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τ And (Tau Andromedae)


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An empirical temperature calibration for the Δ a photometric system . I. The B-type stars
We establish an empirical effective temperature calibration of mainsequence, luminosity class V to III B-type stars for the Δ aphotometric system which was originally developed to detect magneticchemically peculiar objects of the upper main sequence (early B-type toearly F-type) at 5200 Å. However, this system provides the index(g_1-y) which shows an excellent correlation with (B-V) as well as (b-y)and can be used as an indicator of the effective temperature. This issupplemented by a very accurate color-magnitude diagram, y or V versus(g_1-y), which can be used, for example, to determine the reddening,distance and age of an open cluster. This makes the Δ aphotometric system an excellent tool to investigate theHertzsprung-Russell-Diagram (HRD) in more detail. Using thereddening-free parameters and already established calibrations withinthe Strömgren uvbyβ, Geneva 7-color and Johnson UBV systems, apolynomial fit of third degree for the averaged effective temperaturesto the individual (g_1-y)0 values was derived. For thispurpose, data from the literature as well as new observations were takenresulting in 225 suitable bright normal B-type objects. The statisticalmean of the error for this sample is 238 K which is sufficient toinvestigate the HRD of distant galactic open clusters as well asextragalactic aggregates in the future.

Kinematical Structure of the Local Interstellar Medium: The Galactic Anticenter Hemisphere
A survey of interstellar Na I D1 and D2 absorption features in thespectra of 104 early-type stars in the second and third Galacticquadrants reveals the large-scale kinematics of the interstellar gaswithin the Galactic anticenter hemisphere at distances from the Sunbetween ~70 and ~250 pc. Employing a technique that uses both the radialvelocities and column densities of the Na I absorptions produced by theintervening gas we have identified the velocity vectors and determinedthe spatial distribution of eight interstellar clouds in the volumeexplored. The average internal H I+H2 densities of the cloudsrange between 0.03 and 1.7 cm-3, and their masses between 80and 104 Msolar, although uncertainties in thesizes of the clouds, their possible extension beyond the regionexplored, and the presence of denser gas embedded in the larger cloudsimply that these will tend to be lower limits. We have clearlyidentified clumps of denser gas immersed in the low-density gas in oneof the clouds; these clumps show internal H I+H2 densities oforder 50 cm-3. Although we are not able to detect anyinterstellar Na I within 70 pc, the sizes of some of the clouds implythat their near edges are within that range of distances from the Sun.With respect to the local standard of rest the clouds move withvelocities between 19 and 54 km s-1. Their velocity vectorsdo not support the view of a local interstellar medium uniquelydominated by expansion from centers in the Scorpio-Centaurus OBassociation; our results suggest that this expansion is present in theGalactic center hemisphere but in the Galactic anticenter hemisphere isrestricted to the immediate neighborhood of the Sun.

The relation between far-UV and visible extinctions
For directions of sufficient reddening (/E(B-V)>~0.25), there is asimple relation between the slope of the extinction curve in the far-UVand /E(B-V). Regardless of direction, the far-UV extinction curve isproportional to 1/λn e-2E(B-V)/λ(/λ in μm, /n=4), in accordance with the idea that reddenedstars spectra are contaminated by scattered light (Zagury, 2001b). Thisrelation is not compatible with the standard theory of extinction whichstates that far-UV and visible extinctions are due to different classesof particle. In that model the two (far-UV and visible) extinctions varythus independently according to the proportion of each type of particle.In preceding papers I have shown that the standard theory cannot explainUV observations of nebulae, and is contradicted by the UV spectra ofstars with very low reddening: for how long shall the standard theory beconsidered as the interpretation of the extinction curve?

Rotational Velocities of B Stars
We measured the projected rotational velocities of 1092 northern B starslisted in the Bright Star Catalogue (BSC) and calibrated them againstthe 1975 Slettebak et al. system. We found that the published values ofB dwarfs in the BSC average 27% higher than those standards. Only 0.3%of the stars have rotational velocities in excess of two-thirds of thebreakup velocities, and the mean velocity is only 25% of breakup,implying that impending breakup is not a significant factor in reducingrotational velocities. For the B8-B9.5 III-V stars the bimodaldistribution in V can be explained by a set of slowly rotating Ap starsand a set of rapidly rotating normal stars. For the B0-B5 III-V starsthat include very few peculiar stars, the distributions in V are notbimodal. Are the low rotational velocities of B stars due to theoccurrence of frequent low-mass companions, planets, or disks? Therotational velocities of giants originating from late B dwarfs areconsistent with their conservation of angular momentum in shells.However, we are puzzled by why the giants that originate from the earlyB dwarfs, despite having 3 times greater radii, have nearly the samerotational velocities. We find that all B-type primaries in binarieswith periods less than 2.4 days have synchronized rotational and orbitalmotions; those with periods between 2.4 and 5.0 days are rotating withina factor 2 of synchronization or are ``nearly synchronized.'' Thecorresponding period ranges for A-type stars are 4.9 and 10.5 days, ortwice as large. We found that the rotational velocities of the primariesare synchronized earlier than their orbits are circularized. The maximumorbital period for circularized B binaries is 1.5 days and for Abinaries is 2.5 days. For stars of various ages from 107.5 to1010.2 yr the maximum circularized periods are a smoothexponential function of age.

The Calar Alto Observatory - present and future instrumentation
The Calar Alto Observatory, located at 2168 m altitude in the Sierra delos Filabres in southern Spanish province of Andalucia, was founded inthe early 1970s in order to provide astronomers in Germany and in Spainwith modern observational facilities in the northern hemisphere. Thisrole is not going to change over the next decade as 2-4 m telescopes arestill essential and more efficient than 8 m telescopes, for wide-fieldand surface-brightness limited surveys, for support of surveys at otherwavelengths (X-ray, radio), for regular monitoring work, for pursuinginnovative ideas, for obtaining accurate astrometry and photometry ofreference objects and unknowns, etc. In order to pursue thesechallenges, state of the art instrumentation is required. In thefollowing, the existing facilities on Calar Alto are summarised, andfuture instrumentation projects are briefly discussed.

Catalogue of Apparent Diameters and Absolute Radii of Stars (CADARS) - Third edition - Comments and statistics
The Catalogue, available at the Centre de Données Stellaires deStrasbourg, consists of 13 573 records concerning the results obtainedfrom different methods for 7778 stars, reported in the literature. Thefollowing data are listed for each star: identifications, apparentmagnitude, spectral type, apparent diameter in arcsec, absolute radiusin solar units, method of determination, reference, remarks. Commentsand statistics obtained from CADARS are given. The Catalogue isavailable in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcar?J/A+A/367/521

Mapping the contours of the Local bubble: preliminary results
We present preliminary results from a long-term program of mapping theneutral absorption characteristics of the local interstellar medium,taking advantage of Hipparcos stellar distances. Equivalent widths ofthe NaI D-line doublet at 5890 Å are presented for thelines-of-sight towards some 143 new target stars lying within 300 pc ofthe Sun. Using these data which were obtained at the Observatoire deHaute Provence, together with previously published NaI absorptionmeasurements towards a further 313 nearby targets, we present absorptionmaps of the distribution of neutral gas in the local interstellar mediumas viewed from 3 different galactic projections. In particular, thesemaps reveal the Local Bubble region as a low neutral densityinterstellar cavity in the galactic plane with radii between 65-250 pcthat is surrounded by a (dense) neutral gas boundary (or ``wall''). Wehave compared our iso-column contours with the contours derived bySnowden et al. (\cite{snowden98}) using ROSAT soft X-ray emission data.Consistency in the global dimensions derived for both sets of contoursis found for the case of a million degree hot LB plasma of emissivity0.0023 cm(-6) pc with an electron density of 0.005 cm(-2) . We havedetected only one relatively dense accumulation of cold, neutral gaswithin 60 pc of the Sun that surrounds the star delta Cyg, and note thatthe nearest molecular cloud complex of MBM 12 probably resides at thevery edge of the Local Bubble at a distance of ~ 90 pc. Our observationsmay also explain the very different physical properties of the columnsof interstellar gas in the line-of-sight to the two hot stars epsilonCMa and beta CMa as being due to their locations with respect to theBubble contours. Finally, in the meridian plane the LB cavity is foundto be elongated perpendicularly to the Gould's Belt plane, possiblybeing ``squeezed'' by the expanding shells of the Sco-Cen andPerseus-Taurus OB associations. Tables 1 and 2 are also available inelectronic form at the CDS (Strasbourg) via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html

The Distribution of Dust Clouds in the Interstellar Medium
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1996ApJ...457..764D&db_key=AST

The ROSAT all-sky survey catalogue of optically bright OB-type stars.
For the detailed statistical analysis of the X-ray emission of hot starswe selected all stars of spectral type O and B listed in the Yale BrightStar Catalogue and searched for them in the ROSAT All-Sky Survey. Inthis paper we describe the selection and preparation of the data andpresent a compilation of the derived X-ray data for a complete sample ofbright OB stars.

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.

The late B-type stars: Refined MK classification, confrontation with stromgren photometry, and the effects of rotation
In the fourth and final of a series of papers on the late B to the earlyF type stars, we refine the Morgan Keenan (MK) spectral classificationsystem for the late B type stars and consider the effect of rotation onboth spectral classification and Stroemgren photometry of these stars.We extend the work of Morgan by establishing self-consistent sequencesof narrow and broadlined standards. We reclassify a number of Bp stars,compare these classifications with Stroemgren photometry and considerthe question of whether all Bp stars are main-sequence objects.

The distribution of interstellar dust in the solar neighborhood
We surveyed the IRAS data base at the positions of the 1808 O6-B9.5stars in The Bright Star Catalog for extended objects with excessemission at 60 microns, indicating the presence of interstellar dust atthe location of the star. Within 400 pc the filling factor of theinterstellar medium, for dust clouds with a density greater than 0.5/cucm is 14.6 + or - 2.4%. Above a density of 1.0/cu cm, the densitydistribution function appears to follow a power law index - 1.25. Whenthe dust clouds are mapped onto the galactic plane, the sun appears tobe located in a low-density region of the interstellar medium of widthabout 60 pc extending at least 500 pc in the direction of longitudes 80deg - 260 deg, a feature we call the 'local trough'.

Spectral synthesis in the ultraviolet. IV - A library of mean stellar groups
A library of mean UV stellar energy distributions is derived from IUEspectrophotometry of 218 stars. The spectra cover 1230-3200 A with aspectral resolution of about 6 A. They have been corrected forinterstellar extinction and converted to a common flux and wavelengthscale. Individual stars were combined into standard groups according totheir continuum colors, observed UV spectral morphology, MK luminosityclass, and metal abundance. The library consists of 56 groups: 21dwarf(V), 8 subgiant(IV), 16 giant(III), and supergiant(I + II) groups,covering O3-M4 spectral types. A metal-poor sequence is included,containing four dwarf and two giant groups, as is a metal-enhancedsequence with a single dwarf, subgiant, and giant group. Spectralindices characterizing the continuum and several strong absorptionfeatures are examined as temperature, luminosity, and abundancediagnostics. The library is intended to serve as a basis forinterpreting the composite UV spectra of a wide variety of stellarsystems, e.g., elliptical galaxies, starburst systems, and high-redshiftgalaxies.

The low filling factor of dust in the Galaxy
The neighborhood of 745 luminous stars in the IRAS Skyflux plates wasexamined for the presence of dust heated by the nearby star. One-hundredtwenty-three dust clouds were found around only 106 of the stars with avolume filling factor of 0.006 and an intercloud separation of 46 pc.Nowhere was a region found where the dust is smoothly distributedthrough the volume of space heated by the star; hence an upper limit of0.06/cu cm is placed on the equivalent gas density in the intercloudregions. Due to the lack of IR emission near the star, it is found thatless than 1 percent of the stellar luminosity is reprocessed within 10pc of the star. The clouds have an average density of 0.22/cu cm and aradius of 1.9 pc, albeit with wide variations in their properties. Twodifferent scale heights of 140 and 540 pc were found for the number ofclouds around different groups of stars, which are interpreted asevidence for different distributions of dust in and out of the Galacticdisk.

Secondary spectrophotometric standards
Energy distribution data on 238 secondary standard stars are presentedin the range 3200-7600 A with 50 A step. These stars are common to theCatalog of the Sternberg State Astronomical Institute and the FessenkovAstrophysical Institute. For these stars, the differences betweenspectral energy distribution data of the two catalogs do not exceed 5percent, while the mean internal accuracy of both catalogs data in thisrange are about 3.5 percent. For 99 stars energy distribution data inthe near infrared (6000-10,800 A) obtained at the Sternberg StateAstronomical Institute are also presented.

Spectral synthesis in the ultraviolet. III - The spectral morphology of normal stars in the mid-ultraviolet
The morphology of 218 mid-UV spectra of stars ranging from O through Kin spectral type is examined. Several new line and continuum indices aredefined and their usefulness as temperature, luminosity, and metallicitydiscriminants is discussed. Mid-UV stellar continua are found to bemarkedly affected by abundance. A UV excess, delta(2600-V), is computedwhich is more sensitive by a factor of 10 to (Fe/H) than is delta(U-B).The relative strength of spectral lines in the mid-UV is not as stronglyaffected by abundance. Mid-UV spectra are much more sensitive to thetemperature of the stellar population than to either metallicity or thedwarf/giant ratio. Mg II 2800 shows unexpected behavior, displaying nosensitivity to abundance for cool stars and a reversed sensitivity in FGdwarfs such that metal-poor stars have stronger Mg II strengths at thesame temperature than more metal-rich stars.

Large and kinematically unbiased samples of G- and K-type stars. IV - Evolved stars of the old disk population
Modified Stromgren and (R,I) photometry, along with DDO and Genevaphotometry, are presented for a complete sample of evolved old-disk Gand K giants in the Bright Star Catalogue. Stars with ages of between1.5 x 10 to the 9th and 10 to the 10th yr are found to have anear-normal distribution of heavy element abundances, centered on anFe/H abundance ratio of -0.1 dex. The old disk clusters NGC 3680 and IC4651 contain red-straggler young-disk giants that are probablycontemporaries of the blue stragglers in the clusters.

Stellar integrated fluxes in the wavelength range 380 NM - 900 NM derived from Johnson 13-colour photometry
Petford et al. (1988) have reported measured integrated fluxes for 216stars with a wide spread of spectral type and luminosity, and mentionedthat a cubic-spline integration over the relevant Johnson 13-colormagnitudes, converted to fluxes using Johnson's calibration, is inexcellent agreement with those measurements. In this paper a list of thefluxes derived in this way, corrected for a small dependence on B-V, isgiven for all the 1215 stars in Johnson's 1975 catalog with completeentries.

The determination of the parameters of binary star components from data on their UV spectra
A quantitative method for determining the main parameters of binarysystem components, such as their effective temperature and radius ratio,is described. The method is based on the analysis of the total observedspectrum in the UV and visible ranges. The results of the application ofthis method to 14 double systems are presented.

IUE observations of the broad continuum feature at 1400 A in the silicon and related stars
The upper main sequence chemically peculiar stars have previously beenstudied spectrophotometrically using low-resolution TD-1 spectra. Theseshow that the broad continuum feature at 1400 A is a useful indicator ofSi anomaly. In this paper the observations are extended to IUElow-resolution spectra and it is shown that this feature is indeed wellcorrelated with Si and also with optical chemical peculiarity indices.Its utility in selecting silicon stars is further demonstrated. Thisfeature is likely due to autoionization of Si II and is the bestavailable discriminator of the overabundance of a key element in the Apstars.

Intensities of the resonance lines of neutral and ionized magnesium in stellar spectra
Empirical curves giving the dependence of the equivalent widths of thedoublet 2800 Mg II and the line 2852 Mg I on the spectral class havebeen plotted. Some features of the behavior of these lines in thespectra of stars of the spectral classes A-K have been analyzed. Thelines 2795 Mg II and 2852 Mg I have been used to determine the meanelectron concentration ne(Mg) in the atmospheres of 87 stars of thespectral classes B8-K4.

An empirical H-gamma luminosity calibration for class V-III stars
The W(H-gamma)-M(v) relation for spectral types O to early A of theluminosity classes III-V is calibrated, on the basis of highsignal/noise Reticon spectra for 87 members of eight open clusters andassociations as well as 37 reliable parallax stars, to a mean probabledispersion of + or - 0.28 mag. Although no spectral type corrections arerequired, stellar evolution probably affects the construction of the newcalibration, so care should be exercised in determinations of distancemoduli from slightly evolved cluster sequences. Systematic departuresfrom the calibration may be present for stars with V sin i not less than220-250 km/sec. A comparison of the new calibration with otherearly-type ones shows that it is 1.2 mag brighter than Petrie's (1965)H-gamma calibration at spectral type O6, and 0.7 mag brighter at A3.

Catalogue of the energy distribution data in spectra of stars in the uniform spectrophotometric system.
Not Available

Infrared colors of the chemically peculiar stars of the upper main sequence
A program of J, H, K, L-prime, M photometry of CP stars and normalcomparison stars has been carried out at the Mauna Kea Observatory. Theinfrared colors of the CP and normal stars are found to be similar toeach other, and to the predictions of normal model atmospheres, towithin at worst 20 percent. These results do not support the conclusionof Groote et al. (1980, 1981) that infrared excesses at 5 microns arefound in CP stars with magnetic fields.

The bimodal distribution of rotational velocities of late B-type stars in galactic clusters
An examination of projected rotational velocities for 195 late B-typestars, in 13 low galactic latitude clusters, shows a bimodal overalldistribution with scarcity values between 80 and 160 km/sec. Theprojected rotational velocity distribution for field stars is notbimodal and does not depend on galactic latitude, consistent with arandom orientation of rotational axes and a Maxwellian initialdistribution. Cluster stars may have been formed through the collapseand fragmentation of large gas clouds, while field stars may have beencreated in loose clusters through turbulence in smaller gas clouds. Theproportion of slow rotators increases with age in both star types, duein part to tidal braking in binaries and rapid braking of magnetic starsthrough interaction with interstellar clouds.

Late B-type stars - Rotation and the incidence of HgMn stars
High-dispersion spectrograms for an unbiased sample of 256 late B-typestars are examined in an attempt to determine whether slow rotation isnecessary and sufficient for the appearance of HgMn anomalies innonmagnetic stars. The peculiar stars in the sample are identified,values of v sin i are derived for all the stars observed, and theradial-velocity variations of the identified HgMn stars are analyzed.The distribution of rotational velocities for late B-type stars isobtained, and the role of rotation in producing extended envelopes isevaluated. The binary frequency and mass-ratio distribution are derivedfor systems containing HgMn components, the effect of duplicity on thedistribution of rotational velocities is estimated, and the role of suchfactors as rotation, age, and binary characteristics in determiningwhether HgMn anomalies are present is investigated. The results clearlyshow that HgMn stars occur only within a limited temperature range, thatall such stars rotate slowly, but that rotation, effective temperature,age, surface gravity, and binary properties do not serve to determinewhether a star will exhibit abundance anomalies.

Duplicity of late B-type stars
High-dispersion spectroscopic observations of 83 stars are used todetermine the binary characteristics of late B-type stars. For a randomsample of such objects, including peculiar as well as normal stars, thefrequency of binaries with mass ratios m2/m sub 1 greaterthan 0.1 and orbital periods less than 100 days is estimated to be about24%, and the frequency of binaries decreases with decreasingm2/m sub 1. In both respects, the late B-type stars aresimilar to early B-, late A-, and solar-type stars. For the majority ofstars with an orbital period greater than 4 days, the observedrotational velocity exceeds the value that corresponds to synchronism ofrotation and revolution, but the ratio of the observed to thesynchronous rotational velocity seldom exceeds a factor of 2 even forperiods as long as 15 days. An additional 20% of the stars surveyedexhibit low amplitude-velocity variations that, if due to orbitalmotion, correspond to m2 m1 less than 0.1. Themost likely explanation is that these systems are close binary remnantsthat have already passed through the mass-transfer phase, with thepresent secondary being a white dwarf.

Spectral classification from the ultraviolet line features of S2/68 spectra. II - Late B-type stars
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1977A&AS...30...71C&db_key=AST

Narrow-band hydrogen line photometry of three early-type eclipsing binary systems.
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1974AJ.....79..642O&db_key=AST

Four-color and H beta photometry for the bright B8 and B9 type stars north of declination -10 degre.
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1973AJ.....78..738C&db_key=AST

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Observation and Astrometry data

Constellation:Andromeda
Right ascension:01h40m34.80s
Declination:+40°34'37.0"
Apparent magnitude:4.94
Distance:208.768 parsecs
Proper motion RA:16.9
Proper motion Dec:-23.5
B-T magnitude:4.841
V-T magnitude:4.942

Catalogs and designations:
Proper NamesTau Andromedae
Titalis
Bayerτ And
Flamsteed53 And
HD 1989HD 10205
TYCHO-2 2000TYC 2819-2290-1
USNO-A2.0USNO-A2 1275-00994726
BSC 1991HR 477
HIPHIP 7818

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