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A Photometric Variability Survey of Field K and M Dwarf Stars with HATNet
Using light curves from the HATNet survey for transiting extrasolarplanets we investigate the optical broadband photometric variability ofa sample of 27, 560 field K and M dwarfs selected by color and propermotion (V - K >~ 3.0, ? > 30 mas yr-1, plusadditional cuts in J - H versus H - KS and on the reducedproper motion). We search the light curves for periodic variations andfor large-amplitude, long-duration flare events. A total of 2120 starsexhibit potential variability, including 95 stars with eclipses and 60stars with flares. Based on a visual inspection of these light curvesand an automated blending classification, we select 1568 stars,including 78 eclipsing binaries (EBs), as secure variable stardetections that are not obvious blends. We estimate that a further ~26%of these stars may be blends with fainter variables, though most ofthese blends are likely to be among the hotter stars in our sample. Wefind that only 38 of the 1568 stars, including five of the EBs, havepreviously been identified as variables or are blended with previouslyidentified variables. One of the newly identified EBs is 1RXSJ154727.5+450803, a known P = 3.55 day, late M-dwarf SB2 system, forwhich we derive preliminary estimates for the component masses and radiiof M 1 = M 2 = 0.258 ± 0.008 Msun and R 1 = R 2 = 0.289 ±0.007 R sun. The radii of the component stars are larger thantheoretical expectations if the system is older than ~200 Myr. Themajority of the variables are heavily spotted BY Dra-type stars forwhich we determine rotation periods. Using this sample, we investigatethe relations between period, color, age, and activity measures,including optical flaring, for K and M dwarfs, finding that many of thewell-established relations for F, G, and K dwarfs continue into the Mdwarf regime. We find that the fraction of stars that is variable withpeak-to-peak amplitudes greater than 0.01 mag increases exponentiallywith the V - KS color such that approximately half of fielddwarfs in the solar neighborhood with M <~ 0.2 M sun arevariable at this level. Our data hint at a change in therotation-activity-age connection for stars with M <~ 0.25 Msun.
| Mt. Suhora Survey - Searching for Pulsating M Dwarfs. I
We present the first results of our M dwarf survey in search for stellarpulsation in low mass main sequence stars. Theoretical calculationspredict that ? mechanism might drive a fundamental radial modein these stars and therefore pulsations could be observedphotometrically. Although M dwarfs are known for their flare and spotactivity they have not yet been the subject of dedicated time-seriessurveys for pulsation. In this work we include the light curves andamplitude spectra of 46 M dwarfs, which have been observed during thefirst two years of our survey. We did not detect any pulsations yet. Asa by-product of our search, we describe the light curves of some flare Mdwarfs. The survey will last for two more years and during that periodmore than a hundred of M0-M4 type main sequence stars will be observed.
| A catalogue of young runaway Hipparcos stars within 3 kpc from the Sun
Traditionally, runaway stars are O- and B-type stars with large peculiarvelocities. We would like to extend this definition to young stars (upto ?50 Myr) of any spectral type and to identify those present in theHipparcos catalogue by applying different selection criteria, such aspeculiar space velocities or peculiar one-dimensional velocities.Runaway stars are important for studying the evolution of multiple starsystems or star clusters, as well as for identifying the origins ofneutron stars. We compile the distances, proper motions, spectral types,luminosity classes, V magnitudes and B-V colours, and we utilizeevolutionary models from different authors to obtain star ages. We studya sample of 7663 young Hipparcos stars within 3 kpc from the Sun. Theradial velocities are obtained from the literature. We investigate thedistributions of the peculiar spatial velocity and the peculiar radialvelocity as well as the peculiar tangential velocity and itsone-dimensional components and we obtain runaway star probabilities foreach star in the sample. In addition, we look for stars that aresituated outside any OB association or OB cluster and the Galactic planeas well as stars for which the velocity vector points away from themedian velocity vector of neighbouring stars or the surrounding local OBassociation/cluster (although the absolute velocity might be small). Wefind a total of 2547 runaway star candidates (with a contamination ofnormal Population I stars of 20 per cent at most). Thus, aftersubtracting these 20 per cent, the runaway frequency among young starsis about 27 per cent. We compile a catalogue of runaway stars, which isavailable via VizieR.
| Potential Members of Stellar Kinematical Groups within 20 pc of the Sun
We analyze the kinematical histories of stars within 20 pc of the Sun,for which three-dimensional spatial coordinates and three-dimensionalvelocity vectors are available. From this sample, we extract members ofstellar kinematical groups (SKGs) in the following manner. First, in thethree-dimensional velocity space centered on the local standard of rest,we consider a sphere with a radius of 8 km s-1 centeredon the mean velocity vector of a particular SKG. Around each SKGvelocity center, we have found a significant excess of stars compared tobackground stars. For each candidate, in the three-dimensional spatialcoordinate space, its trajectory is traced back in time by the age ofthe relevant SKG, to estimate the distance from the SKG center at thetime of the SKG's birth by the epicycle approximation and verticalharmonic motion. It often happens that a star is a candidate member ofmultiple SKGs. Then we rank the candidacy to multiple SKGs based on thesmallness of distance separations. In this manner, we have kinematicallyselected 74 candidate members of SKGs out of a sample of 383 stars. Ifwe take into account stellar properties, the number is reduced to 68.
| 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
| Rotational Velocities for M Dwarfs
We present spectroscopic rotation velocities (v sin i) for 56 M dwarfstars using high-resolution Hobby-Eberly Telescope High ResolutionSpectrograph red spectroscopy. In addition, we have also determinedphotometric effective temperatures, masses, and metallicities ([Fe/H])for some stars observed here and in the literature where we couldacquire accurate parallax measurements and relevant photometry. We haveincreased the number of known v sin i values for mid M stars by around80% and can confirm a weakly increasing rotation velocity withdecreasing effective temperature. Our sample of v sin is peak at lowvelocities (~3 km s-1). We find a change in therotational velocity distribution between early M and late M stars, whichis likely due to the changing field topology between partially and fullyconvective stars. There is also a possible further change in therotational distribution toward the late M dwarfs where dust begins toplay a role in the stellar atmospheres. We also link v sin i to age andshow how it can be used to provide mid-M star age limits. When allliterature velocities for M dwarfs are added to our sample, there are198 with v sin i <= 10 km s-1 and 124 in themid-to-late M star regime (M3.0-M9.5) where measuring precision opticalradial velocities is difficult. In addition, we also search the spectrafor any significant Hα emission or absorption. Forty three percentwere found to exhibit such emission and could represent young, activeobjects with high levels of radial-velocity noise. We acquired twoepochs of spectra for the star GJ1253 spread by almost one month and theHα profile changed from showing no clear signs of emission, toexhibiting a clear emission peak. Four stars in our sample appear to below-mass binaries (GJ1080, GJ3129, Gl802, and LHS3080), with both GJ3129and Gl802 exhibiting double Hα emission features. The tablespresented here will aid any future M star planet search target selectionto extract stars with low v sin i.Based on observations obtained with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope, which isa joint project of the University of Texas at Austin, the PennsylvaniaState University, Stanford University,Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, andGeorg-August-Universität Göttingen.
| XID II: Statistical Cross-Association of ROSAT Bright Source Catalog X-ray Sources with 2MASS Point Source Catalog Near-Infrared Sources
The 18,806 ROSAT All Sky Survey Bright Source Catalog (RASS/BSC) X-raysources are quantitatively cross-associated with near-infrared (NIR)sources from the Two Micron All Sky Survey Point Source Catalog(2MASS/PSC). An association catalog is presented, listing the mostlikely counterpart for each RASS/BSC source, the probability Pid that the NIR source and X-ray source are uniquelyassociated, and the probability P no-id that none of the2MASS/PSC sources are associated with the X-ray source. The catalogincludes 3853 high quality (P id>0.98) X-ray-NIR matches,2280 medium quality (0.98 >= P id>0.9) matches, and4153 low quality (0.9 >= P id>0.5) matches. Of the highquality matches, 1418 are associations that are not listed in the SIMBADdatabase, and for which no high quality match with a USNO-A2 opticalsource was presented for the RASS/BSC source in previous work. Thepresent work offers a significant number of new associations withRASS/BSC objects that will require optical/NIR spectroscopy forclassification. For example, of the 6133 P id>0.92MASS/PSC counterparts presented in the association catalog, 2411 haveno classification listed in the SIMBAD database. These 2MASS/PSC sourceswill likely include scientifically useful examples of known sourceclasses of X-ray emitters (white dwarfs, coronally active stars, activegalactic nuclei), but may also contain previously unknown sourceclasses. It is determined that all coronally active stars in theRASS/BSC should have a counterpart in the 2MASS/PSC, and that the uniqueassociation of these RASS/BSC sources with their NIR counterparts thusis confusion limited.
| Identifying the Young Low-mass Stars within 25 pc. I. Spectroscopic Observations
We have completed a high-resolution (R ≈ 60,000) opticalspectroscopic survey of 185 nearby M dwarfs identified using ROSAT datato select active, young objects with fractional X-ray luminositiescomparable to or greater than Pleiades members. Our targets are drawnfrom the NStars 20 pc census and the Moving-M sample with distancesdetermined from parallaxes or spectrophotometric relations. We limitedour sample to 25 pc from the Sun, prior to correcting forpre-main-sequence overluminosity or binarity. Nearly half of theresulting M dwarfs are not present in the Gliese catalog and have nopreviously published spectral types. We identified 30 spectroscopicbinaries (SBs) from the sample, which have strong X-ray emission due totidal spin-up rather than youth. This is equivalent to a 16% SBfraction, with at most a handful of undiscovered SBs. We estimate upperlimits on the age of the remaining M dwarfs using spectroscopic youthindicators such as surface gravity-sensitive indices (CaH and K I). Wefind that for a sample of field stars with no metallicity measurements,a single CaH gravity index may not be sufficient, as highermetallicities mimic lower gravity. This is demonstrated in a subsampleof metal-rich radial velocity (RV) standards, which appear to have lowsurface gravity as measured by the CaH index, yet show no other evidenceof youth. We also use additional youth diagnostics such as lithiumabsorption and strong Hα emission to set more stringent agelimits. Eleven M dwarfs with no Hα emission or absorption arelikely old (>400 Myr) and were caught during an X-ray flare. Weestimate that our final sample of the 144 youngest and nearest low-massobjects in the field is less than 300 Myr old, with 30% of them beingyounger than 150 Myr and four very young (lap10 Myr), representing agenerally untapped and well-characterized resource of M dwarfs forintensive planet and disk searches.Based on observations collected at the W. M. Keck Observatory and theCanada-France-Hawaii Telescope. The Keck Observatory is operated as ascientific partnership between the California Institute of Technology,the University of California, and NASA, and was made possible by thegenerous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation. The CFHT isoperated by the National Research Council of Canada, the Centre Nationalde la Recherche Scientifique of France, and the University of Hawaii.
| Tracers of Chromospheric Structure. I. Observations of Ca II K and Hα in M Dwarfs
We report on our observing program4This paper is based onobservations obtained with the Apache Point Observatory 3.5 m telescope,which is owned and operated by the Astrophysical Research Consortium.Some of the data presented herein were obtained at the W. M. KeckObservatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among theCalifornia Institute of Technology, the University of California and theNational Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was madepossible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation.to capture simultaneous spectra of Ca II and Balmer lines in a sample ofnearby M3 dwarfs. Our goal is to investigate the chromospherictemperature structure required to produce these lines at the observedlevels. We find a strong positive correlation between instantaneousmeasurements of Ca II K and the Balmer lines in active stars, althoughthese lines may not be positively correlated in time-resolvedmeasurements. The relationship between Hα and Ca II K remainsambiguous for weak and intermediate activity stars, with Hαabsorption corresponding to a range of Ca II K emission. A similarrelationship is also observed between Ca II K and the higher-orderBalmer lines. As our sample consists of a single spectral type,correlations between these important chromospheric tracers cannot beascribed to continuum effects, as suggested by other authors. These dataconfirm prior nonsimultaneous observations of the Hα line behaviorwith increasing activity, showing an initial increase in the Hαabsorption with increasing Ca II K emission, prior to Hα fillingin and eventually becoming a pure emission line in the most activestars. We also compare our optical measurements with archival UV andX-ray measurements, finding a positive correlation between thechromospheric and coronal emission for both high and intermediateactivity stars. We compare our results with previous determinations ofthe active fraction of low-mass stars, and discuss them in the contextof surface inhomogeneity. Lastly, we discuss the application of thesedata as empirical constraints on new static models of quiescent M dwarfatmospheres.
| The ChaMP Extended Stellar Survey (ChESS): Photometric and Spectroscopic Properties of Serendipitously Detected Stellar X-Ray Sources
We present 348 X-ray-emitting stars identified from correlating theExtended Chandra Multiwavelength Project (ChaMP), a wide-areaserendipitous survey based on archival X-ray images, with the SloanDigital Sky Survey (SDSS). We use morphological star/galaxy separation,matching to an SDSS quasar catalog, an optical color-magnitude cut, andX-ray data-quality tests to create our catalog, the ChaMP ExtendedStellar Survey (ChESS), from a sample of 2121 matched ChaMP/SDSSsources. Our cuts retain 92% of the spectroscopically confirmed stars inthe original sample while excluding 99.6% of the 684 spectroscopicallyconfirmed extragalactic sources. Fewer than 3% of the sources in ourfinal catalog are previously identified stellar X-ray emitters. For 42catalog members, spectroscopic classifications are available in theliterature. We present new spectral classifications and Hαmeasurements for an additional 79 stars. The catalog is dominated bymain-sequence stars; we estimate the fraction of giants in ChESS is~10%. We identify seven giant stars (including a possible Cepheid and anRR Lyrae star) as ChaMP sources, as well as three cataclysmic variables.We derive distances from ~10 to 2000 pc for the stars in our catalogusing photometric parallax relations appropriate for dwarfs on the mainsequence and calculate their X-ray and bolometric luminosities. Thesestars lie in a unique space in the LX-distance plane, fillingthe gap between the nearby stars identified as counterparts to sourcesin the ROSAT All Sky Survey and the more distant stars detected in deepChandra and XMM-Newton surveys. For 36 newly identified X-ray-emitting Mstars we calculate LHα/Lbol. The quantitiesLHα/Lbol and LX/Lbolare linearly related belowLX/Lbol~3×10-4, whileLHα/Lbol appears to turn over at largerLX/Lbol values. Stars with reliable SDSSphotometry have an ~0.1 mag blue excess in u-g, likely due to increasedchromospheric continuum emission. Photometric metallicity estimatessuggest that the sample is evenly split between the young and old diskpopulations of the Galaxy; the lowest activity sources belong to the olddisk population, a clear signature of the decay of magnetic activitywith age. Future papers will present analyses of source variability andcomparisons of this catalog to models of stellar activity in theGalactic disk.Observations reported here were obtained at the MMT Observatory, a jointfacility of the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Arizona.
| New periodic variable stars coincident with ROSAT sources discovered using SuperWASP
We present optical lightcurves of 428 periodic variable stars coincidentwith ROSAT X-ray sources, detected using the first run of the SuperWASPphotometric survey. Only 68 of these were previously recognised asperiodic variables. A further 30 of these objects are previously knownpre-main sequence stars, for which we detect a modulation period for thefirst time. Amongst the newly identified periodic variables, many appearto be close eclipsing binaries, their X-ray emission is presumably theresult of RS CVn type behaviour. Others are probably BY Dra stars,pre-main sequence stars and other rapid rotators displaying enhancedcoronal activity. A number of previously catalogued pulsating variables(RR Lyr stars and Cepheids) coincident with X-ray sources are also seen,but we show that these are likely to be misclassifications. We identifyfour objects which are probable low mass eclipsing binary stars, basedon their very red colour and light curve morphology.Tables 1 and 2 are also available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?/J/A+A/467/785
| 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
| Sloan/Johnson-Cousins/2MASS Color Transformations for Cool Stars
We present multicolor transformations and photometric parallaxes for asample of 40 low-mass dwarfs selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey(SDSS) and the General Catalogue of Trigonometric Stellar Parallaxes.Our sample was reobserved at the Manastash Ridge Observatory (MRO) usingboth Sloan and Johnson-Cousin filters, and color transformations betweenthe two photometric systems were derived. A subset of the sample hadpreviously measured Johnson-Cousins photometry and parallaxes as well as2MASS photometry. We observed these stars at MRO using Sloan filters andused these data to derive photometric parallax relations as well asSDSS/Johnson-Cousins/2MASS color transformations. We present the dataand derived transformations for use in future low-mass-star studies.
| Pulkovo compilation of radial velocities for 35495 stars in a common system.
Not Available
| A Catalog of Northern Stars with Annual Proper Motions Larger than 0.15" (LSPM-NORTH Catalog)
The LSPM catalog is a comprehensive list of 61,977 stars north of theJ2000 celestial equator that have proper motions larger than 0.15"yr-1 (local-background-stars frame). The catalog has beengenerated primarily as a result of our systematic search for high propermotion stars in the Digitized Sky Surveys using our SUPERBLINK software.At brighter magnitudes, the catalog incorporates stars and data from theTycho-2 Catalogue and also, to a lesser extent, from the All-SkyCompiled Catalogue of 2.5 million stars. The LSPM catalog considerablyexpands over the old Luyten (Luyten Half-Second [LHS] and New LuytenTwo-Tenths [NLTT]) catalogs, superseding them for northern declinations.Positions are given with an accuracy of <~100 mas at the 2000.0epoch, and absolute proper motions are given with an accuracy of ~8 masyr-1. Corrections to the local-background-stars propermotions have been calculated, and absolute proper motions in theextragalactic frame are given. Whenever available, we also give opticalBT and VT magnitudes (from Tycho-2, ASCC-2.5),photographic BJ, RF, and IN magnitudes(from USNO-B1 catalog), and infrared J, H, and Ks magnitudes(from 2MASS). We also provide an estimated V magnitude and V-J color fornearly all catalog entries, useful for initial classification of thestars. The catalog is estimated to be over 99% complete at high Galacticlatitudes (|b|>15deg) and over 90% complete at lowGalactic latitudes (|b|>15deg), down to a magnitudeV=19.0, and has a limiting magnitude V=21.0. All the northern starslisted in the LHS and NLTT catalogs have been reidentified, and theirpositions, proper motions, and magnitudes reevaluated. The catalog alsolists a large number of completely new objects, which promise to expandvery significantly the census of red dwarfs, subdwarfs, and white dwarfsin the vicinity of the Sun.Based on data mining of the Digitized Sky Surveys (DSSs), developed andoperated by the Catalogs and Surveys Branch of the Space TelescopeScience Institute (STScI), Baltimore.Developed with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), aspart of the NASA/NSF NStars program.
| The Hamburg/RASS Catalogue of optical identifications. Northern high-galactic latitude ROSAT Bright Source Catalogue X-ray sources
We present the Hamburg/RASS Catalogue (HRC) of optical identificationsof X-ray sources at high-galactic latitude. The HRC includes all X-raysources from the ROSAT Bright Source Catalogue (RASS-BSC) with galacticlatitude |b| >=30degr and declination delta >=0degr . In thispart of the sky covering ~ 10 000 deg2 the RASS-BSC contains5341 X-ray sources. For the optical identification we used blue Schmidtprism and direct plates taken for the northern hemisphere Hamburg QuasarSurvey (HQS) which are now available in digitized form. The limitingmagnitudes are 18.5 and 20, respectively. For 82% of the selectedRASS-BSC an identification could be given. For the rest either nocounterpart was visible in the error circle or a plausibleidentification was not possible. With ~ 42% AGN represent the largestgroup of X-ray emitters, ~ 31% have a stellar counterpart, whereasgalaxies and cluster of galaxies comprise only ~ 4% and ~ 5%,respectively. In ~ 3% of the RASS-BSC sources no object was visible onour blue direct plates within 40\arcsec around the X-ray sourceposition. The catalogue is used as a source for the selection of(nearly) complete samples of the various classes of X-ray emitters.
| 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.
| Variability of the Photospheric Radiation of Active K-M Dwarfs and Their X-ray Luminosities
Variability of the photospheric radiation of 40 (dKe-dMe) dwarfs in thesolar neighborhood due to variations in the spottedness of theirsurfaces is analyzed based on the behavior of their mean annualbrightnesses over long time intervals. The amplitudes and characteristictime scales of the variations of the mean annual brightness are taken tobe indicators of photospheric activity and were used to infer the levelsof photospheric activity in the stars studied. The influence of axialrotation on the development of cyclic activity in young red dwarfs andF-M main-sequence stars is analyzed. The durations and amplitudes of thephotospheric variability of rapidly rotating (dK0e-dK5e) stars testifiesto a higher level of photospheric activity among red dwarfs andsolar-type stars. The X-ray luminosities of these stars grow with theamplitude of the variations of the mean annual brightness. However, thisis not typical of rapidly rotating M dwarfs, for which the X-rayemission varies by more than two orders of magnitude, although theirdegrees of spottedness are all virtually the same. A linear relationshipbetween the X-ray and bolometric luminosities is observed for young(dKe-dMe) stars, with their ratios log(L x/L bol) being about -3. Theseproperties can be used to determine whether a red dwarf is a young staror is already on the main sequence.
| 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.
| 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.
| Observations of the post-common-envelope binaries EG UMa and PG 1026+002
We present spectra in the range 8000-8665Å of the close, detachedM-dwarf-white-dwarf binaries EG UMa and PG 1026+002. The Nai absorptiondoublet (8183, 8195Å) is detected along with a number of otherabsorption lines including intrinsically narrow metal Fei and Tii linesand the Caii infrared (IR) triplet (8498, 8542, 8662Å). We updatethe ephemeris and orbital period of EG UMa. The radial velocitysemi-amplitude for the secondary star in EG UMa was found to be125.9+/-0.4kms-1. The excellent agreement between this valueand that measured from emission lines, in conjunction with the lack oforbital-phase variation of the absorption line strengths, confirms thatthe secondary-star emission in EG UMa is chromospheric in nature and notinfluenced by irradiation. We determine a range of rotationalvelocities, Vrotsini, for EG UMa as measured over the Naiabsorption doublet and the Fei and Tii metal lines using three templatestars. Although a broad range of Vrotsini values areobtained, the narrow metal lines were found to give consistantly lowervalues than that given by the Nai absorption doublet. In addition, themeasured values of Vrotsini were inconsistent with othermeasured parameters and were therefore deemed too unreliable to be thebasis for full system parameter calculations. We do, however, derive acomplete set of system parameters for EG UMa based upon our newmeasurement of K2 and previous observational data. We presentR-band relative photometry of EG UMa, which shows relative fluxvariations at around the 5 per cent level and the occurrence of a flareevent. These observations are again interpreted as being the result ofthe intrinsic chromospheric activity of the M dwarf in this system. Wemeasure the semi-amplitude of the radial-velocity curve for PG 1026+002to be 163.7+/-7.3kms-1, which, being in agreement with thatmeasured from emission lines, adds further support to the suggestionthat the secondary-star emission in PG 1026+002 is also largelychromospheric in nature. Rotational velocities for PG 1026+002 weredetermined by measurement over the Nai absorption doublet only. TheVrotsini values obtained for PG 1026+002 using the threeavailable template stars were all greater than expected from theassumption of synchronous rotation.
| The ROSAT Bright Survey: II. Catalogue of all high-galactic latitude RASS sources with PSPC countrate CR > 0.2 s-1
We present a summary of an identification program of the more than 2000X-ray sources detected during the ROSAT All-Sky Survey (Voges et al.1999) at high galactic latitude, |b| > 30degr , with countrate above0.2 s-1. This program, termed the ROSAT Bright Survey RBS, isto more than 99.5% complete. A sub-sample of 931 sources with countrateabove 0.2 s-1 in the hard spectral band between 0.5 and 2.0keV is to 100% identified. The total survey area comprises 20391deg2 at a flux limit of 2.4 x 10-12 ergcm-2 s-1 in the 0.5 - 2.0 keV band. About 1500sources of the complete sample could be identified by correlating theRBS with SIMBAD and the NED. The remaining ~ 500 sources were identifiedby low-resolution optical spectroscopy and CCD imaging utilizingtelescopes at La Silla, Calar Alto, Zelenchukskaya and Mauna Kea. Apartfrom completely untouched sources, catalogued clusters and galaxieswithout published redshift as well as catalogued galaxies with unusualhigh X-ray luminosity were included in the spectroscopic identificationprogram. Details of the observations with an on-line presentation of thefinding charts and the optical spectra will be published separately.Here we summarize our identifications in a table which contains opticaland X-ray information for each source. As a result we present the mostmassive complete sample of X-ray selected AGNs with a total of 669members and a well populated X-ray selected sample of 302 clusters ofgalaxies with redshifts up to 0.70. Three fields studied by us remainwithout optical counterpart (RBS0378, RBS1223, RBS1556). While the firstis a possible X-ray transient, the two latter are isolated neutron starcandidates (Motch et al. 1999, Schwope et al. 1999).
| Photometric modelling of starspots - I. A Barnes-Evans-like surface brightness-colour relation using (Ic-K)
In the first part of this work, the empirical correlation of stellarsurface brightness FV with (Ic-K) broad-bandcolour is investigated by using a sample of stars cooler than the Sun. Abilinear correlation is found to represent well the brightness of G, Kand M giant stars. The change in slope occurs at (Ic-K)~2.1or at about the transition from K to M spectral types. The samerelationship is also investigated for dwarf stars and found to bedistinctly different from that of the giants. The dwarf star correlationdiffers by an average of -0.4 in (Ic-K) or by a maximum inFV of ~-0.1, positioning it below that of the giants, withboth trends tending towards convergence for the hotter stars in oursample. The flux distribution derived from theFV-(Ic-K) relationship for the giant stars,together with that derived from an FV-(V-K) relationship andthe blackbody flux distribution, is then utilized to compute syntheticlight V and colour (V-R)c, (V-I)c and (V-K) curvesof cool spotted stars. We investigate the effects on the amplitudes ofthe curves by using these FV-colour relations and by assumingthe effective gravity of the spots to be lower than the gravity of theunspotted photosphere. We find that the amplitudes produced by using theFV-(Ic-K) relationship are larger than thoseproduced by the other two brightness correlations, meaning smallerand/or warmer spots.
| 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 FIRST Unbiased Survey for Radio Stars
Comparison of the VLA FIRST survey with various catalogs of bright starsallows an examination of the prevalence of stellar radio emissionindependent of optical selection criteria. This FIRST unbiased surveyfor radio stars covers nearly 5000 deg^2 of the northern sky to a fluxdensity limit of 0.7 mJy at 20 cm. Using astrometric catalogs thatinclude proper-motion information, we have detected 26 stellar radiosources, doubling the number of such objects previously known in thisregion of high-latitude sky. We also show that, in the absence of goodproper motions, even the 1" precision of the FIRST positions isinsufficient to avoid crippling chance coincidence rates. We calculatethe fraction of radio detections as a function of stellar magnitude andshow that, when proper motions from the Guide Star Catalog II becomeavailable, the number of stellar radio source detections should increasefourfold.
| 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
| Spectroscopy of Brown Dwarf Candidates in the rho Ophiuchi Molecular Core
We present an analysis of low-resolution infrared spectra for 20 browndwarf candidates in the core of the rho Ophiuchi molecular cloud.Fifteen of the sources display absorption-line spectra characteristic oflate-type stars. By comparing the depths of water vapor absorption bandsin our candidate objects with a grid of M dwarf standards, we derivespectral types that are independent of reddening. Optical spectroscopyof one brown dwarf candidate confirms the spectral type derived from thewater bands. Combining their spectral types with published near-infraredphotometry, effective temperatures and bolometric stellar luminositiesare derived, enabling us to place our sample on the Hertzsprung-Russelldiagram. We compare the positions of the brown dwarf candidates in thisdiagram with two sets of theoretical models in order to estimate theirmasses and ages. Considering uncertainties in placing the candidates inthe H-R diagram, six objects consistently lie in the brown dwarf regimeand another five objects lie in the transition region between stellarand substellar objects. The ages inferred for the sample are consistentwith those derived for higher mass association members. Three of thenewly identified brown dwarfs display infrared excesses at lambda=2.2mum, suggesting that young brown dwarfs can have active accretion disks.Comparing our mass estimates of the brown dwarf candidates with thosederived from photometric data alone suggests that spectroscopy is anessential component of investigations of the mass functions of youngclusters.
| HIPPARCOS distances of X-ray selected stars: implications on their nature as stellar population.
We present the parallaxes, measured by Hipparcos, for a sample of X-rayselected stars. The stars belong to the stellar sample of the EinsteinExtended Medium Sensitivity Survey. They are all at galactic latitude|b|>20deg, and are generally far away from known star formingregions. Several of these stars show lithium abundance and activitylevel typical of very young stars with ages comparable to that of thePleiades. We show that the majority of our sample stars are on the mainsequence, with only =~20% being giants. We do not find a significantpresence of pre-main sequence stars in our sample, notwithstanding thefact that some of our stars have a considerable lithium abundance,showing that the stars observed are most likely young and activemain-sequence objects.
| EUV activity in late-type stars during the ROSAT WFC All-Sky Survey - I. Techniques and initial results
We study 127 active late-type stars, including the well-known flarestars, in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) region of the electromagneticspectrum, using the ROSAT Wide Field Camera (WFC) survey observations.Our analysis includes photometry for all the stars in the sample, timinganalysis of the observed photon events, and a statistical analysis forpossible small-scale, low-level variability. 49 stars in our sample weredetected in one or both EUV wavebands. A total of 35 flares were seen,from 23 stars, not all of them well-known flare stars. In addition,about half of the detections exhibited low-level variability. Furtheranalysis reveals that the observed low-level variability was not due torotational or orbital modulation, but rather was related to small-scaleactivity on the stars, possibly in the form of small-amplitude,flare-like events which were too faint to be recognized as individualflares at the sensitivity of the WFC. We call this low-level activity`milliflaring'. We also give estimated upper-limit count rates for thenon-detections.
| An All-Sky Catalog of Faint Extreme Ultraviolet Sources
We present a list of 534 objects detected jointly in the ExtremeUltraviolet Explorer (EUVE) 100 Angstroms all-sky survey and in theROSAT X-Ray Telescope 0.25 keV band. The joint selection criterionpermits use of a low count rate threshold in each survey. This lowthreshold is roughly 60% of the threshold used in the previous EUVEall-sky surveys, and 166 of the objects listed here are new EUV sources,appearing in neither the Second EUVE Source Catalog nor the ROSAT WideField Camera Second Catalog. The spatial distribution of this all-skycatalog shows three features: an enhanced concentration of objects inUrsa Major, where the Galactic integrated H I column reaches its globalminimum; an enhanced concentration in the third quadrant of the Galaxy(lII from 180 deg to 270 deg) including the Canis Major tunnel, whereparticularly low H I columns are found to distances beyond 200 pc; and aparticularly low number of faint objects in the direction of the fourthquadrant of the Galaxy, where nearby intervening H I columns areappreciable. Of particular interest is the composition of the 166detections not previously reported in any EUV catalog. We offerpreliminary identifications for 105 of these sources. By far the mostnumerous (81) of the identifications are late-type stars (F, G, K, M),while 18 are other stellar types, only five are white dwarfs (WDs), andnone are extragalactic. The paucity of WDs and extragalactic objects maybe explained by a strong horizon effect wherein interstellar absorptionstrongly limits the effective new-source search volume and, thereby,selectively favors low-luminosity nearby sources over more luminous butdistant objects.
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Hercules |
| Right ascension: | 17h19m54.21s |
| Declination: | +26°30'03.0" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 11.302 |
| Distance: | 12.047 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | -217.6 |
| Proper motion Dec: | 348.8 |
| B-T magnitude: | 13.2 |
| V-T magnitude: | 11.459 |
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