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Observation and modelling of main-sequence star chromospheres - XIX. FIES and FEROS observations of dM1 stars
We present 187 high-resolution spectra for 62 different M1 dwarfs fromobservations obtained with the FIbre-fed Echelle Spectrograph (FIES) onthe Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT) and from observations with theFibre-fed Extended Range Echelle Spectrograph (FEROS) from the EuropeanSouthern Observatory (ESO) data base. We also compiled othermeasurements available in the literature.We observed two stars, Gl 745A and Gl 745B, with no Ca II line coreemission and H? line equivalent widths (EWs) of only 0.171 and0.188 Å, respectively. We also observed another very low activityM1 dwarf, Gl 63, with an H? line EW of only 0.199 Å. Theseare the lowest activity M dwarfs ever observed and are of particularinterest for the non-local thermodynamic equilibrium radiative transfermodelling of M1 dwarfs.Thanks to the high signal-to-noise ratio of most of our spectra, we wereable to measure the Ca II H&K full width at half-maximum (FWHM) formost of our stars. We find good correlations between the FWHM values andthe mean Ca II line EW for dM1 stars. Then the FWHM seems to saturatefor dM1e stars. Our previous models of M1 dwarfs can reproduce the FWHMfor dM1e stars and the most active dM1 stars, but fail to reproduce theobservations of lower activity M1 dwarfs. We believe this is due to aneffect of metallicity. We also investigate the dependence of theH? line FWHM as a function of its EW. We find that the modelsglobally agree with the observations including subwarfs, but tend toproduce too narrow profiles for dM1e stars.We re-investigate the correlation between the Ca II line mean EW and theabsolute magnitude. With our new data that notably include several M1subdwarfs, we find a slightly different and better correlation with aslope of -0.779 instead of -0.909. We also re-investigatethe variations of the H? line EW as a function of radius and findthat the EW increases continuously with increasing radius. This confirmsour previous finding that the level of magnetic activity in M1 dwarfsincreases with the radius.For the first time, we investigate the Wilson-Bappu correlation for agiven spectral type. We find a rather linear correlation for stars ofabsolute magnitude greater than 9.6, but below this value the FWHM seemsto saturate. In fact, we show that these Wilson-Bappu type correlationsare activity-FWHM correlations and are due to the diminishing columnmass of the transition region with decreasing activity level. Based onobservations available at the European Southern Observatory data basesand on Hipparcos parallax measurements.
| Observation and modelling of main-sequence star chromospheres - XV. New constraints on the dynamo mechanisms for dM1 stars
With the help of measures of rotation, radius and metallicity for aselected sample of dM1 stars (with Teff= 3460 ± 60 K),we aim to set new constraints on the dynamo mechanisms.We recover 913 high-resolution spectra for 97 different M1 dwarfs fromthe European Southern Observatory and Observatoire de Haute Provencedata bases. We present 660 new measurements of the Ca II resonance linesand 913 new measurements of the H? line for dM1 stars. We alsocompile other measurements available in the literature. In total, weobtain 2216 measures of the Ca II lines for 113 different dM1 stars.This represents the largest compilation of chromospheric linemeasurements at a single spectral type.We cross-correlate these magnetic activity indicators with variousstellar parameters to set new constraints on the dynamo mechanisms andon the properties of the outer atmosphere.We find a correlation of the Ca II line mean equivalent width with theabsolute magnitude and the metallicity. We correct the Ca II linemeasures from the metallicity effect and find that the surface flux inthe Ca II lines grows roughly as the power of 3.6 of the stellar radius.This corrected flux is a direct measure of magnetic activity at thechromospheric level. We find that the total magnetic activity levelgrows roughly as the power of 5.6 of the stellar radius. This trend isconfirmed by the correlation between the H? line and absolutemagnitude and the H? line luminosity and stellar radius: theH? luminosity grows roughly as the volume of the star for lowactivity dM1 stars and as the power of roughly 5/2 of the stellar radiusfor dM1e stars. The advantage of the H? line is that its formationin not dependent on metallicity.In contrast to the Ca II line, we find no correlation betweenLX and the absolute magnitude. We find that LXroughly correlates with the Ca II luminosity although the correlation isnot very good. This correlation shows that LX grows as thepower of 3/2 of the Ca II luminosity, i.e. the coronal emission growsfaster than the chromospheric emission.We find a correlation between the corrected Ca II line equivalent widthand P/sin i, i.e. the Ca II surface flux grows as the power of -1.5 ofthe rotation period. We also find a correlation between FX,the X-ray surface flux, and P/sin i: FX? (P/sini)-3.7. In other words, the coronal emission is much moredependent on the rotation period than the chromospheric emission.We find that the level of magnetic activity in dM1 stars is moredependent on the stellar radius than on rotation at the chromosphericlevel. We discuss the implications of these results on the models ofstellar dynamos. Based on observations available at Observatoire deHaute Provence and the European Southern Observatory data bases and onHipparcos parallax measurements.
| 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.
| Observation and modelling of main-sequence star chromospheres - XIV. Rotation of dM1 stars
We have measured v sin i for a selected sample of dM1-typestars. We give 114 measurements of v sin i for 88 different stars, andsix upper detection limits. These are the first measurements of v sin ifor most of the stars studied here. This represents the largest sampleof v sin i measurements for M dwarfs at a given spectral type. For thesemeasurements, we used four different spectrographs: HARPS (ESO), SOPHIE(OHP), ÉLODIE (OHP) and UVES (ESO). Two of these spectrographs(HARPS and SOPHIE) are particularly stable in wavelength since they weredesigned for exoplanet searches.We measured v sin i down to an accuracy of 0.3kms-1 for thehighest resolution spectrographs and a detection limit of about1kms-1. We show that this unprecedented accuracy for M dwarfsin our data set is possible because all the targets have the samespectral type. This is an advantage and it facilitates the determinationof the narrowest line profiles for v sin i ~ 0. Although it is possibleto derive the zero-point profiles using several spectral types at atime. These values were combined with other measurements taken from theliterature. The total sample represents detected rotation for 100 stars(10 dM1e and 90 dM1 stars). We confirm our finding of Paper VII that thedistribution of the projected rotation period is bimodal for dM1 starswith a much larger sample, i.e. there are two groups of stars: the fastrotators with P/sin i ~ 4.5d and the slow rotators with P/sin i ~ 14.4d.There is a gap between these two groups. We find that the distributionof stars as a function of P/sin i has two very abrupt cuts, below 10dand above 18d. There are very few stars observed out of this range10-18d. We also observe that the distribution increases slightly from 18to 10d.We find that the M1 subdwarfs (very low metallicity dwarfs) rotate withan average period of P/sin i ~ 7.2d, which is about twice faster as themain group of normal M1 dwarfs. We also find a correlation for P/sin ito decrease with stellar radius among dM1e stars. Such a trend is alsoobserved in dM1 stars.We also derive metallicity and radius for all our target stars using thesame method as in Paper VII. We notably found that 11 of our targetstars are subdwarfs with metallicities below -0.5dex.Based on observations available at Observatoire de Haute Provence andthe European Southern Observatory data bases and on Hipparcos parallaxmeasurements.E-mail: eric_houdebine@yahoo.fr
| UBV(RI)C JHK observations of Hipparcos-selected nearby stars
We present homogeneous, standardized UBV(RI)C photometry forover 700 nearby stars selected on the basis of Hipparcos parallaxes.Additionally, we list JHK photometry for about half of these stars, aswell as L photometry for 86 of the brightest. A number of stars withpeculiar colours or anomalous locations in various colour-magnitudediagrams are discussed.
| Observation and modelling of main-sequence star chromospheres . IX. Two-component model chromospheres for nine M1 dwarfs
Aims: We aim to constrain the H?, CaII H andCaII K line profiles of quiescent and active regions of nine dM1 starsof near solar metallicity: Gl 2, GJ 1010A, Gl 49, Gl 150.1B, Gl 205, Gl229, Gl 526, G192-11A, and Gl 880. Methods: We propose a newmethod for building two-component model chromospheres for dM1stars-based on simple constraints and a grid of model atmospheresdeveloped by Houdebine & Stempels. This method is based on themeasurements of the equivalent width of H? and CaII H& K. Based on the peculiar relationship between these two equivalentwidths in the model atmospheres, our solutions provide an exact match ofthese equivalent widths. Results: We obtain two component(quiescent and active region) model chromospheres for our nine targetstars. We fit the H?, CaII H, and CaII K profiles forthese stars. These models show that seven of these stars lie in theintermediate activity range between H? maximumabsorption and emission. Two stars (Gl 49 and G192-11A) are quite activewith H? emission profiles in plages. As far as the CaIIemission is concerned, these two stars are almost as active as dM1estars. Two stars (GJ 1010A and Gl 526) have lower activity levels withnarrower and weaker H? profiles. The range of activitycovered by these stars is a factor of 13 in the CaII lines, from lowactivity to activity levels almost as high as those of dM1e stars. Ourmethod sometimes provides two solutions of the observedH? equivalent width as a function of the quiescentregion H? equivalent width. For Gl 205, one of thesolutions is shown to be impossible for the assumptions that we use. ForGl 49 and G192-11A, two solutions are possible; a low solution (low CaIIEW) and a high solution (high CaII EW). The difference between these twosolutions is mainly in the plage-filling factor. The two solutions givealmost identical H? and CaII profiles. We prefer thelow solutions because the filling factors are in closer agreement withthose of other stars. We find plage-filling factors typically in therange 20%-40%. We also find that it is the chromospheric pressure ratherthan the filling factor that increases with increasing activity. Wedefine a minimum theoretical H? equivalent width as afunction of the mean CaII H & K equivalent width. We show that ourobservations agree well with this lower limit. We also show that theproperties of the chromosphere in quiescent and active regions correlatewith the mean CaII H & K equivalent width. This could be useful infuture studies to derive an estimate of the chromospheric propertiesfrom the observed mean CaII H & K equivalent width.Based on observations collected at Observatoire de Haute Provence,France
| Observation and modelling of main sequence star chromospheres - XIII. The NaI D1 and D2, and HeI D3 lines in dM1 stars
We investigate spectral lines of interest in dM1 stars, namely the NaID1 and D2 and HeI 5876 lines. We study in detail the line shapes of theNaI D1 and D2 lines. We find that these lines are strong and broad innormal dM1 stars and become weaker and narrower when metallicity is low,although our sample is insufficient in order to find out an empiricalcorrelation between these parameters.We find correlations between the CaII resonance line-mean equivalentwidth (EW) and vsini as well as between the NaI mean line core relativeflux and vsini. These correlations include low activity dM1 stars andshow that the NaI mean line core flux is a good chromosphericdiagnostic.We find a good correlation between the NaI D1 line core flux and the NaID2 line core flux. This correlation shows that the line core opticaldepths decrease with an increasing activity level, that is the oppositeof what was found for the CaII lines. The NaI D1 and D2 mean line coreflux also correlates well with the CaII mean EW and with the H?EW. We also compare these correlations to the available modelcomputations. We investigate in detail the shapes of the NaI D1 and D2lines through the full line widths at 85 per cent, 62 per cent and 35per cent of the continuum. The significant differences from one star toanother cannot be explained at this stage. Detailed modelling of thestellar photospheres will be necessary to interpret the observeddifferences.The HeI 5876 line is detected in only one dM1 star in our sample. Weobtain activity correlations between the HeI 5876 line EW and the CaIImean EW, and the H? EW.
| Observation and modelling of main-sequence stellar chromospheres - VII. Rotation and metallicity of dM1 stars
We have measured v sini and metallicity from high-resolutionspectroscopic observations of a selected sample of dM1-type stars.To measure v sini, we first selected three template stars known fortheir slow rotation or their very low activity levels and thencross-correlated their spectra with those of our target stars. Theexcess broadening of the cross-correlation peaks gives v sini. Formetallicity, we compiled all available measurements from the literatureand correlated them with the stellar radius. Provided the parallax isknown, this new method allows us to derive metallicities for all ourtarget stars.We measured v sini to an accuracy of 2 kms-1. These valueswere combined with other measurements taken from the literature. We havedetected rotation in seven dM1e stars and 11 dM1 stars and upper limitsfor 20 other dM1 stars. Our results show that the distribution of therotation period may be bimodal for dM1 stars, i.e. there are two groupsof stars: the fast rotators with Prot ~ 6 d and the slowrotators with Prot ~ 24 d. There is a gap between these twogroups.We obtained a correlation between metallicity and stellar radius whichallows us to derive metallicities for all stars in our sample and moregenerally for all dM1 stars with [M/H] in the range -1.5 to 0.5 dex,with a reasonable accuracy. We compare this correlation to models andfind a significant disagreement in radii. However, the observed shape ofthe correlation is globally reproduced by the models. We derive themetallicity for 87 M1 dwarfs and subdwarfs.Based on observations collected at Observatoire de Haute Provence andthe European Southern Observatory and on Hipparcos parallaxmeasurements.E-mail: eric_houdebine@yahoo.fr
| Common Proper Motion Companions to Nearby Stars: Ages and Evolution
A set of 41 nearby stars (closer than 25 pc) is investigated which havevery wide binary and common proper motion (CPM) companions at projectedseparations between 1000 and 200,000 AU. These companions are identifiedby astrometric positions and proper motions from the NOMAD catalog.Based mainly on measures of chromospheric and X-ray activity, ageestimation is obtained for most of 85 identified companions.Color-absolute magnitude diagrams are constructed to test whether CPMcompanions are physically related to the primary nearby stars and havethe same age. Our carefully selected sample includes three remote whitedwarf companions to main-sequence stars and two systems (55 Cnc and GJ777A) of multiple planets and distant stellar companions. Ten new CPMcompanions, including three of extreme separations, are found. Multiplehierarchical systems are abundant; more than 25% of CPM components arespectroscopic or astrometric binaries or multiples themselves. Two newastrometric binaries are discovered among nearby CPM companions, GJ 264and HIP 59000, and preliminary orbital solutions are presented. TheHyades kinematic group (or stream) is presented broadly in the sample,but we find few possible thick-disk objects and no halo stars. Itfollows from our investigation that moderately young (age<~1 Gyr)thin-disk dwarfs are the dominating species in the near CPM systems, ingeneral agreement with the premises of the dynamical survival paradigm.
| 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
| New Distant Companions to Known Nearby Stars. II. Faint Companions of Hipparcos Stars and the Frequency of Wide Binary Systems
We perform a search for faint, common proper motion companions ofHipparcos stars using the recently published Lépine-Shara ProperMotion-North catalog of stars with proper motionμ>0.15'' yr-1. Our survey uncovers a totalof 521 systems with angular separations3''<Δθ<1500'', with 15 triplesand 1 quadruple. Our new list of wide systems with Hipparcos primariesincludes 130 systems identified here for the first time, including 44 inwhich the secondary star has V>15.0. Our census is statisticallycomplete for secondaries with angular separations20''<Δθ<300'' and apparentmagnitudes V<19.0. Overall, we find that at least 9.5% of nearby(d<100 pc) Hipparcos stars have distant stellar companions withprojected orbital separations s>1000 AU. We observe that thedistribution in orbital separations is consistent with Öpik's law,f(s)ds~s-1ds, only up to a separation s~4000 AU, beyond whichit follows a more steeply decreasing power law f(s)ds~s-ldswith l=1.6+/-0.1. We also find that the luminosity function of thesecondaries is significantly different from that of the single stars'field population, showing a relative deficiency in low-luminosity(8
| 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.
| CHARM2: An updated Catalog of High Angular Resolution Measurements
We present an update of the Catalog of High Angular ResolutionMeasurements (CHARM, Richichi & Percheron \cite{CHARM}, A&A,386, 492), which includes results available until July 2004. CHARM2 is acompilation of direct measurements by high angular resolution methods,as well as indirect estimates of stellar diameters. Its main goal is toprovide a reference list of sources which can be used for calibrationand verification observations with long-baseline optical and near-IRinterferometers. Single and binary stars are included, as are complexobjects from circumstellar shells to extragalactic sources. The presentupdate provides an increase of almost a factor of two over the previousedition. Additionally, it includes several corrections and improvements,as well as a cross-check with the valuable public release observationsof the ESO Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). A total of 8231entries for 3238 unique sources are now present in CHARM2. Thisrepresents an increase of a factor of 3.4 and 2.0, respectively, overthe contents of the previous version of CHARM.The catalog is only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/431/773
| New Hipparcos-based Parallaxes for 424 Faint Stars
We present a catalog of 424 common proper-motion companions to Hipparcosstars with good (>3 σ) parallaxes, thereby effectively providingnew parallaxes for these companions. Compared with typical stars in theHipparcos catalog, these stars are substantially dimmer. The catalogincludes 20 white dwarfs and an additional 29 stars withMV>14, the great majority of the latter being M dwarfs.
| 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.
| 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
| The Palomar/MSU Nearby Star Spectroscopic Survey. III. Chromospheric Activity, M Dwarf Ages, and the Local Star Formation History
We present high-resolution echelle spectroscopy of 676 nearby M dwarfs.Our measurements include radial velocities, equivalent widths ofimportant chromospheric emission lines, and rotational velocities forrapidly rotating stars. We identify several distinct groups by theirHα properties and investigate variations in chromospheric activityamong early (M0-M2.5) and mid (M3-M6) dwarfs. Using a volume-limitedsample together with a relationship between age and chromosphericactivity, we show that the rate of star formation in the immediate solarneighborhood has been relatively constant over the last 4 Gyr. Inparticular, our results are inconsistent with recent large bursts ofstar formation. We use the correlation between Hα activity and ageas a function of color to set constraints on the properties of L and Tdwarf secondary components in binary systems. We also identify a numberof interesting stars, including rapid rotators, radial velocityvariables, and spectroscopic binaries. Observations were made at the 60inch telescope at Palomar Mountain, which is jointly owned by theCalifornia Institute of Technology and the Carnegie Institution ofWashington.
| 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.
| CHARM: A Catalog of High Angular Resolution Measurements
The Catalog of High Angular Resolution Measurements (CHARM) includesmost of the measurements obtained by the techniques of lunaroccultations and long-baseline interferometry at visual and infraredwavelengths, which have appeared in the literature or have otherwisebeen made public until mid-2001. A total of 2432 measurements of 1625sources are included, along with extensive auxiliary information. Inparticular, visual and infrared photometry is included for almost allthe sources. This has been partly extracted from currently availablecatalogs, and partly obtained specifically for CHARM. The main aim is toprovide a compilation of sources which could be used as calibrators orfor science verification purposes by the new generation of largeground-based facilities such as the ESO Very Large Interferometer andthe Keck Interferometer. The Catalog is available in electronic form atthe CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/386/492, and from theauthors on CD-Rom.
| Observation and modelling of main sequence stellar chromospheres. VI. Halpha_ and CaII line observations of M1 dwarfs and comparison with models.
We compare hydrogen and calcium line calculations for dM1 (Teff=3500K)stellar chromospheres with high resolution observations of a selectedsample of stars with the same spectral type ((R-I)_K_=0.875+/-0.05). Webring evidence that grids of uniform model atmospheres in theplane-parallel and hydrostatic equilibrium approximations can reproducethe average spectral signatures throughout the entire activity range.Observations confirm that when magnetic activity level rises, theHα line is first weak, then increases in absorption strength,rapidly fills in and eventually goes into emission. We obtain acorrelation between the Hα line width and equivalent width that isin good agreement with our model calculations. Simultaneous Hα andCaII line observations allow to remove the degeneracy in Hαequivalent width for low activity (weak absorption) and intermediateactivity stars (filled in profiles). We show that the latter grouprepresents a significant proportion of the stellar population. Withinthe active stars group, we find an exclusion zone in the[0.25Å;-1Å] Hα equivalent width domain, that can besimply explained by the rapid change from the absorption to the emissionregimes when the chromospheric pressure increases. In our sample of 154stars, covering a large luminosity range, we found no ``zero-Hα''stars but instead a minimum (possibly ``basal'') Hα equivalentwidth of ~0.20Å which, with reference to our models, suggests atransition region column mass of log(M)~-5.5. This implies that for anoverwhelming majority of M1 type dwarfs the amount of non-thermal energyinput in the chromosphere is much higher than in the Sun, and byreference to acoustic heating calculations, that they are alsomagnetically much more active (per unit area). Our observations provideevidence for gradual and important changes in the integrated physicalproperties of the chromosphere throughout the activity range. Forexample, the equivalent widths of the H and K line cores are tightlycorrelated with their ratio, the later decreasing from low activity(~1.50 at -0.2Å) to high activity stars (~1.06 at -15Å). TheK lines are also typically 30% broader than the H lines and their widthsincrease with increasing activity level. This suggests that theiroptical depths in their region of formation also increase withincreasing activity level. Our calcium line calculations reproduce theobserved trends. We confirm a near UV and blue excess in active dMestars that increases with activity level; in average 0.12 magnitudes inU-B (and up to 0.26mag.) and 0.03 magnitudes in B-V. This excess isabout three times larger than expected from our calculations for a givenatmospheric pressure, and together with discrepancies between models andobservations for spectral lines, all converge to imply that highpressure plages with a filling factor of about 30% are present on thesestars. Low metallicity halo dwarfs in our sample also exhibit a U-Bexcess, but in the case of single dMe stars an effect of metallicity isexcluded. In our sample, single dMe stars are more luminous than theirless active absorption line counterparts. We present anactivity-luminosity relationship for the CaII lines; namely, the CaIIline fluxes rise as the power of 5.4 of the stellar radius. Hence, weexpect the stellar magnetic flux to rise approximately as the power of7.4 of the radius; an important constraint for the dynamo mechanism.Such a correlation is also found with Hα and L_X_, the X-rayluminosity. With our present understanding, these correlations are, atleast partly, activity-metallicity relationships. We emphasize theimportance of metallicity on stellar activity as a whole, i.e., metaldeficient stars are also activity deficient.
| The Palomar/MSU Nearby Star Spectroscopic Survey.II.The Southern M Dwarfs and Investigation of Magnetic Activity
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1996AJ....112.2799H&db_key=AST
| The TIRGO Lunar Occultation Program: Summary of the 1985-1995 Observations
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1996AJ....112.2786R&db_key=AST
| The Palomar/MSU Nearby-Star Spectroscopic Survey. I. The Northern M Dwarfs -Bandstrengths and Kinematics
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1995AJ....110.1838R&db_key=AST
| Statistical studies of visual double and multiple stars. II. A catalogue of nearby wide binary and multiple systems.
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1994RMxAA..28...43P&db_key=AST
| Photometry of dwarf K and M stars
An observational program using UBVRI photometry is presented for 688stars from among the dwarf K and M stars already found spectroscopicallyby Vyssotsky (1958). Of these, 211 have not been observedphotometrically. These observations were obtained over a period ofseveral years at the Kitt Peak National Observatory using a GaAsphotomultiplier with an 0.9 m reflector. Based on night-to-nightvariations in the measures of individual stars, the internal errors maybe estimated to be roughly 0.01 mag for the colors and 0.015 for the Vmagnitudes. The photometric parallaxes reported for each star werecomputed in the manner discussed by Weis (1986).
| Multiplicity among M dwarfs
Surveys of M dwarfs within 20 pc are examined to determine the incidenceof stellar companions. Observational data are drawn from high-qualitysurveys, including IR-array imaging, precise velocities, IR speckleinterferometry, and visual imaging, and their respective incompletenessis determined. The number of companions per AU of semimajor axis iscomputed and found to decline monotonically toward larger semimajoraxes. The period distribution exhibits a unimodal broad maximum with apeak in the range 9-220 yr, corresponding to separations of 3-30 AU,similar to that for G dwarf binaries. Fifty-eight percent of nearby Mdwarf primaries are found to be single, and 42 +/- 9 percent havecompanions. The M-dwarf binary frequency is lower than that for G dwarfs(about 57 percent), owing partly to the smaller range of companionmasses included, i.e., companions less massive than the M- or G-typeprimary.
| VRI photometry of late dwarf common proper motion pairs
VRI photometry and photometric distance moduli are presented for 266late dwarf common proper motion pairs. From the distance modulusdifferences between the components of each pair, it is inferred that atleast 56 percent of the pairs contain one or more additional stellarcomponents. The maximum separation of M dwarf binaries appears to be ofthe order 10,000-20,000 AU.
| BVRI photometry of the Gliese Catalogue stars
Photoelectri BVRI photometry on the Cousins (Kron-Cape) system has beenobtained for many of the southern faint stars in the Gliese Catalog(1969). This extends the work of Cousins (1980) and provides a uniformset of data for the nearby stars. Several red dwarfs are noted, whichwere used to define the red end of the Cousins system.
| Photometry of dwarf K and M stars
Broadband photometry in BVRI colors for 120 nearby dwarf K and M starsis presented. The apparent magnitude distributions of Vyssotsky and VanVleck stars with photometry and without photometry are studied. Therelationship between apparent and photoelectric magnitudes is analyzed.The proper motion and transverse velocity of the two star types areexamined and compared.
| Dwarf K and M stars of high proper motion found in a hemispheric survey
A recently completed visual/red spectral region objective-prism surveyof more than half the sky found some 2200 dwarf K and M stars ofnegligible proper motion (Stephenson, 1986). The present paper adds the1800-odd spectroscopically identified dwarfs that did prove to havesignificant proper motions. About half of these had previous spectralclassifications of some sort, especially by Vyssotsky (1952, 1956). Forthe great majority, the present coordinates are more accurate thanprevious data. The paper includes about 50 stars with unpublishedparallaxes, likely to have parallaxes of 0.05 arcsec or more. Combiningthe present data with the first paper suggests that the number oflow-proper-motion stars in that paper was not unreasonable.
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Taurus |
| Right ascension: | 03h43m45.25s |
| Declination: | +16°40'02.2" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 10.786 |
| Distance: | 16.287 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | 161.2 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -313.9 |
| B-T magnitude: | 12.864 |
| V-T magnitude: | 10.958 |
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