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The Status of Speckle Imaging in Binary Star Research
Speckle imaging continues to be an important tool in binary starresearch despite the rise of adaptive optics and other high-resolutiontechniques. The last decade of speckle work will be surveyed and apicture of where speckle sits in the broader context will be drawn. Theadvent of CCD-based speckle imaging and the publication of the HipparcosCatalogue have played important roles in the ongoing vitality of thespeckle technique. The possibilities of the future of the field willalso be discussed.
| RYTSI: The Rochester Institute of Technology-Yale Tip-Tilt Speckle Imager
We have constructed a new speckle imaging system that collects a largenumber of speckle patterns on the detector area of a large-format CCD.The system is called the RIT-Yale Tip-tilt Speckle Imager (RYTSI)because it uses two galvanometric scanning mirrors to tip and tilt eachspeckle pattern to a different location on the CCD chip. It thereforesolves the bandwidth problem of using CCDs in speckle imaging in aunique way: the mirrors direct speckle patterns across the chip withmillisecond accuracy, and the CCD is read out only when the chip isfilled with patterns. The instrument was designed to accommodate avariety of detector formats, readout systems, and telescope platescales; it was initially used at the WIYN Observatory in conjunctionwith an RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology) 20482 CCD. Wepresent the design of the instrument and a sample of first results,which indicate that the instrument can be expected to recover, with highprecision, both astrometric and photometric information for binary andmultiple stars.
| CCD Speckle Observations of Binary Stars from the Southern Hemisphere. IV. Measures during 2001
We present 549 observations of 181 primarily southern binary stars. Ofthese, 32 are high-quality nondetections, meaning that, if binary, thesystem had a separation below the diffraction limit at the time of theobservation, and relative astrometry is presented for the remaining 517observations. In addition, a magnitude difference measure is reported in312 cases in which the observation was judged to be of sufficientquality to have little decorrelation of the speckle pattern of thesecondary relative to the primary star. These data were obtained fromspeckle observations taken at the Lowell-Tololo 0.6 m telescope at CerroTololo Inter-American Observatory using a fast-readout CCD detectorduring 2001 November. Results from an astrometric measurement precisionstudy indicate that the measures have typical uncertainties of12.2+/-1.4 mas in separation and 1.28d+/-0.21d in position angle withlittle systematic error. The magnitude differences presented show goodagreement with values in the Hipparcos catalog where comparisons can bemade. Their uncertainties are also characterized; they show a typicalvalue of 0.18 mag per 2 minute observation. Four systems of particularinterest are discussed.
| Variability of Stars in the Pulkovo Spectrophotometric Catalog
We present the results of a statistical study of brightness variabilityfor 693 stars of the Pulkovo spectrophotometric database in fivespectral bands in the range λλ 320 1080 nm. Significantbrightness variations were detected in at least one spectral bandagainst the background of the random noise for one-third of the starsnot earlier believed to be variable. A comparison of the distributionsof these variations in amplitude and spectral band for the normal andvariable stars shows that variability is inherent to most stars to someextent and is often wavelength dependent.
| Can Life Develop in the Expanded Habitable Zones around Red Giant Stars?
We present some new ideas about the possibility of life developingaround subgiant and red giant stars. Our study concerns the temporalevolution of the habitable zone. The distance between the star and thehabitable zone, as well as its width, increases with time as aconsequence of stellar evolution. The habitable zone moves outward afterthe star leaves the main sequence, sweeping a wider range of distancesfrom the star until the star reaches the tip of the asymptotic giantbranch. Currently there is no clear evidence as to when life actuallyformed on the Earth, but recent isotopic data suggest life existed atleast as early as 7×108 yr after the Earth was formed.Thus, if life could form and evolve over time intervals from5×108 to 109 yr, then there could behabitable planets with life around red giant stars. For a 1Msolar star at the first stages of its post-main-sequenceevolution, the temporal transit of the habitable zone is estimated to beseveral times 109 yr at 2 AU and around 108 yr at9 AU. Under these circumstances life could develop at distances in therange 2-9 AU in the environment of subgiant or giant stars, and in thefar distant future in the environment of our own solar system. After astar completes its first ascent along the red giant branch and the Heflash takes place, there is an additional stable period of quiescent Hecore burning during which there is another opportunity for life todevelop. For a 1 Msolar star there is an additional109 yr with a stable habitable zone in the region from 7 to22 AU. Space astronomy missions, such as proposed for the TerrestrialPlanet Finder (TPF) and Darwin, that focus on searches for signatures oflife on extrasolar planets, should also consider the environments ofsubgiants and red giant stars as potentially interesting sites forunderstanding the development of life. We performed a preliminaryevaluation of the difficulty of interferometric observations of planetsaround red giant stars compared to a main-sequence star environment. Weshow that pathfinder missions for TPF and Darwin, such as Eclipse andFKSI, have sufficient angular resolution and sensitivity to search forhabitable planets around some of the closest evolved stars of thesubgiant and red giant class.
| Adaptive Optics Photometry and Astrometry of Binary Stars
We present astrometric and photometric measurements of 39 binary starsmade with the adaptive optics system on the 3.6 m AdvancedElectro-Optical System (AEOS) telescope, taken from 2002 November to2003 March. The binaries have separations ranging from 0.08" to 5.11"and differential magnitudes ranging from 0.096 to 7.9. Also, we includea list of observations of 23 known binaries that we were unable toresolve. In the process of these measurements, we discovered three newcompanions to two previously known binary stars. We also discuss theeffects of scintillation and anisoplanatism on measurements of binarystar photometry in adaptive optics images. Suggestions on how tominimize these effects are then given.Based on observations made at the Maui Space Surveillance Systemoperated by Detachment 15 of the US Air Force Research Laboratory'sDirected Energy Directorate.
| Speckle Observations of Binary Stars with the WIYN Telescope. IV. Differential Photometry
Five hundred seventy-six magnitude difference measures are presented for260 binary stars. These measures are derived from CCD-based speckleobservations taken at the WIYN 3.5 m telescope at Kitt Peak NationalObservatory during the period 1997-2000. Separations of the systemsrange from over 1" down to near the diffraction limit of the telescope.A study of multiple measures of the same targets indicates that themeasures have a typical uncertainty of better than 0.13 mag per 2 minuteobservation, and that multiple observations can be averaged to arrive atsmaller uncertainties. Results presented here are also compared, insofaras it is possible, with measures in the Hipparcos Catalogue and toprevious studies using adaptive optics. No major systematic errors wereidentified.The WIYN Observatory is a joint facility of the University ofWisconsin-Madison, Indiana University, Yale University, and the NationalOptical Astronomy Observatory.
| Binary Star Speckle Interferometry: Measurements and Orbits
Results of our second observational run of binary star interferometricmeasurements with an ICCD speckle camera attached to the 1.52 mtelescope of the Observatorio Astronómico Nacional at Calar Alto(Almería, Spain) in 2000 June-July are presented. The measuredangular separations range from 0.096" to 6.558". With the use of the newspeckle data, the orbits of the visual binaries WDS 14369+4813 and WDS21597+4908 are improved.
| Lithium and rotation in F and G dwarfs and subgiants
Lithium abundances have been determined in 127 F and G Pop I stars basedon new measurements of the equivalent width of the lambda 6707 ÅLi I line from their high resolution CCD spectra. Distances and absolutemagnitudes of these stars have been obtained from the HipparcosCatalogue and their masses and ages derived, enabling us to investigatethe behaviour of lithium as a function of these parameters. Based ontheir location on the HR diagram superposed on theoretical evolutionarytracks, the sample of the stars has been chosen to ensure that they havemore or less completed their Li depletion on the main sequence. A largespread in the Li abundances is found at any given effective temperatureespecially in the already spun down late F and early G stars. Thisspread persists even if the ``Li-dip'' stars that have evolved from themain sequence temperature interval 6500-6800 K are excluded. Stars inthe mass range up to 2 M/Msun when divided into threemetallicity groups show a linear correlation between Li abundance andmass, albeit with a large dispersion around it which is not fullyaccounted for by age either. The large depletions and the observedspread in Li are in contrast to the predictions of the standard stellarmodel calculations and suggest that they are aided by non-standardprocesses depending upon variables besides mass, age and metallicity.The present study was undertaken to examine, in particular, the effectsof rotation on the depletion of Li. No one-to-one correlation is foundbetween the Li abundance and the present projected rotational velocity.Instead the observed abundances seem to be dictated by the rotationalhistory of the star. However, it is noted that even this interpretationis subject to the inherent limitation in the measurement of the observedLi EQW for large rotational velocities.Table 1 is only 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/409/251
| Automated spectroscopic abundances of A and F-type stars using echelle spectrographs. II. Abundances of 140 A-F stars from ELODIE
Using the method presented in Erspamer & North (\cite{erspamer},hereafter Paper I), detailed abundances of 140 stars are presented. Theuncertainties characteristic of this method are presented and discussed.In particular, we show that for a S/N ratio higher than 200, the methodis applicable to stars with a rotational velocity as high as 200 kms-1. There is no correlation between abundances and Vsin i,except a spurious one for Sr, Sc and Na which we explain by the smallnumber of lines of these elements combined with a locally biasedcontinuum. Metallic giants (Hauck \cite{hauck}) show larger abundancesthan normal giants for at least 8 elements: Al, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Niand Ba. The anticorrelation for Na, Mg, Si, Ca, Fe and Ni with Vsin isuggested by Varenne & Monier (\cite{varenne99}) is not confirmed.The predictions of the Montréal models (e.g. Richard et al.\cite{richard01}) are not fulfilled in general. However, a correlationbetween left [(Fe)/(H)right ] and log g is found for stars of 1.8 to 2.0M_sun. Various possible causes are discussed, but the physical realityof this correlation seems inescapable.Based on observations collected at the 1.93 m telescope at theObservatoire de Haute-Provence (St-Michel l'Observatoire, France) andCORALIE.Based on observations collected at the Swiss 1.2 m Leonard Eulertelescopes at the European Southern Observatory (La Silla, Chile).Tables 5 and 6 are only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u.strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/398/1121
| Speckle Interferometry at the US Naval Observatory. VIII.
The results of 2044 speckle interferometric observations of doublestars, made with the 26 inch (66 cm) refractor of the US NavalObservatory, are presented. Each speckle interferometric observation ofa system represents a combination of over a thousand short-exposureimages. These observations are averaged into 1399 mean positions andrange in separation from 0.16" to 14.97", with a mean separation of2.51". This is the eighth in a series of papers presenting measuresobtained with this system and covers the period 2001 March 18 through2001 December 30.
| Speckle Observations of Binary Stars with the WIYN Telescope. II. Relative Astrometry Measures during 1998-2000
Five hundred twelve relative astrometry measures are presented for 253double stars, including 53 double stars discovered by Hipparcos. In 15cases, relative astrometry is reported for the first time for newlyconfirmed pairs. In addition, 20 high-quality nondetections ofcompanions are reported for stars suspected of being nonsingle byHipparcos. Observations were taken using a fast-readout CCD camerasystem at the WIYN 3.5 m telescope at Kitt Peak, Arizona. In comparingthese measures with ephemeris predictions for binary stars with verywell known orbits, we find that the measurement precision is better than3 mas in separation and 1° in position angle per individualobservation. Measurement precision and detection capabilities are fullydiscussed, and confirmed orbital motion is reported in four cases of theHipparcos double star discoveries. The WIYN Observatory is a jointfacility of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Indiana University,Yale University, and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory.
| A revised HRD for individual components of binary systems from BaSeL BVRI synthetic photometry. Influence of interstellar extinction and stellar rotation
Johnson BVRI photometric data for individual components of binarysystems have been provided by ten Brummelaar et al. (\cite{Brummelaar}).This is essential because non-interacting binaries can be considered astwo single stars and therefore play a critical role in testing andcalibrating single-star stellar evolution sets of isochrones and theimplicit theory. While they derived the effective temperature (T_eff)from their estimated spectral type, we infer metallicity-dependent T_efffrom a minimizing method fitting the B-V, V-R and V-I colours. For thispurpose, a grid of 621 600 flux distributions were computed from theBasel Stellar Library (BaSeL 2.2) of model-atmosphere spectra, and theirtheoretical colours compared with the observed photometry. The BaSeLcolours show a very good agreement with the BVRI metallicity-dependentempirical calibrations of Alonso et al. (\cite{Alonso}), with thetemperatures being different by 3+/-3% in the range 4000-8000 K fordwarf stars. Before deriving the metallicity-dependent T_eff from theBaSeL models, we paid particular attention to the influence of reddeningand stellar rotation. We inferred the reddening from two differentmethods: (i) the MExcessNg code v1.1 (Méndez & van Altena\cite{Mendez}) and (ii) neutral hydrogen column density data. Acomparison of both methods shows a good agreement for the sample locatedinside a local sphere of ~ 500 pc, but we point out a few directionswhere the MExcess model overestimates the E(B-V) colour excess.Influence of stellar rotation on the BVRI colours can be neglectedexcept for 5 stars with large v sin i, the maximum effect on temperaturebeing less than 5%. Our final determinations provide effectivetemperature estimates for each component. They are in good agreementwith previous spectroscopic determinations available for a few primarycomponents, and with ten Brummelaar et al. below ~ 10 000 K.Nevertheless, we obtain an increasing disagreement with theirtemperatures beyond 10 000 K. Finally, we provide a revisedHertzsprung-Russell diagram (HRD) for the systems with the moreaccurately determined temperatures.
| Speckle Interferometry of New and Problem Hipparcos Binaries. II. Observations Obtained in 1998-1999 from McDonald Observatory
The Hipparcos satellite made measurements of over 9734 known doublestars, 3406 new double stars, and 11,687 unresolved but possible doublestars. The high angular resolution afforded by speckle interferometrymakes it an efficient means to confirm these systems from the ground,which were first discovered from space. Because of its coverage of adifferent region of angular separation-magnitude difference(ρ-Δm) space, speckle interferometry also holds promise toascertain the duplicity of the unresolved Hipparcos ``problem'' stars.Presented are observations of 116 new Hipparcos double stars and 469Hipparcos ``problem stars,'' as well as 238 measures of other doublestars and 246 other high-quality nondetections. Included in these areobservations of double stars listed in the Tycho-2 Catalogue andpossible grid stars for the Space Interferometry Mission.
| CCD Speckle Observations of Binary Stars from the Southern Hemisphere. III. Differential Photometry
Two hundred seventy-two magnitude difference measures of 135 double starsystems are presented. The results are derived from speckle observationsusing the Bessel V and R passbands and a fast readout CCD camera.Observations were taken at two 60 cm telescopes, namely the Helen SawyerHogg Telescope, formerly at Las Campanas, Chile, and the Lowell-TololoTelescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, Chile. Thedata analysis method is presented and, in comparing the results to thoseof Hipparcos as well as to recent results using adaptive optics, we findvery good agreement. Overall, the measurement precision appears to bedependent on seeing and other factors but is generally in the range of0.10-0.15 mag for single observations under favorable observingconditions. In four cases, multiple observations in both V and R allowedfor the derivation of component V-R colors with uncertainties of 0.11mag or less. Spectral types are assigned and preliminary effectivetemperatures are estimated in these cases.
| Diffraction-limited 800 nm imaging with the 2.56 m Nordic Optical Telescope
A quantitative assessment is presented of diffraction-limited stellarimages with Strehl ratios of 0.25-0.30 obtained by selection ofshort-exposure CCD images of stars brighter than +6 m at 810 nm with theNordic Optical Telescope.
| Speckle observations of binary systems measured by Hipparcos
From speckle observations made with the PISCO speckle camera at the Picdu Midi Observatory, we present high angular resolution astrometric datafor 43 binary stars already observed by the Hipparcos satellite. Thissample consists of mainly new Hipparcos eclipsing binaries with a visualcompanion closer than one arcsecond, chosen with the aim to study thedynamical implications of a third component on the observationalparameters of the eclipsing system. In addition, we also included aselection of close visual binaries with few speckle data in order toanalyse possible systematic departures between the speckle and thenon-speckle orbits. The reduction method and the results are presentedin detail. For the close visual binaries we confront our observationswith the ephemerides based on the best known orbits. For the wide visualbinaries the confrontation is made directly with the Hipparcos data. Ourobservations are consistent both with previous speckle data and withmost of the Hipparcos measurements. Based on observations made with theTélescope Bernard Lyot at the Pic du Midi Observatory, France andon data obtained by the Hipparcos astrometry satellite. This work hasalso made use of the Simbad database, operated at CDS, Strasbourg,France.
| 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
| Research Note Hipparcos photometry: The least variable stars
The data known as the Hipparcos Photometry obtained with the Hipparcossatellite have been investigated to find those stars which are leastvariable. Such stars are excellent candidates to serve as standards forphotometric systems. Their spectral types suggest in which parts of theHR diagrams stars are most constant. In some cases these values stronglyindicate that previous ground based studies claiming photometricvariability are incorrect or that the level of stellar activity haschanged. Table 2 is only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/367/297
| Binary star speckle measurements at Calar Alto. I.
We present the first results of our speckle interferometric measurementsof binary stars made with the ICCD speckle camera using the 1.52-mtelescope of the Observatorio Astronomico Nacional at Calar Alto (Spain)in September, 1999. The data contain 123 observations of 83 systems. Themeasured angular separations range from 0farcs153 to 6farcs727 . We haveused there new speckle measurements to improve the orbital elements forthe binaries COU 247 and BU 524 AB.
| Speckle Observations of Double Stars with PISCO at Pic du Midi: Measurements in 1998
We present astrometric measurements of binary stars based on speckleobservations of 164 independent sequences of observations(~104 frames each) made with the PISCO speckle camera at Picdu Midi. These measurements concern 147 objects, of which 134 were foundto be double with a separation in the range 0.1"-1.0". These objectswere mainly selected among grade 3 orbits to improve the accuracy oftheir orbits and to constrain their masses. We discovered the binarityof 59 Aql with an angular separation of 0.09"+/-0.01".
| CCD Speckle Observations of Binary Stars from the Southern Hemisphere. II. Measures from the Lowell-Tololo Telescope during 1999
Speckle observations of 145 double stars and suspected double stars arepresented and discussed. On the basis of multiple observations, a totalof 280 position angle and separation measures are determined, as well as23 high-quality nondetections. All observations were taken with the(unintensified) Rochester Institute of Technology fast-readout CCDcamera mounted on the Lowell-Tololo 61 cm telescope at the Cerro TololoInter-American Observatory during 1999 October. We find that themeasures, when judged as a whole against ephemeris positions of binarieswith very well-known orbits, have root mean square deviations of1.8d+/-0.3d in position angle and 13+/-2 mas in separation. Elevendouble stars discovered by Hipparcos were also successfully observed,and the change in position angle and/or separation since the Hipparcosobservations was substantial in three cases.
| ICCD Speckle Observations of Binary Stars. XXIII. Measurements during 1982-1997 from Six Telescopes, with 14 New Orbits
We present 2017 observations of 1286 binary stars, observed by means ofspeckle interferometry using six telescopes over a 15 year period from1982 April to 1997 June. These measurements constitute the 23dinstallment in CHARA's speckle program at 2 to 4 m class telescopes andinclude the second major collection of measurements from the MountWilson 100 inch (2.5 m) Hooker Telescope. Orbital elements are alsopresented for 14 systems, seven of which have had no previouslypublished orbital analyses.
| Speckle Interferometry at the US Naval Observatory. V.
The results of 1544 speckle interferometric observations of 637 binarystars, ranging in separation from 0.25" to 5.25", are tabulated. Theseobservations were obtained using the 66 cm refractor at the US NavalObservatory in Washington, DC, with an intensified CCD detector. This isthe fifth in a series of papers presenting measures obtained with thissystem and covers the period 1998 January 1 through December 31. Randomerrors for all measures are estimated to be 17.6 mas in separation and0.55d/ρ in position angle, where ρ is the separation inarcseconds.
| Binary Star Differential Photometry Using the Adaptive Optics System at Mount Wilson Observatory
We present photometric and astrometric results for 36 binary systemsobserved with the natural guide star adaptive optics system of the MountWilson Institute on the 100 inch (2.5 m) Hooker Telescope. Themeasurements consist of differential photometry in U, B, V, R, and Ifilters along with astrometry of the relative positions of systemcomponents. Magnitude differences were combined with absolute photometryfound in the literature of the combined light for systems to obtainapparent magnitudes for the individual components at standardbandpasses, which in turn led to color determinations and spectraltypes. The combination of these results with Hipparcos parallaxmeasurements yielded absolute magnitudes and allowed us to plot thecomponents on an H-R diagram. To further examine the reliability andself-consistency of these data, we also estimated system masses from thespectral types. Based on observations made at Mount Wilson Observatory,operated by the Mount Wilson Institute under an agreement with theCarnegie Institution of Washington.
| Measurements of Binary Stars with the Starfire Optical Range Adaptive Optics Systems
To investigate the relative photometry produced by adaptive opticswithin the isoplanatic patch, we observed four binaries, 10 UMa, φUMa, 81 Cnc, and κ UMa, with adaptive optics using natural guidestars on the 3.5 m telescope, as well as one binary, β Del, withadaptive optics using a laser guide star on the 1.5 m telescope at theStarfire Optical Range. Iterative blind deconvolution (IBD) andparametric blind deconvolution (PBD) techniques were used to postprocessthe data, which produced consistent results for position angles,separations, and magnitude differences. We also conducted simulationsthat verify the agreement between IBD and PBD and compared theirmeasurements to truth data. From the results of both observations andsimulations, we conclude that adaptive optics is well suited forproviding not only position angles and separations for close binaries,but also good relative magnitudes without quadrant ambiguity. From theobservations, we find that the secondary of 81 Cnc (separation=0.12")appears to be 0.12 mag brighter than the primary at 0.85 μm and is,therefore, cooler. We also derive a new orbit for κ UMa(separation=0.067"). Our results for β Del (ADS 14073) havesignificantly improved precision compared with the 1998 analyses of thesame data by ten Brummelaar and colleagues and by Roberts, tenBrummelaar, and Mason.
| Ca II activity and rotation in F-K evolved stars
Ca II H and K high resolution observations for 60 evolved stars in thefield and in 5 open clusters are presented. From these spectrachromospheric fluxes are derived, and a homogeneous sample of more than100 giants is built adding data from the literature. In addition, formost stars, rotational velocities were derived from CORAVELobservations. By comparing chromospheric emission in the cluster starswe confirm the results of Pasquini & Brocato (1992): chromosphericactivity depends on the stellar effective temperature, and mass, whenintermediate mass stars (M ~ 4 Msun) are considered. TheHyades and the Praesepe clump giants show the same level of activity, asexpected from stars with similar masses and effective temperatures. Adifference of up to 0.4 dex in the chromospheric fluxes among the Hyadesgiants is recorded and this sets a clear limit to the intrinsic spreadof stellar activity in evolved giants. These differences in otherwisevery similar stars are likely due to stellar cycles and/or differencesin the stellar initial angular momentum. Among the field stars none ofthe giants with (V-R)o < 0.4 and Ia supergiants observedshows a signature of Ca II activity; this can be due either to the realabsence of a chromosphere, but also to other causes which preclude theappearance of Ca II reversal. By analyzing the whole sample we find thatchromospheric activity scales linearly with stellar rotational velocityand a high power of stellar effective temperature: F'k ~Teff7.7 (Vsini)0.9. This result can beinterpreted as the effect of two chromospheric components of differentnature: one mechanical and one magnetic. Alternatively, by using theHipparcos parallaxes and evolutionary tracks, we divide the sampleaccording to the stellar masses, and we follow the objects along anevolutionary track. For each range of masses activity can simply beexpressed as a function of only one parameter: either theTeff or the angular rotation Omega , with laws F'k~ Omega alpha , because angular velocity decreases witheffective temperature along an evolutionary track. By using theevolutionary tracks and the observed Vsini we investigate the evolutionof the angular momentum for evolved stars in the range 1-5Msun. For the 1.6-3 solar mass stars the data are consistentwith the IOmega =const law while lower and higher masses follow a lawsimilar to IOmega 2=const, where I is the computed stellarmomentum of inertia. We find it intriguing that Vsini remains almostconstant for 1Msun stars along their evolution; if a similarbehavior is shared by Pop II stars, this could explain the relativelyhigh degree of activity observed in Pop II giants. Finally, through theuse of models, we have verified the consistency of the F'k ~Omega alpha and the IOmega beta = Const lawsderived, finding an excellent agreement. This representation, albeitcrude (the models do not consider, for instance, mass losses) representsthe evolution of Ca II activity and of the angular momentum in asatisfactory way in most of the portion of HR diagram analyzed.Different predictions could be tested with observations in selectedclusters. Based on observations collected at ESO, La Silla. Tables 1-3are only available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| Lithium and rotation on the subgiant branch. II. Theoretical analysis of observations
Lithium abundances and rotation, determined for 120 subgiant stars inLèbre et al. (1999) are analyzed. To this purpose, theevolutionary status of the sample as well as the individual masses havebeen determined using the HIPPARCOS trigonometric parallax measurementsto locate very precisely our sample stars in the HR diagram. We look atthe distributions of A_Li and Vsini with mass when stars evolve from themain sequence to the subgiant branch. For most of the stars in oursample we find good agreement with the dilution predictions. However,the more massive cool stars with upper limits of Li abundances show asignificant discrepancy with the theoretical predictions, even if theNon-LTE effects are taken into account. For the rotation behaviour, ouranalysis confirms that low mass stars leave the main sequence with a lowrotational rate, while more massive stars are slowed down only whenreaching the subgiant branch. We also checked the connection between theobserved rotation behaviour and the magnetic braking due to thedeepening of the convective envelope. Our results shed new light on thelithium and rotation discontinuities in the evolved phase.
| Do the physical properties of Ap binaries depend on their orbital elements?
We reveal sufficient evidence that the physical characteristics of Apstars are related to binarity. The Ap star peculiarity [represented bythe Δ(V1-G) value and magnetic field strength] diminishes witheccentricity, and it may also increase with orbital period(Porb). This pattern, however, does not hold for largeorbital periods. A striking gap that occurs in the orbital perioddistribution of Ap binaries at 160-600d might well mark a discontinuityin the above-mentioned behaviour. There is also an interestingindication that the Ap star eccentricities are relatively lower thanthose of corresponding B9-A2 normal binaries for Porb>10d.All this gives serious support to the pioneering idea of Abt &Snowden concerning a possible interplay between the magnetism of Apstars and their binarity. Nevertheless, we argue instead in favour ofanother mechanism, namely that it is binarity that affects magnetism andnot the opposite, and suggest the presence of a newmagnetohydrodynamical mechanism induced by the stellar companion andstretching to surprisingly large Porb.
| Speckle Interferometry at the US Naval Observatory. IV.
The results of 1314 speckle interferometric observations of 625 binarystars, ranging in separation from 0.2" to 5.2" with a limiting secondarymagnitude of V=11, are tabulated. These observations were obtained usingthe 66 cm refractor at the US Naval Observatory in Washington, DC, withan intensified CCD detector. This is the fourth in a series of paperspresenting measures obtained with this equipment and covers the period1997 January 1 through December 31. Random errors for all measures areestimated to be 18 mas in separation and 0.57d/rho in position angle,where rho is the separation in arcseconds.
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Delphinus |
| Right ascension: | 20h37m33.00s |
| Declination: | +14°35'43.0" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 3.63 |
| Distance: | 29.86 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | 109.9 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -37.2 |
| B-T magnitude: | 4.152 |
| V-T magnitude: | 3.677 |
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INHABITED SKY
