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Abundances of refractory elements in the atmospheres of stars with extrasolar planets
Aims.This work presents a uniform and homogeneous study of chemicalabundances of refractory elements in 101 stars with and 93 without knownplanetary companions. We carry out an in-depth investigation of theabundances of Si, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Na, Mg and Al. The newcomparison sample, spanning the metallicity range -0.70< [Fe/H]<0.50, fills the gap that previously existed, mainly at highmetallicities, in the number of stars without known planets.Methods.Weused an enlarged set of data including new observations, especially forthe field "single" comparison stars . The line list previously studiedby other authors was improved: on average we analysed 90 spectral linesin every spectrum and carefully measured more than 16 600 equivalentwidths (EW) to calculate the abundances.Results.We investigate possibledifferences between the chemical abundances of the two groups of stars,both with and without planets. The results are globally comparable tothose obtained by other authors, and in most cases the abundance trendsof planet-host stars are very similar to those of the comparison sample.Conclusions.This work represents a step towards the comprehension ofrecently discovered planetary systems. These results could also beuseful for verifying galactic models at high metallicities andconsequently improve our knowledge of stellar nucleosynthesis andgalactic chemical evolution.
| Oxygen abundances in planet-harbouring stars. Comparison of different abundance indicators
We present a detailed and uniform study of oxygen abundances in 155solar type stars, 96 of which are planet hosts and 59 of which form partof a volume-limited comparison sample with no known planets. EWmeasurements were carried out for the [O I] 6300 Å line and the OI triplet, and spectral synthesis was performed for several OH lines.NLTE corrections were calculated and applied to the LTE abundanceresults derived from the O I 7771-5 Å triplet. Abundances from [OI], the O I triplet and near-UV OH were obtained in 103, 87 and 77dwarfs, respectively. We present the first detailed and uniformcomparison of these three oxygen indicators in a large sample ofsolar-type stars. There is good agreement between the [O/H] ratios fromforbidden and OH lines, while the NLTE triplet shows a systematicallylower abundance. We found that discrepancies between OH, [O I] and the OI triplet do not exceed 0.2 dex in most cases. We have studied abundancetrends in planet host and comparison sample stars, and no obviousanomalies related to the presence of planets have been detected. Allthree indicators show that, on average, [O/Fe] decreases with [Fe/H] inthe metallicity range -0.8< [Fe/H] < 0.5. The planet host starspresent an average oxygen overabundance of 0.1-0.2 dex with respect tothe comparison sample.
| Sulphur abundance in Galactic stars
We investigate sulphur abundance in 74 Galactic stars by using highresolution spectra obtained at ESO VLT and NTT telescopes. For the firsttime the abundances are derived, where possible, from three opticalmultiplets: Mult. 1, 6, and 8. By combining our own measurements withdata in the literature we assemble a sample of 253 stars in themetallicity range -3.2 [Fe/H] +0.5. Two important features,which could hardly be detected in smaller samples, are obvious from thislarge sample: 1) a sizeable scatter in [S/Fe] ratios around [Fe/H]-1; 2) at low metallicities we observe stars with [S/Fe] 0.4, aswell as stars with higher [S/Fe] ratios. The latter do not seem to bekinematically different from the former ones. Whether the latter findingstems from a distinct population of metal-poor stars or simply from anincreased scatter in sulphur abundances remains an open question.
| Abundances of Na, Mg and Al in stars with giant planets
We present Na, Mg and Al abundances in a set of 98 stars with knowngiant planets, and in a comparison sample of 41 “single”stars. The results show that the [X/H] abundances (with X = Na, Mg andAl) are, on average, higher in stars with giant planets, a resultsimilar to the one found for iron. However, we did not find any strongdifference in the [X/Fe] ratios, for a fixed [Fe/H], between the twosamples of stars in the region where the samples overlap. The data wasused to study the Galactic chemical evolution trends for Na, Mg and Aland to discuss the possible influence of planets on this evolution. Theresults, similar to those obtained by other authors, show that the[X/Fe] ratios all decrease as a function of metallicity up to solarvalues. While for Mg and Al this trend then becomes relatively constant,for Na we find indications of an upturn up to [Fe/H] values close to0.25 dex. For metallicities above this value the [Na/Fe] becomesconstant.
| High-Resolution Spectroscopy of some Active Southern Stars
High-resolution échelle spectra of 42 nearby southern solar-typestars have been obtained, in a search for young, single, active, andrapidly rotating sun-like stars suitable for Doppler imaging and ZeemanDoppler imaging studies. As a result of this survey, 13 stars weredetermined to be youthful with ages less than 600Myr (Hyades age) andeight of these were found to have projected rotational velocities inexcess of 15kms-1. In addition, five spectroscopic binarysystems were identified. Of those stars observed for this survey, HD106506 is the most outstanding target for mapping active regions. It isan apparently young and single star with rapid rotation (v sin i~80kms-1), strong Hα chromospheric activity (logR'Hα~-4.2), and deformation of the spectral lineprofiles indicating the presence of large starspots.
| Are beryllium abundances anomalous in stars with giant planets?
In this paper we present beryllium (Be) abundances in a large sample of41 extra-solar planet host stars, and for 29 stars without any knownplanetary-mass companion, spanning a large range of effectivetemperatures. The Be abundances were derived through spectral synthesisdone in standard Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium, using spectra obtainedwith various instruments. The results seem to confirm that overall,planet-host stars have ``normal'' Be abundances, although a small, butnot significant, difference might be present. This result is discussed,and we show that this difference is probably not due to any stellar``pollution'' events. In other words, our results support the idea thatthe high-metal content of planet-host stars has, overall, a``primordial'' origin. However, we also find a small subset ofplanet-host late-F and early-G dwarfs that might have higher thanaverage Be abundances. The reason for the offset is not clear, and mightbe related either to the engulfment of planetary material, to galacticchemical evolution effects, or to stellar-mass differences for stars ofsimilar temperature.Based on observations collected with the VLT/UT2 Kueyen telescope(Paranal Observatory, ESO, Chile) using the UVES spectrograph (Observingruns 66.C-0116 A, 66.D-0284 A, and 68.C-0058 A), and with the WilliamHerschel and Nordic Optical Telescopes, operated on the island of LaPalma by the Isaac Newton Group and jointly by Denmark, Finland,Iceland, and Norway, respectively, in the Spanish Observatorio del Roquede los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias.
| C, S, Zn and Cu abundances in planet-harbouring stars
We present a detailed and uniform study of C, S, Zn and Cu abundances ina large set of planet host stars, as well as in a homogeneous comparisonsample of solar-type dwarfs with no known planetary-mass companions.Carbon abundances were derived by EW measurement of two C I opticallines, while spectral syntheses were performed for S, Zn and Cu. Weinvestigated possible differences in the behaviours of the volatiles C,S and Zn and in the refractory Cu in targets with and without knownplanets in order to check possible anomalies due to the presence ofplanets. We found that the abundance distributions in stars withexoplanets are the high [Fe/H] extensions of the trends traced by thecomparison sample. All volatile elements we studied show [X/Fe] trendsdecreasing with [Fe/H] in the metallicity range -0.8< [Fe/H] <0.5, with significantly negative slopes of -0.39±0.04 and-0.35±0.04 for C and S, respectively. A comparison of ourabundances with those available in the literature shows good agreementin most cases.Based on observations collected at the La Silla Observatory, ESO(Chile), with the CORALIE spectrograph at the 1.2-m Euler Swisstelescope and with the FEROS spectrograph at the 1.52-m and 2.2-m ESOtelescopes, at the Paranal Observatory, ESO (Chile), using the UVESspectrograph at the VLT/UT2 Kueyen telescope, and with the UES and SARGspectrographs at the 4-m William Hershel Telescope (WHT) and at the3.5-m TNG telescope, respectively, both at La Palma (Canary Islands).Tables 4-16 are only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org
| Beryllium anomalies in solar-type field stars
We present a study of beryllium (Be) abundances in a large sample offield solar-type dwarfs and sub-giants spanning a large range ofeffective temperatures. The Be abundances, computed using a very uniformset of stellar parameters and near-UV spectra obtained with 3 differentinstruments, are used to study the depletion of this light element. Theanalysis shows that Be is severely depleted for F stars, as expected bythe light-element depletion models. However, we also show that berylliumabundances decrease with decreasing temperature for stars cooler than6000 K, a result that cannot be explained by current theoreticalmodels including rotational mixing, but that is, at least in part,expected from the models that take into account internal wave physics.In particular, the light element abundances of the coolest and youngeststars in our sample suggest that Be, as well as lithium (Li), hasalready been burned early during their evolution. Furthermore, we findstrong evidence for the existence of a Be-gap for solar-temperaturestars. The analysis of Li and Be abundances in the sub-giants of oursample also shows the presence of one case that has still detectableamounts of Li, while Be is severely depleted. Finally, we compare thederived Be abundances with Li abundances derived using the same set ofstellar parameters. This gives us the possibility to explore thetemperatures for which the onset of Li and Be depletion occurs.Based on observations collected with the VLT/UT2 Kueyen telescope(Paranal Observatory, ESO, Chile) using the UVES spectrograph (Observingruns 66.C-0116 A, 66.D-0284 A, and 68.C-0058 A), and with the WilliamHerschel and Nordic Optical Telescopes, operated at the island of LaPalma by the Isaac Newton Group and jointly by Denmark, Finland,Iceland, and Norway, respectively, in the Spanish Observatorio del Roquede los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias.
| Chemical enrichment and star formation in the Milky Way disk. III. Chemodynamical constraints
In this paper, we investigate some chemokinematical properties of theMilky Way disk, by using a sample composed by 424 late-type dwarfs. Weshow that the velocity dispersion of a stellar group correlates with theage of this group, according to a law proportional to t0.26,where t is the age of the stellar group. The temporal evolution of thevertex deviation is considered in detail. It is shown that the vertexdeviation does not seem to depend strongly on the age of the stellargroup. Previous studies in the literature seem to not have found it dueto the use of statistical ages for stellar groups, rather thanindividual ages. The possibility to use the orbital parameters of a starto derive information about its birthplace is investigated, and we showthat the mean galactocentric radius is likely to be the most reliablestellar birthplace indicator. However, this information cannot bepresently used to derive radial evolutionary constraints, due to anintrinsic bias present in all samples constructed from nearby stars. Anextensive discussion of the secular and stochastic heating mechanismscommonly invoked to explain the age-velocity dispersion relation ispresented. We suggest that the age-velocity dispersion relation couldreflect the gradual decrease in the turbulent velocity dispersion fromwhich disk stars form, a suggestion originally made by Tinsley &Larson (\cite{tinsley}, ApJ, 221, 554) and supported by several morerecent disk evolution calculations. A test to distinguish between thetwo types of models using high-redshift galaxies is proposed.Full Table 1 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/423/517
| 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
| Nitrogen abundances in planet-harbouring stars
We present a detailed spectroscopic analysis of nitrogen abundances in91 solar-type stars, 66 with and 25 without known planetary masscompanions. All comparison sample stars and 28 planet hosts wereanalysed by spectral synthesis of the near-UV NH band at 3360 Åobserved at high resolution with the VLT/UVES, while the near-IR N I7468 Å was measured in 31 objects. These two abundance indicatorsare in good agreement. We found that nitrogen abundance scales with thatof iron in the metallicity range -0.6 < [Fe/H] <+0.4 with theslope 1.08 ± 0.05. Our results show that the bulk of nitrogenproduction at high metallicities was coupled with iron. We found thatthe nitrogen abundance distribution in stars with exoplanets is the high[Fe/H] extension of the curve traced by the comparison sample of starswith no known planets. A comparison of our nitrogen abundances withthose available in the literature shows a good agreement.
| Spectroscopic [Fe/H] for 98 extra-solar planet-host stars. Exploring the probability of planet formation
We present stellar parameters and metallicities, obtained from adetailed spectroscopic analysis, for a large sample of 98 stars known tobe orbited by planetary mass companions (almost all known targets), aswell as for a volume-limited sample of 41 stars not known to host anyplanet. For most of the stars the stellar parameters are revisedversions of the ones presented in our previous work. However, we alsopresent parameters for 18 stars with planets not previously published,and a compilation of stellar parameters for the remaining 4 planet-hostsfor which we could not obtain a spectrum. A comparison of our stellarparameters with values of Teff, log g, and [Fe/H] availablein the literature shows a remarkable agreement. In particular, ourspectroscopic log g values are now very close to trigonometric log gestimates based on Hipparcos parallaxes. The derived [Fe/H] values arethen used to confirm the previously known result that planets are moreprevalent around metal-rich stars. Furthermore, we confirm that thefrequency of planets is a strongly rising function of the stellarmetallicity, at least for stars with [Fe/H] > 0. While only about 3%of the solar metallicity stars in the CORALIE planet search sample werefound to be orbited by a planet, this number increases to more than 25%for stars with [Fe/H] above +0.3. Curiously, our results also suggestthat these percentages might remain relatively constant for values of[Fe/H] lower than about solar, increasing then linearly with the massfraction of heavy elements. These results are discussed in the contextof the theories of planetary formation.Based on observations collected at the La Silla Observatory, ESO(Chile), with the CORALIE spectrograph at the 1.2-m Euler Swisstelescope and the FEROS spectrograph at the 1.52-m and 2.2-m ESOtelescopes, with the VLT/UT2 Kueyen telescope (Paranal Observatory, ESO,Chile) using the UVES spectrograph (Observing run 67.C-0206, in servicemode), with the TNG and William Herschel Telescopes, both operated atthe island of La Palma, and with the ELODIE spectrograph at the 1.93-mtelescope at the Observatoire de Haute Provence.
| Lithium in stars with exoplanets
We present a comparison of the lithium abundances of stars with andwithout planetary-mass companions. New lithium abundances are reportedin 79 planet hosts and 38 stars from a comparison sample. When the Liabundances of planet host stars are compared with the 157 stars in thesample of field stars of Chen et al. (\cite{Chen2001}) we find that theLi abundance distribution is significantly different, and that there isa possible excess of Li depletion in planet host stars with effectivetemperatures in the range 5600-5850 K, whereas we find no significantdifferences in the temperature range 5850-6350 K. We have searched forstatistically significant correlations between the Li abundance ofparent stars and various parameters of the planetary companions. We donot find any strong correlation, although there are may be a hint of apossible gap in the Li distribution of massive planet host stars.Based on observations collected at the La Silla Observatory, ESO(Chile), with the CORALIE spectrograph at the 1.2 m Euler Swisstelescope, and with the FEROS spectrograph at the 1.52 m ESO telescope,and using the UES spectrograph at the 4.2 m William Herschel Telescope(WHT) and SARG spectrograph at the 3.5 m Telescopio Nazional Galileo onLa Palma (Canary Islands).
| Some anomalies in the occurrence of debris discs around main-sequence A and G stars
Debris discs consist of large dust grains that are generated bycollisions of comets or asteroids around main-sequence stars, and thequantity and distribution of debris may be used to detect the presenceof perturbing planets akin to Neptune. We use stellar and disc surveysto compare the material seen around A- and G-type main-sequence stars.Debris is detected much more commonly towards A stars, even when acomparison is made only with G stars of comparable age. Detection ratesare consistent with disc durations of ~0.5 Gyr, which may occur at anytime during the main sequence. The higher detection rate for A stars canresult from this duration being a larger fraction of the main-sequencelifetime, possibly boosted by a globally slightly larger disc mass thanfor the G-type counterparts. The disc mass range at any given age is afactor of at least ~100 and any systematic decline with time is slow,with a power law estimated to not be steeper than t-1/2.Comparison with models shows that dust can be expected as late as a fewGyr when perturbing planetesimals form slowly at large orbital radii.Currently, the Solar system has little dust because the radius of theKuiper Belt is small and hence the time-scale to produce planetesimalswas less than 1 Gyr. However, the apparently constant duration of ~0.5Gyr when dust is visible is not predicted by the models.
| Chemical abundances of planet-host stars. Results for alpha and Fe-group elements
In this paper, we present a study of the abundances of Si, Ca, Sc, Ti,V, Cr, Mn, Co, and Ni in a large set of stars known to harbor giantplanets, as well as in a comparison sample of stars not known to haveany planetary-mass companions. We have checked for possible chemicaldifferences between planet hosts and field stars without known planets.Our results show that overall, and for a given value of [Fe/H], theabundance trends for the planet hosts are nearly indistinguishable fromthose of the field stars. In general, the trends show nodiscontinuities, and the abundance distributions of stars with giantplanets are high [Fe/H] extensions to the curves traced by the fielddwarfs without planets. The only elements that might present slightdifferences between the two groups of stars are V, Mn, and to a lesserextent Ti and Co. We also use the available data to describe galacticchemical evolution trends for the elements studied. When comparing theresults with former studies, a few differences emerge for the high[Fe/H] tail of the distribution, a region that is sampled withunprecedented detail in our analysis.Based on observations collected at the La Silla Observatory, ESO(Chile), with the CORALIE spectrograph at the 1.2-m Euler Swisstelescope and the FEROS spectrograph at the 1.52-m ESO telescope, withthe VLT/UT2 Kueyen telescope (Paranal Observatory, ESO, Chile) using theUVES spectrograph (Observing run 67.C-0206, in service mode), with theTNG and William Herschel Telescopes, both operated at the island of LaPalma, and with the ELODIE spectrograph at the 1.93-m telescope at theObservatoire de Haute Provence.
| The Wilson-Bappu effect: A tool to determine stellar distances
Wilson & Bappu (\cite{orig}) have shown the existence of aremarkable correlation between the width of the emission in the core ofthe K line of Ca II and the absolute visual magnitude of late-typestars.Here we present a new calibration of the Wilson-Bappu effect based on asample of 119 nearby stars. We use, for the first time, widthmeasurements based on high resolution and high signal to noise ratio CCDspectra and absolute visual magnitudes from the Hipparcos database.Our primary goal is to investigate the possibility of using theWilson-Bappu effect to determine accurate distances to single stars andgroups.The result of our calibration fitting of the Wilson-Bappu relationshipis MV=33.2-18.0 log W0, and the determinationseems free of systematic effects. The root mean square error of thefitting is 0.6 mag. This error is mostly accounted for by measurementerrors and intrinsic variability of W0, but in addition apossible dependence on the metallicity is found, which becomes clearlynoticeable for metallicities below [Fe/H] ~ -0.4. This detection ispossible because in our sample [Fe/H] ranges from -1.5 to 0.4.The Wilson-Bappu effect can be used confidently for all metallicitiesnot lower than ~ -0.4, including the LMC. While it does not provideaccurate distances to single stars, it is a useful tool to determineaccurate distances to clusters and aggregates, where a sufficient numberof stars can be observed.We apply the Wilson-Bappu effect to published data of the open cluster M67; the retrieved distance modulus is of 9.65 mag, in very goodagreement with the best distance estimations for this cluster, based onmain sequence fitting.Observations collected at ESO, La Silla.
| Statistical cataloging of archival data for luminosity class IV-V stars. II. The epoch 2001 [Fe/H] catalog
This paper describes the derivation of an updated statistical catalog ofmetallicities. The stars for which those metallicities apply are ofspectral types F, G, and K, and are on or near the main sequence. Theinput data for the catalog are values of [Fe/H] published before 2002February and derived from lines of weak and moderate strength. Theanalyses used to derive the data have been based on one-dimensional LTEmodel atmospheres. Initial adjustments which are applied to the datainclude corrections to a uniform temperature scale which is given in acompanion paper (see Taylor \cite{t02}). After correction, the data aresubjected to a statistical analysis. For each of 941 stars considered,the results of that analysis include a mean value of [Fe/H], an rmserror, an associated number of degrees of freedom, and one or moreidentification numbers for source papers. The catalog of these resultssupersedes an earlier version given by Taylor (\cite{t94b}).Catalog is only available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymousftp cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/398/731
| 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
| The stellar activity-rotation relationship revisited: Dependence of saturated and non-saturated X-ray emission regimes on stellar mass for late-type dwarfs
We present the results of a new study on the relationship betweencoronal X-ray emission and stellar rotation in late-type main-sequencestars. We have selected a sample of 259 dwarfs in the B-V range 0.5-2.0,including 110 field stars and 149 members of the Pleiades, Hyades, alphaPersei, IC 2602 and IC 2391 open clusters. All the stars have beenobserved with ROSAT, and most of them have photometrically-measuredrotation periods available. Our results confirm that two emissionregimes exist, one in which the rotation period is a good predictor ofthe total X-ray luminosity, and the other in which a constant saturatedX-ray to bolometric luminosity ratio is attained; we present aquantitative estimate of the critical rotation periods below which starsof different masses (or spectral types) enter the saturated regime. Inthis work we have also empirically derived a characteristic time scale,taue , which we have used to investigate the relationshipbetween the X-ray emission level and an X-ray-based Rossby numberRe = Prot/taue: we show that ourempirical time scale taue resembles the theoreticalconvective turnover time for 0.4 <~ M/Msun <~ 1.2, butit also has the same functional dependence on B-V asLbol-1/2 in the color range 0.5 <~ B-V <~1.5. Our results imply that - for non-saturated coronae - theLx - Prot relation is equivalent to theLx/Lbol vs. Re relation. Tables 1 and 2are only available in electronic form at \ http://www.edpsciences.org
| K dwarfs and the chemical evolution of the solar cylinder
K dwarfs have lifetimes older than the present age of the Galactic disc,and are thus ideal stars for investigating the chemical evolution of thedisc. We have developed several photometric metallicity indicators for Kdwarfs, based on a sample of accurate spectroscopic metallicities for 34disc and halo G and K dwarfs. The photometric metallicities lead us todevelop a metallicity index for K dwarfs based only on their position inthe colour-absolute-magnitude diagram. Metallicities have beendetermined for 431 single K dwarfs drawn from the Hipparcos catalogue,selecting the stars by absolute magnitude and removing multiple systems.The sample is essentially a complete reckoning of the metal content innearby K dwarfs. We use stellar isochrones to mark the stars by mass,and select a subset of 220 of the stars, which is complete within anarrow mass interval. We fit the data with a model of the chemicalevolution of the solar cylinder. We find that only a modest cosmicscatter is required to fit our age-metallicity relation. The modelassumes two main infall episodes for the formation of the halo-thickdisc and thin disc, respectively. The new data confirm that the solarneighbourhood formed on a long time-scale of the order of 7 Gyr.
| Stellar atmospheres of nearby young solar analogs
High-resolution (/R~90,000) spectra of 34 nearby, young Sun-like starswere analyzed using stellar atmosphere models to estimate effectivephotosphere temperatures, surface gravities, and the abundance ofcertain heavy elements (C, Na, Mg, Si, S, Ca, Ti, Fe, and Ni). Theeffective temperatures derived from spectroscopy were compared withtemperatures estimated using optical and near-infrared photometry. Inmany cases the spectroscopic temperatures are significantly higher thanthe photometric estimates, possibly as a result of spottedness orchromospheric activity on these active stars. Values of effectivetemperature, surface gravity, and luminosity were compared totheoretical stellar evolution tracks and the evolutionary status ofthese objects was evaluated. The correlation between heavy elementabundance patterns and kinematics (space motion) was also examined. Twonearby stars that were tentatively assigned to the Hyades cluster basedon kinematics have Fe abundances that are also consistent withmembership in that cluster. Members of the Ursa Major kinematic groupexhibit a range of [Fe/H] values but have monotonic [Si/Fe]. These twoobservations suggest that heterogeneous incorporation of the heavyelements into protostars is creating the variation in metallicity. LocalAssociation members have a distinctly different Si/Fe that probablyreflects their distinct origin and chemical inheritance.
| New periodic variables from the Hipparcos epoch photometry
Two selection statistics are used to extract new candidate periodicvariables from the epoch photometry of the Hipparcos catalogue. Theprimary selection criterion is a signal-to-noise ratio. The dependenceof this statistic on the number of observations is calibrated usingabout 30000 randomly permuted Hipparcos data sets. A significance levelof 0.1 per cent is used to extract a first batch of candidate variables.The second criterion requires that the optimal frequency be unaffectedif the data are de-trended by low-order polynomials. We find 2675 newcandidate periodic variables, of which the majority (2082) are from theHipparcos`unsolved' variables. Potential problems with theinterpretation of the data (e.g. aliasing) are discussed.
| A revision of the solar neighbourhood metallicity distribution
We present a revised metallicity distribution of dwarfs in the solarneighbourhood. This distribution is centred on solar metallicity. Weshow that previous metallicity distributions, selected on the basis ofspectral type, are biased against stars with solar metallicity orhigher. A selection of G-dwarf stars is inherently biased againstmetal-rich stars and is not representative of the solar neighbourhoodmetallicity distribution. Using a sample selected on colour, we obtain adistribution where approximately half the stars in the solarneighbourhood have metallicities higher than [Fe/H]=0. The percentage ofmid-metal-poor stars ([Fe/H]<-0.5) is approximately 4 per cent, inagreement with present estimates of the thick disc. In order to have ametallicity distribution comparable to chemical evolution modelpredictions, we convert the star fraction to mass fraction, and showthat another bias against metal-rich stars affects dwarf metallicitydistributions, due to the colour (or spectral type) limits of thesamples. Reconsidering the corrections resulting from the increasingthickness of the stellar disc with age, we show that the simpleclosed-box model with no instantaneous recycling approximation gives areasonable fit to the observed distribution. Comparisons with theage-metallicity relation and abundance ratios suggest that the simpleclosed-box model may be a viable model of the chemical evolution of theGalaxy at solar radius.
| The metal-rich nature of stars with planets
With the goal of confirming the metallicity ``excess'' present in starswith planetary-mass companions, we present in this paper ahigh-precision spectroscopic study of a sample of dwarfs included in theCORALIE extrasolar planet survey. The targets were chosen according tothe basic criteria that 1) they formed part of a limited volume and 2)they did not present the signature of a planetary host companion. A fewstars with planets were also observed and analysed; namely, HD6434, HD 13445 (Gl 86), HD16141, HD 17051 (iota Hor), HD19994, HD 22049 (epsilon Eri), HD28185, HD 38529, HD52265, HD 190228, HD210277 and HD 217107. For some of theseobjects there had been no previous spectroscopic studies. Thespectroscopic analysis was done using the same technique as in previouswork on the metallicity of stars with planets, thereby permitting adirect comparison of the results. The work described in this paper thusrepresents the first uniform and unbiased comparison between stars withand without planetary-mass companions in a volume-limited sample. Theresults show that 1) stars with planets are significantly metal-rich,and 2) that the source of the metallicity is most probably``primordial''. The results presented here may impose seriousconstraints on planetary system formation and evolution models. Based onobservations collected at the La Silla Observatory, ESO (Chile), withthe spectrograph at the Euler Swiss telescope, with the spectrograph atthe 1.52-m ESO telescope (Observing run 66.C-0116 B), and using the UESspectrograph at the 4-m William Hershel Telescope (WHT), at La Palma(Canary Islands).
| Stellar Encounters with the β Pictoris Planetesimal System
We use data from the Hipparcos catalog and the Barbier-Brossat &Figon catalog of stellar radial velocities to test the hypothesis thatthe β Pic planetesimal disk was disrupted by a close stellarencounter. We trace the space motions of 21,497 stars and discover 18that have passed within 5 pc of β Pic in the past 1 Myr. βPic's closest encounter is with the K2 III star HIP 27628 (~0.6 pc), butdynamically the most important encounter is with the F7 V star HIP 23693(~0.9 pc). We calculate the velocity and eccentricity changes induced bythe 18 perturbations and conclude that they are dynamically significantif planetesimals exist in a β Pic Oort cloud. We provide afirst-order estimate for the evolutionary state of a β Pic Oortcloud and conclude that the primary role of these stellar perturbationswould be to help build a comet cloud rather than destroy a preexistingstructure. The stellar sample is ~20% complete and motivates future workto identify less common close interactions that would significantlymodify the observed circumstellar disk. For future radial velocitystudy, we identify six stars in the Hipparcos catalog that may haveapproached β Pic to within 0.1 pc and therefore remain as candidatedisk perturbers.
| 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
| Spectroscopy and Photometry of Nearby Young Solar Analogs
We present new photometry and spectroscopy of 34 stars from a catalog of38 nearby (d<25 pc) G and K dwarfs selected as analogs to the earlySun. We report that the least active star in our sample is also slowlyrotating and probably of solar age. Two other stars appear to be evolvedobjects that have recently acquired angular momentum. A fourth star maybe a spectroscopic binary. Many of the other stars belong to previouslyidentified common proper-motion groups. Space motions, lithiumabundances, and Ca II emission of these stars suggest ages between 70and 800 Myr.
| 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
| A Multiplicity Survey of Chromospherically Active and Inactive Stars
Surveys of three samples of solar-type stars, segregated bychromospheric emission level, were made to determine their multiplicityfractions and to investigate the evolution of multiplicity with age. Intotal, 245 stars were searched for companions with DeltaV <= 3.0 andseparations of 0.035" to 1.08" using optical speckle interferometry. Byincorporating the visual micrometer survey for duplicity of theLamontHussey Observatory, the angular coverage was extended to 5.0" withno change in the DeltaV limit. This magnitude difference allows massratios of 0.63 and larger to be detected throughout a search region of2-127 AU for the stars observed. The 84 primaries observed in thechromospherically active sample are presumably part of a youngpopulation and are found to have a multiplicity fraction of 17.9% +/-4.6%. The sample of 118 inactive, presumably older, primaries wereselected and observed using identical methods and are found to have amultiplicity fraction of only 8.5% +/- 2.7%. Given the known linkbetween chromospheric activity and age, these results tentatively implya decreasing stellar multiplicity fraction from 1 to 4 Gyr, theapproximate ages of the two samples. Finally, only two of the 14 veryactive primaries observed were found to have a companion meeting thesurvey detection parameters. In this case, many of the systems areeither very young, or close, RS CVn type multiples that are unresolvableusing the techniques employed here.
| Nearby Young Solar Analogs. I. Catalog and Stellar Characteristics
We present a catalog of 38 young solar analogs within 25 pc, stars thatare uniquely well suited for observations of their circumstellarenvironments to improve our understanding of conditions within the solarsystem during the Hadean/early Archean eons (prior to 3.8 Gyr ago).These G and early K stars were selected from the Hipparcos astrometriccatalog based on lack of known stellar companions within 800 AU,bolometric luminosities close to that of the zero-age Sun and consistentwith the zero-age main sequence, and ROSAT X-ray luminositiescommensurate with the higher rotation rate and level of dynamo-drivenactivity in solar-mass stars less than 0.8 Gyr old. While many of theseobjects have been previously identified, this sample is novel in tworespects: The selection criteria specifically consider the planetaryenvironment, and the selection is uniform and all-sky. The X-rayemission from these young analogs is spectrally soft and consistent witha coronal origin. Calcium H and K emission, rotation periods, lithiumabundances, and kinematics support an age range of 0.2-0.8 Gyr for mostof these stars. Three stars have exceptionally high space motions withrespect to the local standard of rest and may be old disk or halo starsthat are anomalously X-ray luminous.
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Dorade |
| Right ascension: | 05h27m39.35s |
| Declination: | -60°24'57.6" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 6.995 |
| Distance: | 19.569 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | -147.8 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -91.8 |
| B-T magnitude: | 7.939 |
| V-T magnitude: | 7.073 |
Catalogs and designations:
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