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The frequency of planets in multiple systems
Context: The frequency of planets in binaries is an important issue inthe field of extrasolar planet studies, because of its relevance inestimating of the global planet population of our Galaxy and the cluesit can give to our understanding of planet formation and evolution.However, only preliminary estimates are available in the literature. Aims: We analyze and compare the frequency of planets in multiplesystems to the frequency of planets orbiting single stars. We also tryto highlight possible connections between the frequency of planets andthe orbital parameters of the binaries (such as the periastron and massratio.) Methods: A literature search was performed for binariesand multiple systems among the stars of the sample with uniform planetdetectability defined by Fischer & Valenti (2005, ApJ, 622, 1102),and 202 of the 850 stars of the sample turned out to be binaries,allowing a statistical comparison of the frequency of planets inbinaries and single stars and a study of the run of the planet frequencyas a function of the binary separation. Results: We found that theglobal frequency of planets in the binaries of the sample is notstatistically different from that of planets in single stars. Evenconservatively taking the probable incompleteness of binary detection inour sample into account, we estimate that the frequency of planets inbinaries can be no more than a factor of three lower than that ofplanets in single stars. There is no significant dependence of planetfrequency on the binary separation, except for a lower value offrequency for close binaries. However, this is probably not as low asrequired to explain the presence of planets in close binaries only asthe result of modifications of the binary orbit after the planetformation. Table 8 and Appendix A are only available in electronic form athttp://www.aanda.org
| The eccentricity-mass distribution of exoplanets: signatures of different formation mechanisms?
We examine the distributions of eccentricity and host star metallicityof exoplanets as a function of their mass. Planets with M sin i ⪆ 4MJ have an eccentricity distribution consistent with that ofbinary stars, while planets with M sin i ⪉ 4 MJ are lesseccentric than binary stars and more massive planets. In addition, hoststar metallicities decrease with planet mass. The statisticalsignificance of both of these trends is only marginal with the presentsample of exoplanets. To account for these trends, we hypothesize thatthere are two populations of gaseous planets: the low-mass populationforms by gas accretion onto a rock-ice core in a circumstellar disk andis more abundant at high metallicities, and the high-mass populationforms directly by fragmentation of a pre-stellar cloud. Planets of thefirst population form in initially circular orbits and grow theireccentricities later, and may have a mass upper limit from the totalmass of the disk that can be accreted by the core. The second populationmay have a mass lower limit resulting from opacity-limitedfragmentation. This would roughly divide the two populations in mass,although they would likely overlap over some mass range. If most objectsin the second population form before the pre-stellar cloud becomeshighly opaque, they would have to be initially located in orbits largerthan ~30 AU, and would need to migrate to the much smaller orbits inwhich they are observed. The higher mean orbital eccentricity of thesecond population might be caused by the larger required intervals ofradial migration, and the brown dwarf desert might be due to theinability of high-mass brown dwarfs to migrate inwards sufficiently inradius.
| Contributions to the Nearby Stars (NStars) Project: Spectroscopy of Stars Earlier than M0 within 40 pc-The Southern Sample
We are obtaining spectra, spectral types, and basic physical parametersfor the nearly 3600 dwarf and giant stars earlier than M0 in theHipparcos catalog within 40 pc of the Sun. Here we report on resultsfor 1676 stars in the southern hemisphere observed at Cerro TololoInter-American Observatory and Steward Observatory. These resultsinclude new, precise, homogeneous spectral types, basic physicalparameters (including the effective temperature, surface gravity, andmetallicity [M/H]), and measures of the chromospheric activity of ourprogram stars. We include notes on astrophysically interesting stars inthis sample, the metallicity distribution of the solar neighborhood, anda table of solar analogs. We also demonstrate that the bimodal nature ofthe distribution of the chromospheric activity parameterlogR'HK depends strongly on the metallicity, andwe explore the nature of the ``low-metallicity'' chromosphericallyactive K-type dwarfs.
| Dwarfs in the Local Region
We present lithium, carbon, and oxygen abundance data for a sample ofnearby dwarfs-a total of 216 stars-including samples within 15 pc of theSun, as well as a sample of local close giant planet (CGP) hosts (55stars) and comparison stars. The spectroscopic data for this work have aresolution of R~60,000, a signal-to-noise ratio >150, and spectralcoverage from 475 to 685 nm. We have redetermined parameters and derivedadditional abundances (Z>10) for the CGP host and comparison samples.From our abundances for elements with Z>6 we determine the meanabundance of all elements in the CGP hosts to range from 0.1 to 0.2 dexhigher than nonhosts. However, when relative abundances ([x/Fe]) areconsidered we detect no differences in the samples. We find nodifference in the lithium contents of the hosts versus the nonhosts. Theplanet hosts appear to be the metal-rich extension of local regionabundances, and overall trends in the abundances are dominated byGalactic chemical evolution. A consideration of the kinematics of thesample shows that the planet hosts are spread through velocity space;they are not exclusively stars of the thin disk.
| Simulating observable comets. III. Real stellar perturbers of the Oort cloud and their output
Context: .This is the third of a series of papers on simulating themechanisms acting currently on the Oort cloud and producing the observedlong-period comets.Aims.In this paper we investigate the influence ofcurrent stellar perturbers on the Oort cloud of comets under thesimultaneous galactic disk tide. We also analyse the past motion of theobserved long-period comets under the same dynamical model to verify thewidely used definition of dynamically new comets. Methods.The action ofnearby stars and the galactic disk tide on the Oort cloud was simulated.The original orbital elements of all 386 long-period comets of qualityclasses 1 and 2 were calculated, and their motion was followednumerically for one orbital revolution into the past, down to theprevious perihelion. We also simulated the output of the close futurepass of GJ 710 through the Oort cloud. Results.The simulated flux of theobservable comets resulting from the current stellar and galacticperturbations, as well as the distribution of perihelion direction, wasobtained. The same data are presented for the future passage of GJ 710.A detailed description is given of the past evolution of aphelion andperihelion distances of the observed long-period comets. Conclusions. Weobtained no fingerprints of the stellar perturbations in the simulatedflux and its directional structure. The mechanisms producing observablecomets are highly dominated by galactic disk tide because all currentstellar perturbers are too weak. Also the effect of the close passage ofthe star GJ 710 is very difficult to recognise on the background of theGalactic-driven observable comets. For the observed comets we found only45 to be really dynamically "new" according to our definition based onthe previous perihelion distance value.
| Pulkovo compilation of radial velocities for 35495 stars in a common system.
Not Available
| Spectroscopic Properties of Cool Stars (SPOCS). I. 1040 F, G, and K Dwarfs from Keck, Lick, and AAT Planet Search Programs
We present a uniform catalog of stellar properties for 1040 nearby F, G,and K stars that have been observed by the Keck, Lick, and AAT planetsearch programs. Fitting observed echelle spectra with synthetic spectrayielded effective temperature, surface gravity, metallicity, projectedrotational velocity, and abundances of the elements Na, Si, Ti, Fe, andNi, for every star in the catalog. Combining V-band photometry andHipparcos parallaxes with a bolometric correction based on thespectroscopic results yielded stellar luminosity, radius, and mass.Interpolating Yonsei-Yale isochrones to the luminosity, effectivetemperature, metallicity, and α-element enhancement of each staryielded a theoretical mass, radius, gravity, and age range for moststars in the catalog. Automated tools provide uniform results and makeanalysis of such a large sample practical. Our analysis method differsfrom traditional abundance analyses in that we fit the observed spectrumdirectly, rather than trying to match equivalent widths, and wedetermine effective temperature and surface gravity from the spectrumitself, rather than adopting values based on measured photometry orparallax. As part of our analysis, we determined a new relationshipbetween macroturbulence and effective temperature on the main sequence.Detailed error analysis revealed small systematic offsets with respectto the Sun and spurious abundance trends as a function of effectivetemperature that would be inobvious in smaller samples. We attempted toremove these errors by applying empirical corrections, achieving aprecision per spectrum of 44 K in effective temperature, 0.03 dex inmetallicity, 0.06 dex in the logarithm of gravity, and 0.5 kms-1 in projected rotational velocity. Comparisons withprevious studies show only small discrepancies. Our spectroscopicallydetermined masses have a median fractional precision of 15%, but theyare systematically 10% higher than masses obtained by interpolatingisochrones. Our spectroscopic radii have a median fractional precisionof 3%. Our ages from isochrones have a precision that variesdramatically with location in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. We planto extend the catalog by applying our automated analysis technique toother large stellar samples.
| The Planet-Metallicity Correlation
We have recently carried out spectral synthesis modeling to determineTeff, logg, vsini, and [Fe/H] for 1040 FGK-type stars on theKeck, Lick, and Anglo-Australian Telescope planet search programs. Thisis the first time that a single, uniform spectroscopic analysis has beenmade for every star on a large Doppler planet search survey. We identifya subset of 850 stars that have Doppler observations sufficient todetect uniformly all planets with radial velocity semiamplitudes K>30m s-1 and orbital periods shorter than 4 yr. From this subsetof stars, we determine that fewer than 3% of stars with-0.5<[Fe/H]<0.0 have Doppler-detected planets. Above solarmetallicity, there is a smooth and rapid rise in the fraction of starswith planets. At [Fe/H]>+0.3 dex, 25% of observed stars have detectedgas giant planets. A power-law fit to these data relates the formationprobability for gas giant planets to the square of the number of metalatoms. High stellar metallicity also appears to be correlated with thepresence of multiple-planet systems and with the total detected planetmass. This data set was examined to better understand the origin of highmetallicity in stars with planets. None of the expected fossilsignatures of accretion are observed in stars with planets relative tothe general sample: (1) metallicity does not appear to increase as themass of the convective envelopes decreases, (2) subgiants with planetsdo not show dilution of metallicity, (3) no abundance variations for Na,Si, Ti, or Ni are found as a function of condensation temperature, and(4) no correlations between metallicity and orbital period oreccentricity could be identified. We conclude that stars with extrasolarplanets do not have an accretion signature that distinguishes them fromother stars; more likely, they are simply born in higher metallicitymolecular clouds.Based on observations obtained at Lick and Keck Observatories, operatedby the University of California, and the Anglo-Australian Observatories.
| New neighbours. III. 21 new companions to nearby dwarfs, discovered with adaptive optics
We present some results of a CFHT adaptive optics search for companionsto nearby dwarfs. We identify 21 new components in solar neighbourhoodsystems, of which 13 were found while surveying a volume-limited sampleof M dwarfs within 12 pc. We are obtaining complete observations forthis subsample, to derive unbiased multiplicity statistics for thevery-low-mass disk population. Additionally, we resolve for the firsttime 6 known spectroscopic or astrometric binaries, for a total of 27newly resolved companions. A significant fraction of the new binarieshas favourable parameters for accurate mass determinations. The newlyresolved companion of Gl 120.1C was thought to have a spectroscopicminimum mass in the brown-dwarf range (Duquennoy & Mayor\cite{duquennoy91}), and it contributed to the statistical evidence thata few percent of solar-type stars might have close-in brown-dwarfcompanions. We find that Gl 120.1C actually is an unrecogniseddouble-lined spectroscopic pair. Its radial-velocity amplitude hadtherefore been strongly underestimated by Duquennoy & Mayor(\cite{duquennoy91}), and it does not truly belong to their sample ofsingle-lined systems with minimum spectroscopic mass below thesubstellar limit. We also present the first direct detection of Gl494B, an astrometric brown-dwarf candidate. Its luminosity straddles thesubstellar limit, and it is a brown dwarf if its age is less than300 Myr. A few more years of observations will ascertain its massand status from first principles.Based on observations made at Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, operatedby the National Research Council of Canada, the Centre National de laRecherche Scientifique de France and the University of Hawaii. Some ofthe data presented herein were obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory,which is operated as a scientific partnership among the CaliforniaInstitute of Technology, the University of California and the NationalAeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possibleby the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation.
| Chromospheric Ca II Emission in Nearby F, G, K, and M Stars
We present chromospheric Ca II H and K activity measurements, rotationperiods, and ages for ~1200 F, G, K, and M type main-sequence stars from~18,000 archival spectra taken at Keck and Lick Observatories as a partof the California and Carnegie Planet Search Project. We have calibratedour chromospheric S-values against the Mount Wilson chromosphericactivity data. From these measurements we have calculated medianactivity levels and derived R'HK, stellar ages,and rotation periods from general parameterizations for 1228 stars,~1000 of which have no previously published S-values. We also presentprecise time series of activity measurements for these stars.Based on observations obtained at Lick Observatory, which is operated bythe University of California, and on observations obtained at the W. M.Keck Observatory, which is operated jointly by the University ofCalifornia and the California Institute of Technology. The KeckObservatory was made possible by the generous financial support of theW. M. Keck Foundation.
| The Geneva-Copenhagen survey of the Solar neighbourhood. Ages, metallicities, and kinematic properties of 14 000 F and G dwarfs
We present and discuss new determinations of metallicity, rotation, age,kinematics, and Galactic orbits for a complete, magnitude-limited, andkinematically unbiased sample of 16 682 nearby F and G dwarf stars. Our63 000 new, accurate radial-velocity observations for nearly 13 500stars allow identification of most of the binary stars in the sampleand, together with published uvbyβ photometry, Hipparcosparallaxes, Tycho-2 proper motions, and a few earlier radial velocities,complete the kinematic information for 14 139 stars. These high-qualityvelocity data are supplemented by effective temperatures andmetallicities newly derived from recent and/or revised calibrations. Theremaining stars either lack Hipparcos data or have fast rotation. Amajor effort has been devoted to the determination of new isochrone agesfor all stars for which this is possible. Particular attention has beengiven to a realistic treatment of statistical biases and errorestimates, as standard techniques tend to underestimate these effectsand introduce spurious features in the age distributions. Our ages agreewell with those by Edvardsson et al. (\cite{edv93}), despite severalastrophysical and computational improvements since then. We demonstrate,however, how strong observational and theoretical biases cause thedistribution of the observed ages to be very different from that of thetrue age distribution of the sample. Among the many basic relations ofthe Galactic disk that can be reinvestigated from the data presentedhere, we revisit the metallicity distribution of the G dwarfs and theage-metallicity, age-velocity, and metallicity-velocity relations of theSolar neighbourhood. Our first results confirm the lack of metal-poor Gdwarfs relative to closed-box model predictions (the ``G dwarfproblem''), the existence of radial metallicity gradients in the disk,the small change in mean metallicity of the thin disk since itsformation and the substantial scatter in metallicity at all ages, andthe continuing kinematic heating of the thin disk with an efficiencyconsistent with that expected for a combination of spiral arms and giantmolecular clouds. Distinct features in the distribution of the Vcomponent of the space motion are extended in age and metallicity,corresponding to the effects of stochastic spiral waves rather thanclassical moving groups, and may complicate the identification ofthick-disk stars from kinematic criteria. More advanced analyses of thisrich material will require careful simulations of the selection criteriafor the sample and the distribution of observational errors.Based on observations made with the Danish 1.5-m telescope at ESO, LaSilla, Chile, and with the Swiss 1-m telescope at Observatoire deHaute-Provence, France.Complete Tables 1 and 2 are 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/418/989
| Abundance Analysis of Planetary Host Stars. I. Differential Iron Abundances
We present atmospheric parameters and iron abundances derived fromhigh-resolution spectra for three samples of dwarf stars: stars that areknown to host close-in giant planets (CGP), stars for which radialvelocity data exclude the presence of a close-in giant planetarycompanion (no-CGP), as well as a random sample of dwarfs with a spectraltype and magnitude distribution similar to that of the planetary hoststars (control). All stars have been observed with the same instrumentand have been analyzed using the same model atmospheres, atomic data,and equivalent width modeling program. Abundances have been deriveddifferentially to the Sun, using a solar spectrum obtained with Callistoas the reflector with the same instrumentation. We find that the ironabundances of CGP dwarfs are on average 0.22 dex greater than that ofno-CGP dwarfs. The iron abundance distributions of both the CGP andno-CGP dwarfs are different than that of the control dwarfs, while thecombined iron abundances have a distribution that is very similar tothat of the control dwarfs. All four samples (CGP, no-CGP, combined, andcontrol) have different effective temperature distributions. We showthat metal enrichment occurs only for CGP dwarfs with temperatures justbelow solar and ~300 K higher than solar, whereas the abundancedifference is insignificant at Teff around 6000 K.
| Statistical cataloging of archival data for luminosity class IV-V stars. I. The epoch 2001 temperature catalog
This paper is one of a pair in which temperatures and metallicitycatalogs for class IV-V stars are considered. The temperature catalogdescribed here is derived from a calibration based on stellar angulardiameters. If published calibrations of this kind are compared by usingcolor-index transformations, temperature-dependent differences among thecalibrations are commonly found. However, such differences are minimizedif attention is restricted to calibrations based on Johnson V-K. Acalibration of this sort from Di Benedetto (\cite{dib98}) is thereforetested and adopted. That calibration is then applied to spectroscopicand photometric data, with the latter predominating. Cousins R-Iphotometry receives special attention because of its high precision andlow metallicity sensitivity. Testing of temperatures derived from thecalibration suggests that their accuracy and precision are satisfactory,though further testing will be warranted as new results appear. Thesetemperatures appear in the catalog as values of theta equiv5040/T(effective). Most of these entries are accompanied by measured orderived values of Cousins R-I. Entries are given for 951 stars.Catalog 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/398/721
| Multiplicity among solar-type stars. III. Statistical properties of the F7-K binaries with periods up to 10 years
Two CORAVEL radial velocity surveys - one among stars in the solarneighbourhood, the other in the Pleiades and in Praesepe - are merged toderive the statistical properties of main-sequence binaries withspectral types F7 to K and with periods up to 10 years. A sample of 89spectroscopic orbits was finally obtained. Among them, 52 relate to afree-of-bias selection of 405 stars (240 field stars and 165 clusterstars). The statistics corrected for selection effects yield thefollowing results: (1) No discrepancy is found between the binariesamong field stars and the binaries in open cluster. The distributions ofmass ratios, of periods, the period-eccentricity diagram and the binaryfrequencies are all within the same error intervals. (2) Thedistribution of mass ratios presents two maxima: a broad peak from q ~0.2 to q ~ 0.7, and a sharp peak for q > 0.8 (twins). Both arepresent among the early-type as well as among the late-type part of thesample, indicating a scale-free formation process. The peak for q >0.8 gradually decreases when long-period binaries are considered.Whatever their periods, the twins have eccentricities significantlylower than the other binaries, confirming a difference in the formationprocesses. Twins could be generated by in situ formation followed byaccretion from a gaseous envelope, whereas binaries with intermediatemass ratios could be formed at wide separations, but they are madecloser by migration led by interactions with a circumbinary disk. (3)The frequency of binaries with P<10 years is about 14%. (4) About0.3% of binaries are expected to appear as false positives in a planetsearch. Therefore, the frequency of planetary systems among stars ispresently 7+4-2%. The extension of thedistribution of mass ratios in the planetary range would result in avery sharp and very high peak, well separated from the binary stars withlow mass ratios. Based on photoelectric radial-velocity measurementscollected at Haute-Provence observatory and on observations made withthe ESA Hipparcos astrometry satellite.
| Radial Velocities for 889 Late-Type Stars
We report radial velocities for 844 FGKM-type main-sequence and subgiantstars and 45 K giants, most of which had either low-precision velocitymeasurements or none at all. These velocities differ from the standardstars of Udry et al. by 0.035 km s-1 (rms) for the 26 FGKstandard stars in common. The zero point of our velocities differs fromthat of Udry et al.: =+0.053km s-1. Thus, these new velocities agree with the best knownstandard stars both in precision and zero point, to well within 0.1 kms-1. Nonetheless, both these velocities and the standardssuffer from three sources of systematic error, namely, convectiveblueshift, gravitational redshift, and spectral type mismatch of thereference spectrum. These systematic errors are here forced to be zerofor G2 V stars by using the Sun as reference, with Vesta and day sky asproxies. But for spectral types departing from solar, the systematicerrors reach 0.3 km s-1 in the F and K stars and 0.4 kms-1 in M dwarfs. Multiple spectra were obtained for all 889stars during 4 years, and 782 of them exhibit velocity scatter less than0.1 km s-1. These stars may serve as radial velocitystandards if they remain constant in velocity. We found 11 newspectroscopic binaries and report orbital parameters for them. Based onobservations obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operatedjointly by the University of California and the California Institute ofTechnology, and on observations obtained at the Lick Observatory, whichis operated by the University of California.
| Planet Host Stars: Mass, Age and Kinematics
We determine the mass, age and kinematics of 51 extra-solar planet hoststars. The results are then used to search for signs of connection ofthe data with metallicity and to investigate the population nature. Wefind that the increase in mean metallicity with stellar mass is similarto that in normal field stars, so it seems unsuitable to use thisrelation as a constraint on the theory of planet formation. The age andkinematic distributions seem to favour the metallicity of extra-solarplanet host stars being initial. Although the kinematic data of thesestars indicate their origin from two populations -- the thin and thethick disks, kinematics may not help in the maintenance of the planetaround the host. Stars with planets, brown dwarfs or stellar companionsare sorted into three groups and re-investigated separately for theirformation mechanism. The main results indicate that stars withM2 < 25 MJ have [Fe/H] > -0.1 and a wideperiod range, but there are no other differences. Thus, there does notseem to be any physically distinguishable characteristics among thethree star groups.
| The stellar mass ratio of GK Persei
We study the absorption lines present in the spectra of the long-periodcataclysmic variable GK Per during its quiescent state, which areassociated with the secondary star. By comparing quiescent data withoutburst spectra we infer that the donor star appears identical duringthe two states and the inner face of the secondary star is notnoticeably irradiated by flux from the accreting regions. We obtain newvalues for the radial velocity semi-amplitude of the secondary star,KK=120.5+/-0.7kms-1, a projected rotationalvelocity, VKsini=61.5+/-11.8kms-1, andconsequently a measurement of the stellar mass ratio of GK Per,q=MK/MWD=0.55+/-0.21. The inferred white dwarfradial velocities are greater than those measured traditionally usingthe wings of Doppler-broadened emission lines suspected to originate inan accretion disc, highlighting the unsuitability of emission lines formass determinations in cataclysmic variables. We determine mass limitsfor both components in the binary,MK>=0.48+/-0.32Msolar andMWD>=0.87+/-0.24Msolar.
| Late-type members of young stellar kinematic groups - I. Single stars
This is the first paper of a series aimed at studying the properties oflate-type members of young stellar kinematic groups. We concentrate ourstudy on classical young moving groups such as the Local Association(Pleiades moving group, 20-150Myr), IC 2391 supercluster (35Myr), UrsaMajor group (Sirius supercluster, 300Myr), and Hyades supercluster(600Myr), as well as on recently identified groups such as the Castormoving group (200Myr). In this paper we compile a preliminary list ofsingle late-type possible members of some of these young stellarkinematic groups. Stars are selected from previously established membersof stellar kinematic groups based on photometric and kinematicproperties as well as from candidates based on other criteria such astheir level of chromospheric activity, rotation rate and lithiumabundance. Precise measurements of proper motions and parallaxes takenfrom the Hipparcos Catalogue, as well as from the Tycho-2 Catalogue, andpublished radial velocity measurements are used to calculate theGalactic space motions (U, V, W) and to apply Eggen's kinematic criteriain order to determine the membership of the selected stars to thedifferent groups. Additional criteria using age-dating methods forlate-type stars will be applied in forthcoming papers of this series. Afurther study of the list of stars compiled here could lead to a betterunderstanding of the chromospheric activity and their age evolution, aswell as of the star formation history in the solar neighbourhood. Inaddition, these stars are also potential search targets for directimaging detection of substellar companions.
| Analysis of the Hipparcos Observations of the Extrasolar Planets and the Brown Dwarf Candidates
We analyzed the Hipparcos astrometric observations of 47 stars that werediscovered to harbor giant planets and 14 stars with brown dwarfsecondary candidates. The Hipparcos measurements were used together withthe corresponding stellar radial velocity data to derive an astrometricorbit for each system. To find out the significance of the derivedastrometric orbits, we applied a ``permutation'' technique by which weanalyzed the permuted Hipparcos data to get false orbits. The sizedistribution of these false orbits indicated the range of possiblyrandom, false orbits that could be derived from the true data. Thesetests could not find any astrometric orbit of the planet candidates withsignificance higher than 99%, suggesting that most if not all orbits arenot real. Instead, we used the Hipparcos data to set upper limits on themasses of the planet candidates. The lowest derived upper limit is thatof 47 UMa-0.014 Msolar, which confirms the planetary natureof its unseen companion. For 13 other planet candidates, the upperlimits exclude the stellar nature of their companions, although browndwarf secondaries are still an option. These negate the idea that all ormost of the extrasolar planets are disguised stellar secondaries. Of the14 brown dwarf candidates, our analysis reproduced the results ofHalbwachs et al., who derived significant astrometric orbits for sixsystems that imply secondaries with stellar masses. We show that anotherstar, HD 164427, which was discovered only very recently, also has asecondary with stellar mass. Our findings support Halbwachs et al.'sconclusion about the possible existence of the ``brown dwarf desert''that separates the planets and the stellar secondaries.
| Stellar encounters with the solar system
We continue our search, based on Hipparcos data, for stars which haveencountered or will encounter the solar system(García-Sánchez et al. \cite{Garcia}). Hipparcos parallaxand proper motion data are combined with ground-based radial velocitymeasurements to obtain the trajectories of stars relative to the solarsystem. We have integrated all trajectories using three different modelsof the galactic potential: a local potential model, a global potentialmodel, and a perturbative potential model. The agreement between themodels is generally very good. The time period over which our search forclose passages is valid is about +/-10 Myr. Based on the Hipparcos data,we find a frequency of stellar encounters within one parsec of the Sunof 2.3 +/- 0.2 per Myr. However, we also find that the Hipparcos data isobservationally incomplete. By comparing the Hipparcos observations withthe stellar luminosity function for star systems within 50 pc of theSun, we estimate that only about one-fifth of the stars or star systemswere detected by Hipparcos. Correcting for this incompleteness, weobtain a value of 11.7 +/- 1.3 stellar encounters per Myr within one pcof the Sun. We examine the ability of two future missions, FAME andGAIA, to extend the search for past and future stellar encounters withthe Sun.
| The companion of HD 190228: Planet or brown dwarf?
A detailed abundance analysis has been carried out from high-resolution,high signal-to-noise spectra of the G5IV star HD190228, which is announced to harbor an extrasolar planet withMPsin i of 5.0 MJ and an orbital period of 1127days. Based on the model atmosphere of Teff=5180 K, {log g}=3.7, xit =1.3 km s-1, we obtained [Fe/H]=-0.40,which puts it on the metal-poor tail of the metallicity distribution ofthe so far discovered 48 planet-harboring stars. The relative abundance,[X/Fe], indicates an overabundance of light elements (O, Na, Mg, Al, Si,S, Sc) by 0.1-0.2 dex and the solar abundance of heavier elements (K,Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Ni, Ba). These elements show no conspicuousanomalies. The solar [C/Fe] seems to be slightly smaller than theaverage (but within the scatter) of field stars of the same [Fe/H], andthere is no clear trend of [X/H] with condensation temperature of theelement. Neither the process of planet formation nor the stellardilution during the subgiant stage seems to have polluted its chemicalcomposition. The initially low metallicity may be explained by thesuggestion that HD 190228 is accompanied by a browndwarf instead of a planet. Based on observation carried out at BeijingAstronomical Observatory (Xinglong, PR China).
| A Spectrophotometric Technique for Detecting Companions of Low-Mass M Dwarfs
The most common stars in the Galaxy are the main-sequence M dwarfs, yetcurrent techniques are not optimized for detecting companions around thelowest mass M dwarfs, those with spectral designations ranging from M6to M10. Described in this paper is a search for companions around suchstars using a newly designed differential spectrophotometric technique.This novel method combines the strengths of the photometric andspectroscopic techniques, while it minimizes their inherent limitations.The scientific goal of this project is to search for short-periodsystems containing brown dwarfs and giant planets. The detection of orplacing limits on such systems will help discriminate among competingtheories of planetary formation.
| Screening the Hipparcos-based astrometric orbits of sub-stellar objects
The combination of Hipparcos astrometric data with the spectroscopicdata of putative extrasolar planets seems to indicate that a significantfraction of these low-mass companions could be brown or M dwarfs (Han etal. \cite{Han-2001:a}). We show that this is due to the adoptedreduction procedure, and consequently that the Hipparcos data do notreject the planetary mass hypothesis in all but one cases. Additionalcompanions, undetected so far, might also explain the large astrometricresiduals of some of these stars. Based on observations from theHipparcos astrometric satellite operated by the European Space Agency(ESA 1997).
| Planets without stars : the probable abundance, nature, and significance of ISPs.
Not Available
| Exploring the brown dwarf desert with Hipparcos
The orbital elements of 11 spectroscopic binaries with brown dwarfcandidates (M2 sin i between 0.01 and 0.08 Msun)are combined with the Hipparcos observations in order to deriveastrometric orbits. Estimations of the masses of the secondarycomponents are thus calculated. It appears that 5 secondary masses aremore than 2 sigmaM2 above the limit of 0.08Msun, and are therefore not brown dwarfs. 2 other stars arestill discarded at the 1 sigmaM2 level, 1 browndwarf is accepted with a low confidence, and we are finally left with 3viable candidates which must be studied by other means. A statisticalapproach is developed, based on the relation between the semi-major axesof the photocentric orbit, a_0, their errors, sigma a_0, andthe frequency distribution of the mass ratios, q. It is investigatedwhether the set of values of a_0 and sigma a_0 obtained forthe sample is compatible with different frequency distributions of q. Itis concluded that a minimum actually exists for M2 betweenabout 0.01 and 0.1 Msun for companions of solar-type stars.This feature could correspond to the transition between giant planetsand stellar companions. Due to the relatively large frequency of singlebrown dwarfs found recently in open clusters, it is concluded that thedistribution of the masses of the secondary components in binary systemsdoes not correspond to the IMF, at least for masses below thehydrogen-ignition limit. Based on photoelectric radial-velocitymeasurements collected at Haute-Provence observatory and on observationsmade with the ESA Hipparcos astrometry satellite.
| On the Nature of Low-Mass Companions to Solar-like Stars
Low-mass companions (mass <70 Jupiter masses) to solar-like stars arecompared statistically to stellar-mass secondaries in binaries ofsimilar primary spectral types and orbital scales, based largely on thesurvey of Duquennoy & Mayor. To within the limits imposed byobservational constraints, the orbital properties of these low-masscompanions (LMCs) are statistically indistinguishable from those ofbinary systems. In both populations, orbital periods (P), semimajor axes(a), angular momenta (L), and binding energies (U) are all distributedapproximately as f(x)~x-1 for x=P,a,L,U. In both populations,eccentricities are broadly distributed approximately asf(e)~e-0.5, with no significant correlation with otherorbital elements, apart from a marked circularization of close orbits.The distribution of LMC masses is approximately a power law with indexbetween -1 and -2 there is ambiguous evidence in the data for a massspectrum bimodality about approximately 10 Jupiter masses. In bothpopulations the joint distributions of mass with all orbital propertiesare largely scattergrams, with no statistically significantcorrelations. The overall statistical properties of LMCs are suggestiveof a common formation mechanism with binary star systems. The similarform of the distributions of all orbital dynamic quantities in bothpopulations may result from postformation dissipative orbital decay.
| The mass distribution of extrasolar planet candidates and low-mass secondaries.
Not Available
| The ROSAT all-sky survey catalogue of the nearby stars
We present X-ray data for all entries of the Third Catalogue of NearbyStars \cite[(Gliese & Jahreiss 1991)]{gli91} that have been detectedas X-ray sources in the ROSAT all-sky survey. The catalogue contains1252 entries yielding an average detection rate of 32.9 percent. Inaddition to count rates, source detection parameters, hardness ratios,and X-ray fluxes we also list X-ray luminosities derived from Hipparcosparallaxes. Catalogue also available at CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| Stellar Encounters with the Oort Cloud Based on HIPPARCOS Data
We have combined Hipparcos proper-motion and parallax data for nearbystars with ground-based radial velocity measurements to find stars thatmay have passed (or will pass) close enough to the Sun to perturb theOort cloud. Close stellar encounters could deflect large numbers ofcomets into the inner solar system, which would increase the impacthazard at Earth. We find that the rate of close approaches by starsystems (single or multiple stars) within a distance D (in parsecs) fromthe Sun is given by N= 3.5D^2.12 Myr^-1, less than the number predictedby a simple stellar dynamics model. However, this value is clearly alower limit because of observational incompleteness in the Hipparcosdata set. One star, Gliese 710, is estimated to have a closest approachof less than 0.4 pc 1.4 Myr in the future, and several stars come within1 pc during a +/-10 Myr interval. We have performed dynamicalsimulations that show that none of the passing stars perturb the Oortcloud sufficiently to create a substantial increase in the long-periodcomet flux at Earth's orbit.
| Habitable Moons
Not Available
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Fourneau |
| Right ascension: | 02h57m13.19s |
| Declination: | -24°58'30.4" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 7.755 |
| Distance: | 25.727 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | 15 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -32.6 |
| B-T magnitude: | 9.009 |
| V-T magnitude: | 7.859 |
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