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The First Spatially Resolved Mid-Infrared Spectra of NGC 1068 Obtained at Diffraction-limited Resolution with the Keck I Telescope Long Wavelength Spectrometer
We present spatially resolved mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectra of NGC 1068with a diffraction-limited resolution of 0.25" using the Long WavelengthSpectrometer (LWS) at the Keck I telescope. The mid-IR image of NGC 1068is extended along the north-south direction. Previous imaging studieshave shown that the extended regions are located inside the ionizationcones, indicating that the mid-IR emission arises perhaps from the innerregions of the narrow-line clouds instead of the proposed dusty torusitself. The spatially resolved mid-IR spectra were obtained at twodifferent slit position angles, +8.0d and -13.0d across the elongatedregions in the mid-IR. From these spectra, we found only weak silicateabsorption toward the northern extended regions but strong absorption inthe nucleus and the southern extended regions. This is consistent with amodel of a slightly inclined cold obscuring torus that covers much ofthe southern regions but is behind the northern extension. While adetailed analysis of the spectra requires a radiative transfer model,the lack of silicate emission from the northern extended regions promptsus to consider a dual dust population model as one of the possibleexplanations in which a different dust population exists in theionization cones compared to that in the dusty torus. Dust inside theionization cones may lack small silicate grains, giving rise to only afeatureless continuum in the northern extended regions, while dust inthe dusty torus has plenty of small silicate grains to produce thestrong silicate absorption lines toward the nucleus and the southernextended regions.
| Multi-aperture photometry of extended IR sources with ISOPHOT. I. The nature of extended IR emission of planetary Nebulae
Context: .ISOPHOT multi-aperture photometry is an efficient method toresolve compact sources or to detect extended emission down torelatively faint levels with single detectors in the wavelength range 3to 100 μm. Aims: .Using ISOPHOT multi-aperture photometry andcomplementary ISO spectra and IR spectral energy distributions wediscuss the nature of the extended IR emission of the two PNe NGC 6543and NGC 7008. Methods: .In the on-line appendix we describe thedata reduction, calibration and interpretation methods based on asimultaneous determination of the IR source and background contributionsfrom the on-source multi-aperture sequences. Normalized profiles enabledirect comparison with point source and flat-sky references. Modellingthe intensity distribution offers a quantitative method to assess sourceextent and angular scales of the main structures and is helpful inreconstructing the total source flux, if the source extends beyond aradius of 1 arcmin. The photometric calibration is described and typicalaccuracies are derived. General uncertainty, quality and reliabilityissues are addressed, too. Transient fitting to non-stabilised signaltime series, by means of combinations of exponential functions withdifferent time constants, improves the actual average signals andreduces their uncertainty. Results: .The emission of NGC 6543 inthe 3.6 μm band coincides with the core region of the optical nebulaand is homogeneously distributed. It is comprised of 65% continuum and35% atomic hydrogen line emission. In the 12 μm band a resolved butcompact double source is surrounded by a fainter ring structure with allemission confined to the optical core region. Strong line emission of[ArIII] at 8.99 μm and in particular [SIV] at 10.51 μm shapes thisspatial profile. The unresolved 60 μm emission originates from dust.It is described by a modified (emissivity index β = 1.5) blackbodywith a temperature of 85 K, suggesting that warm dust with a mass of 6.4× 10-4 Mȯ is mixed with the ionisedgas. The gas-to-dust mass ratio is about 220. The 25 μm emission ofNGC 7008 is characterised by a FWHM of about 50´´ with anadditional spot-like or ring-like enhancement at the bright rim of theoptical nebula. The 60 μm emission exhibits a similar shape, but isabout twice as extended. Analysis of the spectral energy distributionsuggests that the 25 μm emission is associated with 120 K warm dust,while the 60 μm emission is dominated by a second dust component with55 K. The dust mass associated with this latter component amounts to 1.2× 10-3 Mȯ, significantly higher thanpreviously derived. The gas-to-dust mass ratio is 59 which, compared tothe average value of 160 for the Milky Way, hints at dust enrichment bythis object.
| The Star of Bethlehem: a type Ia/Ic supernova in the Andromeda galaxy?
Not Available
| Variability of Stars in the Pulkovo Spectrophotometric Catalog
We present the results of a statistical study of brightness variabilityfor 693 stars of the Pulkovo spectrophotometric database in fivespectral bands in the range λλ 320 1080 nm. Significantbrightness variations were detected in at least one spectral bandagainst the background of the random noise for one-third of the starsnot earlier believed to be variable. A comparison of the distributionsof these variations in amplitude and spectral band for the normal andvariable stars shows that variability is inherent to most stars to someextent and is often wavelength dependent.
| The Effective Temperature Scale of FGK Stars. II. Teff:Color:[Fe/H] Calibrations
We present up-to-date metallicity-dependent temperature versus colorcalibrations for main-sequence and giant stars based on temperaturesderived with the infrared flux method (IRFM). Seventeen colors in thephotometric systems UBV, uvby, Vilnius, Geneva, RI(Cousins), DDO,Hipparcos-Tycho, and Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) have beencalibrated. The spectral types covered by the calibrations range from F0to K5 (7000K>~Teff>~4000K) with some relationsextending below 4000 K or up to 8000 K. Most of the calibrations arevalid in the metallicity range -3.5>~[Fe/H]>~0.4, although some ofthem extend to as low as [Fe/H]~-4.0. All fits to the data have beenperformed with more than 100 stars; standard deviations range from 30 to120 K. Fits were carefully performed and corrected to eliminate thesmall systematic errors introduced by the calibration formulae. Tablesof colors as a function of Teff and [Fe/H] are provided. Thiswork is largely based on the study by A. Alonso and collaborators; thus,our relations do not significantly differ from theirs except for thevery metal-poor hot stars. From the calibrations, the temperatures of 44dwarf and giant stars with direct temperatures available are obtained.The comparison with direct temperatures confirms our finding in Paper Ithat the zero point of the IRFM temperature scale is in agreement, tothe 10 K level, with the absolute temperature scale (that based onstellar angular diameters) within the ranges of atmospheric parameterscovered by those 44 stars. The colors of the Sun are derived from thepresent IRFM Teff scale and they compare well with those offive solar analogs. It is shown that if the IRFM Teff scaleaccurately reproduces the temperatures of very metal-poor stars,systematic errors of the order of 200 K, introduced by the assumption of(V-K) being completely metallicity independent when studying verymetal-poor dwarf stars, are no longer acceptable. Comparisons with otherTeff scales, both empirical and theoretical, are also shownto be in reasonable agreement with our results, although it seems thatboth Kurucz and MARCS synthetic colors fail to predict the detailedmetallicity dependence, given that for [Fe/H]=-2.0, differences as highas approximately +/-200 K are found.
| Status of the physics of substellar objects
A full understanding of the properties of substellar objects is one ofthe major challenges facing astrophysics. Since their discovery in 1995,we have discovered hundreds of brown dwarfs and extrasolar planets.While these discoveries have enabled important comparisons with theory,observational progress has been much more rapid than the theoreticalunderstanding of cool atmospheres. The reliable determination of mass,abundances, gravities and temperatures is not yet possible. The keyproblem is that substellar objects emit their observable radiation inthe infrared region of the spectrum where our knowledge of atomic,molecular and line broadening data is poor. Here we report on the statusof PoSSO (Physics of SubStellar Objects). In order to understand browndwarfs and extrasolar planets increasing more like those in our solarsystem, we are studying a wide range of processes. Here we give anupdate on the project and sketch an outline of atoms, molecules andprocesses requiring study.
| The Orion Nebula in the Mid-Infrared
We present two wide-field (~5'×3&farcm;5),diffraction-limited (λ/D~=0.5" at 10 μm), broadband 10 and 20μm images of the Orion Nebula, plus six 7-13 μm narrowband(λ/Δλ~=1) images of the BN/KL complex taken at the3.8 m UKIRT telescope with the MPIA MAX camera. The wide-field images,centered on the Trapezium and BN/KL regions, are mosaics of35''×35'' frames obtained with standardchopping and nodding techniques and reconstructed using a newrestoration method developed for this project. They show the filamentarystructure of the dust emission from the walls of the H II region andreveal a new remarkable group of arclike structures ~1' to the south ofthe Trapezium. The morphology of the Ney-Allen Nebula, produced bywind-wind interaction in the vicinity of the Trapezium stars, suggests acomplex kinematical structure at the center of the cluster. We findindications that one of the most massive members of the cluster, theB0.5 V star θ1 Ori D, is surrounded by aphotoevaporated circumstellar disk. Among the four historic Trapezium OBstars, this is the only one without a binary companion, suggesting thatstellar multiplicity and the presence of massive circumstellar disks maybe mutually exclusive. In what concerns the BN/KL complex, we findevidence for extended optically thin silicate emission on top of thedeep 10 μm absorption feature. Assuming a simple two-component model,we map with ~=0.5" spatial resolution the foreground optical depth,color temperature, and mid-IR luminosity of the embedded sources. Weresolve a conspicuous point source at the location of the IRc2-A knot,approximately 0.5" north of the deeply embedded H II region ``I.'' Weanalyze the spectral profile of the 10 μm silicate absorption featureand find indication for grain crystallization in the harsh nebularenvironment. In the OMC-1 South region, we detect several point sourcesand discuss their association with the mass-loss phenomenology observedat optical and millimeter wavelengths. Finally, we list the position andphotometry of 177 point sources, the large majority of which aredetected for the first time in the mid-IR. Twenty-two of them lack acounterpart at shorter wavelengths and are therefore candidates fordeeply embedded protostars. The comparison of photometric data obtainedat two different epochs reveals that source variability at 10 μm ispresent up to a level of ~1 mag on a timescale of ~2 yr. With thepossible exception of a pair of OB stars, all point sources detected atshorter wavelengths display 10 μm emission well above thephotospheric level, which we attribute to disk circumstellar emission.The recent model of Robberto et al. provides the simplest explanationfor the observed mid-IR excess.
| Broad-band photometric colors and effective temperature calibrations for late-type giants. I. Z = 0.02
We present new synthetic broad-band photometric colors for late-typegiants based on synthetic spectra calculated with the PHOENIX modelatmosphere code. The grid covers effective temperatures T_eff=3000dots5000 K, gravities log g=-0.5dots{+3.5}, and metallicities[M/H]=+0.5dots{-4.0}. We show that individual broad-band photometriccolors are strongly affected by model parameters such as molecularopacities, gravity, microturbulent velocity, and stellar mass. Ourexploratory 3D modeling of a prototypical late-type giant shows thatconvection has a noticeable effect on the photometric colors too, as italters significantly both the vertical and horizontal thermal structuresin the outer atmosphere. The differences between colors calculated withfull 3D hydrodynamical and 1D model atmospheres are significant (e.g.,Δ(V-K)0.2 mag), translating into offsets in effectivetemperature of up to 70 K. For a sample of 74 late-type giants in theSolar neighborhood, with interferometric effective temperatures andbroad-band photometry available in the literature, we compare observedcolors with a new PHOENIX grid of synthetic photometric colors, as wellas with photometric colors calculated with the MARCS and ATLAS modelatmosphere codes. We find good agreement of the new synthetic colorswith observations and published T_eff-color and color-color relations,especially in the T_eff-(V-K), T_eff-(J-K) and (J-K)-(V-K) planes.Deviations from the observed trends in the T_eff-color planes aregenerally within ±100 K for T_eff=3500 to 4800 K. Syntheticcolors calculated with different stellar atmosphere models agree to±100 K, within a large range of effective temperatures andgravities. The comparison of the observed and synthetic spectra oflate-type giants shows that discrepancies result from the differencesboth in the strengths of various spectral lines/bands (especially thoseof molecular bands, such as TiO, H2O, CO) and the continuum level.Finally, we derive several new T_eff-log g-color relations for late-typegiants at solar-metallicity (valid for T_eff=3500 to 4800 K), based bothon the observed effective temperatures and colors of the nearby giants,and synthetic colors produced with PHOENIX, MARCS and ATLAS modelatmospheres.
| 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
| Mg II chromospheric radiative loss rates in cool active and quiet stars
The Mg II k emission line is a good indicator of the level ofchromospheric activity in late-type stars. We investigate the dependenceof this activity indicator on fundamental stellar parameters. To thispurpose we use IUE observations of the Mg II k line in 225 late-typestars of luminosity classes I-V, with different levels of chromosphericactivity. We first re-analyse the relation between Mg II k lineluminosity and stellar absolute magnitude, performing linear fits to thepoints. The ratio of Mg II surface flux to total surface flux is foundto be independent of stellar luminosity for evolved stars and toincrease with decreasing luminosity for dwarfs. We also analyse the MgII k line surface flux-metallicity connection. The Mg II k emissionlevel turns out to be not dependent on metallicity. Finally, the Mg II kline surface flux-temperature relation is investigated by treatingseparately, for the first time, a large sample of very active and normalstars. The stellar surface fluxes in the k line of normal stars arefound to be strongly dependent on the temperature and slightly dependenton the gravity, thus confirming the validity of recently proposedmodels. In contrast, data relative to RS CVn binaries and BY Dra stars,which show very strong chromospheric activity, are not justified in theframework of a description based only on acoustic waves and uniformlydistributed magnetic flux tubes so that they require more detailedmodels.
| Local kinematics of K and M giants from CORAVEL/Hipparcos/Tycho-2 data. Revisiting the concept of superclusters
The availability of the Hipparcos Catalogue has triggered many kinematicand dynamical studies of the solar neighbourhood. Nevertheless, thosestudies generally lacked the third component of the space velocities,i.e., the radial velocities. This work presents the kinematic analysisof 5952 K and 739 M giants in the solar neighbourhood which includes forthe first time radial velocity data from a large survey performed withthe CORAVEL spectrovelocimeter. It also uses proper motions from theTycho-2 catalogue, which are expected to be more accurate than theHipparcos ones. An important by-product of this study is the observedfraction of only 5.7% of spectroscopic binaries among M giants ascompared to 13.7% for K giants. After excluding the binaries for whichno center-of-mass velocity could be estimated, 5311 K and 719 M giantsremain in the final sample. The UV-plane constructed from these datafor the stars with precise parallaxes (σπ/π≤20%) reveals a rich small-scale structure, with several clumpscorresponding to the Hercules stream, the Sirius moving group, and theHyades and Pleiades superclusters. A maximum-likelihood method, based ona Bayesian approach, has been applied to the data, in order to make fulluse of all the available stars (not only those with precise parallaxes)and to derive the kinematic properties of these subgroups. Isochrones inthe Hertzsprung-Russell diagram reveal a very wide range of ages forstars belonging to these groups. These groups are most probably relatedto the dynamical perturbation by transient spiral waves (as recentlymodelled by De Simone et al. \cite{Simone2004}) rather than to clusterremnants. A possible explanation for the presence of younggroup/clusters in the same area of the UV-plane is that they have beenput there by the spiral wave associated with their formation, while thekinematics of the older stars of our sample has also been disturbed bythe same wave. The emerging picture is thus one of dynamical streamspervading the solar neighbourhood and travelling in the Galaxy withsimilar space velocities. The term dynamical stream is more appropriatethan the traditional term supercluster since it involves stars ofdifferent ages, not born at the same place nor at the same time. Theposition of those streams in the UV-plane is responsible for the vertexdeviation of 16.2o ± 5.6o for the wholesample. Our study suggests that the vertex deviation for youngerpopulations could have the same dynamical origin. The underlyingvelocity ellipsoid, extracted by the maximum-likelihood method afterremoval of the streams, is not centered on the value commonly acceptedfor the radial antisolar motion: it is centered on < U > =-2.78±1.07 km s-1. However, the full data set(including the various streams) does yield the usual value for theradial solar motion, when properly accounting for the biases inherent tothis kind of analysis (namely, < U > = -10.25±0.15 kms-1). This discrepancy clearly raises the essential questionof how to derive the solar motion in the presence of dynamicalperturbations altering the kinematics of the solar neighbourhood: doesthere exist in the solar neighbourhood a subset of stars having no netradial motion which can be used as a reference against which to measurethe solar motion?Based on observations performed at the Swiss 1m-telescope at OHP,France, and on data from the ESA Hipparcos astrometry satellite.Full Table \ref{taba1} is only available in electronic form at the CDSvia anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/430/165}
| Infrared Irradiance Calibration
Infrared astronomical measurements are calibrated against referencesources, usually primary standard stars that are, in turn, calibratedeither by direct or indirect means. A direct calibration compares thestar with a certified source, typically a blackbody. Indirect methodsextrapolate a direct measurement of the flux at one wavelength to theflux at another. Historically, α Lyr (Vega) has been used as theprimary standard as it is bright, easily accessible from the northernhemisphere, and is well calibrated in the visual. Until recently, thedirect absolute infrared calibrations of α Lyr and those derivedfrom the absolute solar flux scaled to the observed spectral energydistributions of solar type stars increasingly diverged with wavelengthfrom those obtained using a model atmosphere to extrapolate the absolutevisual flux of Vega into the infrared. The exception is the directcalibration by the 1996/97 Midcourse Space Experiment of the absolutefluxes for a number of the commonly used infrared standard stars,including Vega.
| Improved Baade-Wesselink surface brightness relations
Recent, and older accurate, data on (limb-darkened) angular diameters iscompiled for 221 stars, as well as BVRIJK[12][25] magnitudes for thoseobjects, when available. Nine stars (all M-giants or supergiants)showing excess in the [12-25] colour are excluded from the analysis asthis may indicate the presence of dust influencing the optical andnear-infrared colours as well. Based on this large sample,Baade-Wesselink surface brightness (SB) relations are presented fordwarfs, giants, supergiants and dwarfs in the optical and near-infrared.M-giants are found to follow different SB relations from non-M-giants,in particular in V versus V-R. The preferred relation for non-M-giantsis compared to the earlier relation by Fouqué and Gieren (basedon 10 stars) and Nordgren et al. (based on 57 stars). Increasing thesample size does not lead to a lower rms value. It is shown that theresiduals do not correlate with metallicity at a significant level. Thefinally adopted observed angular diameters are compared to thosepredicted by Cohen et al. for 45 stars in common, and there isreasonable overall, and good agreement when θ < 6 mas.Finally, I comment on the common practice in the literature to average,and then fix, the zero-point of the V versus V-K, V versus V-R and Kversus J-K relations, and then rederive the slopes. Such a commonzero-point at zero colour is not expected from model atmospheres for theV-R colour and depends on gravity. Relations derived in this way may bebiased.
| Seasonal variation of Titan's stratospheric ethylene (C2H4) observed
All previous observations of seasonal change on Titan have been ofphysical phenomena such as clouds and haze. We present here the firstobservational evidence of chemical change in Titan's atmosphere. Imagestaken during 1999-2002 (late southern spring on Titan) with the W.M.Keck I 10-meter telescope at 8-13 μm show a significant accumulationof ethylene (C2H4) in the south polar stratosphereas well as north-south stratospheric temperature variation (colder atpoles). Our observations restrict this newly discovered south polarethylene accumulation to latitudes south of 60° S. The only otherobservations of the spatial distribution of C2H4were those of Voyager I, which found a significant north polaraccumulation in early northern spring. We see no build-up in the north,although the highest northern latitudes are obstructed from view in thecurrent season. Our observations constrain any unobserved north polaraccumulation of C2H4 to north of 50° Nlatitude. Comparison of the Voyager I results with our new results showseasonal chemical change has occurred in Titan's atmosphere.
| Classification of Spectra from the Infrared Space Observatory PHT-S Database
We have classified over 1500 infrared spectra obtained with the PHT-Sspectrometer aboard the Infrared Space Observatory according to thesystem developed for the Short Wavelength Spectrometer (SWS) spectra byKraemer et al. The majority of these spectra contribute to subclassesthat are either underrepresented in the SWS spectral database or containsources that are too faint, such as M dwarfs, to have been observed byeither the SWS or the Infrared Astronomical Satellite Low ResolutionSpectrometer. There is strong overall agreement about the chemistry ofobjects observed with both instruments. Discrepancies can usually betraced to the different wavelength ranges and sensitivities of theinstruments. Finally, a large subset of the observations (~=250 spectra)exhibit a featureless, red continuum that is consistent with emissionfrom zodiacal dust and suggest directions for further analysis of thisserendipitous measurement of the zodiacal background.Based on observations with the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), aEuropean Space Agency (ESA) project with instruments funded by ESAMember States (especially the Principle Investigator countries: France,Germany, Netherlands, and United Kingdom) and with the participation ofthe Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) and the NationalAeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
| Thermal Emission as a Test for Hidden Nuclei in Nearby Radio Galaxies
The clear sign of a hidden quasar inside a radio galaxy is theappearance of quasar spectral features in its polarized (scattered)light. However, that observational test requires suitably placedscattering material to act as a mirror, allowing us to see the nuclearlight. A rather robust and more general test for a hidden quasar is tolook for the predicted high mid-IR luminosity from the nuclear obscuringmatter. The nuclear waste heat is detected and well isolated in thenearest narrow-line radio galaxy, Cen A. This confirms other indicationsthat Cen A does contain a modest quasar-like nucleus. However, we showhere that M87 does not: at high spatial resolution, the mid-IR nucleusis seen to be very weak and consistent with simple synchrotron emissionfrom the base of the radio jet. This fairly robustly establishes thatthere are ``real'' narrow-line radio galaxies, without the putativeaccretion power and with essentially all the luminosity in kinetic form.Next, we show the intriguing morphology of Cygnus A, where all of themid-IR emission is consistent with reprocessing by the hidden quasarknown to exist from spectropolarimetry and other evidence.
| Ten Micron Observations of Nearby Young Stars
We present new 10 μm photometry of 21 nearby young stars obtained atthe Palomar 5 m and at the Keck I 10 m telescopes as part of a programto search for dust in the habitable zone of young stars. Thirteen of thestars are in the F-K spectral type range (``solar analogs''), four haveB or A spectral types, and four have spectral type M. We confirmexisting IRAS 12 μm and ground-based 10 μm photometry for 10 ofthe stars and present new insight into this spectral regime for therest. Excess emission at 10 μm is not found in any of the young solaranalogs, except for a possible 2.4 σ detection in the G5 V star HD88638. The G2 V star HD 107146, which does not display a 10 μmexcess, is identified as a new Vega-like candidate, based on our 10μm photospheric detection, combined with previously unidentified 60and 100 μm IRAS excesses. Among the early-type stars, a 10 μmexcess is detected only in HD 109573A (HR 4796A), confirming priorobservations; among the M dwarfs, excesses are confirmed in AA Tau, CD-40°8434, and Hen 3-600A. A previously suggested N-band excess inthe M3 dwarf CD -33°7795 is shown to be consistent with photosphericemission. We calculate infrared to stellar bolometric luminosity ratiosfor all stars exhibiting mid-infrared excesses and infer the total massof orbiting dust in the cases of optically thin disks. For a derivedmedian photometric precision of +/-0.11 mag, we place an upper limit ofMdust~2×10-5 M⊕ on the dustmass (assuming a dust temperature of 300 K) around solar analogs notseen in excess at 10 μm. Our calculations for the nearby K1 V star HD17925 show that it may have the least massive debris disk known outsideour solar system (Mdust>~7×10-6M⊕). Our limited data confirm the expected tendency ofdecreasing fractional dust excessfd=LIR/L* with increasing stellar age.However, we argue that estimates of fd suffer from adegeneracy between the temperature and the amount of circumstellar dustMdust, and we propose a relation of Mdust as afunction of age instead.
| Spectral Irradiance Calibration in the Infrared. XV. Absolute Calibration of Standard Stars by Experiments on the Midcourse Space Experiment
Calibration experiments were conducted with the SPIRIT III infraredinstrument on the Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX) against a number ofinfrared standard stars and five emissive reference spheres that wereejected at various times during the mission. The physical properties ofthe 2 cm diameter spheres, such as size and emissivity, were preciselymeasured in the laboratory. The energy balance equation between thetotal flux absorbed and that emitted by the sphere is solved to obtainthe time-dependent temperature of the sphere under the assumption thatthe sphere radiates as a blackbody with the measuredwavelength-dependent emissivity. The estimated uncertainties in themodeling of the sphere are about 1 K in the thermal component and 3% forthe geometric contribution. MSX also measured over 150 mean fluxes foreight standard infrared calibration stars during the 10 month mission.The measurements were scaled to the absolute fluxes that Cohen et al.adopt for α CMa (Sirius). The measured spectral energydistributions of the calibration stars relative to Sirius are within theuncertainties that Cohen et al. assign to the absolute fluxes from thesestars, with a few exceptions. However, the MSX measurement uncertaintiesare generally much smaller, and the mission-averaged fluxes revealstatistically significant deviations from the Cohen et al. values. Ofthe calibration stars, only β Peg was found to be variable. MSXalso measured excess fluxes for α Lyr (Vega) in the 12.1, 14.7,and 21.3 μm spectral bands; the excesses in the latter two bands areconsistent with the published thermal model for the dust ring aroundthis star. The absolute calibration of the fluxes of the stellarstandards based on the average of the measurements of the spheres overall MSX bands and the five experiments agrees with those predicted towithin the 1.4% MSX measurement uncertainties. The zero-magnitudeabsolute fluxes proposed by Cohen et al. are validated if the flux fromSirius is increased by 1%.
| Unveiling Mira stars behind the molecules. Confirmation of the molecular layer model with narrow band near-infrared interferometry
We have observed Mira stars with the FLUOR beamcombiner on the IOTAinterferometer in narrow bands around 2.2 μm wavelength. We findsystematically larger diameters in bands contaminated by water vapor andCO. The visibility measurements can be interpreted with a modelcomprising a photosphere surrounded by a thin spherical molecular layer.The high quality of the fits we obtain demonstrates that this simplemodel accounts for most of the star's spatial structure. For each starand each period we were able to derive the radius and temperature of thestar and of the molecular layer as well as the optical depth of thelayer in absorption and continuum bands. The typical radius of themolecular layer is 2.2 R* with a temperature ranging between1500 and 2100 K. The photospheric temperatures we find are in agreementwith spectral types of Mira stars. Our photospheric diameters are foundsmaller than in previous studies by several tens of percent. We believeprevious diameters were biased by the use of unsuited geometrical modelsto explain visibilities. The conclusions of this work are various.First, we offer a consistent view of Mira stars over a wide range ofwavelengths. Second, the parameters of the molecular layer we find areconsistent with spectroscopic studies. Third, from our diametermeasurements we deduce that all Mira stars are fundamental modepulsators and that previous studies leading to the conclusion of thefirst-overtone mode were biased by too large diameter estimates.Based on observations collected at the IOTA interferometer, WhippleObservatory, Mount Hopkins, Arizona.Table 3 is only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org
| On the analysis of band 3 of the ISO-SWS calibration sources
We analyse ISO-SWS 01 (R 1500) 12-27.5 μm (band 3) spectra ofthe 10 standard calibration stars with the highest flux using syntheticspectra generated from (MARCS) atmosphere models. The comparison betweenthe observed and synthetic spectra reveals the quality of (1) theatmospheric model construction and subsequent synthetic spectracomputation and of (2) the (OLP 10.1) calibration and data reduction ofthe spectrometer at these wavelengths.The models represent the general features of the observations, but thesynthetic spectrum computation is hampered by the lack of comprehensivemolecular and atomic line lists. We also suspect some problems with thetemperature distribution in the outer layers of the model andinaccuracies in the extrapolation of the collision-induced absorptioncoefficients of H2 pairs. We detect baseline ripples andfringes in the observed spectra, that survive the calibration anddetailed reduction process. Photometric calibration uncertainties areestimated by means of the scaling factors between the synthetic andobserved spectra.Based on observations with ISO, an ESA project with instruments fundedby ESA Member States (especially the PI countries France, Germany, TheNetherlands and the UK) and with the participation of ISAS and NASA.
| Orbit of periodic comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang
The orbit of Comet C/2002C1 (Ikeya-Zhang) has a similarity to that ofComet C/1661C1 (Hevelius), and the numerical integration of the motionof C/2002C1 backward shows a possible linkage of those two comets. Thus,153P/Ikeya-Zhang was designated a periodic comet. Historical records ofcomets in 877 and 1273 are also identified with Comet 153P/Ikeya-Zhang.The integrated orbital elements during 77 and 2362, and historicalrecords of the comet are also presented and discussed.
| Oxygen isotopic ratios in first dredge-up red giant stars and nuclear reaction rate uncertainties revisited
We describe a general yet simple method to analyse the propagation ofnuclear reaction rate uncertainties in a stellar nucleosynthesis andmixing context. The method combines post-processing nucleosynthesis andmixing calculations with a Monte Carlo scheme. With this approach wereanalyse the dependence of theoretical oxygen isotopic ratiopredictions in first dredge-up red giant branch stars in a systematicway. Such predictions are important to the interpretation of pre-solarAl2O3 grains from meteorites. The reaction rateswith uncertainties were taken from the NACRE compilation of Angulo etal. We include seven reaction rates in our systematic analysis ofstellar models with initial masses from 1 to 3 Msolar. Wefind that the uncertainty of the 18O(p,α)15N reaction rate typically causes an error in thetheoretical 16O/18O ratio of ~= +20/ - 5 per cent.The error of the 16O/17O prediction is 10-40 percent depending on the stellar mass, and is persistently dominated by thecomparatively small uncertainty of the 16O(p,γ)17F reaction. With the new estimates on reaction rateuncertainties by the NACRE compilation, the p-capture reactions17O(p, α)14N and 17O(p,γ)18F have virtually no impact on theoreticalpredictions for stellar mass <=1.5 Msolar. However, theuncertainty in 17O(p, α)14N has an effectcomparable to or greater than that of 16O(p,γ)17F for masses >1.5 Msolar, where coremixing and subsequent envelope mixing interact. In these cases wherecore mixing complicates post-dredge-up surface abundances, uncertaintyin other reactions have a secondary but noticeable effect on surfaceabundances.
| High-Resolution Spectroscopy of FU Orionis Stars
High-resolution spectroscopy was obtained of the FU orionis stars FU Oriand V1057 Cyg between 1995 and 2002 with the SOFIN spectrograph at theNordic Optical Telescope and with HIRES at Keck I. During these years FUOri remained about 1 mag (in B) below its 1938-39 maximum brightness,but V1057 Cyg (B~10.5 at peak in 1970-1971) faded from about 13.5 to14.9 and then recovered slightly. Their photospheric spectra resemblethat of a rotationally broadened, slightly veiled supergiant of abouttype G0 Ib, with veqsini=70 km s-1 for FU Ori, and55 km s-1 for V1057 Cyg. As V1057 Cyg faded, P Cyg structurein Hα and the IR Ca II lines strengthened and a complexshortward-displaced shell spectrum of low-excitation lines of theneutral metals (including Li I and Rb I) increased in strength,disappeared in 1999, and reappeared in 2001. Several SOFIN runs extendedover a number of successive nights so that a search for rapid and cyclicchanges in the spectra was possible. These spectra show rapidnight-to-night changes in the wind structure of FU Ori at Hα,including clear evidence of sporadic infall. The equivalent width of theP Cyg absorption varied cyclically with a period of 14.8 days, withphase stability maintained over three seasons. This is believed to bethe rotation period of FU Ori. The internal structure of itsphotospheric lines also varies cyclically, but with a period of 3.54days. A similar variation may be present in V1057 Cyg, but the data aremuch noisier and that result uncertain. As V1057 Cyg has faded and thecontinuum level fallen, the emission lines of a preexistinglow-excitation chromosphere have emerged. Therefore we believe that the``line doubling'' in V1057 Cyg is produced by these central emissioncores in the absorption lines, not by orbital motion in an inclinedKeplerian disk. No convincing dependence of veqsini onwavelength or excitation potential was detected in either FU Ori orV1057 Cyg, again contrary to expectation for a self-luminous accretiondisk. It was found also that certain critical lines in the near infraredare not accounted for by synthetic disk spectra. It is concluded that arapidly rotating star near the edge of stability, as proposed by Larson,can better account for these observations. The possibility is alsoconsidered that FUor eruptions are not a property of ordinary T Tauristars but may be confined to a special subspecies of rapidly rotatingpre-main-sequence stars having powerful quasi-permanent winds.
| 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.
| Angular Diameters of Stars from the Mark III Optical Interferometer
Observations of 85 stars were obtained at wavelengths between 451 and800 nm with the Mark III Stellar Interferometer on Mount Wilson, nearPasadena, California. Angular diameters were determined by fitting auniform-disk model to the visibility amplitude versus projected baselinelength. Half the angular diameters determined at 800 nm have formalerrors smaller than 1%. Limb-darkened angular diameters, effectivetemperatures, and surface brightnesses were determined for these stars,and relationships between these parameters are presented. Scatter inthese relationships is larger than would be expected from themeasurement uncertainties. We argue that this scatter is not due to anunderestimate of the angular diameter errors; whether it is due tophotometric errors or is intrinsic to the relationship is unresolved.The agreement with other observations of the same stars at the samewavelengths is good; the width of the difference distribution iscomparable to that estimated from the error bars, but the wings of thedistribution are larger than Gaussian. Comparison with infraredmeasurements is more problematic; in disagreement with models, coolerstars appear systematically smaller in the near-infrared than expected,warmer stars larger.
| Infrared Colors and Variability of Evolved Stars from COBE DIRBE Data
For a complete 12 μm flux-limited sample of 207 IRAS sources(F12>=150 Jy, |b|>=5deg), the majority ofwhich are AGB stars (~87%), we have extracted light curves in seveninfrared bands between 1.25 and 60 μm using the database of theDiffuse Infrared Background Experiment (DIRBE) instrument on the CosmicBackground Explorer (COBE) satellite. Using previous infrared surveys,we filtered these light curves to remove data points affected by nearbycompanions and obtained time-averaged flux densities and infraredcolors, as well as estimates of their variability at each wavelength. Inthe time-averaged DIRBE color-color plots, we find clear segregation ofsemiregulars, Mira variables, carbon stars, OH/IR stars, and red giantswithout circumstellar dust (i.e., V-[12]<5) and with little or novisual variation (ΔV<0.1 mag). The DIRBE 1.25-25 μm colorsbecome progressively redder and the variability in the DIRBE databaseincreases along the oxygen-rich sequence nondusty slightly varying redgiants-->SRb/Lb-->SRa-->Mira-->OH/IR and the carbon-richSRb/Lb-->Mira sequence. This supports previous assertions that theseare evolutionary sequences involving the continued production andejection of dust. The carbon stars are redder than their oxygen-richcounterparts for the same variability type, except in theF12/F25 ratio, where they are bluer. Of the 28sources in the sample not previous noted to be variable, 18 are clearlyvariable in the DIRBE data, with amplitudes of variation of ~0.9 mag at4.9 μm and ~0.6 mag at 12 μm, consistent with them being verydusty Mira-like variables. We also present individual DIRBE light curvesof a few selected stars. The DIRBE light curves of the semiregularvariable L2 Pup are particularly remarkable. The maxima at1.25, 2.2, and 3.5 μm occur 10-20 days before those at 4.9 and 12μm, and, at 4.9 and 12 μm, another maximum is seen between the twonear-infrared maxima.
| Wing Near-Infrared, TiO-Band, and V-Band Photometry of Chromospherically Active Star λ Andromedae
As a pilot program, Wing near-IR, TiO-band, and V-band photometry isbeing conducted of the RS Canum Venaticorum type, chromosphericallyactive, G8 IV-III star λ Andromedae. The objective is toinvestigate a possible relationship between variation of the ~54 dayrotationally starspot modulated visual light curve and TiO absorptionstrength. The TiO (γ,0,0) absorption band strength at λ=719nm is very sensitive to temperature for cool stars and manifests itselfin cooler starspot regions (T<=4000 K). TiO photometry has anadvantage over conventional photometry in that it provides unambiguousmeasures of the fractional cool starspot coverage. In addition, as thestars rotate, the variation in the TiO index yields information aboutthe longitudinal distribution of the starspots. Importantly, combiningthe TiO photometry with the V-band and near-IR light curves allows thediscrimination of white-light faculae (=hot spot) and cool starspotcontributions. Initial results of this study indicate that the observedV-band and near-IR continua light variations found for λ Andprimarily arise from bright spot (plage) features rather than darkstarspots as is usually assumed. This is in contrast to current theoriesthat the visual light variation is solely due to dark spots. Modelsusing both bright and dark spot features have been developed and arebeing used to fit the light and TiO-index curves. The models account forcool/hot spot characteristics such as projected filling factor andtemperature. The long-term variation of V light and TiO index have beeninvestigated to search for any activity cycles.
| High-Resolution Mid-Infrared Observations of Very Young Stellar Objects in NGC 1333
We observed 22 young stellar objects in the region of NGC 1333 by usingthe mid-infrared camera MIRLIN. NGC 1333 (in the Perseus OB2 molecularcloud complex) is a relatively well studied region, but not at highspatial resolution in the mid-infrared. MIRLIN's 0.5" spatial resolutionallows us to look for source extension and multiplicity and to place newconstraints on spectral energy distributions. We report here newdetections of eight objects at mid-IR wavelengths. We find one object,SVS 12, that may be extended or multiple, and we confirm multiplicity inSVS 16. We find a new companion to ASR 107. We are able to classify sixobjects as Class I, flat spectrum, or II, place strong classificationconstraints on two objects, and more loosely restrict the classificationof eight more objects. These observations will aid in interpretation ofplanned SIRTF observations of this cluster.
| Catalogue of averaged stellar effective magnetic fields. I. Chemically peculiar A and B type stars
This paper presents the catalogue and the method of determination ofaveraged quadratic effective magnetic fields < B_e > for 596 mainsequence and giant stars. The catalogue is based on measurements of thestellar effective (or mean longitudinal) magnetic field strengths B_e,which were compiled from the existing literature.We analysed the properties of 352 chemically peculiar A and B stars inthe catalogue, including Am, ApSi, He-weak, He-rich, HgMn, ApSrCrEu, andall ApSr type stars. We have found that the number distribution of allchemically peculiar (CP) stars vs. averaged magnetic field strength isdescribed by a decreasing exponential function. Relations of this typehold also for stars of all the analysed subclasses of chemicalpeculiarity. The exponential form of the above distribution function canbreak down below about 100 G, the latter value representingapproximately the resolution of our analysis for A type stars.Table A.1 and its references are 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/407/631 and Tables 3 to 9are only available in electronic form at http://www.edpsciences.org
| Stellar content of NGC 404 - The nearest S0 Galaxy
We report V -band and I -band CCD stellar and surface photometry of thegalaxy NGC 404 , taken with HST WFPC2 and the 2.5 m Nordic telescope.The colour-magnitude diagram for the stars in this galaxy is typical ofthat of spheroidal systems (i.e. it lacks luminous, young stars butcontains a large number of Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) and Red GiantBranch (RGB) stars). The disk of the galaxy is mostly dominated by redgiant stars while its bulge consists of both the AGB and RGB population.Using the distance indicator technique, based on the tip of the redgiant branch (TRGB), we find a distance of 3.42 +/- 0.25 Mpc for thisgalaxy. Global photometric characteristic of this galaxy were thenmeasured out to a radius of 3arcmin , giving V = 10fm04 and I = 8fm95 .We find (V-I) = 0.3 for the nucleus of NGC 404. The integral colour ofthe galaxy changes slightly along the radius, and its mean value is(V-I) = 1.1. On the HST images situated at 9arcmin from the galaxycenter there are many red giants. This means that the size of the diskof NGC 404 exceeds 20 kpc. The value of the mean metallicity of the redgiants in the disk is [Fe/H] = -1.11.
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Andromeda |
| Right ascension: | 01h09m43.90s |
| Declination: | +35°37'14.0" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 2.06 |
| Distance: | 61.125 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | 175 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -112.5 |
| B-T magnitude: | 4.155 |
| V-T magnitude: | 2.244 |
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