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Stellar Kinematic Groups. II. A Reexamination of the Membership, Activity, and Age of the Ursa Major Group
Utilizing Hipparcos parallaxes, original radial velocities and recentliterature values, new Ca II H and K emission measurements,literature-based abundance estimates, and updated photometry (includingrecent resolved measurements of close doubles), we revisit the UrsaMajor moving group membership status of some 220 stars to produce afinal clean list of nearly 60 assured members, based on kinematic andphotometric criteria. Scatter in the velocity dispersions and H-Rdiagram is correlated with trial activity-based membership assignments,indicating the usefulness of criteria based on photometric andchromospheric emission to examine membership. Closer inspection,however, shows that activity is considerably more robust at excludingmembership, failing to do so only for <=15% of objects, perhapsconsiderably less. Our UMa members demonstrate nonzero vertex deviationin the Bottlinger diagram, behavior seen in older and recent studies ofnearby young disk stars and perhaps related to Galactic spiralstructure. Comparison of isochrones and our final UMa group membersindicates an age of 500+/-100 Myr, some 200 Myr older than thecanonically quoted UMa age. Our UMa kinematic/photometric members' meanchromospheric emission levels, rotational velocities, and scattertherein are indistinguishable from values in the Hyades and smaller thanthose evinced by members of the younger Pleiades and M34 clusters,suggesting these characteristics decline rapidly with age over 200-500Myr. None of our UMa members demonstrate inordinately low absolutevalues of chromospheric emission, but several may show residual fluxes afactor of >=2 below a Hyades-defined lower envelope. If one defines aMaunder-like minimum in a relative sense, then the UMa results maysuggest that solar-type stars spend 10% of their entire main-sequencelives in periods of precipitously low activity, which is consistent withestimates from older field stars. As related asides, we note six evolvedstars (among our UMa nonmembers) with distinctive kinematics that liealong a 2 Gyr isochrone and appear to be late-type counterparts to diskF stars defining intermediate-age star streams in previous studies,identify a small number of potentially very young but isolated fieldstars, note that active stars (whether UMa members or not) in our samplelie very close to the solar composition zero-age main sequence, unlikeHipparcos-based positions in the H-R diagram of Pleiades dwarfs, andargue that some extant transformations of activity indices are notadequate for cool dwarfs, for which Ca II infrared triplet emissionseems to be a better proxy than Hα-based values for Ca II H and Kindices.

New periodic variables from the Hipparcos epoch photometry
Two selection statistics are used to extract new candidate periodicvariables from the epoch photometry of the Hipparcos catalogue. Theprimary selection criterion is a signal-to-noise ratio. The dependenceof this statistic on the number of observations is calibrated usingabout 30000 randomly permuted Hipparcos data sets. A significance levelof 0.1 per cent is used to extract a first batch of candidate variables.The second criterion requires that the optimal frequency be unaffectedif the data are de-trended by low-order polynomials. We find 2675 newcandidate periodic variables, of which the majority (2082) are from theHipparcos`unsolved' variables. Potential problems with theinterpretation of the data (e.g. aliasing) are discussed.

Metal Abundance of Red Clump Stars in Baade's Window
Thirteen red clump stars from Baade's window were observed with highresolution in the red part of the optical spectrum with the UVES echellespectrograph at the Mount Paranal ESO Observatory. The model atmosphereabundance analysis placed their [Fe/H] values in a range from 0.0 to-1.52 dex. Present results, based on direct measurements of ironabundance, confirm former suggestions that the I-band brightness of thered clump giants only weakly depends on [Fe/H]. The determined values of[Fe/H] may contain a slight systematic error connected with still nowunexplained difference in colors between stars in the Galactic bulge andin the solar vicinity.

The ISO-SWS post-helium atlas of near-infrared stellar spectra
We present an atlas of near-infrared spectra (2.36 mu m-4.1 mu m) of ~300 stars at moderate resolution (lambda /delta lambda ~ 1500-2000). Thespectra were recorded using the Short-Wavelength Spectrometer aboard theInfrared Space Observatory (ISO-SWS). The bulk of the observations wereperformed during a dedicated observation campaign after the liquidhelium depletion of the ISO satellite, the so-called post-heliumprogramme. This programme was aimed at extending the MK-classificationto the near-infrared. Therefore the programme covers a large range ofspectral types and luminosity classes. The 2.36 mu m-4.05 mu m region isa valuable spectral probe for both hot and cool stars. H I lines(Bracket, Pfund and Humphreys series), He I and He II lines, atomiclines and molecular lines (CO, H2O, NH, OH, SiO, HCN,C2H2, ...) are sensitive to temperature, gravityand/or the nature of the outer layers of the stellar atmosphere(outflows, hot circumstellar discs, etc.). Another objective of theprogramme was to construct a homogeneous dataset of near-infraredstellar spectra that can be used for population synthesis studies ofgalaxies. At near-infrared wavelengths these objects emit the integratedlight of all stars in the system. In this paper we present the datasetof post-helium spectra completed with observations obtained during thenominal operations of the ISO-SWS. We discuss the calibration of the SWSdata obtained after the liquid helium boil-off and the data reduction.We also give a first qualitative overview of how the spectral featuresin this wavelength range change with spectral type. The dataset isscrutinised in two papers on the quantitative classification ofnear-infrared spectra of early-type stars ({Lenorzer} et al.\cite{lenorzer:2002a}) and late-type stars (Vandenbussche et al., inprep). Based on observations with ISO, an ESA project with instrumentsfunded by ESA Members States (especially the PI countries France,Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom) and with theparticipation of ISAS and NASA. The full atlas is available inelectronic form at www.edpsciences.org Table 1 is only available inelectronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr(130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?/A+A/390/1033

Astrometric radial velocities. III. Hipparcos measurements of nearby star clusters and associations
Radial motions of stars in nearby moving clusters are determined fromaccurate proper motions and trigonometric parallaxes, without any use ofspectroscopy. Assuming that cluster members share the same velocityvector (apart from a random dispersion), we apply a maximum-likelihoodmethod on astrometric data from Hipparcos to compute radial and spacevelocities (and their dispersions) in the Ursa Major, Hyades, ComaBerenices, Pleiades, and Praesepe clusters, and for theScorpius-Centaurus, alpha Persei, and ``HIP 98321'' associations. Theradial motion of the Hyades cluster is determined to within 0.4 kms-1 (standard error), and that of its individual stars towithin 0.6 km s-1. For other clusters, Hipparcos data yieldastrometric radial velocities with typical accuracies of a few kms-1. A comparison of these astrometric values withspectroscopic radial velocities in the literature shows a good generalagreement and, in the case of the best-determined Hyades cluster, alsopermits searches for subtle astrophysical differences, such as evidencefor enhanced convective blueshifts of F-dwarf spectra, and decreasedgravitational redshifts in giants. Similar comparisons for the ScorpiusOB2 complex indicate some expansion of its associations, albeit slowerthan expected from their ages. As a by-product from the radial-velocitysolutions, kinematically improved parallaxes for individual stars areobtained, enabling Hertzsprung-Russell diagrams with unprecedentedaccuracy in luminosity. For the Hyades (parallax accuracy 0.3 mas), itsmain sequence resembles a thin line, possibly with wiggles in it.Although this main sequence has underpopulated regions at certaincolours (previously suggested to be ``Böhm-Vitense gaps''), suchare not visible for other clusters, and are probably spurious. Futurespace astrometry missions carry a great potential for absoluteradial-velocity determinations, insensitive to the complexities ofstellar spectra. Based on observations by the ESA Hipparcos satellite.Extended versions of Tables \ref{tab1} and \ref{tab2} are available inelectronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr(130.79.125.8) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/381/446

Late-type members of young stellar kinematic groups - I. Single stars
This is the first paper of a series aimed at studying the properties oflate-type members of young stellar kinematic groups. We concentrate ourstudy on classical young moving groups such as the Local Association(Pleiades moving group, 20-150Myr), IC 2391 supercluster (35Myr), UrsaMajor group (Sirius supercluster, 300Myr), and Hyades supercluster(600Myr), as well as on recently identified groups such as the Castormoving group (200Myr). In this paper we compile a preliminary list ofsingle late-type possible members of some of these young stellarkinematic groups. Stars are selected from previously established membersof stellar kinematic groups based on photometric and kinematicproperties as well as from candidates based on other criteria such astheir level of chromospheric activity, rotation rate and lithiumabundance. Precise measurements of proper motions and parallaxes takenfrom the Hipparcos Catalogue, as well as from the Tycho-2 Catalogue, andpublished radial velocity measurements are used to calculate theGalactic space motions (U, V, W) and to apply Eggen's kinematic criteriain order to determine the membership of the selected stars to thedifferent groups. Additional criteria using age-dating methods forlate-type stars will be applied in forthcoming papers of this series. Afurther study of the list of stars compiled here could lead to a betterunderstanding of the chromospheric activity and their age evolution, aswell as of the star formation history in the solar neighbourhood. Inaddition, these stars are also potential search targets for directimaging detection of substellar companions.

The proper motions of fundamental stars. I. 1535 stars from the Basic FK5
A direct combination of the positions given in the HIPPARCOS cataloguewith astrometric ground-based catalogues having epochs later than 1939allows us to obtain new proper motions for the 1535 stars of the BasicFK5. The results are presented as the catalogue Proper Motions ofFundamental Stars (PMFS), Part I. The median precision of the propermotions is 0.5 mas/year for mu alpha cos delta and 0.7mas/year for mu delta . The non-linear motions of thephotocentres of a few hundred astrometric binaries are separated intotheir linear and elliptic motions. Since the PMFS proper motions do notinclude the information given by the proper motions from othercatalogues (HIPPARCOS, FK5, FK6, etc.) this catalogue can be used as anindependent source of the proper motions of the fundamental stars.Catalogue (Table 3) is only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strastg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/365/222

K-Band Calibration of the Red Clump Luminosity
The average near-infrared (K-band) luminosity of 238 Hipparcos red clumpgiants is derived and then used to measure the distance to the Galacticcenter. These Hipparcos red clump giants have been previously employedas I-band standard candles. The advantage of the K-band is a decreasedsensitivity to reddening and perhaps a reduced systematic dependence onmetallicity. In order to investigate the latter, and also to refer ourcalibration to a known metallicity zero point, we restrict our sample ofred clump calibrators to those with abundances derived fromhigh-resolution spectroscopic data. The mean metallicity of the sampleis [Fe/H]=-0.18 dex (σ=0.17 dex). The data are consistent with nocorrelation between MK and [Fe/H] and only weakly constrainthe slope of this relation. The luminosity function of the sample peaksat MK=-1.61+/-0.03 mag. Next, we assemble published opticaland near-infrared photometry for ~20 red clump giants in a Baade'swindow field with a mean metallicity of [Fe/H]=-0.17+/-0.09 dex, whichis nearly identical to that of the Hipparcos red clump. Assuming thatthe average (V-I)0 and (V-K)0 colors of these twored clumps are the same, the extinctions in the Baade's window field arefound to be AV=1.56, AI=0.87, andAK=0.15, in agreement with previous estimates. We derive thedistance to the Galactic center: (m-M)0=14.58+/-0.11 mag, orR=8.24+/-0.42 kpc. The uncertainty in this distance measurement isdominated by the small number of Baade's window red clump giantsexamined here.

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).

A Second Catalog of Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2 Filter Photometry: Ultraviolet Photometry of 614 Stars
Ultraviolet photometry from the Wisconsin Experiment Package on theOrbiting Astronomical Observatory 2 (OAO 2) is presented for 614 stars.Previously unpublished magnitudes from 12 filter bandpasses withwavelengths ranging from 1330 to 4250 Å have been placed on thewhite dwarf model atmosphere absolute flux scale. The fluxes wereconverted to magnitudes using V=0 for F(V)=3.46x10^-9 ergs cm^-2 s^-1Å^-1, or m_lambda=-2.5logF_lambda-21.15. This second catalogeffectively doubles the amount of OAO 2 photometry available in theliterature and includes many objects too bright to be observed withmodern space observatories.

Stellar Encounters with the Oort Cloud Based on HIPPARCOS Data
We have combined Hipparcos proper-motion and parallax data for nearbystars with ground-based radial velocity measurements to find stars thatmay have passed (or will pass) close enough to the Sun to perturb theOort cloud. Close stellar encounters could deflect large numbers ofcomets into the inner solar system, which would increase the impacthazard at Earth. We find that the rate of close approaches by starsystems (single or multiple stars) within a distance D (in parsecs) fromthe Sun is given by N= 3.5D^2.12 Myr^-1, less than the number predictedby a simple stellar dynamics model. However, this value is clearly alower limit because of observational incompleteness in the Hipparcosdata set. One star, Gliese 710, is estimated to have a closest approachof less than 0.4 pc 1.4 Myr in the future, and several stars come within1 pc during a +/-10 Myr interval. We have performed dynamicalsimulations that show that none of the passing stars perturb the Oortcloud sufficiently to create a substantial increase in the long-periodcomet flux at Earth's orbit.

Estimation of Stellar Metal Abundance. II. A Recalibration of the Ca II K Technique, and the Autocorrelation Function Method
We have recalibrated a method for the estimation of stellar metalabundance, parameterized as [Fe/H], based on medium-resolution (1-2Å) optical spectra (the majority of which cover the wavelengthrange 3700-4500 Å). The equivalent width of the Ca II K line (3933Å) as a function of [Fe/H] and broadband B-V color, as predictedfrom spectrum synthesis and model atmosphere calculations, is comparedwith observations of 551 stars with high-resolution abundances availablefrom the literature (a sevenfold increase in the number of calibrationstars that were previously available). A second method, based on theFourier autocorrelation function technique first described by Ratnatunga& Freeman, is used to provide an independent estimate of [Fe/H], ascalibrated by comparison with 405 standard-star abundances.Metallicities based on a combination of the two techniques for dwarfsand giants in the color range 0.30<=(B-V)_0<=1.2 exhibit anexternal 1 sigma scatter of approximately 0.10-0.20 dex over theabundance range -4.0<=[Fe/H]<=0.5. Particular attention has beengiven to the determination of abundance estimates at the metal-rich endof the calibration, where our previous attempt suffered from aconsiderable zero-point offset. Radial velocities, accurate toapproximately 10 km s^-1, are reported for all 551 calibration stars.

Catalogs of temperatures and [Fe/H] averages for evolved G and K stars
A catalog of mean values of [Fe/H] for evolved G and K stars isdescribed. The zero point for the catalog entries has been establishedby using differential analyses. Literature sources for those entries areincluded in the catalog. The mean values are given with rms errors andnumbers of degrees of freedom, and a simple example of the use of thesestatistical data is given. For a number of the stars with entries in thecatalog, temperatures have been determined. A separate catalogcontaining those data is briefly described. Catalog only available atthe CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html

The Sirius Supercluster and Missing Mass near the Sun
The Hipparcos results confirm some 50 members of the Sirius superclusterin the Bright Star Catalogue. The resulting, well-definedcolor-luminosity array indicates an age of 4 x 10^8 yr from conventional(no overshoot) models. A comparison of the luminosity function obtainedfrom members in the Bright Star Catalogue, unbiased as to proper motion,and in the Catalogue of Nearby Stars (~27 pc), which are strongly biasedtoward large proper motions, reveals that either most of the smallproper-motion stars near the Sun remain to be identified or theluminosity function of the supercluster is drastically different fromthat of the field stars. A search for low-mass members in a 6 deg x 6deg field in the center of the Ursa Major cluster yielded 10 possiblemembers that lie on the white dwarf sequence, 5 mag below the mainsequence. Luyten (field LP 131) found 368 stars in this field withproper motion exceeding 0.08", and only 19 of these have a positionangle of their proper motion between 0 deg and 98 deg (i.e., thequadrant containing UMa cluster members). The assumption of clustermembership yields a parallax very close to that obtained for brightmembers. Aside from white dwarfs, the possibilities are discussed thatthese stars are (1) brown dwarfs, (2) members of a cluster in the lineof sight to UMa but 100 pc more distant, or (3) reflecting a chain ofvery unlikely coincidences.

The ROSAT all-sky survey catalogue of optically bright late-type giants and supergiants
We present X-ray data for all late-type (A, F, G, K, M) giants andsupergiants (luminosity classes I to III-IV) listed in the Bright StarCatalogue that have been detected in the ROSAT all-sky survey.Altogether, our catalogue contains 450 entries of X-ray emitting evolvedlate-type stars, which corresponds to an average detection rate of about11.7 percent. The selection of the sample stars, the data analysis, thecriteria for an accepted match between star and X-ray source, and thedetermination of X-ray fluxes are described. Catalogue only available atCDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html

The Tokyo PMC catalog 90-93: Catalog of positions of 6649 stars observed in 1990 through 1993 with Tokyo photoelectric meridian circle
The sixth annual catalog of the Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle(PMC) is presented for 6649 stars which were observed at least two timesin January 1990 through March 1993. The mean positions of the starsobserved are given in the catalog at the corresponding mean epochs ofobservations of individual stars. The coordinates of the catalog arebased on the FK5 system, and referred to the equinox and equator ofJ2000.0. The mean local deviations of the observed positions from theFK5 catalog positions are constructed for the basic FK5 stars to comparewith those of the Tokyo PMC Catalog 89 and preliminary Hipparcos resultsof H30.

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.

A catalogue of [Fe/H] determinations: 1996 edition
A fifth Edition of the Catalogue of [Fe/H] determinations is presentedherewith. It contains 5946 determinations for 3247 stars, including 751stars in 84 associations, clusters or galaxies. The literature iscomplete up to December 1995. The 700 bibliographical referencescorrespond to [Fe/H] determinations obtained from high resolutionspectroscopic observations and detailed analyses, most of them carriedout with the help of model-atmospheres. The Catalogue is made up ofthree formatted files: File 1: field stars, File 2: stars in galacticassociations and clusters, and stars in SMC, LMC, M33, File 3: numberedlist of bibliographical references The three files are only available inelectronic form at the Centre de Donnees Stellaires in Strasbourg, viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5), or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html

Vitesses radiales. Catalogue WEB: Wilson Evans Batten. Subtittle: Radial velocities: The Wilson-Evans-Batten catalogue.
We give a common version of the two catalogues of Mean Radial Velocitiesby Wilson (1963) and Evans (1978) to which we have added the catalogueof spectroscopic binary systems (Batten et al. 1989). For each star,when possible, we give: 1) an acronym to enter SIMBAD (Set ofIdentifications Measurements and Bibliography for Astronomical Data) ofthe CDS (Centre de Donnees Astronomiques de Strasbourg). 2) the numberHIC of the HIPPARCOS catalogue (Turon 1992). 3) the CCDM number(Catalogue des Composantes des etoiles Doubles et Multiples) byDommanget & Nys (1994). For the cluster stars, a precise study hasbeen done, on the identificator numbers. Numerous remarks point out theproblems we have had to deal with.

SANTIAGO 91, a right ascension catalogue of 3387 stars (equinox J2000).
The positions in right ascension of 3387 stars belonging to the Santiago67 Catalogue, observed with the Repsold Meridian Circle at Cerro Calan,National Astronomical Observatory, during the period 1989 to 1994, aregiven. The average mean square error of a position, for the wholeCatalogue, is +/-0.009 s. The mean epoch of the catalogue is 1991.84.

Radio continuum emission from stars: a catalogue update.
An updated version of my catalogue of radio stars is presented. Somestatistics and availability are discussed.

The position corrections of 1400 stars observed with PA II in San Juan.
Not Available

Evolved GK stars near the Sun. 2: The young disk population
From a sample of nearly 2000 GK giants a group of young disk stars withwell determined space motions has been selected. The zero point of theluminosity calibrations, both from the ultraviolet flux (modifiedStroemgren system) and that in the region of 4200 to 4900 A (DDOsystem), show a discontinuity of about a half magnitude at the border ofthe young disk and old disk domains. The population separation is basedon the space velocity components, which are also an age discriminant,with the population interface near 2 x 109 yr, based onmodels with convective overshoot at the core. This age corresponds togiant masses near 1.7 solar mass, near the critical mass separating theyoung stars that do not burn helium in degenerate cores from older starsthat do. Ten percent of both populations show CN anomalies in that thederived value of P(Fe/H) from CN (Cm) and fromFe(M1) differ by more than 0.1 dex and the weak and strong CNstars occur equally in the old disk but the weak CN stars predominate inthe young disk. Peculiar stars, where flux distortions affect theluminosity calibrations, are of the CH+(Ba II) and CH-(weak G band)variety and represent less than 1% of the stars in both populations. Theyoung disk giants are restricted to ages greater than about109 yr, because younger stars are bright giants orsupergiants (luminosity class 2 or 1), and younger than about 2 x109 yr, because the old disk-young disk boundary occurs near1.7 solar mass. The distribution of heavy element abundances, P(Fe/H),for young disk giants is both more limited in range (+/- 0.4 dex) and isskewed toward higher abundances, compared with the nearly normaldistribution for old disk giants. The distribution of (U,V) velocityvectors gives (U,V,W) and their dispersions = (+17.6 +/- 18.4, -14.8 +/-8.4, -6.9 +/- 13.0) and (+3.6 +/- 38.4, -20.7 +/- 27.5, -6.7 +/-17.3)km/s for young and old disk giants, respectively.

Evolved GK stars near the sun. I - The old disk population
A sample of nearly two thousand GK giants with intermediate band, (R,I),DDO and Geneva photometry has been assembled. Astrometric data is alsoavailable for most of the stars. The some 800 members of the old diskpopulation in the sample yield accurate luminosities (from two sources),reddening values and chemical abundances from calibrations of thephotometric parameters. Less than one percent of the objects arepeculiar in the sense that the flux distribution is abnormal. Thepeculiarity is signaled by strong CH (and Ba II) and weak CH. The CH+stars are all spectroscopic binaries, probably with white dwarfcompanions, whereas the CH- stars are not. A broad absorption band,centered near 3500 A, is found in the CH+ stars whereas the CH- objectshave a broad emission feature in the same region. The intensity of theseabsorptions and emissions are independent of the intensity of abnormalspectral features. Ten percent of the old disk sample have a heavyelement abundance from one and a half to three times the solar value.The distribution of the heavy element abundances is nearly a normal onewith a peak near solar abundance and ranges three times to one sixthsolar. The distribution of the (U, V) velocities is independent of theheavy element abundance and does not appear to be random. Ten percent ofthe old disk stars show a CN anomaly, equally divided between CN strongand CN weak. Several stars of individual astrometric or astrophysicalimportance are isolated.

Spectroscopic investigation of cool giants and the authenticity of their reported microwave emission
Surface velocities and metal abundances for 19 red giant stars in thespectral range G5 to M3 are derived on the basis of AAT echellespectroscopy data. Attention is given to the question of whether thestars reported to emit radio bursts had different physical properties(rotation rate, macroturbulence, microturbulence, and metal abundance)from those without the radio bursts, which might explain why they wereradio emitters. The various velocities had values consistent with thosepreviously found for other similar stars. There was an observed increasein both macroturbulent and, less definitely, microturbulent velocitieswith lateness of spectral type at K3 and later. A weak correlationbetween surface velocities and 8.4-GHz radio surface fluxes was found.No connection between iron abundances and radio surface fluxes wasdetected. It is concluded that few, if any, of the cool giants are radioemitters.

Non-thermal radio emission from post-main-sequence stars
The Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA) has been used to make4.8-GHz observations of 24 fields containing post-main-sequence stars.These stars were selected from a sample of late-type (spectral types G,K and M) giants and bright giants within 30 pc claimed by Slee et al.,from observations with the Parkes radio telescope, to be variablenon-thermal radio emitters. No significant 4.8-GHz radio emission wasdetected from these stars. Non-detection of any stars with the ATCA isan improbable result, and calls for a re-analysis of the original Parkes8.4-GHz observations. A re-analysis suggests that the majority of theclaimed Parkes detections with S less than about 8 mJy are false. Thefive claimed Parkes detections with S greater than 8 mJy are discussedindividually on the basis of the ATCA and Molonglo Observatory SynthesisTelescope (MOST) observations. It is concluded that the Parkes, ATCA,and MOST observations do not invalidate the concept of a 'coronalboundary line' between stars exhibiting chromospheric and coronalemission, and more evolved stars displaying only cool winds.

The Sirius supercluster in the FK5
Fifty-five stars in the FK5 or with PPM(H) quality proper motions arediscussed as members of the Sirius supercluster. The convergent point ofthe supercluster motion is (A, D) = (20.55h -38.1 deg) and the spacevelocity is V(T) = 18.6 + 0.005X km/s, where X is the radial distance ofthe members from the sun. The member stars indicate (Fe/H) Hyades -(Fe/H) Sirius = 0.18 dex from both photometric and spectroscopicevidence. The bulk of the supercluster members fall into two age groups,6.3 x 10 exp 8 and 10 exp 9 yr on the basis of models with convectiveovershoot. The available observations of chromospheric activity in Mg II(h and k) are quantized into three well-defined groups for both Siriussupercluster and Hyades cluster dwarfs. For 20 supercluster members withcluster parallax greater than 0.03 arcsec the ratio ofpi(cluster)/pi(trigonometric) = 0.95 +/- 0.20(sigma).

Physical data of the fundamental stars.
Not Available

High-resolution spectroscopic survey of 671 GK giants. I - Stellar atmosphere parameters and abundances
A high-resolution spectroscopic survey of 671 G and K field giants isdescribed. Broad-band Johnson colors have been calibrated againstrecent, accurate effective temperature, T(eff), measurements for starsin the range 3900-6000 K. A table of polynomial coefficients for 10color-T(eff) relations is presented. Stellar atmosphere parameters,including T(eff), log g, Fe/H, and microturbulent velocity, are computedfor each star, using the high-resolution spectra and various publishedphotometric catalogs. For each star, elemental abundances for a varietyof species have been computed using a LTE spectrum synthesis program andthe adopted atmosphere parameters.

MG II observed in the local interstellar medium - The local cloud
Observations of interstellar absorptions superposed on the chromosphericMg II emissions of nearby cool stars have been used to explore thestructure of the local interstellar medium along many lines of sight.The interstellar cloud in which the sun is immersed (the 'local cloud',hereafter LC) has not previously been detected using this technique.These Mg II data, taken from observations and from the VILSPA data bankof IUE, have been supplemented with other data taken from theliterature. The simultaneous analysis of the observed column densitiesand the radial velocity components of the absorbers is revealed as auseful diagnostic method in delineating the properties of the LC. Thepervasive presence of low densities toward the north Galactic pole andthe Galactic anticenter is confirmed, and lower limits to the Mg IIcolumn density than hitherto observed are presented. The LC is moving,in the LSR reference frame, toward (l, b) = (126 deg + 6 deg), away fromthe Sco-Cen-Oph association. It may extend to heliocentric distances ofup to 8 pc toward l of about 90 deg; in other directions its edge is atmost, at 2 pc from the sun.

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Observation and Astrometry data

Constellation:Μικροσκόπιον
Right ascension:21h01m17.50s
Declination:-32°15'28.0"
Apparent magnitude:4.67
Distance:68.54 parsecs
Proper motion RA:-3.3
Proper motion Dec:2
B-T magnitude:5.748
V-T magnitude:4.752

Catalogs and designations:
Proper Names
Bayerγ Mic
HD 1989HD 199951
TYCHO-2 2000TYC 7475-1129-1
USNO-A2.0USNO-A2 0525-42990638
BSC 1991HR 8039
HIPHIP 103738

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