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The Puzzle of the Metallic Line Stars
In the puzzle of the metallic line (Am) stars, there still seem to bemissing pieces. While the ``normal'' A stars have elemental abundancesclose to solar, the classical Am stars show stronger absorption linesfor most heavy elements in their spectra. Elements with ionizationpotentials that nearly agree with those of hydrogen or helium havereduced abundances. The Ca II and Sc II lines are especially weak. TheAm stars have no ultraviolet emission lines. They are binaries that,with very few exceptions, have rotational velocities vsini lower than100 km s-1. Of the main-sequence A stars, 20% to 30% are Amstars. Here we rediscuss previous suggestions that tried to explain thepeculiar line strengths in the Am star spectra. In particular, wecompare the well-studied properties of Hyades A and Am stars in order toidentify reasons that can or cannot explain the differences. We findthat accretion of interstellar material by A stars with distortedmagnetic fields, which are weaker than those in peculiar A (Ap) stars,has the best chance of explaining the main characteristics of thepeculiar heavy-element abundances in Am star photospheres.Charge-exchange reactions also seem to be important.
| A Catalog of Temperatures and Red Cousins Photometry for the Hyades
Using Hyades photometry published by Mendoza and other authors,Pinsonneault et al. have recently concluded that Cousins V-I photometrypublished by Taylor & Joner is not on the Cousins system. Extensivetests of the Taylor-Joner photometry and other pertinent results aretherefore performed in this paper. It is found that in part, thePinsonneault et al. conclusion rests on (1) a systematic error inMendoza's (R-I)J photometry and (2) a small error in anapproximate Johnson-to-Cousins transformation published by Bessell. Forthe Taylor-Joner values of (V-R)C, it is found that there arepossible (though not definite) differences of several mmag with otherresults. However, the Taylor-Joner values of (R-I)C data aresupported at the 1 mmag level. Using the (R-I)C data andother published results, an (R-I)C catalog is assembled for146 Hyades stars with spectral types earlier than about K5. For singlestars with multiple contributing data, the rms errors of the catalogentries are less than 4.4 mmag. Temperatures on the Di Benedettoangular-diameter scale are also given in the catalog and are used tohelp update published analyses of high-dispersion values of [Fe/H] forthe Hyades. The best current mean Hyades value of [Fe/H] is found to be+0.103+/-0.008 dex and is essentially unchanged from its previous value.In addition to these numerical results, recommendations are made aboutimproving attitudes and practices that are pertinent to issues likethose raised by Pinsonneault et al.
| CHARM2: An updated Catalog of High Angular Resolution Measurements
We present an update of the Catalog of High Angular ResolutionMeasurements (CHARM, Richichi & Percheron \cite{CHARM}, A&A,386, 492), which includes results available until July 2004. CHARM2 is acompilation of direct measurements by high angular resolution methods,as well as indirect estimates of stellar diameters. Its main goal is toprovide a reference list of sources which can be used for calibrationand verification observations with long-baseline optical and near-IRinterferometers. Single and binary stars are included, as are complexobjects from circumstellar shells to extragalactic sources. The presentupdate provides an increase of almost a factor of two over the previousedition. Additionally, it includes several corrections and improvements,as well as a cross-check with the valuable public release observationsof the ESO Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). A total of 8231entries for 3238 unique sources are now present in CHARM2. Thisrepresents an increase of a factor of 3.4 and 2.0, respectively, overthe contents of the previous version of CHARM.The catalog 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/431/773
| CHORIZOS: A χ2 Code for Parameterized Modeling and Characterization of Photometry and Spectrophotometry
We have developed CHi-square cOde for parameterRized modeling andcharacterIZation of phOtometry and Spectrophotmetry (CHORIZOS). CHORIZOScan use up to two intrinsic free parameters (e.g., temperature andgravity for stars, type and redshift for galaxies, or age andmetallicity for stellar clusters) and two extrinsic parameters (amountand type of extinction). The code uses χ2 minimization tofind all models compatible with the observed data in the modelN-dimensional (N=1, 2, 3, 4) parameter space. CHORIZOS can use eithercorrelated or uncorrelated colors as input and is specially designed toidentify possible parameter degeneracies and multiple solutions. Thecode is written in IDL and is available to the astronomical community.Here we present the techniques used, test the code, apply it to a fewwell-known astronomical problems, and suggest possible applications. Asa first scientific result from CHORIZOS, we confirm from photometry theneed for a revised temperature-spectral type scale for OB starspreviously derived from spectroscopy.
| The Distances to Open Clusters as Derived from Main-Sequence Fitting. II. Construction of Empirically Calibrated Isochrones
We continue our series of papers on open cluster distances by comparingmulticolor photometry of single stars in the Hyades with theoreticalisochrones constructed with various color-temperature relations. Afterverifying that the isochrone effective temperatures agree well withspectroscopically determined values, we argue that mismatches betweenthe photometry and the theoretical colors likely arise from systematicerrors in the color-temperature relations. We then describe a method forempirically correcting the isochrones to match the photometry anddiscuss the dependence of the isochrone luminosity on metallicity.This publication makes use of data products from the Two Micron All SkySurvey, which is a joint project of the University of Massachusetts andthe Infrared Processing and Analysis Center/California Institute ofTechnology, funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administrationand the National Science Foundation.
| Automated analysis of stellar spectra
Classical model-atmosphere analyses of stellar spectra usually begin bymeasuring equivalent widths, and then proceed into a loop in which 1)model spectra are calculated for a set of abundances and atmosphericparameters, and 2) observed and computed spectra are compared andcorrections to the abundances and parameters are inferred. Automatedtechniques have been developed to automate the measurement of equivalentwidths, and some or all parts in the analysis loop. However, in order totackle the massive datasets provided by the new spectroscopic surveyswith dedicated telescopes, it is necessary to make some radical changes.It is argued that future analyses of stellar spectra should abandon theuse of equivalent widths, and rely on tables of synthetic spectra thatcan be either interpolated extremely fast in minimum-distanceoptimization methods or used for training genetic algorithms. Examplesof ongoing projects involving high-dispersion stellar spectra for asmall sample and low-dispersion spectra for a sample of tens ofthousands of stars are described.
| Empirically Constrained Color-Temperature Relations. II. uvby
A new grid of theoretical color indices for the Strömgren uvbyphotometric system has been derived from MARCS model atmospheres and SSGsynthetic spectra for cool dwarf and giant stars having-3.0<=[Fe/H]<=+0.5 and 3000<=Teff<=8000 K. Atwarmer temperatures (i.e., 8000-2.0. To overcome thisproblem, the theoretical indices at intermediate and high metallicitieshave been corrected using a set of color calibrations based on fieldstars having well-determined distances from Hipparcos, accurateTeff estimates from the infrared flux method, andspectroscopic [Fe/H] values. In contrast with Paper I, star clustersplayed only a minor role in this analysis in that they provided asupplementary constraint on the color corrections for cool dwarf starswith Teff<=5500 K. They were mainly used to test thecolor-Teff relations and, encouragingly, isochrones thatemploy the transformations derived in this study are able to reproducethe observed CMDs (involving u-v, v-b, and b-y colors) for a number ofopen and globular clusters (including M67, the Hyades, and 47 Tuc)rather well. Moreover, our interpretations of such data are verysimilar, if not identical, with those given in Paper I from aconsideration of BV(RI)C observations for the sameclusters-which provides a compelling argument in support of thecolor-Teff relations that are reported in both studies. Inthe present investigation, we have also analyzed the observedStrömgren photometry for the classic Population II subdwarfs,compared our ``final'' (b-y)-Teff relationship with thosederived empirically in a number of recent studies and examined in somedetail the dependence of the m1 index on [Fe/H].Based, in part, on observations made with the Nordic Optical Telescope,operated jointly on the island of La Palma by Denmark, Finland, Iceland,Norway, and Sweden, in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de losMuchachos of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias.Based, in part, on observations obtained with the Danish 1.54 mtelescope at the European Southern Observatory, La Silla, Chile.
| 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
| Statistical cataloging of archival data for luminosity class IV-V stars. II. The epoch 2001 [Fe/H] catalog
This paper describes the derivation of an updated statistical catalog ofmetallicities. The stars for which those metallicities apply are ofspectral types F, G, and K, and are on or near the main sequence. Theinput data for the catalog are values of [Fe/H] published before 2002February and derived from lines of weak and moderate strength. Theanalyses used to derive the data have been based on one-dimensional LTEmodel atmospheres. Initial adjustments which are applied to the datainclude corrections to a uniform temperature scale which is given in acompanion paper (see Taylor \cite{t02}). After correction, the data aresubjected to a statistical analysis. For each of 941 stars considered,the results of that analysis include a mean value of [Fe/H], an rmserror, an associated number of degrees of freedom, and one or moreidentification numbers for source papers. The catalog of these resultssupersedes an earlier version given by Taylor (\cite{t94b}).Catalog is only available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymousftp cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/398/731
| Statistical cataloging of archival data for luminosity class IV-V stars. I. The epoch 2001 temperature catalog
This paper is one of a pair in which temperatures and metallicitycatalogs for class IV-V stars are considered. The temperature catalogdescribed here is derived from a calibration based on stellar angulardiameters. If published calibrations of this kind are compared by usingcolor-index transformations, temperature-dependent differences among thecalibrations are commonly found. However, such differences are minimizedif attention is restricted to calibrations based on Johnson V-K. Acalibration of this sort from Di Benedetto (\cite{dib98}) is thereforetested and adopted. That calibration is then applied to spectroscopicand photometric data, with the latter predominating. Cousins R-Iphotometry receives special attention because of its high precision andlow metallicity sensitivity. Testing of temperatures derived from thecalibration suggests that their accuracy and precision are satisfactory,though further testing will be warranted as new results appear. Thesetemperatures appear in the catalog as values of theta equiv5040/T(effective). Most of these entries are accompanied by measured orderived values of Cousins R-I. Entries are given for 951 stars.Catalog 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/398/721
| What Is Happening at Spectral Type F5 in Hyades F Stars?
Aiming at a better understanding of the mechanisms heating thechromospheres, transition regions, and coronae of cool stars, we studyultraviolet, low-resolution Hubble Space Telescope/Space TelescopeImaging Spectrograph spectra of Hyades main-sequence F stars. We studythe B-V dependence(s) of the chromospheric and transition layer emissionline fluxes and their dependences on rotational velocities. We find thatthe transition layer emission line fluxes and also those of strongchromospheric lines decrease steeply between B-V=0.42 and 0.45, i.e., atspectral type F5, for which the rotational velocities also decreasesteeply. The magnitude of the line-flux decrease increases for lines ofions with increasing degree of ionization. This shows that the line-fluxdecrease is not due to a change in the surface filling factor but ratherdue to a change of the relative importance of different heatingmechanisms. For early F stars with B-V<0.42 we find for thetransition layer emission lines increasing fluxes for increasing vsini,indicating magnetohydrodynamic heating. The vsini dependence isstrongest for the high-ionization lines. On the other hand, the lowchromospheric lines show no dependence on vsini, indicating acousticshock heating for these layers. This also contributes to the heating ofthe transition layers. The Mg II and Ca II lines show decreasing fluxesfor increasing vsini, as long as vsini is less than ~40 kms-1. The coronal X-ray emission also decreases for increasingvsini, except for vsini larger than ~100 km s-1. We have atpresent no explanation for this behavior. For late F stars thechromospheric lines show vsini dependences similar to those observed forearly F stars, again indicating acoustic heating for these layers. Wewere unable to determine the vsini dependence of the transition layerlines because of too few single star targets. The decrease of emissionline fluxes at the spectral type F5, with steeply decreasing vsini,indicates, however, a decreasing contribution of magnetohydrodynamicheating for the late F stars. The X-ray emission for the late F starsincreases for increasing vsini, indicating magnetohydrodynamic heatingfor the coronae of the late F stars, different from the early F stars.Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope obtainedat the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by theAssociation of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Incorporated,under NASA contract NAS5-26555.
| CHARM: A Catalog of High Angular Resolution Measurements
The Catalog of High Angular Resolution Measurements (CHARM) includesmost of the measurements obtained by the techniques of lunaroccultations and long-baseline interferometry at visual and infraredwavelengths, which have appeared in the literature or have otherwisebeen made public until mid-2001. A total of 2432 measurements of 1625sources are included, along with extensive auxiliary information. Inparticular, visual and infrared photometry is included for almost allthe sources. This has been partly extracted from currently availablecatalogs, and partly obtained specifically for CHARM. The main aim is toprovide a compilation of sources which could be used as calibrators orfor science verification purposes by the new generation of largeground-based facilities such as the ESO Very Large Interferometer andthe Keck Interferometer. The Catalog is 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/386/492, and from theauthors on CD-Rom.
| Astrometric radial velocities. III. Hipparcos measurements of nearby star clusters and associations
Radial motions of stars in nearby moving clusters are determined fromaccurate proper motions and trigonometric parallaxes, without any use ofspectroscopy. Assuming that cluster members share the same velocityvector (apart from a random dispersion), we apply a maximum-likelihoodmethod on astrometric data from Hipparcos to compute radial and spacevelocities (and their dispersions) in the Ursa Major, Hyades, ComaBerenices, Pleiades, and Praesepe clusters, and for theScorpius-Centaurus, alpha Persei, and ``HIP 98321'' associations. Theradial motion of the Hyades cluster is determined to within 0.4 kms-1 (standard error), and that of its individual stars towithin 0.6 km s-1. For other clusters, Hipparcos data yieldastrometric radial velocities with typical accuracies of a few kms-1. A comparison of these astrometric values withspectroscopic radial velocities in the literature shows a good generalagreement and, in the case of the best-determined Hyades cluster, alsopermits searches for subtle astrophysical differences, such as evidencefor enhanced convective blueshifts of F-dwarf spectra, and decreasedgravitational redshifts in giants. Similar comparisons for the ScorpiusOB2 complex indicate some expansion of its associations, albeit slowerthan expected from their ages. As a by-product from the radial-velocitysolutions, kinematically improved parallaxes for individual stars areobtained, enabling Hertzsprung-Russell diagrams with unprecedentedaccuracy in luminosity. For the Hyades (parallax accuracy 0.3 mas), itsmain sequence resembles a thin line, possibly with wiggles in it.Although this main sequence has underpopulated regions at certaincolours (previously suggested to be ``Böhm-Vitense gaps''), suchare not visible for other clusters, and are probably spurious. Futurespace astrometry missions carry a great potential for absoluteradial-velocity determinations, insensitive to the complexities ofstellar spectra. Based on observations by the ESA Hipparcos satellite.Extended versions of Tables \ref{tab1} and \ref{tab2} are available inelectronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr(130.79.125.8) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/381/446
| Mg II Emission Lines of Hyades F Stars
With the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) we have observed Hyades F stars,using the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS), in order to getmore information about the heating mechanism(s) for the chromospheresand transition layers and their dependence on rotation and age. In thispaper we study the Mg II lines at 2800 Å. We include earlierobservations with the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE)satellite. The Mg II emission lines become observable for B-V>0.3.The emission line fluxes increase steeply until B-V~0.40. For singlestars there is a steep decrease in flux between B-V=0.41 and B-V=0.44,similar to the behavior of the Ca II emission line cores. For larger B-Vthe Mg II emission line fluxes again increase, but much more slowly thanfor the Ca II lines. Generally, the low point of the emission is reachedbetween B-V=0.43 and B-V=0.45, i.e., similar to the Ca II emissioncores. For the Hyades F stars there appears to be a difference betweenthe emissions for single stars and those for binaries. We find that forHyades stars with surface line fluxes larger than 106 ergscm-2 s-1 the emission line fluxes decrease withincreasing vsini. For smaller fluxes they may increase with increasingvsini. We have only three stars that perhaps show this. We study theflux ratios of the Mg II k and h lines at 2795.7 and 2802.5 Å inorder to determine where the lines fall on the curve of growth. For theearliest F stars studied here the ratio is close to 2, as expected foroptically thin lines. Generally, it seems that the optical depths in theline centers are less than 10. There remain problems in understandingthe size of the line widths. We discuss the interpretation of theWilson-Bappu effect. For the Hyades F stars there is a strong dependenceof the line width on the effective temperature. Based on observationswith the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope obtained at the Space TelescopeScience Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universitiesfor Research in Astronomy. Incorporated, under NASA contract NAS5-26555.
| Catalogue of Apparent Diameters and Absolute Radii of Stars (CADARS) - Third edition - Comments and statistics
The Catalogue, available at the Centre de Données Stellaires deStrasbourg, consists of 13 573 records concerning the results obtainedfrom different methods for 7778 stars, reported in the literature. Thefollowing data are listed for each star: identifications, apparentmagnitude, spectral type, apparent diameter in arcsec, absolute radiusin solar units, method of determination, reference, remarks. Commentsand statistics obtained from CADARS are given. The Catalogue isavailable in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcar?J/A+A/367/521
| Research Note Hipparcos photometry: The least variable stars
The data known as the Hipparcos Photometry obtained with the Hipparcossatellite have been investigated to find those stars which are leastvariable. Such stars are excellent candidates to serve as standards forphotometric systems. Their spectral types suggest in which parts of theHR diagrams stars are most constant. In some cases these values stronglyindicate that previous ground based studies claiming photometricvariability are incorrect or that the level of stellar activity haschanged. Table 2 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/367/297
| A Hipparcos study of the Hyades open cluster. Improved colour-absolute magnitude and Hertzsprung-Russell diagrams
Hipparcos parallaxes fix distances to individual stars in the Hyadescluster with an accuracy of ~ 6 percent. We use the Hipparcos propermotions, which have a larger relative precision than the trigonometricparallaxes, to derive ~ 3 times more precise distance estimates, byassuming that all members share the same space motion. An investigationof the available kinematic data confirms that the Hyades velocity fielddoes not contain significant structure in the form of rotation and/orshear, but is fully consistent with a common space motion plus a(one-dimensional) internal velocity dispersion of ~ 0.30 kms-1. The improved parallaxes as a set are statisticallyconsistent with the Hipparcos parallaxes. The maximum expectedsystematic error in the proper motion-based parallaxes for stars in theouter regions of the cluster (i.e., beyond ~ 2 tidal radii ~ 20 pc) isla 0.30 mas. The new parallaxes confirm that the Hipparcos measurementsare correlated on small angular scales, consistent with the limitsspecified in the Hipparcos Catalogue, though with significantly smaller``amplitudes'' than claimed by Narayanan & Gould. We use the Tycho-2long time-baseline astrometric catalogue to derive a set of independentproper motion-based parallaxes for the Hipparcos members. The newparallaxes provide a uniquely sharp view of the three-dimensionalstructure of the Hyades. The colour-absolute magnitude diagram of thecluster based on the new parallaxes shows a well-defined main sequencewith two ``gaps''/``turn-offs''. These features provide the first directobservational support of Böhm-Vitense's prediction that (the onsetof) surface convection in stars significantly affects their (B-V)colours. We present and discuss the theoretical Hertzsprung-Russelldiagram (log L versus log T_eff) for an objectively defined set of 88high-fidelity members of the cluster as well as the delta Scuti startheta 2 Tau, the giants delta 1, theta1, epsilon , and gamma Tau, and the white dwarfs V471 Tau andHD 27483 (all of which are also members). The precision with which thenew parallaxes place individual Hyades in the Hertzsprung-Russelldiagram is limited by (systematic) uncertainties related to thetransformations from observed colours and absolute magnitudes toeffective temperatures and luminosities. The new parallaxes providestringent constraints on the calibration of such transformations whencombined with detailed theoretical stellar evolutionary modelling,tailored to the chemical composition and age of the Hyades, over thelarge stellar mass range of the cluster probed by Hipparcos.
| Paschen Lines and the Reddening of the Radio Galaxy 3C 109
This paper presents spectrophotometric observations from 0.8 to 2.5μm of the broad emission line radio galaxy 3C 109. Three Paschenlines plus Hα are measured and combined with a published value forHβ to estimate the reddening for the continuum source and theregion producing the broad emission lines. A key factor in thisdetermination is the foreground reddening due to the Galaxy. The recentCOBE/IRAS maps of Schlegel, Finkbeiner, & Davis indicate a Galacticextinction of E(B-V)=0.57, more than twice the value inferred from the HI measurements. If the former value is adopted, the in situ reddening isE(B-V)=0.77. This value implies, per the analysis of Goodrich &Cohen, that 3C 109 is an object of extremes, displaying a dereddenedUV-optical continuum that is extraordinarily blue (f_nu~nu^1.5) andharboring dust grains that are more efficient polarizers than any foundin the Milky Way. Both extremes hint at some additional factor ormechanism, and a few possibilities are discussed. Regardless, thesignificant amount of internal reddening indicated by infraredspectroscopy is consistent with results from previous opticalpolarimetry and spectropolarimetry, optical and X-ray spectroscopy, andinfrared photometry, in demonstrating that 3C 109 is an obscuredquasar-a luminous object whose nuclear radiations from the soft X-ray tothe near-infrared are absorbed, scattered, polarized, and reradiatedfurther into the infrared by a circumnuclear envelope of dust.
| Chemical abundances of A and F-type stars: the Hyades open cluster
Abundances of 11 chemical elements have been determined for 29 F and 19A dwarfs (``normal'' and chemically peculiar with apparent rotationalvelocities ranging from 11 to 237 km.s^{-1}) members of the Hyadescluster using Takeda's (1995) iterative procedure well suited for fastrotators. High quality spectra of high to moderate resolution have beensynthesized to derive the apparent rotational velocities, microturbulentvelocities and abundances of C, O, Na, Mg, Si, Ca, Sc, Fe, Ni, Y and Ba.For the F stars, the found abundances are compared to the predictions ofTurcotte et al.'s (1998) evolutionary models for the age of the Hyades.We fail to find the expected underabundances for light elements nor theoverabundances for the iron-peak elements for stars having effectivetemperatures greater than 6500 K. This suggests that diffusion alonecannot account for the derived abundances: other transport processeswhich counteract diffusion are probably at play. For the A stars,abundances of Na, Mg, Si, Ca, Fe, Ni and Ba are anticorrelated(correlated for O) with the apparent equatorial velocities forve\sin i higher than ~ 100 km.s^{-1}. Below this value, wefind no correlation in agreement with the predictions of Charbonneau& Michaud (1991) except possibly for the abundance of Ni which mightbe anticorrelated with ve\sin i. The fastest rotators(ve\sin i >= 150 km.s^{-1}) are strongly depletted in Mg,Si, Ca, Fe, Ni and Ba (between -0.3 dex and -0.94 dex) while their Oabundance is normal. Based on observations collected at Observatoire deHaute Provence (France)
| Identification of lambda Bootis stars using IUE spectra. II. High resolution data
Stars included in the catalogue of lambda Bootis stars by Paunzen et al.(\cite{Paunzen97}) with high resolution spectra (FWHM: 0.10-0.25 Ä)in the INES Archive of the International Ultraviolet Explorer satellite(IUE) are analyzed here in order to establish membership criteria forthe lambda Bootis group. Line-ratios of carbon to heavier elements (Si,Al, Ca) were adopted as criteria in the SWP range (1150-1980 Ä).For the LWP range (1850-3350 Ä), the intensity of metallic lines(Fe and Mg) was used. These criteria, together with those derived forlow resolution spectra, make the IUE Final Archive a powerful tool tofind new {lambda Bootis} candidates.
| Testing convection theories using Balmer line profiles of A, F, and G stars
We consider the effects of convection on the Balmer line profiles({H_α} and {H_β}) of A, F, and G stars. The standardmixing-length theory (MLT) atlas9 models of Kurucz (1993), with andwithout overshooting, are compared to atlas9 models based on theturbulent convection theory proposed by Canuto & Mazzitelli (1991,1992) and implemented by Kupka (1996), and the improved version of thismodel proposed by Canuto et al. (1996) also implemented by Kupka. TheBalmer line profiles are a useful tool in investigating convectionbecause they are very sensitive to the parameters of convection used inthe stellar atmosphere codes. The {H_α} and {H_β} lines areformed at different depths in the atmosphere. The {H_α} line isformed just above the convection zone. The {H_β} line, however, ispartially formed inside the convection zone. We have calculated the{T_eff} of observed stars by fitting Balmer line profiles to syntheticspectra and compared this to: (i) the {T_eff} of the fundamental stars;(ii) the {T_eff} of stars determined by the Infra-Red Flux Method and(iii) the {T_eff} determined by Geneva photometry for the stars in theHyades cluster. We find that the results from the {H_α} and{H_β} lines are different, as expected, due to the differing levelsof formation. The tests are inconclusive between three of the fourmodels; MLT with no overshooting, CM and CGM models, which all giveresults in reasonable agreement with fundamental values. The resultsindicate that for the MLT theory with no overshooting it is necessary toset the mixing length parameter alpha equal to 0.5 for stars with {T_eff<= 6000} K or {T_eff >= 7000} K. However for stars with {6000}K{<= T_eff <= 7000} K the required value for the parameter is{alpha >= 1.25}. Models with overshooting are found to be clearlydiscrepant, consistent with the results with uvby photometry by Smalley& Kupka (1997). Based on observations made at the Observatorio delRoque de los Muchachos using the Richardson-Brealey Spectrograph on the1.0m Jacobs Kapteyn Telescope.
| Oxygen and Nitrogen Abundances in Hyades F Type Dwarfs
The abundances of oxygen and nitrogen were investigated for elevenHyades F type main-sequence stars, based on the line-profile of O I (+FeI) 8446 and the equivalent-widths of N I 8629/8683, in order to examinewhether any conspicuous abundance deficiency exists for O and N at T_eff~ 6700 K similar to that observed for Li, since its possibility wassuggested by the diffusion interpretation of this ``Li-chasm''. Itturned out, however, that the abundances appear to be nearly independentof T_eff (and v_e sin i ) for both O and N, without showing any apparentdip larger than ~ 0.2 dex (for O) or ~ 0.3 dex (for N), being consistentwith the results of García-Lopez et al.'s (1993, AAA 58.114.068)study for oxygen. This may indicate that the diffusion process alone isprobably not responsible for the origin of the Li-gap. Regarding theaveraged O and N abundances in these Hyades F stars, a moderate N-excessby ~ 0.3 dex relative to the Sun was suggested (though not definite),with oxygen being nearly normal.
| Color indices of the Sun and Hyades stars in the WBVR system
Using an original setup at high altitudes, we measured the color indicesof the Sun in the WBVR photometric system relative to standard stars: (W- B)_solar = -0.05, (B - V)_solar = +0.67, and (V - R)_solar = +0.53. Wepresent the WBVR photometry for the Hyades members selected by vanBueren by their space velocities. The solar position is shown intwo-color diagrams relative to Hyades stars and bright G2 V stars. Acomparison of our results with Kurucz's models reveals a discrepancybetween the metallicities of the models and the Hyades members.
| The Age Range of Hyades Stars
On the basis of canonical models, the age of Hyades supercluster stars,whether in the Hyades and Praesepe clusters or the noncluster field,ranges from (5-6) x 10^8 to 10^9 yr. The difference between the parallaxderived from the supercluster motion and that obtained from Hipparcosobservations has a dispersion only twice that of the mean dispersion ofthe individual Hipparcos values. The supercluster appears not to containred giants on the first ascent of the red giant branch, but onlyasymptotic giant branch (``clump'') stars. The masses obtained forindividual components of binary stars in the supercluster show adispersion of less than 10% when compared with model predictions.
| The Multiplicity of the Hyades and Its Implications for Binary Star Formation and Evolution
A 2.2 μm speckle imaging survey of 167 bright (K < 8.5 mag) Hyadesmembers reveals a total of 33 binaries with separations spanning 0.044"to 1.34" and magnitude differences as large as 5.5 mag. Of thesebinaries, 9 are new detections and an additional 20 are now spatiallyresolved spectroscopic binaries, providing a sample from which dynamicalmasses and distances can be obtained. The closest three systems,marginally resolved at Palomar Observatory, were reobserved with the 10m Keck Telescope in order to determine accurate binary star parameters.Combining the results of this survey with previous radial velocity,optical speckle, and direct-imaging Hyades surveys, the detectedmultiplicity of the sample is 98 singles, 59 binaries, and 10 triples. Astatistical analysis of this sample investigates a variety of multiplestar formation and evolution theories. Over the binary separation range0.1"-1.07" (5-50 AU), the sensitivity to companion stars is relativelyuniform, with = 4 mag, equivalent to a mass ratio = 0.23. Accounting for the inability to detect high fluxratio binaries results in an implied companion star fraction (CSF) of0.30 +/- 0.06 in this separation range. The Hyades CSF is intermediatebetween the values derived from observations of T Tauri stars (CSF_TTS =0.40 +/- 0.08) and solar neighborhood G dwarfs (CSF_SN = 0.14 +/- 0.03).This result allows for an evolution of the CSF from an initially highvalue for the pre-main sequence to that found for main-sequence stars.Within the Hyades, the CSF and the mass ratio distribution provideobservational tests of binary formation mechanisms. The CSF isindependent of the radial distance from the cluster center and theprimary star mass. The distribution of mass ratios is best fitted by apower law q^-1.3+/-0.3 and shows no dependence on the primary mass,binary separation, or radial distance from the cluster center. Overall,the Hyades data are consistent with scale-free fragmentation, butinconsistent with capture and disk-assisted capture in small clusters.Without testable predictions, scale-dependent fragmentation and diskfragmentation cannot be assessed with the Hyades data.
| The ROSAT all-sky survey catalogue of optically bright main-sequence stars and subgiant stars
We present X-ray data for all main-sequence and subgiant stars ofspectral types A, F, G, and K and luminosity classes IV and V listed inthe Bright Star Catalogue that have been detected as X-ray sources inthe ROSAT all-sky survey; several stars without luminosity class arealso included. The catalogue contains 980 entries yielding an averagedetection rate of 32 percent. In addition to count rates, sourcedetection parameters, hardness ratios, and X-ray fluxes we also listX-ray luminosities derived from Hipparcos parallaxes. The catalogue isalso available in electronic form via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| The Hyades: distance, structure, dynamics, and age
{We use absolute trigonometric parallaxes from the Hipparcos Catalogueto determine individual distances to members of the Hyades cluster, fromwhich the 3-dimensional structure of the cluster can be derived.Inertially-referenced proper motions are used to rediscuss distancedeterminations based on convergent-point analyses. A combination ofparallaxes and proper motions from Hipparcos, and radial velocities fromground-based observations, are used to determine the position andvelocity components of candidate members with respect to the clustercentre, providing new information on cluster membership: 13 newcandidate members within 20 pc of the cluster centre have beenidentified. Farther from the cluster centre there is a gradual mergingbetween certain cluster members and field stars, both spatially andkinematically. Within the cluster, the kinematical structure is fullyconsistent with parallel space motion of the component stars with aninternal velocity dispersion of about 0.3 km s(-1) . The spatialstructure and mass segregation are consistent with N-body simulationresults, without the need to invoke expansion, contraction, rotation, orother significant perturbations of the cluster. The quality of theindividual distance determinations permits the cluster zero-age mainsequence to be accurately modelled. The helium abundance for the clusteris determined to be Y =3D 0.26+/-0.02 which, combined with isochronemodelling including convective overshooting, yields a cluster age of625+/-50 Myr. The distance to the observed centre of mass (a conceptmeaningful only in the restricted context of the cluster memberscontained in the Hipparcos Catalogue) is 46.34+/-0.27 pc, correspondingto a distance modulus m-M=3D3.33+/-0.01 mag for the objects within 10 pcof the cluster centre (roughly corresponding to the tidal radius). Thisdistance modulus is close to, but significantly better determined than,that derived from recent high-precision radial velocity studies,somewhat larger than that indicated by recent ground-based trigonometricparallax determinations, and smaller than those found from recentstudies of the cluster convergent point. These discrepancies areinvestigated and explained. } Based on observations made with the ESAHipparcos astrometry satellite. Table~2 is also available in electronicform at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5)or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| The absolute magnitude of the early type MK standards from HIPPARCOS parallaxes
We analyse the standards of the MK system with the help of Hipparcosparallaxes, using only stars for which the error of the absolutemagnitude is <= 0.3 mag. We find that the main sequence is a wideband and that, although in general giants and dwarfs have differentabsolute magnitudes, the separation between luminosity classes V and IIIis not clear. Furthermore, there are a number of exceptions to thestrict relation between luminosity class and absolute magnitude. Weanalyse similarly the system of standards defined by Garrison & Gray(1994) separating low and high rotational velocity standards. We findsimilar effects as in the original MK system. We propose a revision ofthe MK standards, to eliminate the most deviant cases. Based on datafrom the ESA Hipparcos astrometry satellite
| A New and Comprehensive Determination of the Distance to Member Stars of the Hyades
This paper critiques the methods used in the past for estimating thedistances to the stars that make up the Hyades moving cluster, anddevelops one which is new and comprehensive. We develop a formalism forthe application of stochastic restrictions to the adjustment parameters(velocity components and distances) and test it on constructed clustermodels. We perform model calculations with fictitious model starclusters in which the `true' values of the input parameters (ie.positions, distances and velocity components) are therefore known. Thecomparison of the distances recovered by different methods with the trueinput distances shows our approach to be very superior to thetraditional ones that estimate distances by the method of streamparallaxes without restricting the adjustment parameters. Applying ouralgorithm to the Hyades, we assume a dispersion of 0.25 kps in eachcoordinate about a common value for the velocity components of thecluster members and a dispersion of 5pc about the distance to thecluster's centre for the distances to the stars in the cluster. Underthese stochastic restrictions, we analyse the known estimates (ie.measurements) of trigonometric parallaxes, sets of high-precision propermotion pairs and high-precision radial velocities subject to theabove-stated stochastic constraints, and as a result estimate thecluster's centre to be at a distance of 45.8+/-1.25 (standard error) pc.
| The 73rd Name-List of Variable Stars
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Stier |
| Right ascension: | 04h15m46.30s |
| Declination: | +15°24'02.0" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 6.32 |
| Distance: | 44.425 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | 115 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -21.9 |
| B-T magnitude: | 6.779 |
| V-T magnitude: | 6.346 |
Catalogs and designations:
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INHABITED SKY
