WIKISKY.ORG
 Home Getting Started To Survive in the Universe News@Sky Astro Photo The Collection Forum Blog New! FAQ Press Login

# ε Gem (Mebsuta)

Contents

### Images

DSS Images   Other Images

### Related articles

 Reliability Checks on the Indo-US Stellar Spectral Library Using Artificial Neural Networks and Principal Component AnalysisThe Indo-US coudé feed stellar spectral library (CFLIB) madeavailable to the astronomical community recently by Valdes et al. (2004,ApJS, 152, 251) contains spectra of 1273 stars in the spectral region3460 to 9464Å at a high resolution of 1Å (FWHM) and a widerange of spectral types. Cross-checking the reliability of this databaseis an important and desirable exercise since a number of stars in thisdatabase have no known spectral types and a considerable fraction ofstars has not so complete coverage in the full wavelength region of3460-9464Å resulting in gaps ranging from a few Å to severaltens of Å. We use an automated classification scheme based onArtificial Neural Networks (ANN) to classify all 1273 stars in thedatabase. In addition, principal component analysis (PCA) is carried outto reduce the dimensionality of the data set before the spectra areclassified by the ANN. Most importantly, we have successfullydemonstrated employment of a variation of the PCA technique to restorethe missing data in a sample of 300 stars out of the CFLIB. A high-resolution stellar library for evolutionary population synthesisWe present a library of 1654 high-resolution stellar spectra, with asampling of 0.3 Åand covering the wavelength range from 3000 to7000 Å. The library was computed with the latest improvements instellar atmospheres, incorporating non-local thermodynamic equilibrium(non-LTE) line-blanketed models for hot, massive (Teff>=27500K) and line-blanketed models for cool (3000<=Teff<= 4500K) stars. The total coverage of the gridis 3000 K <=Teff<= 55000 K and -0.5 <= log g<=5.5, for four chemical abundance values: twice solar, solar, half solarand 1/10 solar. Evolutionary synthesis models using this library arepresented in a companion paper. We tested the general behaviour of thelibrary by calculating and comparing equivalent widths of numerous H andHeI lines, and some of the commonly used metallic indices. We alsocompared the library with the empirical libraries STELIB and Indo-US.The full set of the synthetic stellar spectra is available from ourwebsites (http://www.iaa.csic.es/~rosa andhttp://www.astro.iag.usp.br/~lucimara/library.htm). UVBLUE: A New High-Resolution Theoretical Library of Ultraviolet Stellar SpectraWe present an extended ultraviolet-blue (850-4700 Å) library oftheoretical stellar spectral energy distributions computed at highresolution, λ/Δλ=50,000. The UVBLUE grid, as wenamed the library, is based on LTE calculations carried out with ATLAS9and SYNTHE codes developed by R. L. Kurucz and consists of nearly 1800entries that cover a large volume of the parameter space. It spans arange in Teff from 3000 to 50,000 K, the surface gravityranges from logg=0.0 to 5.0 with Δlogg=0.5 dex, while sevenchemical compositions are considered:[M/H]=-2.0,-1.5,-1.0,-0.5,+0.0,+0.3, and +0.5 dex. For its coverageacross the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, this library is the mostcomprehensive one ever computed at high resolution in theshort-wavelength spectral range, and useful application can be foreseenfor both the study of single stars and in population synthesis models ofgalaxies and other stellar systems. We briefly discuss some relevantissues for a safe application of the theoretical output to ultravioletobservations, and a comparison of our LTE models with the non-LTE (NLTE)ones from the TLUSTY code is also carried out. NLTE spectra are found,on average, to be slightly redder'' compared to the LTE ones for thesame value of Teff, while a larger difference could bedetected for weak lines, which are nearly wiped out by the enhanced coreemission component in case of NLTE atmospheres. These effects seem to bemagnified at low metallicity (typically [M/H]<~-1). A match with aworking sample of 111 stars from the IUE atlas, with availableatmosphere parameters from the literature, shows that UVBLUE modelsprovide an accurate description of the main mid- and low-resolutionspectral features for stars along the whole sequence from the B to ~G5type. The comparison sensibly degrades for later spectral types, withsupergiant stars that are in general more poorly reproduced than dwarfs.As a possible explanation of this overall trend, we partly invoke theuncertainty in the input atmosphere parameters to compute thetheoretical spectra. In addition, one should also consider the importantcontamination of the IUE stellar sample, where the presence of binaryand variable stars certainly works in the sense of artificiallyworsening the match between theory and observations. Magnetic field measurements on four yellow supergiants. IMultiyear high precision measurements of the longitudinal component ofthe magnetic field (Be) of four supergiants are reported: Aqr (G0 Ib),Aqr (G2 Ib), Gem (G8 Ib), and Peg (K2 Ib). The best measurementaccuracy, =0.8 G, was achieved for Peg. A Monte Carlo method was used totest the reliability of the derived measurement errors. The differencesbetween the observational errors and the calculated Monte Carlo errorswere 3.2%. For Aqr and Aqr no statistically significant value of themagnetic field was recorded when averaged over a night. For eGem thefollowing overnight average values of the magnetic field were recordedon five nights: 11.1±2.7 G, 9.8±2.5 G, -10.5±3.0 G,38.1±7.4 G, and 5.3±1.5 G. For Peg the magnetic fieldrecorded over two nights was -5.3±0.9 G and - 2.7±0.8 G. CHARM2: An updated Catalog of High Angular Resolution MeasurementsWe 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 Improved Baade-Wesselink surface brightness relationsRecent, and older accurate, data on (limb-darkened) angular diameters iscompiled for 221 stars, as well as BVRIJK[12][25] magnitudes for thoseobjects, when available. Nine stars (all M-giants or supergiants)showing excess in the [12-25] colour are excluded from the analysis asthis may indicate the presence of dust influencing the optical andnear-infrared colours as well. Based on this large sample,Baade-Wesselink surface brightness (SB) relations are presented fordwarfs, giants, supergiants and dwarfs in the optical and near-infrared.M-giants are found to follow different SB relations from non-M-giants,in particular in V versus V-R. The preferred relation for non-M-giantsis compared to the earlier relation by Fouqué and Gieren (basedon 10 stars) and Nordgren et al. (based on 57 stars). Increasing thesample size does not lead to a lower rms value. It is shown that theresiduals do not correlate with metallicity at a significant level. Thefinally adopted observed angular diameters are compared to thosepredicted by Cohen et al. for 45 stars in common, and there isreasonable overall, and good agreement when θ < 6 mas.Finally, I comment on the common practice in the literature to average,and then fix, the zero-point of the V versus V-K, V versus V-R and Kversus J-K relations, and then rederive the slopes. Such a commonzero-point at zero colour is not expected from model atmospheres for theV-R colour and depends on gravity. Relations derived in this way may bebiased. Determination of fundamental characteristics for stars of the F, G, and K spectral types. The surface gravities and metallicity parameters.Not Available RT Aur - Periodenverlangerung piano.Not Available A near-infrared stellar spectral library: I. H-band spectra.This paper presents the H band near-infrared (NIR) spectral library of135 solar type stars covering spectral types O5-M3 and luminosityclasses I-V as per MK classification. The observations were carried outwith 1.2 meter Gurushikhar Infrared Telescope (GIRT), at Mt. Abu, Indiausing a NICMOS3 HgCdTe 256 x 256 NIR array based spectrometer. Thespectra have a moderate resolution of 1000 (about 16 A) at the H bandand have been continuum shape corrected to their respective effectivetemperatures. This library and the remaining ones in J and K bands oncereleased will serve as an important database for stellar populationsynthesis and other applications in conjunction with the newly formedlarge optical coude feed stellar spectral library of Valdes et al.(2004). The complete H-Band library is available online at: http://vo.iucaa.ernet.in/~voi/NIR_Header.html The Indo-US Library of Coudé Feed Stellar SpectraWe have obtained spectra for 1273 stars using the 0.9 m coudéfeed telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. This telescope feedsthe coudé spectrograph of the 2.1 m telescope. The spectra havebeen obtained with the no. 5 camera of the coudé spectrograph anda Loral 3K×1K CCD. Two gratings have been used to provide spectralcoverage from 3460 to 9464 Å, at a resolution of ~1 Å FWHMand at an original dispersion of 0.44 Å pixel-1. For885 stars we have complete spectra over the entire 3460 to 9464 Åwavelength region (neglecting small gaps of less than 50 Å), andpartial spectral coverage for the remaining stars. The 1273 stars havebeen selected to provide broad coverage of the atmospheric parametersTeff, logg, and [Fe/H], as well as spectral type. The goal ofthe project is to provide a comprehensive library of stellar spectra foruse in the automated classification of stellar and galaxy spectra and ingalaxy population synthesis. In this paper we discuss thecharacteristics of the spectral library, viz., details of theobservations, data reduction procedures, and selection of stars. We alsopresent a few illustrations of the quality and information available inthe spectra. The first version of the complete spectral library is nowpublicly available from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory(NOAO) via ftp and http. Unveiling Mira stars behind the molecules. Confirmation of the molecular layer model with narrow band near-infrared interferometryWe have observed Mira stars with the FLUOR beamcombiner on the IOTAinterferometer in narrow bands around 2.2 μm wavelength. We findsystematically larger diameters in bands contaminated by water vapor andCO. The visibility measurements can be interpreted with a modelcomprising a photosphere surrounded by a thin spherical molecular layer.The high quality of the fits we obtain demonstrates that this simplemodel accounts for most of the star's spatial structure. For each starand each period we were able to derive the radius and temperature of thestar and of the molecular layer as well as the optical depth of thelayer in absorption and continuum bands. The typical radius of themolecular layer is 2.2 R* with a temperature ranging between1500 and 2100 K. The photospheric temperatures we find are in agreementwith spectral types of Mira stars. Our photospheric diameters are foundsmaller than in previous studies by several tens of percent. We believeprevious diameters were biased by the use of unsuited geometrical modelsto explain visibilities. The conclusions of this work are various.First, we offer a consistent view of Mira stars over a wide range ofwavelengths. Second, the parameters of the molecular layer we find areconsistent with spectroscopic studies. Third, from our diametermeasurements we deduce that all Mira stars are fundamental modepulsators and that previous studies leading to the conclusion of thefirst-overtone mode were biased by too large diameter estimates.Based on observations collected at the IOTA interferometer, WhippleObservatory, Mount Hopkins, Arizona.Table 3 is only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org A Revised Calibration of the MV-W(O I 7774) Relationship using Hipparcos Data: Its Application to Cepheids and Evolved StarsA new calibration of the MV-W(O I 7774) relationship hasbeen calculated using better reddening and distance estimates for asample of 27 calibrator stars of spectral types A to G, based onaccurate parallaxes and proper motions from the Hipparcos and Tychocatalogues. The present calibration predicts absolute magnitude withaccuracies of +/-0.38mag for a sample covering a large range ofMV, from -9.5 to +0.35 mag. The color term included in aprevious paper has been dropped since its inclusion does not lead to anysignificant improvement in the calibration. The variation of the O I7774 feature in the classical cepheid SS Sct has been studied. Wecalculated a phase-dependent correction to random phase OI featurestrengths in Cepheids, such that it predicts mean absolute magnitudesusing the above calibration. After applying such a correction, we couldincrease the list of calibrators to 58 by adding MV and O Itriplet strength data for 31 classical Cepheids. The standard error ofthe calibration using the composite sample was comparable to thatobtained from the primary 27 calibrators, showing that it is possible tocalculate mean Cepheid luminosities from random phase observations ofthe O I 7774 feature. We use our derived calibrations to estimateMV for a set of evolved objects to be able to locate theirpositions in the HR diagram. Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph Survey of Far-Ultraviolet Coronal Forbidden Lines in Late-Type StarsWe describe an extensive search with the Space Telescope ImagingSpectrograph (STIS) for ultraviolet coronal (T>106 K)forbidden lines in a sample of 29 F-M dwarfs, giants, and supergiants.Measuring coronal lines in the 1150-1700 Å band with STIS hasimportant advantages of superior velocity resolution and an absolutewavelength calibration compared with using the Chandra or XMM-Newtongrating spectrometers to observe permitted transitions of the same ionstages in the kilovolt X-ray region. Fe XII λλ1242, 1349(T~2×106 K) and Fe XXI λ1354 (107 K)are well known from solar studies and have been reported in previousstellar work. A search for other coronal forbidden lines in the1200-1600 Å region was largely negative. The few candidateidentifications (e.g., Ar XIII λ1330 and Ca XV λ1375) aretoo faint to be diagnostically useful. We add new dwarfs to the list ofFe XII detections, including the nearby solar twin α Cen A (G2 V).Clear detections of Fe XXI were obtained in dMe stars, active giants, ashort-period RS CVn binary, and possibly in active solar-type dwarfs. Wedeveloped a semiempirical method for removing the C I blend thatpartially affects the Fe XXI λ1354 profile. As discussed recentlyby Johnson et al., Capella (α Aur; G8 III+G1 III) displays clearFe XXI variability between Goddard High-Resolution Spectograph (GHRS)and STIS observations 4 yr apart, which is apparently due to asubstantial decline in the contribution from the G8 primary. We presentan alternative model of the GHRS and STIS era profiles using informationin the two sets of line shapes jointly, as well as knowledge of thebehavior of Fe XXI profiles of other late-G clump'' giants similar toCapella G8. The full survey sample also provides a context for theapparent variability: the Fe XXI flux of the G8 star in the GHRSspectrum is nearly identical (in LFeXXI/Lbol) toother clump giants of similar LX/Lbol, but it haddropped at least a factor of 6 in the STIS measurement. The He IIλ1640 Bα feature-which is thought to be responsive tocoronal irradiation-also showed significant changes between the GHRS andSTIS epochs, but the decrease in the G8 star was much smaller than FeXXI. The Fe XII flux displays a correlation with the ROSAT 0.2-2 keVX-ray flux that can be described by an α=0.5 power law. Fe XXIexhibits a steeper, perhaps linear (α=1), correlation with theROSAT flux down to an activity level ofLX/Lbol~10-5, below which detections ofthe coronal forbidden line are rare. There is no evidence of large,systematic Doppler shifts in either Fe XII λ1242 or Fe XXIλ1354. This suggests that the emissions arise dominantly inconfined structures, analogous to magnetic loops on the Sun, ratherthan, say, in a hot wind. The Fe XII and Fe XXI line widths generallyare close to thermal (FWHM~40-90 km s-1 atT~106.2-107.0 K), except for the Hertzsprung-gapgiants 31 Comae (G0 III) and Capella G1 and the K1 subgiant primary ofHR 1099, all of which show evidence for excess broadening in Fe XXI (FeXII is obscured in these objects by broad N V λ1242 features). Ifthe excess broadening is rotational, it implies that the hot coronae ofX-ray-deficient'' 31 Com and Capella G1 are highly extended, contraryto the compact structures suggested by recent density estimates in anumber of active coronal sources. Angular Diameters of Stars from the Mark III Optical InterferometerObservations of 85 stars were obtained at wavelengths between 451 and800 nm with the Mark III Stellar Interferometer on Mount Wilson, nearPasadena, California. Angular diameters were determined by fitting auniform-disk model to the visibility amplitude versus projected baselinelength. Half the angular diameters determined at 800 nm have formalerrors smaller than 1%. Limb-darkened angular diameters, effectivetemperatures, and surface brightnesses were determined for these stars,and relationships between these parameters are presented. Scatter inthese relationships is larger than would be expected from themeasurement uncertainties. We argue that this scatter is not due to anunderestimate of the angular diameter errors; whether it is due tophotometric errors or is intrinsic to the relationship is unresolved.The agreement with other observations of the same stars at the samewavelengths is good; the width of the difference distribution iscomparable to that estimated from the error bars, but the wings of thedistribution are larger than Gaussian. Comparison with infraredmeasurements is more problematic; in disagreement with models, coolerstars appear systematically smaller in the near-infrared than expected,warmer stars larger. STELIB: A library of stellar spectra at R ~ 2000We present STELIB, a new spectroscopic stellar library, available athttp://webast.ast.obs-mip.fr/stelib. STELIB consists of an homogeneouslibrary of 249 stellar spectra in the visible range (3200 to 9500Å), with an intermediate spectral resolution (la 3 Å) andsampling (1 Å). This library includes stars of various spectraltypes and luminosity classes, spanning a relatively wide range inmetallicity. The spectral resolution, wavelength and spectral typecoverage of this library represents a substantial improvement overprevious libraries used in population synthesis models. The overallabsolute photometric uncertainty is 3%.Based on observations collected with the Jacobus Kaptein Telescope,(owned and operated jointly by the Particle Physics and AstronomyResearch Council of the UK, The Nederlandse Organisatie voorWetenschappelijk Onderzoek of The Netherlands and the Instituto deAstrofísica de Canarias of Spain and located in the SpanishObservatorio del Roque de Los Muchachos on La Palma which is operated bythe Instituto de AstrofÃ­sica de Canarias), the 2.3 mtelescope of the Australian National University at Siding Spring,Australia, and the VLT-UT1 Antu Telescope (ESO).Tables \ref{cat1} to \ref{cat6} and \ref{antab1} to A.7 are onlyavailable in electronic form at http://www.edpsciences.org. The StellarLibrary STELIB library is also available at the CDS, via anonymous ftpto cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/402/433 Polaris: Amplitude, Period Change, and CompanionsPolaris has presented us with the rare phenomenon of a Cepheid with apulsation amplitude that has decreased over the last 50 yr. In thisstudy we have used this property to see whether the amplitude decreaseduring the last 15 yr has had any effect on upper atmosphere heating. Weobtained IUE high- and low-resolution spectra but found no change ineither the Mg II chromospheric emission or the flux at 1800 Åbetween 1978 and 1993 when the pulsation amplitude dropped by 50% (from2.8 to 1.6 km s-1). The energy distribution from 1700 Åthrough V, B, R(KC), and I(KC) is like that of a nonvariable supergiantof the same color rather than a full amplitude Cepheid in that it hasmore flux at 1800 Å than the full amplitude Cepheid δ Cep.Polaris also has a rapidly changing period (3.2 s yr-1), incommon with other overtone pulsators. We argue that this is a naturalconsequence of the different envelope locations that dominate pulsationgrowth rates in fundamental and overtone pulsation. In fundamental modepulsators, the deeper envelope is more important in determining growthrates than for overtone pulsators. For fundamental mode pulsators,evolutionary changes in the radius produce approximately linear changesin period. In overtone pulsators, pulsation reacts to small evolutionarychanges in a more unstable way because the modes are more sensitive tohigh envelope features such as opacity bumps, and the growth rates forthe many closely spaced overtone modes change easily. Finally, the upperlimit to the X-ray flux from an Einstein observation implies that thecompanion in the astrometric orbit is earlier than F4 V. The combinationof upper and lower limits on the companion from IUE and Einsteinrespectively catch the companion mass between 1.7 and 1.4Msolar. The X-ray limit is consistent with the more distantcompanion α UMi B being a physical companion in a hierarchaltriple system. However the X-ray limits require that the even moredistant companions α UMi C and D are too old to be physicallyassociated with Polaris. A catalog of rotational and radial velocities for evolved stars. II. Ib supergiant starsRotational velocity vsin i and mean radial velocity are presented for asample of 231 Ib supergiant stars covering the spectral region F, G andK. This work is the second part of the large survey carried out with theCORAVEL spectrometer to establish the behavior of the rotation for starsevolving off the main sequence (De Medeiros & Mayor 1999). Thesedata will add constraints to the study of the rotational behavior inevolved stars, as well as solid information concerning tidalinteractions in binary systems and on the link between rotation,chemical abundance and activity in stars of intermediate masses. Basedon observations collected at the Haute-Provence Observatory,Saint-Michel, France and at the European Southern Observatory, La Silla,Chile Table 1 is only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/395/97 CHARM: A Catalog of High Angular Resolution MeasurementsThe 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. New algorithms for reducing cross-dispersed echelle spectraWe describe advanced image processing algorithms, implemented in a dataanalysis package for conventional and cross-dispersed echelle spectra.Comparisons with results from other packages illustrate the outstandingquality of the new REDUCE package, particularly in terms of resultingnoise level and treatment of CCD defects and cosmic ray spikes. REDUCEcan be adapted relatively easily to handle a variety of instrumenttypes, including spectrographs with prism or grating cross-dispersers,possibly fed by a fiber or image slicer, etc. In addition to reducedspectra, an accurate spatial profile is recovered, providing valuableinformation about the spectrograph PSF and simplifying scattered lightcorrections. Based on data obtained with the VLT UVES and SAAO Giraffespectrometers. On the Accuracy of GAIA Radial VelocitiesWe have obtained 782 real spectra and used them as inputs for 6700automatic cross-correlation runs to investigate the GAIA potential interms of radial velocity accuracy. We have explored the dispersions0.25, 0.5, 1 and 2 Å/pix over the 8490--8740 Å GAIA range.We have investigated late-F to early-M stars (constituting the vastmajority of GAIA targets), slowly rotating ( = 4 km/s), of solar metallicity (<[Fe/H]> = --0.07) and notbinary. The results are accurately described by the simple law: {logsigma = 0.6 (log S/N)2 -- 2.4 log S/N + 1.75 log D + 3, wheresigma is the cross-correlation standard error (in km/s) and D is thespectral dispersion (in Å/pix). The spectral dispersion has turnedout to be the dominant factor, with S/N being less important and thespectral mis-match being a weak player at the lowest S/N. Our resultsshow that mission-averaged radial velocities of faint GAIA targets (V ~15 mag) can match the ~ 0.5 km/s accuracy of tangential motions,provided the observations are performed at a dispersion not less than0.5 Å/pix. Comparison of Stellar Angular Diameters from the NPOI, the Mark III Optical Interferometer, and the Infrared Flux MethodThe Navy Prototype Optical Interferometer (NPOI) has been used tomeasure the angular diameters of 41 late-type giant and supergiant starspreviously observed with the Mark III optical interferometer. Sixteen ofthese stars have published angular diameters based on model atmospheres(infrared flux method, IRFM). Comparison of these angular diametersshows that there are no systematic offsets between any pair of datasets. Furthermore, the reported uncertainties in the angular diametersmeasured using both interferometers are consistent with the distributionof the differences in the diameters. The distribution of diameterdifferences between the interferometric and model atmosphere angulardiameters are consistent with uncertainties in the IRFM diameters of1.4%. Although large differences in angular diameter measurements areseen for three stars, the data are insufficient to determine whetherthese differences are due to problems with the observations or are dueto temporal changes in the stellar diameters themselves. Catalogue of Apparent Diameters and Absolute Radii of Stars (CADARS) - Third edition - Comments and statisticsThe 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 The proper motions of fundamental stars. I. 1535 stars from the Basic FK5A direct combination of the positions given in the HIPPARCOS cataloguewith astrometric ground-based catalogues having epochs later than 1939allows us to obtain new proper motions for the 1535 stars of the BasicFK5. The results are presented as the catalogue Proper Motions ofFundamental Stars (PMFS), Part I. The median precision of the propermotions is 0.5 mas/year for mu alpha cos delta and 0.7mas/year for mu delta . The non-linear motions of thephotocentres of a few hundred astrometric binaries are separated intotheir linear and elliptic motions. Since the PMFS proper motions do notinclude the information given by the proper motions from othercatalogues (HIPPARCOS, FK5, FK6, etc.) this catalogue can be used as anindependent source of the proper motions of the fundamental stars.Catalogue (Table 3) is only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strastg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/365/222 The intermediate-band approach to the surface-brightness method for Cepheid radii and distance determinationThe surface-brightness parameter Fν is calibrated in termsof the Strömgren intermediate-band colour b-y. The relationFν-(b-y)o valid for Cepheids is calibratedusing accurate near-infrared radii and distances for selected Cepheids.We have obtained uvby photometry for non-Cepheid giant and supergiantstars with known angular diameters and compared the slope and zero-pointof their Fν-(b-y)o relation with the Cepheidcalibration. We found that the two calibrations are significantlydifferent. The theoretical models lie in between the two calibrations.It is remarked that Fν-colour relations derived fromnon-Cepheids and involving blue colours (e.g. B-V or b-y) are notapplicable to Cepheids, while those involving redder colours (e.g. V-R,V-K or V-J) also produce good radii for Cepheids. Selected Cepheids ascalibrators lead to the accurate relationFν=3.898(+/-0.003)-0.378(+/-0.006)(b-y)o, whichallowed the calculation of radii and distances for a sample of 59Galactic Cepheids. The uncertainties in the zero-point and slope of theabove relation are similar to those obtained from near-infrared colours,and determine the accuracies in radii and distance calculations. Whileinfrared light and colour curves for Cepheids may be superior inprecision, the intermediate-band b-y colour allows the recovery of meanradii with an accuracy comparable to those obtained from the infraredsolutions. The derived distances are consistent within the uncertaintieswith those predicted by a widely accepted period-luminosityrelationship. Likewise, the resulting period-radius relation from theintermediate-band approach is in better agreement with infrared versionsthan with optical versions of this law. It is highlighted that theintermediate-band calibration of the surface-brightness method in thiswork is of comparable accuracy to the near-infrared calibrations. Thepresent results stress the virtues of uvby in determining the physicalparameters of supergiant stars of intermediate temperature. Two K Giants with Supermeteoritic Lithium Abundances: HDE 233517 and HD 9746Two unusual Li-rich K giants, HDE 233517 and HD 9746, have been studied.Optical spectroscopy and photometry have been obtained to determine thefundamental parameters of HDE 233517, a single K2 III with an extremelylarge infrared excess. The spectra yield Teff=4475 K,logg=2.25, [Fe/H]=-0.37, vsini=17.6 km s-1, and a non-LTElogɛ(7Li)=4.22. Photometric observations reveallow-amplitude light variability with a period of 47.9 days. Combinedwith other parameters, this results in a minimum radius of 16.7Rsolar and minimum distance of 617 pc. Comparison of spectraobtained in 1994 and 1996 show profile variations in Hα and the NaD lines indicative of changing mass loss. Optical spectra of HD 9746, achromospherically active giant, were analyzed. The Teff=4400K and revised Hipparcos-based gravity of logg=2.30 lead to a non-LTElogɛ(7Li)=3.75. The Li abundances in both stars aresupermeteoritic. By the inclusion and exclusion of 6Li in thesyntheses, we show that consistent 7Li abundances areobtained only when 6Li is absent in the synthetic fit. Thisprovides evidence for fresh 7Li production and excludes bothpreservation of primordial Li and planetary accretion as viablescenarios for the formation of Li-rich giants. Both stars lie in closeproximity to the red giant luminosity bump supporting the hypothesisthat 7Li production is caused by the same mixing mechanismthat later results in CN processing and lowers the12C/13C ratio to nonstandard values. The Chromospheres of G-type Ib SupergiantsThis preliminary study of the detailed chromospheric conditions ofG-type Ib-supergiants provides a foundation for atmospheric models,complementing STIS and FUSE surveys of cool stars. We compare opticaland near-UV high-resolution Utrecht Echelle Spectrograph (WilliamHerschel Telescope), and SOFIN (Nordic Optical Telescope) echellespectra of α Aqr (G2 Ib), 9 Peg (G5 Ib), and ɛ Gem (G8 Ib)with the Ia-supergiant HD 179821 (G2-G5). The latter has recently beenproposed as a post-AGB star (with a detached dust shell), instead of apopulation I massive supergiant, for which we do not detectchromospheric emission in Ca ii H & K. The three Ib-supergiantsreveal much stronger Hα absorption lines than HD 179821, while thecore intensities of Hβ and Hδ (showing broad damping linewings) in α Aqr, ɛ Gem, and HD 179821 are similar. TheHα profile of HD 179821 has a weak absorption core with satelliteemission, typically formed in a supersonic expanding wind. This isregularly observed in very luminous cool pulsating super- andhypergiants of the ρ Cas-type (F2-G Ia+), which lack H& K emission. Our spectral synthesis of these observations showsthat the Hα absorption in G Ib-supergiants is strongly enhanceddue to chromospheric excitation, whereas the higher Balmer lines aremainly of photospheric origin. This finding is parallel to thechromospheric nature of Hα absorption in α Ori (M2 Iab),recently discussed by Lobel & Dupree (ApJ, 545, Dec. 2000). Thisresearch is supported in part by STScI grant GO-08280.02-97A to the SAO. Ca II activity and rotation in F-K evolved starsCa II H and K high resolution observations for 60 evolved stars in thefield and in 5 open clusters are presented. From these spectrachromospheric fluxes are derived, and a homogeneous sample of more than100 giants is built adding data from the literature. In addition, formost stars, rotational velocities were derived from CORAVELobservations. By comparing chromospheric emission in the cluster starswe confirm the results of Pasquini & Brocato (1992): chromosphericactivity depends on the stellar effective temperature, and mass, whenintermediate mass stars (M ~ 4 Msun) are considered. TheHyades and the Praesepe clump giants show the same level of activity, asexpected from stars with similar masses and effective temperatures. Adifference of up to 0.4 dex in the chromospheric fluxes among the Hyadesgiants is recorded and this sets a clear limit to the intrinsic spreadof stellar activity in evolved giants. These differences in otherwisevery similar stars are likely due to stellar cycles and/or differencesin the stellar initial angular momentum. Among the field stars none ofthe giants with (V-R)o < 0.4 and Ia supergiants observedshows a signature of Ca II activity; this can be due either to the realabsence of a chromosphere, but also to other causes which preclude theappearance of Ca II reversal. By analyzing the whole sample we find thatchromospheric activity scales linearly with stellar rotational velocityand a high power of stellar effective temperature: F'k ~Teff7.7 (Vsini)0.9. This result can beinterpreted as the effect of two chromospheric components of differentnature: one mechanical and one magnetic. Alternatively, by using theHipparcos parallaxes and evolutionary tracks, we divide the sampleaccording to the stellar masses, and we follow the objects along anevolutionary track. For each range of masses activity can simply beexpressed as a function of only one parameter: either theTeff or the angular rotation Omega , with laws F'k~ Omega alpha , because angular velocity decreases witheffective temperature along an evolutionary track. By using theevolutionary tracks and the observed Vsini we investigate the evolutionof the angular momentum for evolved stars in the range 1-5Msun. For the 1.6-3 solar mass stars the data are consistentwith the IOmega =const law while lower and higher masses follow a lawsimilar to IOmega 2=const, where I is the computed stellarmomentum of inertia. We find it intriguing that Vsini remains almostconstant for 1Msun stars along their evolution; if a similarbehavior is shared by Pop II stars, this could explain the relativelyhigh degree of activity observed in Pop II giants. Finally, through theuse of models, we have verified the consistency of the F'k ~Omega alpha and the IOmega beta = Const lawsderived, finding an excellent agreement. This representation, albeitcrude (the models do not consider, for instance, mass losses) representsthe evolution of Ca II activity and of the angular momentum in asatisfactory way in most of the portion of HR diagram analyzed.Different predictions could be tested with observations in selectedclusters. Based on observations collected at ESO, La Silla. Tables 1-3are only available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html Sixth Catalogue of Fundamental Stars (FK6). Part I. Basic fundamental stars with direct solutionsThe FK6 is a suitable combination of the results of the HIPPARCOSastrometry satellite with ground-based data, measured over more than twocenturies and summarized in the FK5. Part I of the FK6 (abbreviatedFK6(I)) contains 878 basic fundamental stars with direct solutions. Suchdirect solutions are appropriate for single stars or for objects whichcan be treated like single stars. From the 878 stars in Part I, we haveselected 340 objects as "astrometrically excellent stars", since theirinstantaneous proper motions and mean (time-averaged) ones do not differsignificantly. Hence most of the astrometrically excellent stars arewell-behaving "single-star candidates" with good astrometric data. Thesestars are most suited for high-precision astrometry. On the other hand,199 of the stars in Part I are Δμ binaries in the sense ofWielen et al. (1999). Many of them are newly discovered probablebinaries with no other hitherto known indication of binarity. The FK6gives, besides the classical "single-star mode" solutions (SI mode),other solutions which take into account the fact that hidden astrometricbinaries among "apparently single-stars" introduce sizable "cosmicerrors" into the quasi-instantaneously measured HIPPARCOS proper motionsand positions. The FK6 gives in addition to the SI mode the "long-termprediction (LTP) mode" and the "short-term prediction (STP) mode". TheseLTP and STP modes are on average the most precise solutions forapparently single stars, depending on the epoch difference with respectto the HIPPARCOS epoch of about 1991. The typical mean error of anFK6(I) proper motion in the single-star mode is 0.35 mas/year. This isabout a factor of two better than the typical HIPPARCOS errors for thesestars of 0.67 mas/year. In the long-term prediction mode, in whichcosmic errors are taken into account, the FK6(I) proper motions have atypical mean error of 0.50 mas/year, which is by a factor of more than 4better than the corresponding error for the HIPPARCOS values of 2.21mas/year (cosmic errors included). An analysis of the Johnson et al. Catalina UBVRI photometry for second order extinction effects.Not Available Determination of the characteristics of stars of spectral types F,G,K. The effective temperatures.Not Available
Submit a new article

• - No Links Found -