Local kinematics of K and M giants from CORAVEL/Hipparcos/Tycho-2 data. Revisiting the concept of superclusters
The availability of the Hipparcos Catalogue has triggered many kinematicand dynamical studies of the solar neighbourhood. Nevertheless, thosestudies generally lacked the third component of the space velocities,i.e., the radial velocities. This work presents the kinematic analysisof 5952 K and 739 M giants in the solar neighbourhood which includes forthe first time radial velocity data from a large survey performed withthe CORAVEL spectrovelocimeter. It also uses proper motions from theTycho-2 catalogue, which are expected to be more accurate than theHipparcos ones. An important by-product of this study is the observedfraction of only 5.7% of spectroscopic binaries among M giants ascompared to 13.7% for K giants. After excluding the binaries for whichno center-of-mass velocity could be estimated, 5311 K and 719 M giantsremain in the final sample. The UV-plane constructed from these datafor the stars with precise parallaxes (σπ/π≤20%) reveals a rich small-scale structure, with several clumpscorresponding to the Hercules stream, the Sirius moving group, and theHyades and Pleiades superclusters. A maximum-likelihood method, based ona Bayesian approach, has been applied to the data, in order to make fulluse of all the available stars (not only those with precise parallaxes)and to derive the kinematic properties of these subgroups. Isochrones inthe Hertzsprung-Russell diagram reveal a very wide range of ages forstars belonging to these groups. These groups are most probably relatedto the dynamical perturbation by transient spiral waves (as recentlymodelled by De Simone et al. \cite{Simone2004}) rather than to clusterremnants. A possible explanation for the presence of younggroup/clusters in the same area of the UV-plane is that they have beenput there by the spiral wave associated with their formation, while thekinematics of the older stars of our sample has also been disturbed bythe same wave. The emerging picture is thus one of dynamical streamspervading the solar neighbourhood and travelling in the Galaxy withsimilar space velocities. The term dynamical stream is more appropriatethan the traditional term supercluster since it involves stars ofdifferent ages, not born at the same place nor at the same time. Theposition of those streams in the UV-plane is responsible for the vertexdeviation of 16.2o ± 5.6o for the wholesample. Our study suggests that the vertex deviation for youngerpopulations could have the same dynamical origin. The underlyingvelocity ellipsoid, extracted by the maximum-likelihood method afterremoval of the streams, is not centered on the value commonly acceptedfor the radial antisolar motion: it is centered on < U > =-2.78±1.07 km s-1. However, the full data set(including the various streams) does yield the usual value for theradial solar motion, when properly accounting for the biases inherent tothis kind of analysis (namely, < U > = -10.25±0.15 kms-1). This discrepancy clearly raises the essential questionof how to derive the solar motion in the presence of dynamicalperturbations altering the kinematics of the solar neighbourhood: doesthere exist in the solar neighbourhood a subset of stars having no netradial motion which can be used as a reference against which to measurethe solar motion?Based on observations performed at the Swiss 1m-telescope at OHP,France, and on data from the ESA Hipparcos astrometry satellite.Full Table \ref{taba1} is 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/430/165}
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Hipparcos red stars in the HpV_T2 and V I_C systems
For Hipparcos M, S, and C spectral type stars, we provide calibratedinstantaneous (epoch) Cousins V - I color indices using newly derivedHpV_T2 photometry. Three new sets of ground-based Cousins V I data havebeen obtained for more than 170 carbon and red M giants. These datasetsin combination with the published sources of V I photometry served toobtain the calibration curves linking Hipparcos/Tycho Hp-V_T2 with theCousins V - I index. In total, 321 carbon stars and 4464 M- and S-typestars have new V - I indices. The standard error of the mean V - I isabout 0.1 mag or better down to Hp~9 although it deteriorates rapidly atfainter magnitudes. These V - I indices can be used to verify thepublished Hipparcos V - I color indices. Thus, we have identified ahandful of new cases where, instead of the real target, a random fieldstar has been observed. A considerable fraction of the DMSA/C and DMSA/Vsolutions for red stars appear not to be warranted. Most likely suchspurious solutions may originate from usage of a heavily biased color inthe astrometric processing.Based on observations from the Hipparcos astrometric satellite operatedby the European Space Agency (ESA 1997).}\fnmsep\thanks{Table 7 is onlyavailable 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/qcat?J/A+A/397/997
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New periodic variables from the Hipparcos epoch photometry
Two selection statistics are used to extract new candidate periodicvariables from the epoch photometry of the Hipparcos catalogue. Theprimary selection criterion is a signal-to-noise ratio. The dependenceof this statistic on the number of observations is calibrated usingabout 30000 randomly permuted Hipparcos data sets. A significance levelof 0.1 per cent is used to extract a first batch of candidate variables.The second criterion requires that the optimal frequency be unaffectedif the data are de-trended by low-order polynomials. We find 2675 newcandidate periodic variables, of which the majority (2082) are from theHipparcos`unsolved' variables. Potential problems with theinterpretation of the data (e.g. aliasing) are discussed.
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On the Variability of K5-M Stars
I investigate the Hipparcos Satellite photometry of K5-M stars to seethe pattern of activity of these stars. A few stars for which furtherstudy is desirable are identified.
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The 74th Special Name-list of Variable Stars
We present the Name-list introducing GCVS names for 3153 variable starsdiscovered by the Hipparcos mission.
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Evolved, single, slowly rotating ... but magnetically active. The G8-giant HR 1362 = EK Eridani revisited
We rediscuss the unusual case of the slowly rotating late-type giant HR1362, which exhibits a very unusual high level of magnetic activity. NewBVRI photometry from two robotic telescopes from 1991 through 1998together with previously published photometric data gives a very precisephotometric period of 306.9+/-0.4 days. With the aid of high-resolution(R=120,000) optical spectra and the Hipparcos parallax we redeterminethe absolute parameters of HR 1362 and find it to be a single G8IV-IIIstar of 14 L_sun and a mass of 1.85 M_sun with T_eff=5125 K, log g=3.25,and solar abundances. Lithium is not significantly different from solarand we obtain log n(Li)=1.14 from a detailed spectrum synthesisincluding both isotopes at 6708 Angstroms. Vsin i and macroturbulenceare determined from fits of disk-integrated models to the observed lineprofiles as well as their Fourier transforms and are 1.5+/-0.5 km s(-1)\ and ~5 km s(-1) , respectively. The minimum radius from vsin i andP_rot is only then in agreement with the spectral classification and thebolometric luminosity from the Hipparcos parallax if the inclination ofthe stellar rotation axis is nearly 90°. We concur with thearguments of Stȩpień (\cite{step}) that HR 1362 is anevolved Ap star, and therefore the magnetic field is possibly ofgalactic origin rather than dynamo generated.
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Stellar radii of M giants
We determine the stellar radii of the M giant stars in the Hipparcoscatalogue that have a parallax measured to better than 20% accuracy.This is done with the help of a relation between a visual surfacebrightness parameter and the Cousins (V - I) colour index, which wecalibrate with M giants with published angular diameters.The radii of(non-Mira) M giants increase from a median value of 50 R_Sun at spectraltype M0 III to 170 R_Sun at M7/8 III. Typical intermediate giant radiiare 65 R_Sun for M1/M2, 90 R_Sun for M3, 100 R_Sun for M4, 120 R_Sun forM5 and 150 R_Sun for M6. There is a large intrinsic spread for a givenspectral type. This variance in stellar radius increases with latertypes but in relative terms, it remains constant.We determineluminosities and, from evolutionary tracks, stellar masses for oursample stars. The M giants in the solar neighbourhood have masses in therange 0.8-4 M_Sun. For a given spectral type, there is a close relationbetween stellar radius and stellar mass. We also find a linear relationbetween the mass and radius of non-variable M giants. With increasingamplitude of variability we have larger stellar radii for a given mass.
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Classification and Identification of IRAS Sources with Low-Resolution Spectra
IRAS low-resolution spectra were extracted for 11,224 IRAS sources.These spectra were classified into astrophysical classes, based on thepresence of emission and absorption features and on the shape of thecontinuum. Counterparts of these IRAS sources in existing optical andinfrared catalogs are identified, and their optical spectral types arelisted if they are known. The correlations between thephotospheric/optical and circumstellar/infrared classification arediscussed.
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Vitesses radiales. Catalogue WEB: Wilson Evans Batten. Subtittle: Radial velocities: The Wilson-Evans-Batten catalogue.
We give a common version of the two catalogues of Mean Radial Velocitiesby Wilson (1963) and Evans (1978) to which we have added the catalogueof spectroscopic binary systems (Batten et al. 1989). For each star,when possible, we give: 1) an acronym to enter SIMBAD (Set ofIdentifications Measurements and Bibliography for Astronomical Data) ofthe CDS (Centre de Donnees Astronomiques de Strasbourg). 2) the numberHIC of the HIPPARCOS catalogue (Turon 1992). 3) the CCDM number(Catalogue des Composantes des etoiles Doubles et Multiples) byDommanget & Nys (1994). For the cluster stars, a precise study hasbeen done, on the identificator numbers. Numerous remarks point out theproblems we have had to deal with.
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Visual polarization measurements in the Cepheus flare
We present polarization measurements on a stellar sample located in alarge area in Cepheus. The observations were made with the 2-m telescopeat the Pic du Midi (France), around 4350 A and with an accuracy of thepolarization degree of the order of 0.0001. At large scales, we findthat the galactic magnetic field as given by the direction of thepolarization (alignment of the dust) is, roughly speaking, parallel tothe galactic plane in the Cassiopeia cloud, with a scale size of theorder of 100 pc, while it is turned by about 90 in the Cepheus cloud. Atsmall scales, in both the Cepheus and the Cassiopeia clouds, the COcontent has little correlation with the degree of polarization.
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Asymptotic giant branch stars near the sun
Available red and near-infrared photometry and apparent motions of M, S,and C asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars in the Bright Star Catalogueare tabulated and discussed. It is shown that the red and near infraredindices normally used for late-type stars are interchangeable except forcarbon stars. The M-type giants are variable with visual amplitudegreater than 0.05 mag. The reddening-free parameter m2 from Genevaphotometry is essentially a temperature parameter for M giants, whilethe reddening-free parameter d is a sensitive detector of blue stellarcompanions. The space density of AGB stars near the sun decreases by afactor of 35 in a temperature range 3800 to 3400 K. Two of the S starsnear the sun were found to have nearly equal space motions and may becomembers of the Arcturus group.
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UBV photometry of stars whose positions are accurately known. VI
Results are presented from UBV photometric observations of 1000 stars ofthe Bright Star Catalogue and the faint extension of the FK5.Observations were carried out between July 1987 and December 1990 withthe 40-cm Cassegrain telescope of the Kvistaberg Observatory.
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Narrow-band photometry of late-type stars. II
This paper presents extensive narrow-band photometry in the Uppsalasystem supplementing earlier published mesurements so that data now areavailable for all late-type stars brighter than V = 6.05 and a number ofgalactic cluster members. Numerous UBV and BV measurements are alsopublished. The data are used to determine relations for the predictionof UBV intrinsic colors for late-type stars from the narrow-bandmeasurements. The main purpose of the data is to constitute the basisfor the determination of solar-neighborhood space densities of late-typestars, mainly giants of different kinds; these space densities will becombined with narrow-band data for fainter stars in the north Galacticpole region to yield the decrease of space density with distance fromthe galactic plane for many kinds of late-type stars.
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IRAS catalogues and atlases - Atlas of low-resolution spectra
Plots of all 5425 spectra in the IRAS catalogue of low-resolutionspectra are presented. The catalogue contains the average spectra ofmost IRAS poiont sources with 12 micron flux densities above 10 Jy.
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The stellar component of the galaxy as seen by the AFGL infrared sky survey
The noise-limited magnitudes for the Air Force Geophysical Laboratory(AFGL) Infrared Sky Survey have been estimated by direct comparison withground-based observations. Using these limiting magnitudes, 'pruned'versions of the AFGL catalog have been generated. Infrared observationsof all the stellar objects seen at 11, 20, or 27 microns and astatistical sample of the stars seen only at 4 microns are reported.Analysis of the observations leads to estimates of the absolute 4 and 10microns magnitudes and space densities for the two clases of objects.The expected results from the Infrared Astronomical Satellite arereexamined.
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Lithium abundance in stellar atmospheres
Data on the lithium abundance in the atmospheres of 491 stars arecompiled and reduced to a single system. The lithium abundances of thesestars are shown to differ by more than a factor of 1 million, and thedependence of lithium abundance on spectral type is determined forvarious groups of stars. It is found that cooler stars have lowerlithium abundances than hotter stars and that young stars have higherabundances than old stars. Data on the Li-6/Li-7 isotope ratio in theatmospheres of 30 stars are presented which indicate that Li-6 is notobserved in most cases and that the exceptions comprise magneticvariable stars with Li-6/Li-7 ratios of 0.10 to 2.00. It is concludedthat the observational results as a whole are satisfactorily explainedby the hypothesis that the same high lithium abundance characterized allstars at birth but then decreased in the course of evolution due tointermixing of matter.
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- and Broad-Band Photometry of Red Stars. Northern Giants
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1967ApJS...14..307E&db_key=AST
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The Abundance of Lithium in Early M-Type Stars
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1967ApJ...147..587M&db_key=AST
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INHABITED SKY
