parameters, in particular metallicity and surface gravity,making it particularly suitable for the analysis of the 109stars from Gaia.
| Chromospheric Activity and Jitter Measurements for 2630 Stars on the California Planet Search
We present time series measurements of chromospheric activity for morethan 2600 main-sequence and subgiant stars on the California PlanetSearch (CPS) program with spectral types ranging from about F5V to M4Vfor main-sequence stars and from G0IV to about K5IV for subgiants. Thelarge data set of more than 44,000 spectra allows us to identify anempirical baseline floor for chromospheric activity as a function ofcolor and height above the main sequence. We define ?S as anexcess in emission in the Ca II H and K lines above the baselineactivity floor and define radial velocity jitter as a function of?S and B - V for main-sequence and subgiant stars. Although thejitter for any individual star can always exceed the baseline level, wefind that K dwarfs have the lowest level of jitter. The lack ofcorrelation between observed jitter and chromospheric activity in Kdwarfs suggests that the observed jitter is dominated by instrumental oranalysis errors and not astrophysical noise sources. Thus, given thelong-term precision for the CPS program, radial velocities are notcorrelated with astrophysical noise for chromospherically quiet K dwarfstars, making these stars particularly well suited for the highestprecision Doppler surveys. Chromospherically quiet F and G dwarfs andsubgiants exhibit higher baseline levels of astrophysical jitter than Kdwarfs. Despite the fact that the rms in Doppler velocities iscorrelated with the mean chromospheric activity, it is rare to seeone-to-one correlations between the individual time series activity andDoppler measurements, diminishing the prospects for correctingactivity-induced velocity variations in F and G dwarfs.Based on observations obtained at the Keck Observatory and LickObservatory, which are operated by the University of California.
| Towards a new full-sky list of radial velocity standard stars
Aims: The calibration of the Radial Velocity Spectrometer (RVS)onboard the ESA Gaia satellite (to be launched in 2012) requires a listof standard stars with a radial velocity (RV) known with an accuracy ofat least 300 m s-1. The IAU commission 30 lists of RVstandard stars are too bright and not dense enough. Methods: Wedescribe the selection criteria due to the RVS constraints for buildingan adequate full-sky list of at least 1000 RV standards from cataloguesalready published in the literature. Results: A preliminary listof 1420 candidate standard stars is built and its properties are shown.An important re-observation programme has been set up in order to insurewithin it the selection of objects with a good stability until the endof the Gaia mission (around 2018). Conclusions: The present listof candidate standards is available at CDS and usable for many otherprojects.Complete Table 2 is only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/524/A10
| Accurate Coordinates and 2MASS Cross Identifications for (Almost) All Gliese Catalog Star
We provide precise J2000, epoch 2000 coordinates, andcross-identifications to sources in the 2MASS Point Source Catalog fornearly all stars in the Gliese, Gliese-Jahreiss, and Woolley catalogs ofnearby stars. The only Gliese objects where we were not successful aretwo Gliese sources that are actually QSOs; two proposed companions tobrighter stars, which we believe do not exist; four stars included inone of the catalogs but identified there as only optical companions; oneprobable plate flaw; and two stars that simply remain unrecovered. Forthe 4251 recovered stars, 2693 have coordinates based on Hipparcospositions, 1549 have coordinates based on 2MASS data, and 9 havepositions from other astrometric sources. All positions have beencalculated at epoch 2000 using proper motions from the literature, whichare also given here.
| Imaging Young Giant Planets From Ground and Space
High-contrast imaging can find and characterize gas giant planets aroundnearby young stars and the closest M stars, complementing radialvelocity and astrometric searches by exploring orbital separationsinaccessible to indirect methods. Ground-based coronagraphs are alreadyprobing within 25 AU of nearby young stars to find objects as small as .This paper contrasts near-term and future ground-based capabilities withhigh-contrast imaging modes of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).Monte Carlo modeling reveals that JWST can detect planets with masses assmall as across a broad range of orbital separations. We present newcalculations for planet brightness as a function of mass and age forspecific JWST filters and extending to .
| Rotation and Magnetic Activity in a Sample of M-Dwarfs
We have analyzed the rotational broadening and chromospheric activity ina sample of 123 M-dwarfs, using spectra taken at the W.M. KeckObservatory as part of the California Planet Search program. We findthat only seven of these stars are rotating more rapidly than ourdetection threshold of v sin i ? 2.5 km s-1.Rotation appears to be more common in stars later than M3 than in theM0-M2.5 mass range: we estimate that less than 10% of early-M stars aredetectably rotating, whereas roughly a third of those later than M4 showsigns of rotation. These findings lend support to the view thatrotational braking becomes less effective in fully convective stars. Bymeasuring the equivalent widths of the Ca II H and K lines for the starsin our sample, and converting these to approximate L Ca/Lbol measurements, we also provide constraints on theconnection between rotation and magnetic activity. Measurable rotationis a sufficient, but not necessary condition for activity in our sample:all the detectable rotators show strong Ca II emission, but so too do asmall number of non-rotating stars, which we presume may lie at highinclination angles relative to our line of sight. Our data areconsistent with a "saturation-type" rotation-activity relationship, withactivity roughly independent of rotation above a threshold velocity ofless than 6 km s-1. We also find weak evidence for a"gap" in L Ca/L bol between a highly activepopulation of stars, which typically are detected as rotators, andanother much less active group.
| Rotational Velocities for M Dwarfs
We present spectroscopic rotation velocities (v sin i) for 56 M dwarfstars using high-resolution Hobby-Eberly Telescope High ResolutionSpectrograph red spectroscopy. In addition, we have also determinedphotometric effective temperatures, masses, and metallicities ([Fe/H])for some stars observed here and in the literature where we couldacquire accurate parallax measurements and relevant photometry. We haveincreased the number of known v sin i values for mid M stars by around80% and can confirm a weakly increasing rotation velocity withdecreasing effective temperature. Our sample of v sin is peak at lowvelocities (~3 km s-1). We find a change in therotational velocity distribution between early M and late M stars, whichis likely due to the changing field topology between partially and fullyconvective stars. There is also a possible further change in therotational distribution toward the late M dwarfs where dust begins toplay a role in the stellar atmospheres. We also link v sin i to age andshow how it can be used to provide mid-M star age limits. When allliterature velocities for M dwarfs are added to our sample, there are198 with v sin i <= 10 km s-1 and 124 in themid-to-late M star regime (M3.0-M9.5) where measuring precision opticalradial velocities is difficult. In addition, we also search the spectrafor any significant Hα emission or absorption. Forty three percentwere found to exhibit such emission and could represent young, activeobjects with high levels of radial-velocity noise. We acquired twoepochs of spectra for the star GJ1253 spread by almost one month and theHα profile changed from showing no clear signs of emission, toexhibiting a clear emission peak. Four stars in our sample appear to below-mass binaries (GJ1080, GJ3129, Gl802, and LHS3080), with both GJ3129and Gl802 exhibiting double Hα emission features. The tablespresented here will aid any future M star planet search target selectionto extract stars with low v sin i.Based on observations obtained with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope, which isa joint project of the University of Texas at Austin, the PennsylvaniaState University, Stanford University,Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, andGeorg-August-Universität Göttingen.
| XID II: Statistical Cross-Association of ROSAT Bright Source Catalog X-ray Sources with 2MASS Point Source Catalog Near-Infrared Sources
The 18,806 ROSAT All Sky Survey Bright Source Catalog (RASS/BSC) X-raysources are quantitatively cross-associated with near-infrared (NIR)sources from the Two Micron All Sky Survey Point Source Catalog(2MASS/PSC). An association catalog is presented, listing the mostlikely counterpart for each RASS/BSC source, the probability Pid that the NIR source and X-ray source are uniquelyassociated, and the probability P no-id that none of the2MASS/PSC sources are associated with the X-ray source. The catalogincludes 3853 high quality (P id>0.98) X-ray-NIR matches,2280 medium quality (0.98 >= P id>0.9) matches, and4153 low quality (0.9 >= P id>0.5) matches. Of the highquality matches, 1418 are associations that are not listed in the SIMBADdatabase, and for which no high quality match with a USNO-A2 opticalsource was presented for the RASS/BSC source in previous work. Thepresent work offers a significant number of new associations withRASS/BSC objects that will require optical/NIR spectroscopy forclassification. For example, of the 6133 P id>0.92MASS/PSC counterparts presented in the association catalog, 2411 haveno classification listed in the SIMBAD database. These 2MASS/PSC sourceswill likely include scientifically useful examples of known sourceclasses of X-ray emitters (white dwarfs, coronally active stars, activegalactic nuclei), but may also contain previously unknown sourceclasses. It is determined that all coronally active stars in theRASS/BSC should have a counterpart in the 2MASS/PSC, and that the uniqueassociation of these RASS/BSC sources with their NIR counterparts thusis confusion limited.
| Tracers of Chromospheric Structure. I. Observations of Ca II K and Hα in M Dwarfs
We report on our observing program4This paper is based onobservations obtained with the Apache Point Observatory 3.5 m telescope,which is owned and operated by the Astrophysical Research Consortium.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 and theNational Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was madepossible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation.to capture simultaneous spectra of Ca II and Balmer lines in a sample ofnearby M3 dwarfs. Our goal is to investigate the chromospherictemperature structure required to produce these lines at the observedlevels. We find a strong positive correlation between instantaneousmeasurements of Ca II K and the Balmer lines in active stars, althoughthese lines may not be positively correlated in time-resolvedmeasurements. The relationship between Hα and Ca II K remainsambiguous for weak and intermediate activity stars, with Hαabsorption corresponding to a range of Ca II K emission. A similarrelationship is also observed between Ca II K and the higher-orderBalmer lines. As our sample consists of a single spectral type,correlations between these important chromospheric tracers cannot beascribed to continuum effects, as suggested by other authors. These dataconfirm prior nonsimultaneous observations of the Hα line behaviorwith increasing activity, showing an initial increase in the Hαabsorption with increasing Ca II K emission, prior to Hα fillingin and eventually becoming a pure emission line in the most activestars. We also compare our optical measurements with archival UV andX-ray measurements, finding a positive correlation between thechromospheric and coronal emission for both high and intermediateactivity stars. We compare our results with previous determinations ofthe active fraction of low-mass stars, and discuss them in the contextof surface inhomogeneity. Lastly, we discuss the application of thesedata as empirical constraints on new static models of quiescent M dwarfatmospheres.
| Common Proper Motion Companions to Nearby Stars: Ages and Evolution
A set of 41 nearby stars (closer than 25 pc) is investigated which havevery wide binary and common proper motion (CPM) companions at projectedseparations between 1000 and 200,000 AU. These companions are identifiedby astrometric positions and proper motions from the NOMAD catalog.Based mainly on measures of chromospheric and X-ray activity, ageestimation is obtained for most of 85 identified companions.Color-absolute magnitude diagrams are constructed to test whether CPMcompanions are physically related to the primary nearby stars and havethe same age. Our carefully selected sample includes three remote whitedwarf companions to main-sequence stars and two systems (55 Cnc and GJ777A) of multiple planets and distant stellar companions. Ten new CPMcompanions, including three of extreme separations, are found. Multiplehierarchical systems are abundant; more than 25% of CPM components arespectroscopic or astrometric binaries or multiples themselves. Two newastrometric binaries are discovered among nearby CPM companions, GJ 264and HIP 59000, and preliminary orbital solutions are presented. TheHyades kinematic group (or stream) is presented broadly in the sample,but we find few possible thick-disk objects and no halo stars. Itfollows from our investigation that moderately young (age<~1 Gyr)thin-disk dwarfs are the dominating species in the near CPM systems, ingeneral agreement with the premises of the dynamical survival paradigm.
| The effect of activity on stellar temperatures and radii
Context: Recent analyses of low-mass eclipsing binary stars haveunveiled a significant disagreement between the observations andpredictions of stellar structure models. Results show that theoreticalmodels underestimate the radii and overestimate the effectivetemperatures of low-mass stars but yield luminosities that accord withobservations. A hypothesis based upon the effects of stellar activitywas put forward to explain the discrepancies. Aims: In this paper westudy the existence of the same trend in single active stars and providea consistent scenario to explain systematic differences between activeand inactive stars in the H-R diagram reported earlier. Methods: Theanalysis is done using single field stars of spectral types late-K and Mand computing their bolometric magnitudes and temperatures throughinfrared colours and spectral indices. The properties of the stars insamples of active and inactive stars are compared statistically toreveal systematic differences. Results: After accounting for a numberof possible bias effects, active stars are shown to be cooler thaninactive stars of similar luminosity therefore implying a larger radiusas well, in proportions that are in excellent agreement with those foundfrom eclipsing binaries. Conclusions: The present results generalisethe existence of strong radius and temperature dependences on stellaractivity to the entire population of low-mass stars, regardless of theirmembership in close binary systems.Tables 1 and 2 are only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/478/507
| New Distant Companions to Known Nearby Stars. II. Faint Companions of Hipparcos Stars and the Frequency of Wide Binary Systems
We perform a search for faint, common proper motion companions ofHipparcos stars using the recently published Lépine-Shara ProperMotion-North catalog of stars with proper motionμ>0.15'' yr-1. Our survey uncovers a totalof 521 systems with angular separations3''<Δθ<1500'', with 15 triplesand 1 quadruple. Our new list of wide systems with Hipparcos primariesincludes 130 systems identified here for the first time, including 44 inwhich the secondary star has V>15.0. Our census is statisticallycomplete for secondaries with angular separations20''<Δθ<300'' and apparentmagnitudes V<19.0. Overall, we find that at least 9.5% of nearby(d<100 pc) Hipparcos stars have distant stellar companions withprojected orbital separations s>1000 AU. We observe that thedistribution in orbital separations is consistent with Öpik's law,f(s)ds~s-1ds, only up to a separation s~4000 AU, beyond whichit follows a more steeply decreasing power law f(s)ds~s-ldswith l=1.6+/-0.1. We also find that the luminosity function of thesecondaries is significantly different from that of the single stars'field population, showing a relative deficiency in low-luminosity(8
| Pulkovo compilation of radial velocities for 35495 stars in a common system.
Not Available
| Ca II H and K Chromospheric Emission Lines in Late-K and M Dwarfs
We have measured the profiles of the Ca II H and K chromosphericemission lines in 147 main-sequence stars of spectral type M5-K7 (masses0.30-0.55 Msolar) using multiple high-resolution spectraobtained during 6 years with the HIRES spectrometer on the Keck Itelescope. Remarkably, the average FWHM, equivalent widths, and lineluminosities of Ca II H and K increase by a factor of 3 with increasingstellar mass over this small range of stellar masses. We fit the Ca II Hand K lines with a double-Gaussian model to represent both thechromospheric emission and the non-LTE central absorption. Most of thesample stars display a central absorption that is typically redshiftedby ~0.1 km s-1 relative to the emission. This implies thatthe higher level, lower density chromospheric material has a smalleroutward velocity (or higher inward velocity) by 0.1 km s-1than the lower level material in the chromosphere, but the nature ofthis velocity gradient remains unknown. The FWHM of the Ca II H and Kemission lines increase with stellar luminosity, reminiscent of theWilson-Bappu effect in FGK-type stars. Both the equivalent widths andFWHM exhibit modest temporal variability in individual stars. At a givenvalue of MV, stars exhibit a spread in both the equivalentwidth and FWHM of Ca II H and K, due both to a spread in fundamentalstellar parameters, including rotation rate, age, and possiblymetallicity, and to the spread in stellar mass at a given MV.The K line is consistently wider than the H line, as expected, and itscentral absorption is more redshifted, indicating that the H and K linesform at slightly different heights in the chromosphere where thevelocities are slightly different. The equivalent width of Hαcorrelates with Ca II H and K only for stars having Ca II equivalentwidths above ~2 Å, suggesting the existence of a magneticthreshold above which the lower and upper chromospheres become thermallycoupled.Based on observations obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which isoperated jointly by the University of California and the CaliforniaInstitute of Technology. Keck time has been granted by both NASA and theUniversity of California.
| 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.
| High Proper Motion Stars. IV. Radial Velocities of 166 Luyten Half-Second Stars
We present 178 radial velocity measurements for 166 late-type starsselected from the Luyten half-second (LHS) proper motion catalog. Spacevelocities are given for all but two of them. Most of the stars liewithin 25 pc of the Sun, but the list includes a handful ofhigh-velocity transients from the halo population. None of the derivedspace velocities is high enough, however, to provide any constraint onthe escape speed at the solar circle. Twenty-six stars are discussed insomewhat more detail, and evidence is adduced that several of them maybe velocity variables.
| Chromospheric Ca II Emission in Nearby F, G, K, and M Stars
We present chromospheric Ca II H and K activity measurements, rotationperiods, and ages for ~1200 F, G, K, and M type main-sequence stars from~18,000 archival spectra taken at Keck and Lick Observatories as a partof the California and Carnegie Planet Search Project. We have calibratedour chromospheric S-values against the Mount Wilson chromosphericactivity data. From these measurements we have calculated medianactivity levels and derived R'HK, stellar ages,and rotation periods from general parameterizations for 1228 stars,~1000 of which have no previously published S-values. We also presentprecise time series of activity measurements for these stars.Based on observations obtained at Lick Observatory, which is operated bythe University of California, and on observations obtained at the W. M.Keck Observatory, which is operated jointly by the University ofCalifornia and the California Institute of Technology. The KeckObservatory was made possible by the generous financial support of theW. M. Keck Foundation.
| New Hipparcos-based Parallaxes for 424 Faint Stars
We present a catalog of 424 common proper-motion companions to Hipparcosstars with good (>3 σ) parallaxes, thereby effectively providingnew parallaxes for these companions. Compared with typical stars in theHipparcos catalog, these stars are substantially dimmer. The catalogincludes 20 white dwarfs and an additional 29 stars withMV>14, the great majority of the latter being M dwarfs.
| The Hamburg/RASS Catalogue of optical identifications. Northern high-galactic latitude ROSAT Bright Source Catalogue X-ray sources
We present the Hamburg/RASS Catalogue (HRC) of optical identificationsof X-ray sources at high-galactic latitude. The HRC includes all X-raysources from the ROSAT Bright Source Catalogue (RASS-BSC) with galacticlatitude |b| >=30degr and declination delta >=0degr . In thispart of the sky covering ~ 10 000 deg2 the RASS-BSC contains5341 X-ray sources. For the optical identification we used blue Schmidtprism and direct plates taken for the northern hemisphere Hamburg QuasarSurvey (HQS) which are now available in digitized form. The limitingmagnitudes are 18.5 and 20, respectively. For 82% of the selectedRASS-BSC an identification could be given. For the rest either nocounterpart was visible in the error circle or a plausibleidentification was not possible. With ~ 42% AGN represent the largestgroup of X-ray emitters, ~ 31% have a stellar counterpart, whereasgalaxies and cluster of galaxies comprise only ~ 4% and ~ 5%,respectively. In ~ 3% of the RASS-BSC sources no object was visible onour blue direct plates within 40\arcsec around the X-ray sourceposition. The catalogue is used as a source for the selection of(nearly) complete samples of the various classes of X-ray emitters.
| 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.
| Radial Velocities for 889 Late-Type Stars
We report radial velocities for 844 FGKM-type main-sequence and subgiantstars and 45 K giants, most of which had either low-precision velocitymeasurements or none at all. These velocities differ from the standardstars of Udry et al. by 0.035 km s-1 (rms) for the 26 FGKstandard stars in common. The zero point of our velocities differs fromthat of Udry et al.: =+0.053km s-1. Thus, these new velocities agree with the best knownstandard stars both in precision and zero point, to well within 0.1 kms-1. Nonetheless, both these velocities and the standardssuffer from three sources of systematic error, namely, convectiveblueshift, gravitational redshift, and spectral type mismatch of thereference spectrum. These systematic errors are here forced to be zerofor G2 V stars by using the Sun as reference, with Vesta and day sky asproxies. But for spectral types departing from solar, the systematicerrors reach 0.3 km s-1 in the F and K stars and 0.4 kms-1 in M dwarfs. Multiple spectra were obtained for all 889stars during 4 years, and 782 of them exhibit velocity scatter less than0.1 km s-1. These stars may serve as radial velocitystandards if they remain constant in velocity. We found 11 newspectroscopic binaries and report orbital parameters for them. Based onobservations obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operatedjointly by the University of California and the California Institute ofTechnology, and on observations obtained at the Lick Observatory, whichis operated by the University of California.
| Revised Coordinates and Proper Motions of the Stars in the Luyten Half-Second Catalog
We present refined coordinates and proper-motion data for the highproper-motion (HPM) stars in the Luyten Half-Second (LHS) catalog. Thepositional uncertainty in the original Luyten catalog is typicallygreater than 10" and is often greater than 30". We have used the digitalscans of the POSS I and POSS II plates to derive more accurate positionsand proper motions of the objects. Out of the 4470 candidates in the LHScatalog, 4323 objects were manually reidentified in the POSS I and POSSII scans. A small fraction of the stars were not found because of thelack of finder charts and digitized POSS II scans. The uncertainties inthe revised positions are typically ~2" but can be as high as ~8" in afew cases, which is a large improvement over the original data.Cross-correlation with the Tycho-2 and Hipparcos catalogs yielded 819candidates (with mR<~12). For these brighter sources, theposition and proper-motion data were replaced with the more accurateTycho-2/Hipparcos data. In total, we have revised proper-motionmeasurements and coordinates for 4040 stars and revised coordinates for4330 stars. The electronic version of the paper5 contains the updated information on all 4470stars in the LHS catalog.
| The Palomar/MSU Nearby Star Spectroscopic Survey. III. Chromospheric Activity, M Dwarf Ages, and the Local Star Formation History
We present high-resolution echelle spectroscopy of 676 nearby M dwarfs.Our measurements include radial velocities, equivalent widths ofimportant chromospheric emission lines, and rotational velocities forrapidly rotating stars. We identify several distinct groups by theirHα properties and investigate variations in chromospheric activityamong early (M0-M2.5) and mid (M3-M6) dwarfs. Using a volume-limitedsample together with a relationship between age and chromosphericactivity, we show that the rate of star formation in the immediate solarneighborhood has been relatively constant over the last 4 Gyr. Inparticular, our results are inconsistent with recent large bursts ofstar formation. We use the correlation between Hα activity and ageas a function of color to set constraints on the properties of L and Tdwarf secondary components in binary systems. We also identify a numberof interesting stars, including rapid rotators, radial velocityvariables, and spectroscopic binaries. Observations were made at the 60inch telescope at Palomar Mountain, which is jointly owned by theCalifornia Institute of Technology and the Carnegie Institution ofWashington.
| Meeting the Cool Neighbors. I. Nearby Stars in the NLTT Catalogue: Defining the Sample
We are currently undertaking a program aimed at identifying previouslyunrecognized late-type dwarfs within 20 pc of the Sun. As a first step,we have cross-referenced Luyten's NLTT proper-motion catalog against thesecond incremental release of the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS)Point Source Catalog and use optical/infrared colors, derived bycombining Luyten's mr estimates with 2MASS data, to identifycandidate nearby stars. This paper describes the definition of areference sample of 1245 stars and presents a compilation of literaturedata for more than one-third of the sample. Only 274 stars havetrigonometric parallax measurements, but we have used data for nearbystars with well-determined trigonometric parallaxes to computecolor-magnitude relations in the (MV, V-K), (MV,V-I), and (MI, I-J) planes and use those relations todetermine photometric parallaxes for NLTT stars with optical photometry.Based on the 2MASS JHKs data alone, we have identified afurther 42 ultracool dwarfs (J-Ks>0.99) and useJ-Ks colors to estimate photometric parallaxes. Combiningthese various techniques, we identify 308 stars with formal distances ofless than 20 pc, while a further 46 have distance estimates within 1σ of our survey limit. Of these 354 stars, 75, including 39 of theultracool dwarfs, are new to nearby-star catalogs. Two stars with bothoptical and near-infrared photometry are potential additions to theimmediate solar neighborhood, with formal distance estimates of lessthan 10 pc.
| 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.
| A Straight and Narrow Ionized Filament
We report the discovery of an extremely narrow, extremely linear,ionized filament. The filament is ~2.5d long and has an Hα surfacebrightness of ~0.5 R. It is at high galactic latitude, stretching from(l, b)=(140.8d°, 39.0d) to (138.0d, 37.7d). The filament isapproximately Y-shaped. The vertical segment of the Y is ~1.2d long and~20" wide, and the widest separation of the two diagonal segments is~5'. We discuss four possible origins for this feature: (1) an extremelylow density, nearby jet; (2) an unusually linear filament associatedwith some large-scale nearby nebula, perhaps even the Local Bubble; (3)an ionized trail left by mechanical input from a star or compact objectmoving through the interstellar medium (ISM) or (4) an ionized trailleft by photoionization (``Fossil Strömgren Trail'') from a star orcompact object. We favor this last hypothesis, and derive some of thebasic properties for an ionized trail. Regardless of whether this latterhypothesis applies to this specific filament, the basic properties ofsuch a trail, its length, width, and brightness, are interesting,predictable, and should be observable behind some white dwarfs. If thefilament is a photoionized trail, then the source should be closer thana few hundred parsecs, with a measurable proper motion and a luminosityof hydrogen ionizing photons of <~1044 ergss-1. We have searched for such sources in line with thefilament and find one candidate, the X-ray source RX J094247.2+700238.If the M dwarf binary star Gl 360 is the optical counterpart of theX-ray source, as has been thought, then its proper motion eliminates itas a candidate, and we have no other potential candidate to leave atrail. We note the similarity of this structure to long, narrow features(``canals'') observed as depolarizing regions against the Galacticsynchrotron background and find that this emission filament may also bedetectable as a region of Faraday depolarization. We suggest futuretests for ascertaining the origin of this filament and discuss how thisstructure might be useful to constrain the thermal and velocitystructure of the nearby ISM.
| A New Eclipsing Binary in the Field of LHS 2176 and 2178
USNO1575-03003814 is a near contact eclipsing binary star with deepeclipses and an orbital period of 0.3234 days.
| Catalogue and bibliography of the UV Cet-type flare stars and related objects in the solar vicinity
This new catalogue of flare stars includes 463 objects. It containsastrometric, spectral and photometric data as well as information on theinfrared, radio and X-ray properties and general stellar parameters.From the total reference list of about 3400 articles, partial listsselected by objects, authors, key words and by any pairs of thesecriteria can be obtained Tables 1, 2 and 3 are only available inelectronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr(130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html.
| The Second Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer Right Angle Program Catalog
We present the detection of 235 extreme ultraviolet sources, of which169 are new detections, using the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer's (EUVE)Right Angle Program (RAP) data. This catalog includes observations sincethe first EUVE RAP catalog (1994 January) and covers 17% of the sky. TheEUVE RAP uses the all-sky survey telescopes (also known as``scanners''), mounted at right angles to the Deep Survey andspectrometer instruments, to obtain photometric data in four wavelengthbands centered at ~100 Å (Lexan/B), ~200 Å (Al/Ti/C), ~400Å (Ti/Sb/Al), and ~550 Å (Sn/SiO). This allows the RAP toaccumulate data serendipitously during pointed spectroscopicobservations. The long exposure times possible with RAP observationsprovide much greater sensitivity than the all-sky survey. We presentEUVE source count rates and probable source identifications from theavailable catalogs and literature. The source distribution is similar toprevious extreme ultraviolet (EUV) catalogs with 2% early-type stars,45% late-type stars, 8% white dwarfs, 6% extragalactic, 24% with no firmclassification, and 15% with no optical identification. We also present36 detections of early-type stars that are probably the result ofnon-EUV radiation. We have detected stellar flares from approximately 12sources, including: EUVE J0008+208, M4 star G32-6 (EUVE J0016+198), anew source EUVE J0202+105, EUVE J0213+368, RS CVn V711 Tau (EUVEJ0336+005), BY Draconis type variable V837 Tau (EUVE J0336+259), the newK5 binary EUVE J0725-004, EUVE J1147+050, EUVE J1148-374, EUVE J1334-083(EQ Vir), EUVE J1438-432 (WT 486/487), EUVE J1808+297, and the M5.5estar G208-45 (EUVE J1953+444). We present sample light curves for thebrighter sources.
| The ROSAT all-sky survey catalogue of the nearby stars
We present X-ray data for all entries of the Third Catalogue of NearbyStars \cite[(Gliese & Jahreiss 1991)]{gli91} that have been detectedas X-ray sources in the ROSAT all-sky survey. The catalogue contains1252 entries yielding an average detection rate of 32.9 percent. Inaddition to count rates, source detection parameters, hardness ratios,and X-ray fluxes we also list X-ray luminosities derived from Hipparcosparallaxes. Catalogue also available at CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Ursa Major |
| Right ascension: | 09h42m51.72s |
| Declination: | +70°02'21.9" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 11.371 |
| Distance: | 11.535 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | -667.3 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -268.5 |
| B-T magnitude: | 12.985 |
| V-T magnitude: | 11.505 |
Catalogs and designations:
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