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Identifying the Young Low-mass Stars within 25 pc. II. Distances, Kinematics, and Group Membership
We have conducted a kinematic study of 165 young M dwarfs with ages oflsim300 Myr. Our sample is composed of stars and brown dwarfs withspectral types ranging from K7 to L0, detected by ROSAT and withphotometric distances of lsim25 pc assuming that the stars are singleand on the main sequence. In order to find stars kinematically linked toknown young moving groups (YMGs), we measured radial velocities for thecomplete sample with Keck and CFHT optical spectroscopy andtrigonometric parallaxes for 75 of the M dwarfs with the CAPSCaminstrument on the du Pont 2.5 m Telescope. Due to their youthfuloverluminosity and unresolved binarity, the original photometricdistances for our sample underestimated the distances by 70% on average,excluding two extremely young (lsim3 Myr) objects found to havedistances beyond a few hundred parsecs. We searched for kinematicmatches to 14 reported YMGs and identified 10 new members of the AB DorYMG and 2 of the Ursa Majoris group. Additional possible candidatesinclude six Castor, four Ursa Majoris, two AB Dor members, and onemember each of the Her-Lyr and ? Pic groups. Our sample alsocontains 27 young low-mass stars and 4 brown dwarfs with ages lsim150Myr that are not associated with any known YMG. We identified anadditional 15 stars that are kinematic matches to one of the YMGs, butthe ages from spectroscopic diagnostics and/or the positions on the skydo not match. These warn against grouping stars together based only onkinematics and that a confluence of evidence is required to claim that agroup of stars originated from the same star-forming event.Based on observations collected at the W. M. Keck Observatory, theCanada-France-Hawaii Telescope, the du Pont Telescope at Las CampanasObservatory, and the Subaru Telescope. The Keck Observatory is operatedas a scientific partnership between the California Institute ofTechnology, the University of California, and NASA, and was madepossible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation.The CFHT is operated by the National Research Council of Canada, theCentre National de la Recherche Scientifique of France, and theUniversity of Hawaii.
| The Search for Super-saturation in Chromospheric Emission
We investigate if the super-saturation phenomenon observed at X-raywavelengths for the corona exists in the chromosphere for rapidlyrotating late-type stars. Moderate resolution optical spectra offast-rotating EUV- and X-ray-selected late-type stars were obtained.Stars in ? Per were observed in the northern hemisphere with theIsaac Newton 2.5 m telescope and Intermediate Dispersion Spectrograph.Selected objects from IC 2391 and IC 2602 were observed in the southernhemisphere with the Blanco 4 m telescope and R-C spectrograph at CTIO.Ca II H and K fluxes were measured for all stars in our sample. We findthe saturation level for Ca II K at log (L CaK/Lbol) = -4.08. The Ca II K flux does not show a decrease as afunction of increased rotational velocity or smaller Rossby number asobserved in the X-ray. This lack of "super-saturation" supports the ideaof coronal stripping as the cause of saturation and super-saturation instellar chromospheres and coronae, but the detailed underlying mechanismis still under investigation.
| Mt. Suhora Survey - Searching for Pulsating M Dwarfs. I
We present the first results of our M dwarf survey in search for stellarpulsation in low mass main sequence stars. Theoretical calculationspredict that ? mechanism might drive a fundamental radial modein these stars and therefore pulsations could be observedphotometrically. Although M dwarfs are known for their flare and spotactivity they have not yet been the subject of dedicated time-seriessurveys for pulsation. In this work we include the light curves andamplitude spectra of 46 M dwarfs, which have been observed during thefirst two years of our survey. We did not detect any pulsations yet. Asa by-product of our search, we describe the light curves of some flare Mdwarfs. The survey will last for two more years and during that periodmore than a hundred of M0-M4 type main sequence stars will be observed.
| EMCCD Speckle Interferometry with the 6 m Telescope: Astrometric Measurements, Differential Photometry, and Orbits
Results of the EMCCD-based speckle interferometric observations anddifferential photometry for 46 visual binaries obtained in 2007 June andJuly with the 6 m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory(Russia) are presented. First preliminary orbits for COU 401, COU 1281,and COU 1037 as well as improved orbits for CHR 137, COU 100, COU 1136,COU 798, CHR 51, CHR 55, COU 315, COU 206, and ADS 13961, along withtheir dynamical mass estimates, are reported. On the basis of dynamicalparallax information, first distance estimates for COU 100, COU 1136,COU 798, COU 206, and COU 1037 are calculated.
| Accurate Coordinates and 2MASS Cross Identifications for (Almost) All Gliese Catalog Star
We provide precise J2000, epoch 2000 coordinates, andcross-identifications to sources in the 2MASS Point Source Catalog fornearly all stars in the Gliese, Gliese-Jahreiss, and Woolley catalogs ofnearby stars. The only Gliese objects where we were not successful aretwo Gliese sources that are actually QSOs; two proposed companions tobrighter stars, which we believe do not exist; four stars included inone of the catalogs but identified there as only optical companions; oneprobable plate flaw; and two stars that simply remain unrecovered. Forthe 4251 recovered stars, 2693 have coordinates based on Hipparcospositions, 1549 have coordinates based on 2MASS data, and 9 havepositions from other astrometric sources. All positions have beencalculated at epoch 2000 using proper motions from the literature, whichare also given here.
| Imaging Young Giant Planets From Ground and Space
High-contrast imaging can find and characterize gas giant planets aroundnearby young stars and the closest M stars, complementing radialvelocity and astrometric searches by exploring orbital separationsinaccessible to indirect methods. Ground-based coronagraphs are alreadyprobing within 25 AU of nearby young stars to find objects as small as .This paper contrasts near-term and future ground-based capabilities withhigh-contrast imaging modes of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).Monte Carlo modeling reveals that JWST can detect planets with masses assmall as across a broad range of orbital separations. We present newcalculations for planet brightness as a function of mass and age forspecific JWST filters and extending to .
| Search for cold debris disks around M-dwarfs. II
Although 70% of the stars in the Galaxy are M-dwarfs, thermal emissionsearches for cold debris disks have been conducted mostly for A-type andsolar-type stars. We report on new ?=1.2 mm continuumobservations of thirty M-dwarfs, using the MAMBO-2 bolometer arraycamera at the IRAM 30 m telescope. For a statistical analysis, wecombine these data with our prior SCUBA and MAMBO-2 observations of 20other M-dwarfs. Our sample consists of M-dwarfs in moving groups, withrelatively young ages, and of nearby M-dwarfs with unknown ages. Onlyone cold debris disk (GJ842.2) was detected significantly. We comparethe implied disk abundance constraints with those found in twocomparable submillimeter surveys of 10 to 190 Myr old A- and FGK-typestars. For the 19 youngest (ages less than 200 Myr) M-dwarfs in oursample, we derive a cold disk fraction of5.3+10.5-5.0%, compared to15+11.5-11.5% for FGK-stars and22+33-20% for A-stars. Hence, for this age group,there is an apparent trend of fewer cold disks for later stellar types.Although its statistical significance is marginal, this trend isstrengthened by the deeper observations of our M-dwarf sample. We derivea cold disk fraction of <10% for the older (likely a few Gyr)M-dwarfs in our sample. Finally, although inconclusively related to adebris disk, we present the complex millimeter structure found aroundthe position of the M 1.5 dwarf GJ526 in our sample.
| Rotational Velocities for M Dwarfs
We present spectroscopic rotation velocities (v sin i) for 56 M dwarfstars using high-resolution Hobby-Eberly Telescope High ResolutionSpectrograph red spectroscopy. In addition, we have also determinedphotometric effective temperatures, masses, and metallicities ([Fe/H])for some stars observed here and in the literature where we couldacquire accurate parallax measurements and relevant photometry. We haveincreased the number of known v sin i values for mid M stars by around80% and can confirm a weakly increasing rotation velocity withdecreasing effective temperature. Our sample of v sin is peak at lowvelocities (~3 km s-1). We find a change in therotational velocity distribution between early M and late M stars, whichis likely due to the changing field topology between partially and fullyconvective stars. There is also a possible further change in therotational distribution toward the late M dwarfs where dust begins toplay a role in the stellar atmospheres. We also link v sin i to age andshow how it can be used to provide mid-M star age limits. When allliterature velocities for M dwarfs are added to our sample, there are198 with v sin i <= 10 km s-1 and 124 in themid-to-late M star regime (M3.0-M9.5) where measuring precision opticalradial velocities is difficult. In addition, we also search the spectrafor any significant Hα emission or absorption. Forty three percentwere found to exhibit such emission and could represent young, activeobjects with high levels of radial-velocity noise. We acquired twoepochs of spectra for the star GJ1253 spread by almost one month and theHα profile changed from showing no clear signs of emission, toexhibiting a clear emission peak. Four stars in our sample appear to below-mass binaries (GJ1080, GJ3129, Gl802, and LHS3080), with both GJ3129and Gl802 exhibiting double Hα emission features. The tablespresented here will aid any future M star planet search target selectionto extract stars with low v sin i.Based on observations obtained with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope, which isa joint project of the University of Texas at Austin, the PennsylvaniaState University, Stanford University,Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, andGeorg-August-Universität Göttingen.
| XID II: Statistical Cross-Association of ROSAT Bright Source Catalog X-ray Sources with 2MASS Point Source Catalog Near-Infrared Sources
The 18,806 ROSAT All Sky Survey Bright Source Catalog (RASS/BSC) X-raysources are quantitatively cross-associated with near-infrared (NIR)sources from the Two Micron All Sky Survey Point Source Catalog(2MASS/PSC). An association catalog is presented, listing the mostlikely counterpart for each RASS/BSC source, the probability Pid that the NIR source and X-ray source are uniquelyassociated, and the probability P no-id that none of the2MASS/PSC sources are associated with the X-ray source. The catalogincludes 3853 high quality (P id>0.98) X-ray-NIR matches,2280 medium quality (0.98 >= P id>0.9) matches, and4153 low quality (0.9 >= P id>0.5) matches. Of the highquality matches, 1418 are associations that are not listed in the SIMBADdatabase, and for which no high quality match with a USNO-A2 opticalsource was presented for the RASS/BSC source in previous work. Thepresent work offers a significant number of new associations withRASS/BSC objects that will require optical/NIR spectroscopy forclassification. For example, of the 6133 P id>0.92MASS/PSC counterparts presented in the association catalog, 2411 haveno classification listed in the SIMBAD database. These 2MASS/PSC sourceswill likely include scientifically useful examples of known sourceclasses of X-ray emitters (white dwarfs, coronally active stars, activegalactic nuclei), but may also contain previously unknown sourceclasses. It is determined that all coronally active stars in theRASS/BSC should have a counterpart in the 2MASS/PSC, and that the uniqueassociation of these RASS/BSC sources with their NIR counterparts thusis confusion limited.
| Identifying the Young Low-mass Stars within 25 pc. I. Spectroscopic Observations
We have completed a high-resolution (R ≈ 60,000) opticalspectroscopic survey of 185 nearby M dwarfs identified using ROSAT datato select active, young objects with fractional X-ray luminositiescomparable to or greater than Pleiades members. Our targets are drawnfrom the NStars 20 pc census and the Moving-M sample with distancesdetermined from parallaxes or spectrophotometric relations. We limitedour sample to 25 pc from the Sun, prior to correcting forpre-main-sequence overluminosity or binarity. Nearly half of theresulting M dwarfs are not present in the Gliese catalog and have nopreviously published spectral types. We identified 30 spectroscopicbinaries (SBs) from the sample, which have strong X-ray emission due totidal spin-up rather than youth. This is equivalent to a 16% SBfraction, with at most a handful of undiscovered SBs. We estimate upperlimits on the age of the remaining M dwarfs using spectroscopic youthindicators such as surface gravity-sensitive indices (CaH and K I). Wefind that for a sample of field stars with no metallicity measurements,a single CaH gravity index may not be sufficient, as highermetallicities mimic lower gravity. This is demonstrated in a subsampleof metal-rich radial velocity (RV) standards, which appear to have lowsurface gravity as measured by the CaH index, yet show no other evidenceof youth. We also use additional youth diagnostics such as lithiumabsorption and strong Hα emission to set more stringent agelimits. Eleven M dwarfs with no Hα emission or absorption arelikely old (>400 Myr) and were caught during an X-ray flare. Weestimate that our final sample of the 144 youngest and nearest low-massobjects in the field is less than 300 Myr old, with 30% of them beingyounger than 150 Myr and four very young (lap10 Myr), representing agenerally untapped and well-characterized resource of M dwarfs forintensive planet and disk searches.Based on observations collected at the W. M. Keck Observatory and theCanada-France-Hawaii Telescope. The Keck Observatory is operated as ascientific partnership between the California Institute of Technology,the University of California, and NASA, and was made possible by thegenerous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation. The CFHT isoperated by the National Research Council of Canada, the Centre Nationalde la Recherche Scientifique of France, and the University of Hawaii.
| Spitzer/irac Search for Companions to Nearby, Young M Dwarfs
We present the results of a survey of nearby, young M stars for widelow-mass companions with the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) on the SpitzerSpace Telescope. We observed 40 young M dwarfs within 20 pc of the Sun,selected through X-ray emission criteria. A total of ten candidatecompanions were found with IRAC colors consistent with T dwarfs.Extensive ground-based NIR follow-up observations rejected all thesecandidates. Two additional candidates were discovered via common propermotion measurements, one of which was rejected as a background objectand the other is a bona fide companion to GJ 2060, a member of the ABDoradus moving group.
| The effect of activity on stellar temperatures and radii
Context: Recent analyses of low-mass eclipsing binary stars haveunveiled a significant disagreement between the observations andpredictions of stellar structure models. Results show that theoreticalmodels underestimate the radii and overestimate the effectivetemperatures of low-mass stars but yield luminosities that accord withobservations. A hypothesis based upon the effects of stellar activitywas put forward to explain the discrepancies. Aims: In this paper westudy the existence of the same trend in single active stars and providea consistent scenario to explain systematic differences between activeand inactive stars in the H-R diagram reported earlier. Methods: Theanalysis is done using single field stars of spectral types late-K and Mand computing their bolometric magnitudes and temperatures throughinfrared colours and spectral indices. The properties of the stars insamples of active and inactive stars are compared statistically toreveal systematic differences. Results: After accounting for a numberof possible bias effects, active stars are shown to be cooler thaninactive stars of similar luminosity therefore implying a larger radiusas well, in proportions that are in excellent agreement with those foundfrom eclipsing binaries. Conclusions: The present results generalisethe existence of strong radius and temperature dependences on stellaractivity to the entire population of low-mass stars, regardless of theirmembership in close binary systems.Tables 1 and 2 are only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/478/507
| The Gemini Deep Planet Survey
We present the results of the Gemini Deep Planet Survey, a near-infraredadaptive optics search for giant planets and brown dwarfs around 85nearby young stars. The observations were obtained with the Altairadaptive optics system at the Gemini North telescope, and angulardifferential imaging was used to suppress the speckle noise of thecentral star. Typically, the observations are sensitive to angularseparations beyond 0.5" with 5 σ contrast sensitivities inmagnitude difference at 1.6 μm of 9.5 at 0.5", 12.9 at 1", 15.0 at2", and 16.5 at 5". These sensitivities are sufficient to detect planetsmore massive than 2 MJ with a projected separation in therange 40-200 AU around a typical target. Second-epoch observations of 48stars with candidates (out of 54) have confirmed that all candidates areunrelated background stars. A detailed statistical analysis of thesurvey results is presented. Assuming a planet mass distributiondn/dm~m-1.2 and a semimajor-axis distributiondn/da~a-1, the 95% credible upper limits on the fraction ofstars with at least one planet of mass 0.5-13 MJ are 0.28 forthe range 10-25 AU, 0.13 for 25-50 AU, and 0.093 for 50-250 AU; thisresult is weakly dependent on the semimajor-axis distribution power-lawindex. The 95% credible interval for the fraction of stars with at leastone brown dwarf companion having a semimajor axis in the range 25-250 AUis 0.019+0.083-0.015, irrespective of anyassumption on the mass and semimajor-axis distributions. Theobservations made as part of this survey have resolved the stars HD14802, HD 166181, and HD 213845 into binaries for the first time.Based on observations obtained at the Gemini Observatory, which isoperated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy,Inc., under a cooperative agreement with the NSF on behalf of the Geminipartnership: the National Science Foundation (United States), theParticle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (United Kingdom), theNational Research Council (Canada), CONICYT (Chile), the AustralianResearch Council (Australia), CNPq (Brazil), and CONICET (Argentina).
| New periodic variable stars coincident with ROSAT sources discovered using SuperWASP
We present optical lightcurves of 428 periodic variable stars coincidentwith ROSAT X-ray sources, detected using the first run of the SuperWASPphotometric survey. Only 68 of these were previously recognised asperiodic variables. A further 30 of these objects are previously knownpre-main sequence stars, for which we detect a modulation period for thefirst time. Amongst the newly identified periodic variables, many appearto be close eclipsing binaries, their X-ray emission is presumably theresult of RS CVn type behaviour. Others are probably BY Dra stars,pre-main sequence stars and other rapid rotators displaying enhancedcoronal activity. A number of previously catalogued pulsating variables(RR Lyr stars and Cepheids) coincident with X-ray sources are also seen,but we show that these are likely to be misclassifications. We identifyfour objects which are probable low mass eclipsing binary stars, basedon their very red colour and light curve morphology.Tables 1 and 2 are also 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/467/785
| Spotting in stars with a low level of activity, close to solar activity
Data on the variability of the continuum optical emission are used forthe first time to estimate the degree of spotting in stars with activitylevels similar to that of the sun. It is shown that the amount ofspotting increases gradually from the sun to the highly spotted starsfor which Alekseev and Gershberg constructed the zonal model for thedistribution of spots. A close relationship is found between spottingand the power of the x-ray emission from stars with widely varyinglevels of activity.
| Discovery of Nine New Companions to Nearby Young M Stars with the Altair AO System
We present results of a high-resolution, near-infrared survey of 41nearby, young (<~300 Myr) M0-M5.0 dwarfs using the Altair naturalguide star adaptive optics system at the Gemini North telescope. Twelveof the objects appear to be binaries, seven of which are reported herefor the first time. One triple system was discovered. Statisticalproperties are studied and compared with earlier (F to K) and later(>=M6 very low mass [VLM]) populations. We find that the separationdistribution of the binaries in this sample peaks at13+14-9 AU, which is consistent with previousmeasurements of early M binaries. Hence, early M binaries seem to occurin-on average-tighter systems than G binaries. At the same time they aresignificantly wider than field VLM binary stars. The distribution ofmass ratios q of primary and secondary stars was found to show anintermediate distribution between the strongly q-->1 peakeddistribution of field VLM systems and the almost flat distribution ofearlier type stars. Consequently, we show evidence for relatively young,early M binaries representing a transition between the well-knownearlier star distributions and the recently examined field VLMpopulation characteristics. Despite the fact that this survey wasdedicated to the search for faint brown dwarf and planetary masscompanions, all planetary mass candidates were background objects. Weexclude the existence of physical companions with masses greater than 10Jupiter masses (MJ) at separations of >~40 AU and massesgreater than 24MJ for separations >~10 AU around 37 of the41 observed objects.
| Search for cold debris disks around M-dwarfs
Debris disks are believed to be related to planetesimals left overaround stars after planet formation has ceased. The frequency of debrisdisks around M-dwarfs which account for 70% of the stars in the Galaxyis unknown while constrains have already been found for A- to K-typestars. We have searched for cold debris disks around 32 field M-dwarfsby conducting observations at λ = 850~μm with the SCUBAbolometer array camera at the JCMT and at λ = 1.2 mm with theMAMBO array at the IRAM 30-m telescopes. This is the first survey of alarge sample of M-dwarfs conducted to provide statistical constraints ondebris disks around this type of stars. We have detected a new debrisdisk around the M0.5 dwarf GJ 842.2 at λ = 850~μm, providingevidence for cold dust at large distance from this star (~300 AU). Bycombining the results of our survey with the ones of Liu et al. (2004),we estimate for the first time the detection rate of cold debris disksaround field M-dwarfs with ages between 20 and 200 Myr. This detectionrate is 13+6-8% and is consistent with thedetection rate of cold debris disks (9-23%) around A- to K-type mainsequence stars of the same age. This is an indication that cold disksmay be equally prevalent across stellar spectral types.
| Identification of New M Dwarfs in the Solar Neighborhood
We present the results from a spectroscopic study of 1080 nearby activeM dwarfs, selected by correlating the Two Micron All Sky Survey andROSAT catalogs. We have derived the spectral types and estimateddistances for all of our stars. The spectral types range between K5 andM6. Nearly half of our stars lie within 50 pc. We have measured theequivalent width of the Hα emission line. Our targets show anincrease in chromospheric activity from early to midspectral types, witha peak in activity around M5. Using the count rate and hardness ratiosobtained from the ROSAT catalog, we have derived the X-ray luminosities.Our stars display a ``saturation-type'' relation between thechromospheric and coronal activity. The relation is such thatlogLX/Lbol remains ``saturated'' at a value ofapproximately -3 for varying Hα equivalent width. We have found568 matches in the USNO-B catalog and have derived the tangentialvelocities for these stars. There is a slight trend of decreasingchromospheric activity with age, such that the stars with highervtan have lower Hα equivalent widths. The coronalemission, however, remains saturated at a value oflogLX/Lbol~-3 for varying tangential velocities,suggesting that the coronal activity remains saturated with age. We donot find any break in the saturation-type relation at the spectral typeat which stars become fully convective (~M3.5). Most of the stars in oursample show more coronal emission than the dMe stars in the Hyades andPraesepe and have vtan<40 km s-1, suggesting ayoung population.
| An Infrared Coronagraphic Survey for Substellar Companions
We have used the F160W filter (1.4-1.8 μm) and the coronagraph on theNear-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) on theHubble Space Telescope to survey 45 single stars with a median age of0.15 Gyr, an average distance of 30 pc, and an average H magnitude of 7mag. For the median age we were capable of detecting a 30MJcompanion at separations between 15 and 200 AU. A 5MJ objectcould have been detected at 30 AU around 36% of our primaries. Forseveral of our targets that were less than 30 Myr old, the lower masslimit was as low as 1MJ, well into the high mass planetregion. Results of the entire survey include the proper-motionverification of five low-mass stellar companions, two brown dwarfs(HR7329B and TWA5B), and one possible brown dwarf binary (Gl 577B/C).
| Constraining the properties of spots on Pleiades very low mass stars
We present results of a multi-filter monitoring campaign for very lowmass (VLM) stars in the Pleiades. Simultaneous to our I-band time series(Scholz & Eislöffel 2004b), which delivered photometric periodsfor nine VLM stars, we obtained light curves in the J- and H-band. OneVLM star with M≈0.15 Mȯ (BPL129) shows a period inall three wavelength bands. The amplitudes in I, J, and H are 0.035,0.035, and 0.032 mag. These values are compared to simulations, in whichwe compute the photometric amplitude as a function of spot temperatureand filling factor. The best agreement between observations and modelsis found for cool spots with a temperature contrast of 18-31% and a verylow surface filling factor of 4-5%. We suggest that compared to moremassive stars VLM objects may have either very few spots or a rathersymmetric spot distribution. This difference might be explained with achange from a shell to a distributed dynamo in the VLM regime.
| A Catalog of Northern Stars with Annual Proper Motions Larger than 0.15" (LSPM-NORTH Catalog)
The LSPM catalog is a comprehensive list of 61,977 stars north of theJ2000 celestial equator that have proper motions larger than 0.15"yr-1 (local-background-stars frame). The catalog has beengenerated primarily as a result of our systematic search for high propermotion stars in the Digitized Sky Surveys using our SUPERBLINK software.At brighter magnitudes, the catalog incorporates stars and data from theTycho-2 Catalogue and also, to a lesser extent, from the All-SkyCompiled Catalogue of 2.5 million stars. The LSPM catalog considerablyexpands over the old Luyten (Luyten Half-Second [LHS] and New LuytenTwo-Tenths [NLTT]) catalogs, superseding them for northern declinations.Positions are given with an accuracy of <~100 mas at the 2000.0epoch, and absolute proper motions are given with an accuracy of ~8 masyr-1. Corrections to the local-background-stars propermotions have been calculated, and absolute proper motions in theextragalactic frame are given. Whenever available, we also give opticalBT and VT magnitudes (from Tycho-2, ASCC-2.5),photographic BJ, RF, and IN magnitudes(from USNO-B1 catalog), and infrared J, H, and Ks magnitudes(from 2MASS). We also provide an estimated V magnitude and V-J color fornearly all catalog entries, useful for initial classification of thestars. The catalog is estimated to be over 99% complete at high Galacticlatitudes (|b|>15deg) and over 90% complete at lowGalactic latitudes (|b|>15deg), down to a magnitudeV=19.0, and has a limiting magnitude V=21.0. All the northern starslisted in the LHS and NLTT catalogs have been reidentified, and theirpositions, proper motions, and magnitudes reevaluated. The catalog alsolists a large number of completely new objects, which promise to expandvery significantly the census of red dwarfs, subdwarfs, and white dwarfsin the vicinity of the Sun.Based on data mining of the Digitized Sky Surveys (DSSs), developed andoperated by the Catalogs and Surveys Branch of the Space TelescopeScience Institute (STScI), Baltimore.Developed with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), aspart of the NASA/NSF NStars program.
| The Brown Dwarf Desert at 75-1200 AU
We present results of a comprehensive infrared coronagraphic search forsubstellar companions to nearby stars. The research consisted of (1) a178-star survey at Steward and Lick observatories, with opticalfollow-up from Keck Observatory, capable of detecting companions withmasses greater than 30 MJ, and semimajor axes between about140 to 1200 AU; (2) a 102-star survey using the Keck Telescope, capableof detecting extrasolar brown dwarfs and planets typically more massivethan 10 MJ, with semimajor axes between about 75 and 300 AU.Only one brown dwarf companion was detected, and no planets. Thefrequency of brown dwarf companions to G, K, and M stars orbitingbetween 75 and 300 AU is measured to be 1%+/-1%, the most precisemeasurement of this quantity to date. The frequency of massive (greaterthan 30 MJ) brown dwarf companions at 120-1200 AU is found tobe f=0.7%+/-0.7%. The frequency of giant planet companions with massesbetween 5 and 10 MJ orbiting between 75 and 300 AU ismeasured here for the first time to be no more than ~3%. Together withother surveys that encompass a wide range of orbital separations, theseresults imply that substellar objects with masses between 12 and 75MJ form only rarely as companions to stars. Theories of starformation that could explain these data are only now beginning toemerge.
| Dependence of coronal X-ray emission on spot-induced brightness variations in cool main sequence stars
The maximum amplitude (Amax) of spot-induced brightnessvariations from long-term V-band photometry and the ratioLX/Lbol between X-ray and bolometric luminositiesare suitable indicators of the level of magnetic activity in thephotosphere and in the corona of late-type stars, respectively. By usingthese activity indicators we investigate the dependence of coronal X-rayemission on the level of photospheric starspot activity in a homogeneoussample of low mass main sequence field and cluster stars of differentages (IC 2602, IC 4665,IC 2391, alpha Persei,Pleiades and Hyades). First, theactivity-rotation connection at the photospheric level is re-analysed,as well as its dependence on spectral type and age. The upper envelopeof Amax increases monotonically with decreasing rotationalperiod (P) and Rossby number (R0) showing a break around 1.1d that separates two rotation regimes where the starspot activity showsdifferent behaviours. The Amax-P andAmax-R0 relations are fitted with linear,exponential and power laws to look for the function which bestrepresents the trend of the data. The highest values of Amaxare found among K-type stars and at the ages of alphaPersei and Pleiades. We also analyse theactivity-rotation connection at the coronal level as well as itsdependence on spectral type. The level of X-ray emission increases withincreasing rotation rate up to a saturation level. The rotational periodat which saturation occurs is colour-dependent and increases withadvancing spectral type. Also the LX/Lbol-P andLX/Lbol-R0 relations are fitted withlinear, exponential and power laws to look for the best fittingfunction. Among the fastest rotating stars (P<=0.3 d) there isevidence of super-saturation. Also the highest values ofLXLbol are found among K-type stars. Finally, thephotospheric-coronal activity connection is investigated by using forthe first time the largest ever sample of light curve amplitudes asindicators of the magnetic filling factor. The activity parametersLX/Lbol and Amax are found to becorrelated with each other, thus confirming the dependence of coronalactivity on photospheric magnetic fields. More precisely, theLX/Lbol-Amax distribution shows thepresence of an upper envelope, which is constant at theLX/Lbol =~ -3.0 saturation level, and of a lowerenvelope. The best fit to the lower envelope is given by a power lawwith steepness decreasing from F-G to M spectral types. However, it isconsidered a tentative result, since the fit reduced chi-squares arelarge. Such spectral-type dependence may be related to a colourdependence of Amax on the total starspot filling factor, aswell as to the coronal emission being possibly more sensitive tostarspot activity variations in F- and G-type than in M-type stars. TheLX/Lbol-Amax mean values for eachcluster in our sample decrease monotonically with increasing age,showing that the levels of photospheric and coronal activity evolve intime according to a single power law till the Sun's age.Tables of the photometric and X-ray data sets are 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?J/A+A/410/671
| A systematic study of X-ray variability in the ROSAT all-sky survey
We present a systematic search for variability among the ROSAT All-SkySurvey (RASS) X-ray sources. We generated lightcurves for about 30 000X-ray point sources detected sufficiently high above background. For ourvariability study different search algorithms were developed in order torecognize flares, periods and trends, respectively. The variable X-raysources were optically identified with counterparts in the SIMBAD, theUSNO-A2.0 and NED data bases, but a significant part of the X-raysources remains without cataloged optical counterparts. Out of the 1207sources classified as variable 767 (63.5%) were identified with stars,118 (9.8%) are of extragalactic origin, 10 (0.8%) are identified withother sources and 312 (25.8%) could not uniquely be identified withentries in optical catalogs. We give a statistical analysis of thevariable X-ray population and present some outstanding examples of X-rayvariability detected in the ROSAT all-sky survey. Most prominent amongthese sources are white dwarfs, apparently single, yet neverthelessshowing periodic variability. Many flares from hitherto unrecognisedflare stars have been detected as well as long term variability in theBL Lac 1E1757.7+7034.The complete version of Table 7 is only 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/403/247
| Improved Astrometry and Photometry for the Luyten Catalog. II. Faint Stars and the Revised Catalog
We complete construction of a catalog containing improved astrometry andnew optical/infrared photometry for the vast majority of NLTT starslying in the overlap of regions covered by POSS I and by the secondincremental Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) release, approximately 44%of the sky. The epoch 2000 positions are typically accurate to 130 mas,the proper motions to 5.5 mas yr-1, and the V-J colors to0.25 mag. Relative proper motions of binary components are measured to 3mas yr-1. The false-identification rate is ~1% for11<~V<~18 and substantially less at brighter magnitudes. Theseimprovements permit the construction of a reduced proper-motion diagramthat, for the first time, allows one to classify NLTT stars intomain-sequence (MS) stars, subdwarfs (SDs), and white dwarfs (WDs). We inturn use this diagram to analyze the properties of both our catalog andthe NLTT catalog on which it is based. In sharp contrast to popularbelief, we find that NLTT incompleteness in the plane is almostcompletely concentrated in MS stars, and that SDs and WDs are detectedalmost uniformly over the sky δ>-33deg. Our catalogwill therefore provide a powerful tool to probe these populationsstatistically, as well as to reliably identify individual SDs and WDs.
| Revised Coordinates and Proper Motions of the Stars in the Luyten Half-Second Catalog
We present refined coordinates and proper-motion data for the highproper-motion (HPM) stars in the Luyten Half-Second (LHS) catalog. Thepositional uncertainty in the original Luyten catalog is typicallygreater than 10" and is often greater than 30". We have used the digitalscans of the POSS I and POSS II plates to derive more accurate positionsand proper motions of the objects. Out of the 4470 candidates in the LHScatalog, 4323 objects were manually reidentified in the POSS I and POSSII scans. A small fraction of the stars were not found because of thelack of finder charts and digitized POSS II scans. The uncertainties inthe revised positions are typically ~2" but can be as high as ~8" in afew cases, which is a large improvement over the original data.Cross-correlation with the Tycho-2 and Hipparcos catalogs yielded 819candidates (with mR<~12). For these brighter sources, theposition and proper-motion data were replaced with the more accurateTycho-2/Hipparcos data. In total, we have revised proper-motionmeasurements and coordinates for 4040 stars and revised coordinates for4330 stars. The electronic version of the paper5 contains the updated information on all 4470stars in the LHS catalog.
| Meeting the Cool Neighbors. I. Nearby Stars in the NLTT Catalogue: Defining the Sample
We are currently undertaking a program aimed at identifying previouslyunrecognized late-type dwarfs within 20 pc of the Sun. As a first step,we have cross-referenced Luyten's NLTT proper-motion catalog against thesecond incremental release of the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS)Point Source Catalog and use optical/infrared colors, derived bycombining Luyten's mr estimates with 2MASS data, to identifycandidate nearby stars. This paper describes the definition of areference sample of 1245 stars and presents a compilation of literaturedata for more than one-third of the sample. Only 274 stars havetrigonometric parallax measurements, but we have used data for nearbystars with well-determined trigonometric parallaxes to computecolor-magnitude relations in the (MV, V-K), (MV,V-I), and (MI, I-J) planes and use those relations todetermine photometric parallaxes for NLTT stars with optical photometry.Based on the 2MASS JHKs data alone, we have identified afurther 42 ultracool dwarfs (J-Ks>0.99) and useJ-Ks colors to estimate photometric parallaxes. Combiningthese various techniques, we identify 308 stars with formal distances ofless than 20 pc, while a further 46 have distance estimates within 1σ of our survey limit. Of these 354 stars, 75, including 39 of theultracool dwarfs, are new to nearby-star catalogs. Two stars with bothoptical and near-infrared photometry are potential additions to theimmediate solar neighborhood, with formal distance estimates of lessthan 10 pc.
| Late-type members of young stellar kinematic groups - I. Single stars
This is the first paper of a series aimed at studying the properties oflate-type members of young stellar kinematic groups. We concentrate ourstudy on classical young moving groups such as the Local Association(Pleiades moving group, 20-150Myr), IC 2391 supercluster (35Myr), UrsaMajor group (Sirius supercluster, 300Myr), and Hyades supercluster(600Myr), as well as on recently identified groups such as the Castormoving group (200Myr). In this paper we compile a preliminary list ofsingle late-type possible members of some of these young stellarkinematic groups. Stars are selected from previously established membersof stellar kinematic groups based on photometric and kinematicproperties as well as from candidates based on other criteria such astheir level of chromospheric activity, rotation rate and lithiumabundance. Precise measurements of proper motions and parallaxes takenfrom the Hipparcos Catalogue, as well as from the Tycho-2 Catalogue, andpublished radial velocity measurements are used to calculate theGalactic space motions (U, V, W) and to apply Eggen's kinematic criteriain order to determine the membership of the selected stars to thedifferent groups. Additional criteria using age-dating methods forlate-type stars will be applied in forthcoming papers of this series. Afurther study of the list of stars compiled here could lead to a betterunderstanding of the chromospheric activity and their age evolution, aswell as of the star formation history in the solar neighbourhood. Inaddition, these stars are also potential search targets for directimaging detection of substellar companions.
| The Flux Deficits in Star Spots
The bolometric flux deficits of the photospheres of spotted stars arederived for the first time in the framework of zonal spottedness modelsfor red dwarfs computed at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory. Theresulting flux deficits are compared to the estimated radiative lossesfrom the chromospheres and coronas measured during quasi-simultaneousobservations. A linear correlation is found between the logarithms ofthese quantities, with the Sun fitting these relations. Radiative lossesfrom the outer stellar atmospheres in quiescence and during individualsporadic flares are significantly lower than the bolometric deficits ofthe spotted photospheres of active stars. This suggests that the fluxdeficit due to spots leads to global reconstruction of the atmospheresof red dwarfs, analogous to the local atmospheric reconstruction thatoccurs during solar and stellar flares. This process may be realized viathe superposition of a large number of weak impulsive flares and otherdynamic events, which develop on these stars and heat their coronas(i.e., in this view, microflaring is favored as the principal coronalheating mechanism for these stars). A brief analysis of the long-termvariations in the chromospheric and photospheric radiation of F-K starsfrom the HK project and of the Sun suggests that such dynamicalreconstruction of the outer atmosphere by energy associated with theflux deficit of the spotted photosphere occurs at times of increasedsurface activity in all F-M stars.
| The ``rotation-activity connection'': Its extension to photospheric activity diagnostics
In this paper we present the results of a different approach in thestudy of the so-called rotation-activity connection, which is a wellestablished correlation between rotation and magnetic activity atchromospheric and outer atmospheric levels. The present study concernsthe photospheric level and was carried out by using V-band photometriclight curve amplitudes as indicators of starspot coverage and ofmagnetic activity. A high degree of correlation between the envelope ofmaximum V-band light curve amplitudes and the rotation period is foundfor the active star members of young open clusters (IC 2602, IC 2391,Alpha Persei, Pleiades and Hyades), as well as for active field stars.This correlation shows a different behaviour in two different rotationperiod ranges. Moreover, some evidence of a possible activity``saturation'' is found among the most rapidly rotating stars of thesample. Additional correlations between photospheric and other magneticactivity indicators in the chromosphere, transition region and coronaare also investigated. The results presented here can be considered asan extension of the well established rotation-activity connection validfrom the corona, transition region and chromosphere, down to thephotosphere.
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Osservazione e dati astrometrici
| Costellazione: | Pegaso |
| Ascensione retta: | 22h51m53.54s |
| Declinazione: | +31°45'15.1" |
| Magnitudine apparente: | 11.79 |
| Distanza: | 14.225 parsec |
| Moto proprio RA: | 522.6 |
| Moto proprio Dec: | -52.5 |
| B-T magnitude: | 13.325 |
| V-T magnitude: | 11.917 |
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