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The Sizes of the Nearest Young Stars
We present moderate resolution (R ~ 3575) optical spectra of 19 known orsuspected members of the AB Doradus and ? Pictoris Moving Groups,obtained with the DeVeny Spectrograph on the 72 inch Perkins telescopeat Lowell Observatory. For four of five recently proposed members,signatures of youth such as Li I 6708 Å absorption and H?emission further strengthen the case for youth and membership. The lackof detected lithium in the proposed ? Pic member TYC 2211-1309-1implies that it is older than all other K-type members and weakens thecase for membership. Effective temperatures are determined via lineratio analyses for the 11 F, G, and early-K stars observed, and viaspectral comparisons for the eight late-K and M stars observed. Weassemble updated candidate membership lists for these moving groups thataccount for known binarity. Currently, the AB Dor Moving Group contains127 proposed members and the ? Pic Moving Group holds 77 proposedmembers. We then use temperature, luminosity, and distance estimates topredict angular diameters for these stars; the motivation is to identifystars that can be spatially resolved with long-baseline optical/infraredinterferometers in order to improve age estimates for these groups andto constrain evolutionary models at young ages. Considering the portionof the sky accessible to northern hemisphere facilities (decl. >- 30), six stars have diameters large enough to be spatiallyresolved (? > 0.4 mas) with the CHARA Array, which currentlyhas the world's longest baseline of 331 m; this subsample includes thelow-mass M2.5 member of AB Dor, GJ 393, which is likely to still bepre-main sequence. For southern hemisphere facilities (decl. < + 30),18 stars have diameters larger than this limiting size, including thelow-mass debris disk star AU Mic (0.72 mas). However, the longestbaselines of southern hemisphere interferometers (160 m) are only ableto resolve the largest of these, the B6 star ? Gru (1.17 mas)proposed long-baseline stations may alleviate the current limitations.
| Cool Young Stars in the Northern Hemisphere: ? Pictoris and AB Doradus Moving Group Candidates
As part of our continuing effort to identify new, low-mass members ofnearby, young moving groups (NYMGs), we present a list of young,low-mass candidates in the northern hemisphere. We used our provenproper-motion selection procedure and ROSAT X-ray and GALEX-UV activityindicators to identify 204 young stars as candidate members of the? Pictoris and AB Doradus NYMGs. Definitive membership assignmentof a given candidate will require a measurement of its radial velocityand distance. We present a simple system of indices to characterize theyoung candidates and help prioritize follow-up observations. New groupmembers identified in this candidate list will be high priority targetsfor (1) exoplanet direct imaging searches, (2) the study of post-T-Tauriastrophysics, (3) understanding recent local star formation, and (4) thestudy of local galactic kinematics. Information available now allows usto identify eight likely new members in the list. Two of these, a late-Kand an early-M dwarf, we find to be likely members of the ? Picgroup. The other six stars are likely members of the AB Dor movinggroup. These include an M dwarf triple system, and three very coolobjects that may be young brown dwarfs, making them the lowest-mass,isolated objects proposed in the AB Dor moving group to date.
| Mapping the Shores of the Brown Dwarf Desert. III. Young Moving Groups
We present the results of an aperture-masking interferometry survey forsubstellar companions around 67 members of the young (~8-200 Myr) nearby(~5-86 pc) AB Doradus, ? Pictoris, Hercules-Lyra, TW Hya, andTucana-Horologium stellar associations. Observations were made atnear-infrared wavelengths between 1.2 and 3.8 ?m using the adaptiveoptics facilities of the Keck II, Very Large Telescope UT4, and PalomarHale Telescopes. Typical contrast ratios of ~100-200 were achieved atangular separations between ~40 and 320 mas, with our survey being 100%complete for companions with masses below ~0.25 M &sun;across this range. We report the discovery of a 0.52 ± 0.09 M&sun; companion to HIP 14807, as well as the detections andorbits of previously known stellar companions to HD 16760, HD 113449,and HD 160934. We show that the companion to HD 16760 is in a face-onorbit, resulting in an upward revision of its mass from M2sin i ~ 14 M J to M 2 = 0.28 ±0.04 M &sun;. No substellar companions were detected aroundany of our sample members, despite our ability to detect companions withmasses below 80 M J for 50 of our targets: of these, oursensitivity extended down to 40 M J around 30 targets, with asubset of 22 subject to the still more stringent limit of 20 MJ. A statistical analysis of our non-detection of substellarcompanions allows us to place constraints on their frequency around~0.2-1.5 M &sun; stars. In particular, consideringcompanion mass distributions that have been proposed in the literature,we obtain an upper limit estimate of ~9%-11% for the frequency of 20-80M J companions between 3 and 30 AU at 95% confidence,assuming that their semimajor axes are distributed according to d {N}/da\propto a^{-1} in this range.
| Potential Members of Stellar Kinematic Groups within 30 pc of the Sun
We analyze the kinematic histories of stars within 30 pc of the Sun, forwhich three-dimensional spatial coordinates and three-dimensionalvelocity vectors are available. From this sample, we extract members ofstellar kinematic groups (SKGs) in the following manner. First, weconsider in the three-dimensional velocity space centered on the localstandard of rest, a sphere with a radius of 8 km s-1centered on the mean velocity vector of a particular SKG. Around eachSKG velocity center, we have found a significant excess of starscompared to background field stars. For each candidate, in thethree-dimensional spatial coordinate space, its trajectory is tracedback in time by the age of the relevant SKG to obtain the estimateddistance from the SKG center at the time of the SKG's birth by theepicyclic approximation and harmonic vertical motion. It often happensthat a star is a candidate member of multiple SKGs. Then we rank thecandidacy to multiple SKGs based on the smallness of distanceseparations. In this manner, we have kinematically selected 238candidates. We further impose at least one of the following qualitativecriteria for being a member: spectral type A or B, variability, or EUVand X-ray emission. We have finally selected 137 candidate members ofSKGs out of a sample of 966 stars.
| Effect of magnetic activity saturation in chromospheric flux-flux relationships
We present a homogeneous study of chromospheric and coronal flux-fluxrelationships using a sample of 298 late-type dwarf active stars withspectral types F to M. The chromospheric lines were observedsimultaneously in each star to avoid spread as a result of long-termvariability. Unlike other works, we subtract the basal chromosphericcontribution in all the spectral lines studied. For the first time, wequantify the departure of dMe stars from the general relations. We showthat dK and dKe stars also deviate from the general trend. Studying theflux-colour diagrams, we demonstrate that the stars deviating from thegeneral relations are those with saturated X-ray emission and we showthat these stars also present saturation in the H? line. Usingseveral age spectral indicators, we show that these are younger starsthan those following the general relationships. The non-universality offlux-flux relationships found in this work should be taken into accountwhen converting between fluxes in different chromospheric activityindicators.
| The Tucana/Horologium, Columba, AB Doradus, and Argus Associations: New Members and Dusty Debris Disks
We propose 35 star systems within ~70 pc of Earth as newly identifiedmembers of nearby young stellar kinematic groups; these identificationsinclude the first A- and late-B-type members of the AB Doradus movinggroup and field Argus Association. All but one of the 35 systems containa bright solar- or earlier-type star that should make an excellenttarget for the next generation of adaptive optics (AO) imaging systemson large telescopes. AO imaging has revealed four massive planets inorbit around the ? Boo star HR 8799. Initially, the planets wereof uncertain mass due in large part to the uncertain age of the star. Wefind that HR 8799 is a likely member of the ~30 Myr old ColumbaAssociation, implying planet masses ~6 times that of Jupiter. Weconsider Spitzer Space Telescope MIPS photometry of stars in the ~30 Myrold Tucana/Horologium and Columba Associations, the ~40 Myr old fieldArgus Association, and the ~70 Myr old AB Doradus moving group. Thepercentage of stars in these young stellar groups that display excessemission above the stellar photosphere at 24 and 70 ?mwavelengths—indicative of the presence of a dusty debrisdisk—is compared with corresponding percentages for members of 11open clusters and stellar associations with ages between 8 and 750 Myr,thus elucidating the decay of debris disks with time.
| Bayesian inference of stellar parameters and interstellar extinction using parallaxes and multiband photometry
Astrometric surveys provide the opportunity to measure the absolutemagnitudes of large numbers of stars, but only if the individualline-of-sight extinctions are known. Unfortunately, extinction is highlydegenerate with stellar effective temperature when estimated frombroad-band optical/infrared photometry. To address this problem, Iintroduce a Bayesian method for estimating the intrinsic parameters of astar and its line-of-sight extinction. It uses both photometry andparallaxes in a self-consistent manner in order to provide anon-parametric posterior probability distribution over the parameters.The method makes explicit use of domain knowledge by employing theHertzsprung-Russell Diagram (HRD) to constrain solutions and to ensurethat they respect stellar physics. I first demonstrate this method byusing it to estimate effective temperature and extinction from BVJHKdata for a set of artificially reddened Hipparcos stars, for whichaccurate effective temperatures have been estimated from high-resolutionspectroscopy. Using just the four colours, we see the expected strongdegeneracy (positive correlation) between the temperature andextinction. Introducing the parallax, apparent magnitude and the HRDreduces this degeneracy and improves both the precision (reduces theerror bars) and the accuracy of the parameter estimates, the latter byabout 35 per cent. The resulting accuracy is about 200 K in temperatureand 0.2 mag in extinction. I then apply the method to estimate theseparameters and absolute magnitudes for some 47 000 F, G, K Hipparcosstars which have been cross-matched with Two-Micron All-Sky Survey(2MASS). The method can easily be extended to incorporate the estimationof other parameters, in particular metallicity and surface gravity,making it particularly suitable for the analysis of the 109stars from Gaia.
| RACE-OC project: Rotation and variability of young stellar associations within 100 pc
Context. Examining the angular momentum of stars and its interplay withtheir magnetic fields represent a promising way to probe the stellarinternal structure and evolution of low-mass stars. Aims: Weattempt to determine the rotational and magnetic-related activityproperties of stars at different stages of evolution.We focused ourattention primarily on members of clusters and young stellarassociations of known ages. In this study, our targets are 6 young loosestellar associations within 100 pc and with ages in the range 8-70 Myr:TW Hydrae (~8 Myr), ? Pictoris (~10 Myr), Tucana/Horologium,Columba, Carina (~30 Myr), and AB Doradus (~70 Myr). Additionalrotational data for ? Persei and the Pleiades from the literatureare also considered. Methods: Rotational periods of starsexhibiting rotational modulation due to photospheric magnetic activity(i.e., starspots) were determined by applying the Lomb-Scargleperiodogram technique to photometric time-series data obtained by theAll Sky Automated Survey (ASAS). The magnetic activity level was derivedfrom the amplitude of the V lightcurves. The statistical significance ofthe rotational evolution at different ages was inferred by applying atwo-sided Kolmogorov-Smirnov test to subsequent age-bins. Results: We detected the rotational modulation and measured the rotationperiods of 93 stars for the first time, and confirmed the periods of 41stars already known from the literature. For an additional 10 stars, werevised the period determinations by other authors. The sample wasaugmented with periods of 21 additional stars retrieved from theliterature. In this way, for the first time we were able to determinethe largest set of rotation periods at ages of ~8, ~10 and ~30 Myr, aswell as increase by 150% the number of known periodic members of AB Dor. Conclusions: The analysis of the rotation periods in youngstellar associations, supplemented by Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC) and NGC2264 data from the literature, has allowed us to find that in the0.6-1.2 M? range the most significant variations in therotation period distribution are the spin-up between 9 and 30 Myr andthe spin-down between 70 and 110 Myr. Variations of between 30 and 70Myr are rather doubtful, despite the median period indicating asignificant spin-up. The photospheric activity level is found to becorrelated with rotation at ages greater than ~70 Myr and to show someadditional age dependence besides that related to rotation and mass.Tables 1.1-1.7 and Figs. 1.1-1.22 are only available in electronic format http://www.aanda.orgBased on theAll Sky Automated Survey photometric data.
| A Uniform Analysis of 118 Stars with High-contrast Imaging: Long-period Extrasolar Giant Planets are Rare Around Sun-like Stars
We expand on the results of Nielsen et al., using the null result forgiant extrasolar planets around the 118 target stars from the Very LargeTelescope (VLT) NACO H- and Ks-band planet search (conducted byMasciadri and collaborators in 2003 and 2004), the VLT and MMTSimultaneous Differential Imager survey, and the Gemini Deep PlanetSurvey to set constraints on the population of giant extrasolar planets.Our analysis is extended to include the planet luminosity models ofFortney et al., as well as the correlation between stellar mass andfrequency of giant planets found by Johnson et al. Doubling the samplesize of FGKM stars strengthens our conclusions: a model for extrasolargiant planets with power laws for mass and semimajor axis as given byCumming et al. cannot, with 95% confidence, have planets beyond 65 AU,compared to the value of 94 AU reported by Nielsen et al., using themodels of Baraffe et al. When the Johnson et al. correction for stellarmass (which gives fewer Jupiter-mass companions to M stars with respectto solar-type stars) is applied, however, this limit moves out to 82 AU.For the relatively new Fortney et al. models, which predict fainterplanets across most of parameter space, these upper limits, with andwithout a correction for stellar mass, are 182 and 234 AU, respectively.
| A high-resolution spectroscopic survey of late-type stars: chromospheric activity, rotation, kinematics, and age
Aims: We present a compilation of spectroscopic data from asurvey of 144 chromospherically active young stars in the solarneighborhood, which may be used to investigate different aspects of itsformation and evolution in terms of kinematics and stellar formationhistory. The data have already been used by us in several studies. Withthis paper, we make all these data accessible to the scientificcommunity for future studies on different topics. Methods: Weperformed spectroscopic observations with echelle spectrographs to coverthe entirety of the optical spectral range simultaneously. Standard datareduction was performed with the IRAF echelle package. We applied thespectral subtraction technique to reveal chromospheric emission in thestars of the sample. The equivalent width of chromospheric emissionlines was measured in the subtracted spectra and then converted tofluxes using equivalent width-flux relationships. Radial and rotationalvelocities were determined by the cross-correlation technique.Kinematics, equivalent widths of the lithium line ?6707.8 Åand spectral types were also determined. Results: A catalog ofspectroscopic data is compiled: radial and rotational velocities, spacemotion, equivalent widths of optical chromospheric activity indicatorsfrom Ca II H & K to the calcium infrared triplet and the lithiumline in ?6708 Å. Fluxes in the chromospheric emission linesand R'_HK are also determined for each observation of a star in thesample. We used these data to investigate the emission levels of ourstars. The study of the H? emission line revealed two differentpopulations of chromospheric emitters in the sample, clearly separatedin the logFH?/Fbol - (V-J) diagram. Thedichotomy may be associated with the age of the stars.Based on observations made with the 2.2 m telescope of theGerman-Spanish Astronomical Centre, Calar Alto (Almería, Spain),operated jointly by the Max-Planck-Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg,and the Spanish National Commission for Astronomy; the Nordic OpticalTelescope (NOT), operated on the island of La Palma jointly by Denmark,Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, in the Spanish Observatorio delRoque de Los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofísica deCanarias; the Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) operated on the island of LaPalma by the Isaac Newton Group in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque deLos Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias; withthe Italian Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG) operated on the island ofLa Palma by the Centro Galileo Galilei of the INAF (Istituto Nazionaledi Astrofisica) at the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de Los Muchachosof the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias; and with theHobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) operated by McDonald Observatory on behalfof The University of Texas at Austin, the Pennsylvania State University,Stanford University, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München,and Georg-August-Universität Göttingen. This research has madeuse of the SIMBAD database and VizieR catalog access tool, operated atCDS, Strasbourg, France.Tables A.1-A.4 and reduced spectra are alsoavailable in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/514/A97
| Search for associations containing young stars (SACY). III. Ages and Li abundances
Context: Our study is a follow-up of the SACY project, an extended highspectral resolution survey of more than two thousand opticalcounterparts to X-ray sources in the southern hemisphere targeted tosearch for young nearby association. Nine associations have either beennewly identified, or have had their member list revised. Groupsbelonging to the Sco-Cen-Oph complex are not considered in the presentstudy. Aims: These nine associations, with ages of between about 6Myr and 70 Myr, form an excellent sample to study the Li depletion inthe pre-main sequence (PMS) evolution. In the present paper, weinvestigate the use of Li abundances as an independent clock toconstrain the PMS evolution. Methods: Using our measurements ofthe equivalent widths of the Li resonance line and assuming fixedmetallicities and microturbulence, we calculated the LTE Li abundancesfor 376 members of various young associations. In addition, weconsidered the effects of their projected stellar rotation.Results: We present the Li depletion as a function of age in the firsthundred million years for the first time for the most extended sample ofLi abundances in young stellar associations. Conclusions: A clearLi depletion can be measured in the temperature range from 5000 K to3500 K for the age span covered by the nine associations studied in thispaper. The age sequence based on the Li-clock agrees well with theisochronal ages, the ?Cha association being the only possibleexception. The lithium depletion patterns for the associations presentedhere resemble those of the young open clusters with similar ages,strengthening the notion that the members proposed for these loose youngassociations have indeed a common physical origin. The observed scatterin the Li abundances hampers the use of Li in determining reliable agesfor individual stars. For velocities above 20 km s-1,rotation seems to play an important role in inhibiting the Li depletion.Based on observations collected at the ESO - La Silla and at theLNA-OPD.Tables [see full textsee full text]-[see full textsee full text] areonly available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org
| 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.
| 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.
| On the kinematic evolution of young local associations and the Scorpius-Centaurus complex
Context: Over the last decade, several groups of young (mainly low-mass)stars have been discovered in the solar neighbourhood (closer than ~100pc), thanks to cross-correlation between X-ray, optical spectroscopy andkinematic data. These young local associations - including an importantfraction whose members are Hipparcos stars - offer insights into thestar formation process in low-density environments, shed light on thesubstellar domain, and could have played an important role in the recenthistory of the local interstellar medium. Aims: To study the kinematicevolution of young local associations and their relation to other youngstellar groups and structures in the local interstellar medium, thuscasting new light on recent star formation processes in the solarneighbourhood. Methods: We compiled the data published in theliterature for young local associations. Using a realistic Galacticpotential we integrated the orbits for these associations and theSco-Cen complex back in time. Results: Combining these data with thespatial structure of the Local Bubble and the spiral structure of theGalaxy, we propose a recent history of star formation in the solarneighbourhood. We suggest that both the Sco-Cen complex and young localassociations originated as a result of the impact of the inner spiralarm shock wave against a giant molecular cloud. The core of the giantmolecular cloud formed the Sco-Cen complex, and some small cloudlets ina halo around the giant molecular cloud formed young local associationsseveral million years later. We also propose a supernova in young localassociations a few million years ago as the most likely candidate tohave reheated the Local Bubble to its present temperature.
| 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).
| Unraveling the Origins of Nearby Young Stars
A systematic search for close conjunctions and clusterings in the pastof nearby stars younger than the Pleiades is undertaken, which mayreveal the time, location, and mechanism of formation of these oftenisolated, disconnected from clusters and star-forming regions, objects.The sample under investigation includes 101 T Tauri, post-TT, andmain-sequence stars and stellar systems with signs of youth, culled fromthe literature. Their Galactic orbits are traced back in time and nearapproaches are evaluated in time, distance, and relative velocity.Numerous clustering events are detected, providing clues to the originof very young, isolated stars. Each star's orbit is also matched withthose of nearby young open clusters, OB and TT associations andstar-forming molecular clouds, including the Ophiuchus, Lupus, CoronaAustralis, and Chamaeleon regions. Ejection of young stars from openclusters is ruled out for nearly all investigated objects, but thenearest OB associations in Scorpius-Centaurus, and especially, the denseclouds in Ophiuchus and Corona Australis have likely played a major rolein the generation of the local streams (TWA, Beta Pic, andTucana-Horologium) that happen to be close to the Sun today. The core ofthe Tucana-Horologium association probably originated from the vicinityof the Upper Scorpius association 28 Myr ago. A few proposed members ofthe AB Dor moving group were in conjunction with the coeval Cepheus OB6association 38 Myr ago.
| 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.
| The Nearest Young Moving Groups
The latest results in the research of forming planetary systems have ledseveral authors to compile a sample of candidates for searching forplanets in the vicinity of the Sun. Young stellar associations areindeed excellent laboratories for this study, but some of them are notclose enough to allow the detection of planets through adaptive opticstechniques. However, the existence of very close young moving groups cansolve this problem. Here we have compiled the members of the nearestyoung moving groups, as well as a list of new candidates from ourcatalog of late-type stars that are possible members of young stellarkinematic groups, studying their membership through spectroscopic andphotometric criteria.
| 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.
| Young Stars Near the Sun
Until the late 1990s the rich Hyades and the sparse UMa clusters werethe only coeval, comoving concentrations of stars known within 60 pc ofEarth. Both are hundreds of millions of years old. Then beginning in thelate 1990s the TW Hydrae Association, the Tucana/Horologium Association,the Pictoris Moving Group, and the AB Doradus Moving Group wereidentified within 60 pc of Earth, and the Chamaeleontis cluster wasfound at 97 pc. These young groups (ages 8 50 Myr), along with othernearby, young stars, will enable imaging and spectroscopic studies ofthe origin and early evolution of planetary systems.
| The AB Doradus Moving Group
From radio to X-ray wavelengths, AB Doradus has been an intensivelystudied star. We have identified ~30 nearby star systems, each with oneor more characteristics of youth, that are moving through space togetherwith AB Dor. This diverse set of ~50 million year old star systems isthe comoving, youthful group closest to Earth. The group's nucleus is aclustering of a dozen stars ~20 pc from Earth that includes AB Doritself. The AB Dor moving group joins the previously known and somewhatyounger and more distant Tucana/Horologium and TW Hydrae associationsand the β Pictoris moving group as excellent laboratories forinvestigations of forming planetary systems.
| 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.
| 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
| Hipparcos red stars in the HpV_T2 and V I_C systems
For Hipparcos M, S, and C spectral type stars, we provide calibratedinstantaneous (epoch) Cousins V - I color indices using newly derivedHpV_T2 photometry. Three new sets of ground-based Cousins V I data havebeen obtained for more than 170 carbon and red M giants. These datasetsin combination with the published sources of V I photometry served toobtain the calibration curves linking Hipparcos/Tycho Hp-V_T2 with theCousins V - I index. In total, 321 carbon stars and 4464 M- and S-typestars have new V - I indices. The standard error of the mean V - I isabout 0.1 mag or better down to Hp~9 although it deteriorates rapidly atfainter magnitudes. These V - I indices can be used to verify thepublished Hipparcos V - I color indices. Thus, we have identified ahandful of new cases where, instead of the real target, a random fieldstar has been observed. A considerable fraction of the DMSA/C and DMSA/Vsolutions for red stars appear not to be warranted. Most likely suchspurious solutions may originate from usage of a heavily biased color inthe astrometric processing.Based on observations from the Hipparcos astrometric satellite operatedby the European Space Agency (ESA 1997).}\fnmsep\thanks{Table 7 is onlyavailable in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/397/997
| New periodic variables from the Hipparcos epoch photometry
Two selection statistics are used to extract new candidate periodicvariables from the epoch photometry of the Hipparcos catalogue. Theprimary selection criterion is a signal-to-noise ratio. The dependenceof this statistic on the number of observations is calibrated usingabout 30000 randomly permuted Hipparcos data sets. A significance levelof 0.1 per cent is used to extract a first batch of candidate variables.The second criterion requires that the optimal frequency be unaffectedif the data are de-trended by low-order polynomials. We find 2675 newcandidate periodic variables, of which the majority (2082) are from theHipparcos`unsolved' variables. Potential problems with theinterpretation of the data (e.g. aliasing) are discussed.
| 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.
| Catalogue and bibliography of the UV Cet-type flare stars and related objects in the solar vicinity
This new catalogue of flare stars includes 463 objects. It containsastrometric, spectral and photometric data as well as information on theinfrared, radio and X-ray properties and general stellar parameters.From the total reference list of about 3400 articles, partial listsselected by objects, authors, key words and by any pairs of thesecriteria can be obtained Tables 1, 2 and 3 are only available inelectronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr(130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html.
| The ROSAT all-sky survey catalogue of the nearby stars
We present X-ray data for all entries of the Third Catalogue of NearbyStars \cite[(Gliese & Jahreiss 1991)]{gli91} that have been detectedas X-ray sources in the ROSAT all-sky survey. The catalogue contains1252 entries yielding an average detection rate of 32.9 percent. Inaddition to count rates, source detection parameters, hardness ratios,and X-ray fluxes we also list X-ray luminosities derived from Hipparcosparallaxes. Catalogue also available at CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Cepheus |
| Right ascension: | 23h06m04.85s |
| Declination: | +63°55'34.4" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 10.929 |
| Distance: | 24.944 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | 175.9 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -58.9 |
| B-T magnitude: | 12.5 |
| V-T magnitude: | 11.059 |
Catalogs and designations:
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