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The OH 1612 MHz maser pump rates of stellar, interstellar and post-AGB OH masers
(Pseudo) radiative pumprate of OH 1612 MHz masers is defined for asample of 44 OH/IR sources (infrared sources with OH 1612 MHz maser),irrespective of the real maser pumping mechanisms. The correlationbetween the (pseudo) maser pumprates and the evolutionary status of themaser sources reveals that the radiative pumprates of stellar OH masersare nearly fixed, which agrees with the theoretical prediction forradiatively pumped OH maser. The (pseudo) radiative pumprates ofinterstellar OH masers are not only very small but also varying broadlyover two orders of magnitude, which is argued to be the manifestation ofvarying number of quiet absorbing OH cloudlets and/or various OH maserpumping mechanisms and/or competitive gain between mainline and 1612 MHzOH masers and/or anisotropy of the maser emission. The radiativepumprates of post-AGB OH masers very possibly decrease with increasingIRAS C32 color indices and distribute in an interim regionbetween the stellar and interstellar OH masers in the pumprate-colordiagram.
| Diameters of Mira Stars Measured Simultaneously in the J, H, and K' Near-Infrared Bands
We present the first spatially resolved observations of a sample of 23Mira stars simultaneously measured in the near-infrared J, H, and K'bands. The technique used was optical long-baseline interferometry, andwe present for each star visibility amplitude measurements as a functionof wavelength. We also present characteristic sizes at each spectralband, obtained by fitting the measured visibilities to a simple uniformdisk model. This approach reveals the general relation J diameter < Hdiameter < K' diameter.
| Secular Evolution in Mira Variable Pulsations
Stellar evolution theory predicts that asymptotic giant branch (AGB)stars undergo a series of short thermal pulses that significantly changetheir luminosity and mass on timescales of hundreds to thousands ofyears. These pulses are confirmed observationally by the existence ofthe short-lived radioisotope technetium in the spectra of some of thesestars, but other observational consequences of thermal pulses are subtleand may only be detected over many years of observations. Secularchanges in these stars resulting from thermal pulses can be detected asmeasurable changes in period if the star is undergoing Mira pulsations.It is known that a small fraction of Mira variables exhibit largesecular period changes, and the detection of these changes among alarger sample of stars could therefore be useful in evolutionary studiesof these stars. The American Association of Variable Star Observers(AAVSO) International Database currently contains visual data for over1500 Mira variables. Light curves for these stars span nearly a centuryin some cases, making it possible to study the secular evolution of thepulsation behavior on these timescales. In this paper we present theresults of our study of period change in 547 Mira variables using datafrom the AAVSO. We use wavelet analysis to measure the period changes inindividual Mira stars over the span of available data. By making linearfits to the period versus time measurements, we determine the averagerates of period change, dlnP/dt, for each of these stars. We findnonzero dlnP/dt at the 2 σ significance level in 57 of the 547stars, at the 3 σ level in 21 stars, and at the level of 6 σor greater in eight stars. The latter eight stars have been previouslynoted in the literature, and our derived rates of period change largelyagree with published values. The largest and most statisticallysignificant dlnP/dt are consistent with the rates of period changeexpected during thermal pulses on the AGB. A number of other starsexhibit nonmonotonic period change on decades-long timescales, the causeof which is not yet known. In the majority of stars, the periodvariations are smaller than our detection threshold, meaning theavailable data are not sufficient to unambiguously measure slowevolutionary changes in the pulsation period. It is unlikely that morestars with large period changes will be found among heretoforewell-observed Mira stars in the short term, but continued monitoring ofthese and other Mira stars may reveal new and serendipitous candidatesin the future.
| Three-micron spectra of AGB stars and supergiants in nearby galaxies
The dependence of stellar molecular bands on the metallicity is studiedusing infrared L-band spectra of AGB stars (both carbon-rich andoxygen-rich) and M-type supergiants in the Large and Small MagellanicClouds (LMC and SMC) and in the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy. Thespectra cover SiO bands for oxygen-rich stars, and acetylene (C2H2), CHand HCN bands for carbon-rich AGB stars. The equivalent width ofacetylene is found to be high even at low metallicity. The high C2H2abundance can be explained with a high carbon-to-oxygen (C/O) ratio forlower metallicity carbon stars. In contrast, the HCN equivalent width islow: fewer than half of the extra-galactic carbon stars show the 3.5μm HCN band, and only a few LMC stars show high HCN equivalent width.HCN abundances are limited by both nitrogen and carbon elementalabundances. The amount of synthesized nitrogen depends on the initialmass, and stars with high luminosity (i.e. high initial mass) could havea high HCN abundance. CH bands are found in both the extra-galactic andGalactic carbon stars. One SMC post-AGB star, SMC-S2, shows the 3.3μm PAH band. This first detection of a PAH band from an SMC post-AGBstar confirms PAHs can form in these low-metallicity stars. None of theoxygen-rich LMC stars show SiO bands, except one possible detection in alow quality spectrum. The limits on the equivalent widths of the SiObands are below the expectation of up to 30 Å for LMC metallicity.Several possible explanations are discussed, mostly based on the effectof pulsation and circumstellar dust. The observations imply that LMC andSMC carbon stars could reach mass-loss rates as high as their Galacticcounterparts, because there are more carbon atoms available and morecarbonaceous dust can be formed. On the other hand, the lack of SiOsuggests less dust and lower mass-loss rates in low-metallicityoxygen-rich stars. The effect on the ISM dust enrichment is discussed.
| Search for radiative pumping lines of OH masers. I. The 34.6 m absorption line towards 1612 MHz OH maser sources
The 1612 MHz hydroxyl maser in circumstellar envelopes has long beenthought to be pumped by 34.6 μm photons. Only recently, the InfraredSpace Observatory has made possible spectroscopic observations whichenable the direct confirmation of this pumping mechanism in a few cases.To look for the presence of this pumping line, we have searched theInfrared Space Observatory Data Archive and found 178 spectra with dataaround 34.6 μm for 87 galactic 1612 MHz masers. The analysisperformed showed that the noise level and the spectral resolution of thespectra are the most important factors affecting the detection of the34.6 μm absorption line. Only 5 objects from the sample (3 redsupergiants and 2 galactic center sources) are found to show clear 34.6μm absorption (all of them already known) while two additionalobjects only tentatively show this line. The 3 supergiants show similarpump rates and their masers might be purely radiatively pumped. The pumprates of OH masers in late type stars are found to be about 0.05, only1/5 of the theoretical value of 0.25 derived by Elitzur (1992). We havealso found 16 maser sources which, according to the analysis assumingElitzur's pump rate, should show the 34.6 μm absorption line but donot. These non-detections can be tentatively explained by far-infraredphoton pumping, clumpy nature of the OH masing region or a limb-fillingemission effect in the OH shell.
| An infrared study of galactic OH/IR stars. I. An optical/near-IR atlas of the Arecibo sample
In this paper we present optical and near-infrared finding charts,accurate astrometry (≈1 arcsec) and single-epoch near-infraredphotometry for 371 IRAS sources, 96% of those included in the so-called``Arecibo sample of OH/IR stars'' (Eder et al. \cite{Eder88}, ApJS, 66,183; Lewis et al. \cite{Lewis90a}, ApJ, 362, 634; Chengalur et al.\cite{Chengalur93}, ApJS, 89, 189). The main photometric properties ofthe stars in the sample are presented and discussed as well as theproblems found during the process of identification of theoptical/near-infrared counterparts. In addition, we also identifysuitable reference stars in each field to be used for differentialphotometry purposes in the future.We find that 39% of the sources (144 in number) have no opticalcounterpart, 8 of them being invisible even at near infraredwavelengths. The relative distribution of sources with and withoutoptical counterpart in the IRAS two-colour diagram and theircharacteristic near infrared colours are interpreted as the consequenceof the increasing thickness of their circumstellar shells. Among theobjects not detected at near infrared wavelengths four non-variablesources are proposed to be heavily obscured post-AGB stars which havejust very recently left the AGB. Eight additional objects withunusually bright and/or blue near-infrared colours are identified ascandidate post-AGB stars and/or proto-planetary nebulae.Based on observations collected at the German-Spanish AstronomicalCentre, Calar Alto, operated jointly by Max-Planck-Institut füerAstronomie and Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía(CSIC).Appendix A (Tables A1 and A2) is only available in electronic form atthe CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/431/779Finding charts are only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org
| CHARM2: An updated Catalog of High Angular Resolution Measurements
We present an update of the Catalog of High Angular ResolutionMeasurements (CHARM, Richichi & Percheron \cite{CHARM}, A&A,386, 492), which includes results available until July 2004. CHARM2 is acompilation of direct measurements by high angular resolution methods,as well as indirect estimates of stellar diameters. Its main goal is toprovide a reference list of sources which can be used for calibrationand verification observations with long-baseline optical and near-IRinterferometers. Single and binary stars are included, as are complexobjects from circumstellar shells to extragalactic sources. The presentupdate provides an increase of almost a factor of two over the previousedition. Additionally, it includes several corrections and improvements,as well as a cross-check with the valuable public release observationsof the ESO Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). A total of 8231entries for 3238 unique sources are now present in CHARM2. Thisrepresents an increase of a factor of 3.4 and 2.0, respectively, overthe contents of the previous version of CHARM.The catalog is only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/431/773
| A study of bright Southern long period variables
In this paper we present radial velocity curves of AGB variables thatexhibit various kinds of anomalies: semiregular variables (SRVs) withtypical mira periods, SRVs exceeding the mira 2.5 mag amplitude limit,miras with secondary maxima in their light curves, and a SRV with a longsecondary period. The stars with reliable Hipparcos parallaxes from thisand from previous studies are plotted in a log P-MK-diagram.Our objects nicely follow the log P-MK-relations determinedfor the LMC. This allows the pulsation mode to be identified. While allmiras fall on the fundamental mode sequence, the SRVs fall on both thefirst overtone and fundamental mode sequences. The SRVs on thefundamental mode sequence occur at both high and low luminosities, someof them being more luminous than larger amplitude miras. Thisdemonstrates observationally that some parameter other than luminosityaffects the stability of long period variables, probably mass. Firstovertone pulsators all show velocity amplitudes around 4 kms-1. For the fundamental mode pulsators, the velocityamplitude shows a correlation with light amplitude. The two miras R Cenand R Nor, known for their double-peaked light curves, have velocitycurves that are quite different. The R Nor velocity curve shows noevidence of the double peaks, meaning that the true pulsation period isthe time between alternate minima or maxima. There is slight evidencefor a double bump in the R Cen velocity curve. It is suggested thatthese stars are relatively massive (3-5 Mȯ).
| Secular Evolution in Mira and Semiregular Variable Pulsations (poster)
Not Available
| Searching for radiative pumping lines of OH masers: II. The 53.3 μm absorption line towards 1612 MHz OH maser sources
This is the second paper in a series aiming at searching for infraredpumping lines for galactic 1612 MHz OH masers. Our paper I is devoted tothe 34.6 μm absorption lines in ISO SWS spectra towards a largesample of galactic OH/IR sources. This paper analyzes the 53.3 μmline in the ISO LWS spectra towards a similar sample of OH/IR sources. Asearch with position radius of 1 arcmin in ISO Data Archive (IDA)results in 137 LWS spectra covering 53.3 μm associated with 47galactic OH/IR sources and 4 ones associated with megamasers Arp 220 andNGC 253. (These two magamasers are included for comparison purposeonly.) Ten of these galactic OH/IR sources are found to show and another5 ones tentatively show the 53.3 μm absorption while another 7sources (our group U1 and U2 sources) highly probably do not show thisline. The source class is found to be correlated with the type ofspectral profile: red supergiants (RSGs) and AGB stars tend to showstrong blue-shifted filling emission in their 53.3 μm absorption lineprofiles while H II regions tend to show a weak red-shifted fillingemission in the line profile. GC sources and megamasers mainly showsymmetrical profile in the line core while megamasers tend to show anadditional absorption tail on the blue side of the line profile. It isargued that the filling emission might be the manifestation of anunresolved half emission half absorption profile of the 53.3 μmdoublet which might be produced by the transitions among the two levels:2Π1/2(J=3/2) and2Π1/2(J=5/2) and their closely related levels.The 53.3 to 34.6 μm equivalent width (EW) ratio is close to unity forRSGs but much larger than unity for GC sources and megamasers while H IIregions only show the 53.3 μm line. The pump rate defined as maser toIR photon flux ratio is approximately 5% for RSGs. The pump rates of GCsources are three order of magnitude smaller. Both the large 53.3 to34.6 μm EW ratio and the small pump rate of the GC OH masers reflectthat the two detected `pumping lines' in these sources are actually ofinterstellar origin. The pump rate of Arp 220 is 32% - much larger thanthat of RSGs, which indicates that the contribution of other pumpingmechanisms to this megamaser is important. A handful of non-detectionsof the 34.6 or 53.3 μm line or both can be explained partly by thegenuinely weakness of the OH masers and partly by some other mechanismsweakening the IR pumping lines, such as clumpy OH shell or limb fillingemission.
| The analysis of indexed astronomical time series - IX. A period change test
A frequency domain test statistic is applied to the full time series ofbrightness maxima and minima in order to test for changes in the meanpulsation periods of 382 Mira stars. The test statistic depends on twoparameters that are related to the intrinsic cycle-to-cycle scatter inthe period, and to the measurement error, respectively. It is shown thatthe former is strongly related to the mean pulsation period of the star.
| Period and chemical evolution of SC stars
The SC and CS stars are thermal-pulsing asymptotic giant branch starswith a C/O ratio close to unity. Within this small group, the Miravariable BH Cru recently evolved from spectral type SC (showing ZrObands) to CS (showing weak C2). Wavelet analysis shows thatthe spectral evolution was accompanied by a dramatic period increase,from 420 to 540 d, indicating an expanding radius. The pulsationamplitude also increased. Old photographic plates are used to establishthat the period before 1940 was around 490 d. Chemical models indicatethat the spectral changes were caused by a decrease in stellartemperature, related to the increasing radius. There is no evidence fora change in C/O ratio. The evolution in BH Cru is unlikely to be relatedto an ongoing thermal pulse. Periods of the other SC and CS stars,including nine new periods, are determined. A second SC star, LX Cyg,also shows evidence for a large increase in period, and one further starshows a period inconsistent with a previous determination. Mira periodsmay be intrinsically unstable for C/O ~ 1; possibly because of afeedback between the molecular opacities, pulsation amplitude, andperiod. LRS spectra of 6 SC stars suggest a feature at λ > 15μm, which resembles one recently attributed to the iron-sulphidetroilite. Chemical models predict a large abundance of FeS in SC stars,in agreement with the proposed association.
| Letter to the Editor: Brighter Maxima of 30 Selected Mira-Type Variable Stars for the Period 1978-1977
Letter to the Editor
| Aus der Sektion 'Karten". Neues aus der AAVSO zum Thema Umgebungskarten !
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| Beobachtungsergebnisse Bundesdeutsche Arbeitsgemeinschaft fur Veranderlichen Serne e.V.
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| Observations of Late-Type Variable Stars in the Water Vapor Radio Line. The Long-Period Variable R Cassiopeia
Observations of circumstellar maser emission from the long-periodvariable R Cas in the 1.35-cm water-vapor line are reported. Theobservations were carried out on the 22-m radio telescope of thePushchino Radio Astronomy Observatory in 1980 2003 (JD=2444409 2452724).Over the 23 years of observations, strong flares in the H2O line profilewere recorded in 1982 (with a peak flux density up to 400 Jy) and 19861989 (up to 750 Jy). Subsequently, from 1990 to March 2003, the H2O lineflux was usually below the detection threshold of the radio telescope(<5 10 Jy). Episodic small increases of the emission with peak fluxdensities of 20 60 Jy were observed. The variations of the H2O line fluxF are correlated with variations in the visual brightness of the star.The phase delay Δγ of the F variations relative to theoptical light curve of R Cas ranged from 0.2 0.3P during theobservations (P=430.46d is the star's period). A model for thevariability of the H2O maser in R Cas is discussed. If the variationsare due to periodic impacts by shock waves driven by the stellarpulsations, the time for the shock to travel from the photosphere to theinner boundary of the H2O-masing shell may reach 2 4P. The flares couldbe due to transient episodes of enhanced mass loss by the star or to thepropagation of an exceptionally strong shock from the stellar surface.
| The Indo-US Library of Coudé Feed Stellar Spectra
We have obtained spectra for 1273 stars using the 0.9 m coudéfeed telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. This telescope feedsthe coudé spectrograph of the 2.1 m telescope. The spectra havebeen obtained with the no. 5 camera of the coudé spectrograph anda Loral 3K×1K CCD. Two gratings have been used to provide spectralcoverage from 3460 to 9464 Å, at a resolution of ~1 Å FWHMand at an original dispersion of 0.44 Å pixel-1. For885 stars we have complete spectra over the entire 3460 to 9464 Åwavelength region (neglecting small gaps of less than 50 Å), andpartial spectral coverage for the remaining stars. The 1273 stars havebeen selected to provide broad coverage of the atmospheric parametersTeff, logg, and [Fe/H], as well as spectral type. The goal ofthe project is to provide a comprehensive library of stellar spectra foruse in the automated classification of stellar and galaxy spectra and ingalaxy population synthesis. In this paper we discuss thecharacteristics of the spectral library, viz., details of theobservations, data reduction procedures, and selection of stars. We alsopresent a few illustrations of the quality and information available inthe spectra. The first version of the complete spectral library is nowpublicly available from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory(NOAO) via ftp and http.
| 28SiO v = 1 and v = 2, J = 1-0 maser variability in evolved stars. Eleven years of short spaced monitoring
This paper presents and discusses the final data set of a long-term andshort-spaced monitoring of 21 SiO maser sources, mostly evolved stars,carried out in two SiO maser lines at 43 GHz with the ObservatorioAstronómico Nacional 13.7 m telescope at the CentroAstronómico de Yebes (Guadalajara, Spain). In most objects, morethan 80 spectra per transition over a period of 11 years have beenrecorded. The new data presented here, previously unpublished, representnearly 50% of the total SiO data collected in the project. In addition,the availability of optical light curves from the AAVSO for most of theobjects during the whole period of the SiO monitoring, ground-basednear-IR data for four sources overlapping with 3 to 5 observed SiOperiods, and DIRBE near-IR data covering a significant portion of an SiOperiod in 10 sources, make this data set a unique reference forcomparing optical, NIR and SiO variability in order to elucidate thephysical mechanisms that pump SiO masers in evolved stars. The basis forthe conclusions obtained in this work comes from a numerical time seriesanalysis of the suitable SiO, optical and NIR light curves in regularvariables to obtain precise values of the periods and phase lags betweenthe different curves. This analysis shows evidence that in regularvariable evolved stars the three types of emission have the same periodand that the SiO maxima happen in phase with NIR maxima and with a phaselag typically between 0.05 and 0.20 with respect to optical maxima. Weconclude that in these objects the observational evidence presented inthis work favors the radiative pumping of SiO masers against thecollisional pumping.Figures 1-4 and 11-21 are only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org
| Long periodic variable stars
The information on Mira-type stars and stars adjacent to them at theHertzsprung -- Russel diagram is presented. A detailed description oftheir observational characteristics is given. We give a survey ofimportant observational works concerning: multicolor photometry withspecial attention to the IR emission, maser emission, shock waves, massloss, binarity, the problem of the pulsational mode, direct measurementsof angular and linear dimensions, statistic investigations, study ofkinematic characteristics etc. The most interesting problems regardinglong periodic variable stars are specified. Some attention is given tothe classification and evolutionary stage of these objects.
| The First Radioastronomical Observation with Photonic Local Oscillator
We present the results of experimental radioastronomical observations ofan interstellar molecular spectral line with an SIS(superconductor-insulator-superconductor) receiver pumped by a photoniclocal oscillator (LO). A millimeter-wave LO signal was generated byfeeding an optical comb signal into a W-band (75-110GHz) photomixerusing a uni-traveling-carrier photodiode (UTC-PD). A CS J = 2 - 1 lineat 98GHz was observed toward a high-mass star-forming region W 51(H2O). We compared the obtainedspectra with those obtained with a conventional Gunn oscillator as anLO. As a result, the line parameters, such as the width, intensity, andfrequency, were consistent with each other. The results presented hereshow that the photonic LO is a very promising source for heterodynereceivers in millimeter- and submillimeter-wave astronomy.
| The calibrating stars of the Mira P-L relation
Improved light curves extracted from the MACHO data base are used todiscuss the periods and amplitudes of the calibrating stars of the MiraP-L relations. Previously unpublished spectral types and positions aregiven for several of those that lie in the S Dor variable star field. Itis found that the periods derived from the discovery observations weregenerally sufficiently accurate that the K- and mbol-logPrelations are not significantly changed by the MACHO results.Furthermore, the periods have remained essentially constant over two tothree decades. The MACHO r-band amplitudes of the oxygen-rich LargeMagellanic Cloud (LMC) Miras are similar to those in galactic (Baade'swindow) fields at a given period but there appear to be moreshorter-period stars as a proportion of the whole than in the galaxy. InO-rich stars, the distinction in amplitude between the Miras and thesemiregulars is not as conspicuous at shorter periods (<200 d) as atlonger ones. The LMC carbon Miras have smaller amplitudes than theirO-rich counterparts. Of the six stars with P > 420 d that were foundto be too luminous to fit the P-L relation, two are now known to beLi-rich. This tends to confirm the suggestion that they are hot-bottomburners.
| Infrared investigation from earth and space on the evolutionary state of a sample of LPV
We selected a sample of highly reddened AGB stars among the sourcesobserved with the SWS instrument on the ISO satellite. These SWS dataallow us to compute the source's photometry in the mid-IR filters of thecamera TIRCAM at the TIRGO telescope. Our photometric data, supplementedwith other measurements taken from the literature, permit to select thecarbon-rich sources in the sample. For these stars, a linear relationholds between dust mass loss and the color index [8.8]-[12.5]. One maythen, from photometric data alone, evaluate the total mass loss (forwhich we used the estimate of \citet{loup}, based on radio data). Theoxygen-rich sources, on the other hand, are distributed in two branches,of which the upper one appears superimposed with carbon stars; the starsin this group have both high luminosity and high wind velocity andtherefore higher masses. Finally S stars lie between the carbon-starbranch and the low-mass oxygen-rich stars, in agreement with theirintermediate evolutionary status.
| Deepsky-Tagung (DST2003) und Veranderliche.
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| Guilt by Association: The 13 Micron Dust Emission Feature and Its Correlation to Other Gas and Dust Features
A study of all full-scan spectra of optically thin oxygen-richcircumstellar dust shells in the database produced by the ShortWavelength Spectrometer on ISO reveals that the strength of severalinfrared spectral features correlates with the strength of the 13 μmdust feature. These correlated features include dust features at 19.8and 28.1 μm and the bands produced by warm carbon dioxide molecules(the strongest of which are at 13.9, 15.0, and 16.2 μm). The databasedoes not provide any evidence for a correlation of the 13 μm featurewith a dust feature at 32 μm, and it is more likely that a weakemission feature at 16.8 μm arises from carbon dioxide gas ratherthan dust. The correlated dust features at 13, 20, and 28 μm tend tobe stronger with respect to the total dust emission in semiregular andirregular variables associated with the asymptotic giant branch than inMira variables or supergiants. This family of dust features also tendsto be stronger in systems with lower infrared excesses and thus lowermass-loss rates. We hypothesize that the dust features arise fromcrystalline forms of alumina (13 μm) and silicates (20 and 28 μm).Based on observations with the ISO, a European Space Agency (ESA)project with instruments funded by ESA member states (especially thePrincipal Investigator countries: France, Germany, the Netherlands, andthe United Kingdom) and with the participation of the Institute of Spaceand Astronautical Science (ISAS) and the National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration (NASA).
| VLBI astrometry of circumstellar OH masers: Proper motions and parallaxes of four AGB stars
The main-line OH masers around 4 AGB stars have been observed with theNRAO Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) at 8 epochs over a period of 2.5yrs. Using a phase referencing technique, the position of the mostcompact maser spot of each star was monitored with respect to twoextragalactic reference sources. For U Her and W Hya, we observe themost blue-shifted maser spot, while for R Cas and S CrB we only detect acompact red-shifted maser spot. We managed to determine an accurateproper motion and parallax for U Her, R Cas and S CrB, while additionalmotion of the compact blue-shifted maser of W Hya is shown to possiblybe related to the stellar pulsation. The motion and radio position arecompared with the stellar trajectory and absolute optical positiondetermined by the Hipparcos satellite. For U Her and W Hya, the mostblue-shifted maser is consistent with the amplified stellar image. Thenew distances are compared with several published P-L relations, and inthis respect the VLBI distances seem an improvement upon the Hipparcosdistances.
| Reprocessing the Hipparcos data of evolved stars. III. Revised Hipparcos period-luminosity relationship for galactic long-period variable stars
We analyze the K band luminosities of a sample of galactic long-periodvariables using parallaxes measured by the Hipparcos mission. Theparallaxes are in most cases re-computed from the Hipparcos IntermediateAstrometric Data using improved astrometric fits and chromaticitycorrections. The K band magnitudes are taken from the literature andfrom measurements by COBE, and are corrected for interstellar andcircumstellar extinction. The sample contains stars of several spectraltypes: M, S and C, and of several variability classes: Mira, semiregularSRa, and SRb. We find that the distribution of stars in theperiod-luminosity plane is independent of circumstellar chemistry, butthat the different variability types have different P-L distributions.Both the Mira variables and the SRb variables have reasonablywell-defined period-luminosity relationships, but with very differentslopes. The SRa variables are distributed between the two classes,suggesting that they are a mixture of Miras and SRb, rather than aseparate class of stars. New period-luminosity relationships are derivedbased on our revised Hipparcos parallaxes. The Miras show a similarperiod-luminosity relationship to that found for Large Magellanic CloudMiras by Feast et al. (\cite{Feast-1989:a}). The maximum absolute Kmagnitude of the sample is about -8.2 for both Miras and semi-regularstars, only slightly fainter than the expected AGB limit. We show thatthe stars with the longest periods (P>400 d) have high mass lossrates and are almost all Mira variables.Based on observations from the Hipparcos astrometric satellite operatedby the European Space Agency (ESA \cite{Hipparcos}).Table \ref{Tab:data1} is only available in electronic form at the CDSvia anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/403/993
| How many Hipparcos Variability-Induced Movers are genuine binaries?
Hipparcos observations of some variable stars, and especially oflong-period (e.g. Mira) variables, reveal a motion of the photocentercorrelated with the brightness variation (variability-induced mover -VIM), suggesting the presence of a binary companion. A re-analysis ofthe Hipparcos photometric and astrometric data does not confirm the VIMsolution for 62 among the 288 VIM objects (21%) in the Hipparcoscatalogue. Most of these 288 VIMs are long-period (e.g. Mira) variables(LPV). The effect of a revised chromaticity correction, which accountsfor the color variations along the light cycle, was then investigated.It is based on ``instantaneous'' V-I color indices derived fromHipparcos and Tycho-2 epoch photometry. Among the 188 LPVs flagged asVIM in the Hipparcos catalogue, 89 (47%) are not confirmed as VIM afterthis improved chromaticity correction is applied. This dramatic decreasein the number of VIM solutions is not surprising, since the chromaticitycorrection applied by the Hipparcos reduction consortia was based on afixed V-I color. Astrophysical considerations lead us to adopt a morestringent criterion for accepting a VIM solution (first-kind risk of0.27% instead of 10% as in the Hipparcos catalogue). With this moresevere criterion, only 27 LPV stars remain VIM, thus rejecting 161 ofthe 188 (86%) of the LPVs defined as VIMs in the Hipparcos catalogue.Based on observations from the Hipparcos astrometric satellite operatedby the European Space Agency (ESA 1997).Table 1 is also available in electronic form at the CDS, via anonymousftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/399/1167
| The He-shell flash in action: T Ursae Minoris revisited
We present an updated and improved description of the light curvebehaviour of T Ursae Minoris, which is a Mira star with the strongestperiod change (the present rate is an amazing -3.8+/-0.4 days/yearcorresponding to a relative decrease of about 1% per cycle). Ninetyyears of visual data were collected from all available databases and theresulting, almost uninterrupted light curve was analysed with the O-Cdiagram, Fourier analysis and various time-frequency methods. TheChoi-Williams and Zhao-Atlas-Marks distributions gave the clearest imageof frequency and light curve shape variations. A decrease of theintensity average of the light curve was also found, which is inaccordance with a period-luminosity relation for Mira stars. We predictthe star will finish its period decrease in the meaningfully near future(c.c. 5 to 30 years) and strongly suggest to closely follow the star'svariations (photometric, as well as spectroscopic) during this period.
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Aquila |
| Right ascension: | 19h06m22.20s |
| Declination: | +08°13'48.0" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 6.09 |
| Distance: | 211.416 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | 2.8 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -72.1 |
| B-T magnitude: | 9.424 |
| V-T magnitude: | 8.225 |
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INHABITED SKY
