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Angular diameter amplitudes of bright Cepheids.
Expected mean angular diameters and amplitudes of angular diametervariations are estimated for all monoperiodic Classical Cepheidsbrighter than < V > = 8.0 mag. The catalog is intended to helpselecting best Cepheid targets for interferometric observations.
| Cepheid distances from interferometry .
Long baseline interferometry is now able to resolve the pulsationalchange of the angular diameter of a significant number of Cepheids inthe solar neighborhood. This allows the application of a new version ofthe Baade-Wesselink (BW) method to measure their distance, for which wedo not need to estimate the star's temperature. Using angular diametermeasurements from the VLT Interferometer, we derived the distances tofour nearby Cepheids. For three additional stars, we obtained averagevalues of their angular diameters. Based on these new measurements andalready existing data, we derived calibrations of the Period-Luminosityand Period-Radius relations. We also obtained reliable surfacebrightness-color relations, that can be employed for the infraredsurface brightness version of the BW method.
| The metallicity dependence of the Cepheid period-luminosity relation .
We have assessed the influence of the stellar iron content on theCepheid Period-Luminosity (PL) relation by relating the V band residualsfrom the \citet{fre01} PL relation to [Fe/H] for 68 Galactic andMagellanic Cloud Cepheids. The iron abundances were measured from FEROSand UVES high-resolution and high signal-to-noise optical spectra. Ourdata indicate that the stars become fainter as metallicity increases,until a plateau or turnover point is reached at about solar metallicity.This behavior appears at odds both with the PL relation beingindependent from iron abundance and with Cepheids becoming monotonicallybrighter as metallicity increases \citep[e.g.][]{ken98,sak04}.
| High resolution spectroscopy for Cepheids distance determination. I. Line asymmetry
Context: .The ratio of pulsation to radial velocity (the projectionfactor) is currently limiting the accuracy of the Baade-Wesselinkmethod, and in particular of its interferometric version recentlyapplied to several nearby Cepheids. Aims: .This work aims atestablishing a link between the line asymmetry evolution over theCepheids' pulsation cycles and their projection factor, with the finalobjective to improve the accuracy of the Baade-Wesselink method fordistance determinations. Methods: .We present HARPS high spectralresolution observations (R=120 000) of nine galactic Cepheids:R Tra, S Cru, YSgr, β Dor, ζGem, Y Oph, RZ Vel,ℓ Car and RS Pup, having agood period sampling (P=3.39d to P=41.52d). We fit spectral lineprofiles by an asymmetric bi-Gaussian to derive radial velocity,Full-Width at Half-Maximum in the line (FWHM) and line asymmetry for allstars. We then extract correlations curves between radial velocity andasymmetry. A geometric model providing synthetic spectral lines,including limb-darkening, a constant FWHM (hereafter σ_C) and therotation velocity is used to interpret these correlations curves.Results: .For all stars, comparison between observations and modellingis satisfactory, and we were able to determine the projected rotationvelocities and σC for all stars. We also find acorrelation between the rotation velocity (V_rot sin i) and the periodof the star: V_rot sin i= (-11.5 ± 0.9) log (P) + (19.8 ±1.0) [ km s-1] . Moreover, we observe a systematic shift inobservational asymmetry curves (noted γ_O), related to the periodof the star, which is not explained by our static model:γ_O=(-10.7 ± 0.1) log (P) + (9.7 ± 0.2) [in %]. Forlong-period Cepheids, in which velocity gradients, compression or shockwaves seem to be large compared to short- or medium-period Cepheids weobserve indeed a greater systematic shift in asymmetry curves.Conclusions: .This new way of studying line asymmetry seems to be verypromising for a better understanding of Cepheids atmosphere and todetermine, for each star, a dynamic projection factor.
| Extended envelopes around Galactic Cepheids. I. ℓ Carinae from near and mid-infrared interferometry with the VLTI
We present the results of long-baseline interferometric observations ofthe bright southern Cepheid ℓ Carinae in the infrared N (8-13 μm)and K (2.0-2.4 μm) bands, using the MIDI and VINCI instruments of theVLT Interferometer. We resolve in the N band a large circumstellarenvelope (CSE) that we model with a Gaussian of 3 Rstar(≈500 Rȯ ≈ 2-3 AU) half width at half maximum. Thesignature of this envelope is also detected in our K band data as adeviation from a single limb darkened disk visibility function. Thesuperimposition of a Gaussian CSE on the limb darkened disk model of theCepheid star results in a significantly better fit of our VINCI data.The extracted CSE parameters in the K band are a half width at halfmaximum of 2 Rstar, comparable to the N band model, and atotal brightness of 4% of the stellar photosphere. A possibility is thatthis CSE is linked to the relatively large mass loss rate of ℓ Car.Though its physical nature cannot be determined from our data, wediscuss an analogy with the molecular envelopes of RV Tauri, redsupergiants and Miras.
| A spectroscopic study of bright southern Cepheids - a high-resolution view of Cepheid atmospheres
We present high-resolution spectroscopic observations andspecies-by-species radial velocities of a number of southern Cepheids.The stars (BP Cir, V350 Sgr, AX Cir, V636 Sco, W Sgr, S Mus, β Dor,TT Aql, Y Oph, YZ Car, SW Vel, X Pup, T Mon and l Car) were observed aspart of a long-term programme at Mt John University Observatory. Radialvelocities were determined with the line bisector technique, and have aprecision of ~300 ms-1. Velocity differences as large as 30kms-1 were found for Hα and CaII when referenced to themetallic line velocity curves, but more subtle variations (of 1-2kms-1) were also detected in many other species. Pulsationalphase anticorrelations are found between lines of SiII and BaII,confirming the propagation time delay between line-forming layersproducing these two species. We find that the amplitude and phasedifferences between the various species increase with period.
| Predicting accurate stellar angular diameters by the near-infrared surface brightness technique
I report on the capabilities of the near-infrared (near-IR) surfacebrightness technique to predict reliable stellar angular diameters asaccurate as <~2 per cent using standard broad-band Johnson photometryin the colour range -0.1 <= (V-K)O<= 3.7 includingstars of A, F, G, K spectral type. This empirical approach is fast toapply and leads to estimated photometric diameters in very goodagreement with recent high-precision interferometric diametermeasurements available for non-variable dwarfs and giants, as well asfor Cepheid variables. Then I compare semi-empirical diameters predictedby model-dependent photometric and spectrophotometric (SP) methods withnear-IR surface brightness diameters adopted as empirical referencecalibrators. The overall agreement between all these methods is withinapproximately +/-5 per cent, confirming previous works. However, on thesame scale of accuracy, there is also evidence for systematic shiftspresumably as a result of an incorrect representation of the stellareffective temperature in the model-dependent results. I also comparemeasurements of spectroscopic radii with near-IR surface brightnessradii of Cepheids with known distances. Spectroscopic radii are found tobe affected by a scatter as significant as >~9 per cent, which is atleast three times greater than the formal error currently claimed by thespectroscopic technique. In contrast, pulsation radii predicted by theperiod-radius (PR) relation according to the Cepheid period result aresignificantly less dispersed, indicating a quite small scatter as aresult of the finite width of the Cepheid instability strip, as expectedfrom pulsation theory. The resulting low level of noise stronglyconfirms our previous claims that the pulsation parallaxes are the mostaccurate empirical distances presently available for Galactic andextragalactic Cepheids.
| Mean Angular Diameters and Angular Diameter Amplitudes of Bright Cepheids
We predict mean angular diameters and amplitudes of angular diametervariations for all monoperiodic PopulationI Cepheids brighter than=8.0 mag. The catalog is intended to aid selecting mostpromising Cepheid targets for future interferometric observations.
| First results from the ESO VLTI calibrators program
The ESO Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) is one of the leadinginterferometric facilities. It is equipped with several 8.2 and 1.8 mtelescopes, a large number of baselines up to 200 m, and with severalsubsystems designed to enable high quality measurements and to improvesignificantly the limits of sensitivities currently available tolong-baseline interferometry. The full scientific potential of the VLTIcan be exploited only if a consistent set of good quality calibrators isavailable. For this, a large number of observations of potentialcalibrators have been obtained during the commissioning phase of theVLTI. These data are publicly available. We briefly describe theinterferometer, the VINCI instrument used for the observations, the dataflow from acquisition to processed results, and we present and commenton the volume of observations gathered and scrutinized. The result is alist of 191 calibrator candidates, for which a total of 12 066observations can be deemed of satisfactory quality. We present a generalstatistical analysis of this sample, using as a starting point theangular diameters previously available in the literature. We derive thegeneral characteristics of the VLTI transfer function, and its trendwith time in the period 2001 through mid-2004. A second paper will bedevoted to a detailed investigation of a selected sample, aimed atestablishing a VLTI-based homogeneous system of calibrators.
| 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
| The influence of chemical composition on the properties of Cepheid stars. I. Period-Luminosity relation vs. iron abundance
We have assessed the influence of the stellar iron content on theCepheid Period-Luminosity (PL) relation by relating the V band residualsfrom the Freedman et al. (\cite{fre01}) PL relation to [Fe/H] for 37Galactic and Magellanic Clouds Cepheids. The iron abundances weremeasured from FEROS and UVES high-resolution and high-signal to noiseoptical spectra. Our data indicate that the stars become fainter asmetallicity increases, until a plateau or turnover point is reached atabout solar metallicity. Our data are incompatible with both nodependence of the PL relation on iron abundance, and with the linearlydecreasing behavior often found in the literature (e.g. Kennicutt et al.\cite{ken98}; Sakai et al. \cite{sak04}). On the other hand, non-lineartheoretical models of Fiorentino et al. (\cite{fio02}) provide a fairlygood description of the data.Based on observations made with ESO Telescopes at La Silla and ParanalObservatories under proposal ID 66.D-0571.Table \ref{tab:log} is only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org
| Cepheid pulsations resolved by the VLTI.
Not Available
| Period-luminosity relations for Galactic Cepheid variables with independent distance measurements
In this paper, we derive the period-luminosity (PL) relation forGalactic Cepheids with recent independent distance measurements fromopen cluster, Barnes-Evans surface brightness, interferometry and HubbleSpace Telescope astrometry techniques. Our PL relation confirms theresults from recent works, which showed that the Galactic Cepheidsfollow a different PL relation to their Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC)counterparts. Our results also show that the slope of the Galactic PLrelation is inconsistent with the LMC slope with more than 95 per centconfidence level. We apply this Galactic PL relation to find thedistance to NGC 4258. Our result of μo= 29.49 +/- 0.06 mag(random error) agrees at the ~1.4σ level with the geometricaldistance of μgeo= 29.28 +/- 0.15 mag from water masermeasurements.
| Cepheidenbeobachtung in der BAV: Ruckblick und Ausblick.
Not Available
| Radiative Transfer Modeling of Warm Transition Region Winds in F- and G-type Supergiants
We present FUSE spectra of upper transition region emission lines of OVI in the dynamic atmosphere of the short-period classic Cepheid BetaDor (F-G Ia). The far-UV O VI 1032 & 1037 Å lines indicate aheating mechanism in the outer atmospheres of strongly pulsating F- andG-type supergiants sustaining hot plasmas at kinetic gas temperaturesbetween 100 kK and 300 kK. Our observation of prominent upper transitionregion emission lines in Beta Dor contrasts with the very low X-rayluminosities of Cepheid variables that signal only weak coronal plasmas.On the other hand, FUSE and HST-STIS observations of the non-variableyellow (hybrid) supergiants Alpha Aqr (G2 Ib) and Beta Aqr (G0 Ib),having large X-ray fluxes, reveal supersonic warm wind velocities of 140km/s and 90 km/s, respectively, in lower transition region emissionlines of C III 977 Å and Si III 1206 Å. Our semi-empiricradiative transfer models show that these optically thick winds occur atkinetic gas temperatures well above 70 kK, much larger than assumed forthe chromospheres of cool supergiants. Remarkably, these emission linesreveal peculiar shapes reminiscent of P-Cygni type line profilesobserved in UV spectra of hot supergiants. Both hybrid supergiants lackthe strongly oscillating photospheres of Cepheids, suggesting that theirtransition region wind acceleration and heating do not result from apure mechanical driving mechanism due to atmospheric pulsations.We present detailed semi-empiric radiative transfer models of thethermal and dynamic structures of the outer atmospheres of theseluminous F- and G-type supergiants based on the FUSE and HST-STISspectra. We investigate if warm accelerating winds observed in high ionsof cool supergiants can (partly) be driven by radiation pressure.This research is based on data obtained with the NASA/ESA Hubble SpaceTelescope, collected at the STScI, operated by AURA Inc., under contractNAS5-26555. Financial support has been provided by STScI grantHST-GO-10212.01-A and NASA FUSE grant GI-D107. Â
| Cepheid distances from infrared long-baseline interferometry. III. Calibration of the surface brightness-color relations
The recent VINCI/VLTI observations presented in Paper I have nearlydoubled the total number of available angular diameter measurements ofCepheids. Taking advantage of the significantly larger color rangecovered by these observations, we derive in the present paper highprecision calibrations of the surface brightness-color relations usingexclusively Cepheid observations. These empirical laws make it possibleto determine the distance to Cepheids through a Baade-Wesselink typetechnique. The least dispersed relations are based on visible-infraredcolors, for instance FV(V-K) = -0.1336 ± 0.0008 (V-K)+ 3.9530 ± 0.0006}. The convergence of the Cepheid (this work)and dwarf star (Kervella et al. \cite{kervella04c}) visible-infraredsurface brightness-color relations is strikingly good. The astrophysicaldispersion of these relations appears to be very small, and below thepresent detection sensitivity.Table \ref{table_measurements1} is only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org
| Cepheid distances from infrared long-baseline interferometry. II. Calibration of the period-radius and period-luminosity relations
Using our interferometric angular diameter measurements of sevenclassical Cepheids reported in Kervella et al. (\cite{kervella04},A&A, 416, 941 - Paper I), complemented by previously existingmeasurements, we derive new calibrations of the Cepheid period-radius(P-R) and period-luminosity (P-L) relations. We obtain a P-R relation oflog R = [0.767 ± 0.009] log P + [1.091 ± 0.011], only 1σ away from the relation obtained by Gieren et al.(\cite{gieren98}, ApJ, 496, 17). We therefore confirm their P-R relationat a level of Δ(log R) = ± 0.02. We also derive an originalcalibration of the P-L relation, assuming the slopes derived by Gierenet al. (\cite{gieren98}) from LMC Cepheids, αK = -3.267± 0.042 and αV = -2.769 ± 0.073. With aP-L relation of the form Mλ =αλ (log P - 1) + βλ, weobtain log P = 1 reference points of βK = -5.904± 0.063 and βV = -4.209 ± 0.075. Ourcalibration in the V band is statistically identical to the geometricalresult of Lanoix et al. (\cite{lanoix99}, MNRAS, 308, 969).
| The metallicity dependence of the Cepheid PL-relation
A sample of 37 Galactic, 10 LMC and 6 SMC cepheids is compiled for whichindividual metallicity estimates exist and BVIK photometry in almost allcases. The Galactic cepheids all have an individual distance estimateavailable. For the MC objects different sources of photometry arecombined to obtain improved periods and mean magnitudes. Amulti-parameter Period-Luminosity relation is fitted to the data whichalso solves for the distance to the LMC and SMC. When all three galaxiesare considered, without metallicity effect, a significant quadratic termin log P is found, as previously observed and also predicted in sometheoretical calculations. For the present sample it is empiricallydetermined that for log P < 1.65 linear PL-relations may be adopted,but this restricts the sample to only 4 LMC and 1 SMC cepheid.Considering the Galactic sample a metallicity effect is found in thezero point in the VIWK PL-relation (-0.6 ± 0.4 or -0.8 ±0.3 mag/dex depending on the in- or exclusion of one object), in thesense that metal-rich cepheids are brighter. The small significance ismostly due to the fact that the Galactic sample spans a narrowmetallicity range. The error is to a significant part due to the errorin the metallicity determinations and not to the error in the fit.Including the 5 MC cepheids broadens the observed metallicity range anda metallity effect of about -0.27 ± 0.08 mag/dex in the zeropoint is found in VIWK, in agreement with some previous empiricalestimates, but now derived using direct metallicity determinations forthe cepheids themselves.
| The structure of radiative shock waves. V. Hydrogen emission lines
We considered the structure of steady-state plane-parallel radiativeshock waves propagating through the partially ionized hydrogen gas oftemperature T1 = 3000 K and density 10-12 gcm-3leρ1≤10-9 gcm-3. The upstream Mach numbers range within6≤M1≤14. In frequency intervals of hydrogen lines theradiation field was treated using the transfer equation in the frame ofthe observer for the moving medium, whereas the continuum radiation wascalculated for the static medium. Doppler shifts in Balmer emissionlines of the radiation flux emerging from the upstream boundary of theshock wave model were found to be roughly one-third of the shock wavevelocity: -δ V≈ (1/3 U1. The gas emitting the Balmerline radiation is located at the rear of the shock wave in the hydrogenrecombination zone where the gas flow velocity in theframe of the observer is approximately one-half of the shock wavevelocity: -V*≈(1)/(2) U1. The ratio of theDoppler shift to the gas flow velocity of δ V/V* ≈0.7 results both from the small optical thickness of the shock wave inline frequencies andthe anisotropy of the radiation field typical for the slab geometry. Inthe ambient gas with density of ρ1 10-11g cm-3 the flux in the Hα frequency interval revealsthe double structure of the profile. A weaker Hβ profile doublingwas found for ρ1≳ 10-10 g cm-3and U1 50 km s-1. The unshifted redwardcomponent of the double profile is due to photodeexcitation accompanyingthe rapid growth of collisional ionization in the narrow layer in frontof the discontinuous jump.
| Cepheid distances from infrared long-baseline interferometry. I. VINCI/VLTI observations of seven Galactic Cepheids
We report the angular diameter measurements of seven classical Cepheids,X Sgr, η Aql, W Sgr, ζ Gem, β Dor, Y Oph and ℓ Carthat we have obtained with the VINCI instrument, installed at ESO's VLTInterferometer (VLTI). We also present reprocessed archive data obtainedwith the FLUOR/IOTA instrument on ζ Gem, in order to improve thephase coverage of our observations. We obtain average limb darkenedangular diameter values of /line{θLD}[X Sgr] = 1.471± 0.033 mas, /line{θLD[η Aql] = 1.839± 0.028 mas, /line{θLD}[W Sgr] = 1.312 ±0.029 mas, /line{θLD}[β Dor] = 1.891 ±0.024 mas, /line{θLD}[ζ Gem] =1.747 ±0.061 mas, /line{θLD}[Y Oph] = 1.437 ± 0.040mas, and /line{θLD}[ℓ Car] = 2.988 ± 0.012mas. For four of these stars, η Aql, W Sgr, β Dor, and ℓCar, we detect the pulsational variation of their angular diameter. Thisenables us to compute directly their distances, using a modified versionof the Baade-Wesselink method: d[η Aql] =276+55-38 pc, d[W Sgr] =379+216-130 pc, d[β Dor] =345+175-80 pc, d[ℓ Car] =603+24-19 pc. The stated error bars arestatistical in nature. Applying a hybrid method, that makes use of theGieren et al. (\cite{gieren98}) Period-Radius relation to estimate thelinear diameters, we obtain the following distances (statistical andsystematic error bars are mentioned): d[X Sgr] = 324 ± 7 ±17 pc, d[η Aql] = 264 ± 4 ± 14 pc, d[W Sgr] = 386± 9 ± 21 pc, d[β Dor] = 326 ± 4 ± 19pc, d[ζ Gem] = 360 ± 13 ± 22 pc, d[Y Oph] = 648± 17 ± 47 pc, d[ℓ Car] = 542 ± 2 ± 49pc.Tables 3 to 10 are only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org
| Cepheid Variables in the AAVSO International Database
There are 205,500 visual observations for 148 Cepheids as well as 182photoelectric observations for 7 Cepheids in the AAVSO InternationalDatabase. These data were reduced with Hertzprung's method and 2,010times of maximum brightness were obtained. O-C diagrams for 21well-observed Cepheids are presented and results obtained are comparedwith existing data.
| Cepheid Variables and the Circum/Interstellar Matter
Various aspects of the relation of classical Cepheids and inter- andcircumstellar matter are summarized. Emphasis is given to the questionof mass loss from Cepheids and to the role of these pulsating variablesin revealing the recent star formation history in their neighbourhood.
| Sodium enrichment of the stellar atmospheres. II. Galactic Cepheids
The present paper is a continuation of our study of the sodium abundancein supergiant atmospheres (Andrievsky et al. 2002a). We present theresults on the NLTE abundance determination in Cepheids, and the derivedrelation between the sodium overabundance and their masses.
| New Period-Luminosity and Period-Color relations of classical Cepheids: I. Cepheids in the Galaxy
321 Galactic fundamental-mode Cepheids with good B, V, and (in mostcases) I photometry by Berdnikov et al. (\cite{Berdnikov:etal:00}) andwith homogenized color excesses E(B-V) based on Fernie et al.(\cite{Fernie:etal:95}) are used to determine their period-color (P-C)relation in the range 0.4~ 1.4). The latter effect is enhanced by asuggestive break of the P-L relation of LMC and SMC at log P = 1.0towards still shallower values as shown in a forthcoming paper.Table 1 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/404/423
| Fundamental Parameters of Cepheids. V. Additional Photometry and Radial Velocity Data for Southern Cepheids
I present photometric and radial velocity data for Galactic Cepheids,most of them being in the southern hemisphere. There are 1250 Genevaseven-color photometric measurements for 62 Cepheids, the averageuncertainty per measurement is better than 0.01 mag. A total of 832velocity measurements have been obtained with the CORAVEL radialvelocity spectrograph for 46 Cepheids. The average accuracy of theradial velocity data is 0.38 km s-1. There are 33 stars withboth photometry and radial velocity data. I discuss the possiblebinarity or period change that these new data reveal. I also presentreddenings for all Cepheids with photometry. The data are availableelectronically. Based on observations obtained at the European SouthernObservatory, La Silla.
| Polaris: Amplitude, Period Change, and Companions
Polaris 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.
| On the Absolute Calibration of the Cepheid Distance Scale Using Hipparcos Parallaxes
The fundamental Hipparcos parallaxes (HIPP) of 219 Cepheids are used forthe absolute calibration of the Galactic distance scale sampled by amodern Baade-Wesselink (BW) distance indicator, which reliably accountsfor pulsation and thermal properties of Cepheid variable stars. Notablywe map thermal properties into the Johnson-Cousins color (V-I). The BWrealization is found to be much less affected than previously adoptedoptical luminosity laws by intrinsic scatter and systematic errors inrepresenting individual Cepheid distances and thus is best suited for acalibration of the galactic distance scale using the fundamentalHipparcos parallaxes (HIPP). Comparisons between the actual Hipparcoscalibration and three independent ground-based calibrations of the sameBW distance scale show very close agreement at the 0.04 mag level, i.e.,at the 1 σ level of the absolute accuracy claimed for BWrealizations, although the Hipparcos calibration is affected by anuncertainty of +/-0.10 mag due to propagation of parallax errors alone.Comparisons include the zero-age main-sequence calibration by Cepheidsin clusters (Pleiades distance modulus at 5.57 mag), the calibration bypulsation parallaxes of Cepheids, and the calibration by updated modelcalculations of synthetic stellar spectra of Cepheids. Notably, theresulting galactic distance scale is found to be ~0.1 mag shorter thanthe value obtained in the original calibration of Feast & Catchpole.The implications of the actual calibration on the Cepheid-based distanceto the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and the extragalactic distance scaleare briefly discussed. A true distance modulus of 18.59+/-0.04 mag ispresently achieved. Evidence from Hipparcos-based calibrations bydifferent methods strongly supports the actual upward revision of0.09+/-0.04 mag for the LMC distance of 18.50 mag adopted in the HubbleSpace Telescope Key Project program, corresponding to no more than a 5%decrease in the value of the Hubble constant.
| The ISO-SWS post-helium atlas of near-infrared stellar spectra
We present an atlas of near-infrared spectra (2.36 mu m-4.1 mu m) of ~300 stars at moderate resolution (lambda /delta lambda ~ 1500-2000). Thespectra were recorded using the Short-Wavelength Spectrometer aboard theInfrared Space Observatory (ISO-SWS). The bulk of the observations wereperformed during a dedicated observation campaign after the liquidhelium depletion of the ISO satellite, the so-called post-heliumprogramme. This programme was aimed at extending the MK-classificationto the near-infrared. Therefore the programme covers a large range ofspectral types and luminosity classes. The 2.36 mu m-4.05 mu m region isa valuable spectral probe for both hot and cool stars. H I lines(Bracket, Pfund and Humphreys series), He I and He II lines, atomiclines and molecular lines (CO, H2O, NH, OH, SiO, HCN,C2H2, ...) are sensitive to temperature, gravityand/or the nature of the outer layers of the stellar atmosphere(outflows, hot circumstellar discs, etc.). Another objective of theprogramme was to construct a homogeneous dataset of near-infraredstellar spectra that can be used for population synthesis studies ofgalaxies. At near-infrared wavelengths these objects emit the integratedlight of all stars in the system. In this paper we present the datasetof post-helium spectra completed with observations obtained during thenominal operations of the ISO-SWS. We discuss the calibration of the SWSdata obtained after the liquid helium boil-off and the data reduction.We also give a first qualitative overview of how the spectral featuresin this wavelength range change with spectral type. The dataset isscrutinised in two papers on the quantitative classification ofnear-infrared spectra of early-type stars ({Lenorzer} et al.\cite{lenorzer:2002a}) and late-type stars (Vandenbussche et al., inprep). Based on observations with ISO, an ESA project with instrumentsfunded by ESA Members States (especially the PI countries France,Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom) and with theparticipation of ISAS and NASA. The full atlas is available inelectronic form at www.edpsciences.org Table 1 is only available inelectronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr(130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?/A+A/390/1033
| 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.
| Using Cepheids to determine the galactic abundance gradient. I. The solar neighbourhood
A number of studies of abundance gradients in the galactic disk havebeen performed in recent years. The results obtained are ratherdisparate: from no detectable gradient to a rather significant slope ofabout -0.1 dex kpc-1. The present study concerns theabundance gradient based on the spectroscopic analysis of a sample ofclassical Cepheids. These stars enable one to obtain reliable abundancesof a variety of chemical elements. Additionally, they have welldetermined distances which allow an accurate determination of abundancedistributions in the galactic disc. Using 236 high resolution spectra of77 galactic Cepheids, the radial elemental distribution in the galacticdisc between galactocentric distances in the range 6-11 kpc has beeninvestigated. Gradients for 25 chemical elements (from carbon togadolinium) are derived. The following results were obtained in thisstudy. Almost all investigated elements show rather flat abundancedistributions in the middle part of galactic disc. Typical values foriron-group elements lie within an interval from ~-0.02 to ~-0.04 dexkpc-1 (in particular, for iron we obtainedd[Fe/H]/dRG =-0.029 dex kpc-1). Similar gradientswere also obtained for O, Mg, Al, Si, and Ca. For sulphur we have founda steeper gradient (-0.05 dex kpc-1). For elements from Zr toGd we obtained (within the error bars) a near to zero gradient value.This result is reported for the first time. Those elements whoseabundance is not expected to be altered during the early stellarevolution (e.g. the iron-group elements) show at the solargalactocentric distance [El/H] values which are essentially solar.Therefore, there is no apparent reason to consider our Sun as ametal-rich star. The gradient values obtained in the present studyindicate that the radial abundance distribution within 6-11 kpc is quitehomogeneous, and this result favors a galactic model including a barstructure which may induce radial flows in the disc, and thus may beresponsible for abundance homogenization. Based on spectra collected atMcDonald - USA, SAORAS - Russia, KPNO - USA, CTIO - Chile, MSO -Australia, OHP - France. Full Table 1 is only available in electronicform at http://www.edpsciences.org Table A1 (Appendix) is only, andTable 2 also, available in electronic form 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/381/32
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Dorado |
| Right ascension: | 05h33m37.50s |
| Declination: | -62°29'23.0" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 3.76 |
| Distance: | 318.471 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | 2.8 |
| Proper motion Dec: | 11.5 |
| B-T magnitude: | 4.896 |
| V-T magnitude: | 3.911 |
Catalogs and designations:
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