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A Comparative Study of Flaring Loops in Active Stars
Dynamo activity in stars of different types is expected to generatemagnetic fields with different characteristics. As a result, adifferential study of the characteristics of magnetic loops in a broadsample of stars may yield information about dynamo systematics. In theabsence of direct imaging, certain physical parameters of a stellarmagnetic loop can be extracted if a flare occurs in that loop. In thispaper we employ a simple nonhydrodynamic approach introduced by Haisch,to analyze a homogeneous sample of all of the flares we could identifyin the EUVE DS database: a total of 134 flares that occurred on 44 starsranging in spectral type from F to M and in luminosity class from V toIII. All of the flare light curves that have been used in the presentstudy were obtained by a single instrument (EUVE DS). For each flare, wehave applied Haisch's simplified approach (HSA) in order to determineloop length, temperature, electron density, and magnetic field. For eachof our target stars, a literature survey has been performed to determinequantitatively the extent to which our results are consistent withindependent studies. The results obtained by HSA are found to be wellsupported by results obtained by other methods. Our survey suggeststhat, on the main sequence, short loops (with lengths<=0.5R*) may be found in stars of all classes, while thelargest loops (with lengths up to 2R*) appear to be confinedto M dwarfs. Based on EUVE data, the transition from small to largeloops on the main sequence appears to occur between spectral types K2and M0. We discuss the implications of this result for dynamo theories.
| Spitzer Far-Infrared Detections of Cold Circumstellar Disks
Observations at 70 μm with the Spitzer Space Telescope have detectedseveral stellar systems within 65 pc of the Sun. Of 18 presumably youngsystems detected in this study, as many as 15 have 70 μm emission inexcess of that expected from their stellar photospheres. Five of thesystems with excesses are members of the Tucanae association. The 70μm excesses range from a factor of ~2 to nearly 30 times the expectedphotospheric emission from these stars. In contrast to the 70 μmproperties of these systems, there is evidence for an emission excess at24 μm for only HD 3003, confirming previous results for this star.The lack of a strong 24 μm excess in most of these systems suggeststhat the circumstellar dust producing the IR excesses is relatively cool(Tdust<~150 K) and that there is little IR-emittingmaterial within the inner few AU of the primary stars. Many of thesesystems lie close enough to Earth that the distribution of the dustproducing the IR excesses might be imaged in scattered light at opticaland near-IR wavelengths.
| On the Temperature-Emission Measure Distribution in Stellar Coronae
Strong peaks in the emission measure-temperature (EM-T ) distributionsin the coronae of some binary stars are associated with the presence ofhot (107 K), dense (up to 1013 cm -3)plasma. These peaks are very reminiscent of those predicted to arise inan impulsively heated solar corona. A coronal model comprised of manyimpulsively heated strands is adapted to stellar parameters. It is shownthat the properties of the EM-T distribution can be accounted for ingeneral terms provided the emission comes from many very small loops(length under 103 km) with intense magnetic fields (1 kG)distributed across part of the surface of the star. The heating requiresevents that generally dissipate between 1026 and 1028 ergs, which is in the range of solar microflares. This impliesthat such stars must be capable of generating regions of localizedintense magnetic fields.
| PHASES differential astrometry and the mutual inclination of the V819 Herculis triple star system
V819 Herculis is a well-studied triple star system consisting of a"wide" pair with 5.5 year period, one component of which is a 2.2-dayperiod eclipsing single-line spectroscopic binary. Differentialastrometry measurements from the Palomar High-precision AstrometricSearch for Exoplanet Systems (PHASES) are presented and used todetermine a relative inclination between the short- and long-periodorbits of 23.6 ± 4.9 degrees. This represents only the sixthunambiguous determination of the mutual inclination of orbits in ahierarchical triple system. This result is combined with those for theother five systems for analysis of the observed distribution of mutualinclinations in nearby triple systems. It is found that thisdistribution is different than that which one would expect from randomorientations with statistical significance at the 94% level;implications for studying the spatial distribution of angular momentumin star forming regions is discussed.
| The `solar model problem' solved by the abundance of neon in nearby stars
The interior structure of the Sun can be studied with great accuracyusing observations of its oscillations, similar to seismology of theEarth. Precise agreement between helioseismological measurements andpredictions of theoretical solar models has been a triumph of modernastrophysics. A recent downward revision by 25-35 per cent of the solarabundances of light elements such as C, N, O and Ne (ref. 2) has,however, broken this accordance: models adopting the new abundancesincorrectly predict the depth of the convection zone, the depth profilesof sound speed and density, and the helium abundance. The discrepanciesare far beyond the uncertainties in either the data or the modelpredictions. Here we report neon-to-oxygen ratios measured in a sampleof nearby solar-like stars, using their X-ray spectra. The abundanceratios are all very similar and substantially larger than the recentlyrevised solar value. The neon abundance in the Sun is quite poorlydetermined. If the Ne/O abundance in these stars is adopted for the Sun,the models are brought back into agreement with helioseismologymeasurements.
| Stellar Coronal Abundances at Intermediate-Activity Levels: ξ UMa
We present an analysis of Chandra High Energy Transmission Grating(HETG) spectra of the corona of the critical intermediate-activity,quadruple stellar system ξ UMa. Using the maximum A/B subsystemseparation in 2001, we attempted to resolve for the first time in X-raysthe two components using the HETG Medium Energy Grating (MEG). We foundthe Aa component of the system to be at least 2 orders of magnitudefainter than the Bb component. We used the Markov Chain Monte Carlomethod to reconstruct differential emission measures (DEMs) andabundances and discuss first ionization potential (FIP) issues. Thereconstructed DEMs showed two pronounced peaks at logT~6.5 and logT~7.0K, respectively, similar to brighter solar active regions. A plot ofcoronal abundances, with respect to stellar photospheric, versus FIPreveals that the FIP behavior of ξ UMa is intermediate between lessand more active stars, commensurate with its X-ray luminosity. Theabundances of Mg, Fe, and Si are just subsolar, with Fe having thelowest abundance of these. The low-FIP elements Na and Al have similarabundances, and they are both higher than the Mg, Fe, and Si group. Theabundances show a minimum at S, rising gradually to Ne, which is higherthan photospheric, as has been seen by other authors on similar stars.Some of the FIP behavior seen here is predicted by the new ponderomotiveforce model of Laming.
| 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.
| Orientations of Orbital Planes of Binaries
Orientations of orbital planes of binaries are analysed by using acomplete sample of known orbital systems. The use of a so large sampleis possible due to the application of a new procedure enabling toinclude the binaries for which the ascending nodes do not certain. It isconcluded that, generally, the distribution of observed orientations ofthe orbital planes does not differ from simulated random orientations.In both cases the same star positions are retained.
| The Density of Coronal Plasma in Active Stellar Coronae
We have analyzed high-resolution X-ray spectra of a sample of 22 activestars observed with the High Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer onChandra in order to investigate their coronal plasma density. Densitieswere investigated using the lines of the He-like ions O VII, Mg XI, andSi XIII. Si XIII lines in all stars of the sample are compatible withthe low-density limit (i.e., ne<~1013cm-3), casting some doubt on results based on lowerresolution Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE) spectra finding densitiesne>1013 cm-3. Mg XI lines betray thepresence of high plasma densities up to a few times 1012cm-3 for most of the sources with higher X-ray luminosity(>~1030 ergs s-1) stars with higherLX and LX/Lbol tend to have higherdensities at high temperatures. Ratios of O VII lines yield much lowerdensities of a few times 1010 cm-3, indicatingthat the ``hot'' and ``cool'' plasma resides in physically differentstructures. In the cases of EV Lac, HD 223460, Canopus, μ Vel, TYPyx, and IM Peg, our results represent the first spectroscopic estimatesof coronal density. No trends in density-sensitive line ratios withstellar parameters effective temperature and surface gravity were found,indicating that plasma densities are remarkably similar for stars withpressure scale heights differing by up to 3 orders of magnitude. Ourfindings imply remarkably compact coronal structures, especially for thehotter (~7 MK) plasma emitting the Mg XI lines characterized by thecoronal surface filling factor, fMgXI, ranging from10-4 to 10-1, while we find fOVIIvalues from a few times 10-3 up to ~1 for the cooler (~2 MK)plasma emitting the O VII lines. We find that fOVIIapproaches unity at the same stellar surface X-ray flux level ascharacterizes solar active regions, suggesting that these stars becomecompletely covered by active regions. At the same surface flux level,fMgXI is seen to increase more sharply with increasingsurface flux. These results appear to support earlier suggestions thathot 107 K plasma in active coronae arises from flaringactivity and that this flaring activity increases markedly once thestellar surface becomes covered with active regions. Comparison of ourmeasured line fluxes with theoretical models suggests that significantresidual model inaccuracies might be present and, in particular, thatcascade contributions to forbidden and intercombination lines resultingfrom dielectronic recombination might be to blame.
| Search for Nanosecond Optical Pulses from Nearby Solar-Type Stars
With ``Earth 2000'' technology we could generate a directed laser pulsethat outshines the broadband visible light of the Sun by 4 orders ofmagnitude. This is a conservative lower bound for the technicalcapability of a communicating civilization; optical interstellarcommunication is thus technically plausible. We have built a pair ofsystems to detect nanosecond pulsed optical signals from a target listthat includes some 13,000 Sun-like stars, and we have made some 16,000observations totaling nearly 2400 hr during five years of operation. Abeam splitter-fed pair of hybrid avalanche photodetectors at the 1.5 mWyeth Telescope at the Harvard/Smithsonian Oak Ridge Observatory(Agassiz Station) triggers on a coincident pulse pair, initiatingmeasurement of pulse width and intensity at subnanosecond resolution. Anidentical system at the 0.9 m Cassegrain at Princeton's Fitz-RandolphObservatory performs synchronized observations with 0.1 μs eventtiming, permitting unambiguous identification of even a solitary pulse.Among the 11,600 artifact-free observations at Harvard, the distributionof 274 observed events shows no pattern of repetition, and is consistentwith a model with uniform event rate, independent of target. With onepossible exception (HIP 107395), no valid event has been seensimultaneously at the two observatories. We describe the search andcandidate events and set limits on the prevalence of civilizationstransmitting intense optical pulses.
| On the sizes of stellar X-ray coronae
Spatial information from stellar X-ray coronae cannot be assesseddirectly, but scaling laws from the solar corona make it possible toestimate sizes of stellar coronae from the physical parameterstemperature and density. While coronal plasma temperatures have longbeen available, we concentrate on the newly available densitymeasurements from line fluxes of X-ray lines measured for a large sampleof stellar coronae with the Chandra and XMM-Newton gratings. We compileda set of 64 grating spectra of 42 stellar coronae. Line counts of strongH-like and He-like ions and Fe XXI lines were measured with the CORAsingle-purpose line fitting tool by \cite{newi02}. Densities areestimated from He-like f/i flux ratios of O VII and Ne IX representingthe cooler (1-6 MK) plasma components. The densities scatter between logne ≈ 9.5-11 from the O VII triplet and between logne ≈ 10.5-12 from the Ne IX triplet, but we caution thatthe latter triplet may be biased by contamination from Fe XIX and Fe XXIlines. We find that low-activity stars (as parameterized by thecharacteristic temperature derived from H- and He-like line flux ratios)tend to show densities derived from O VII of no more than a few times1010 cm-3, whereas no definitive trend is foundfor the more active stars. Investigating the densities of the hotterplasma with various Fe XXI line ratios, we found that none of thespectra consistently indicates the presence of very high densities. Weargue that our measurements are compatible with the low-density limitfor the respective ratios (≈ 5× 1012cm-3). These upper limits are in line with constant pressurein the emitting active regions. We focus on the commonly used \cite{rtv}scaling law to derive loop lengths from temperatures and densitiesassuming loop-like structures as identical building blocks. We derivethe emitting volumes from direct measurements of ion-specific emissionmeasures and densities. Available volumes are calculated from theloop-lengths and stellar radii, and are compared with the emittingvolumes to infer filling factors. For all stages of activity we findsimilar filling factors up to 0.1.Appendix A is only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org
| 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
| Applications of the theory of the general three-body problem
The analytical theory of the general three-body problem to real triplestellar systems is applied. On the stellar systems ξ UMa, ζAqu, and AS Cam it is shown how this theory can be used for theinvestigation of the dynamical evolution of triple stellar systems. Itis possible to establish the moment of the close approach of the innerpair, and to define the secular and long-periodic perturbations in themotions of the periastrons and nodes.
| The Hamburg/RASS Catalogue of optical identifications. Northern high-galactic latitude ROSAT Bright Source Catalogue X-ray sources
We present the Hamburg/RASS Catalogue (HRC) of optical identificationsof X-ray sources at high-galactic latitude. The HRC includes all X-raysources from the ROSAT Bright Source Catalogue (RASS-BSC) with galacticlatitude |b| >=30degr and declination delta >=0degr . In thispart of the sky covering ~ 10 000 deg2 the RASS-BSC contains5341 X-ray sources. For the optical identification we used blue Schmidtprism and direct plates taken for the northern hemisphere Hamburg QuasarSurvey (HQS) which are now available in digitized form. The limitingmagnitudes are 18.5 and 20, respectively. For 82% of the selectedRASS-BSC an identification could be given. For the rest either nocounterpart was visible in the error circle or a plausibleidentification was not possible. With ~ 42% AGN represent the largestgroup of X-ray emitters, ~ 31% have a stellar counterpart, whereasgalaxies and cluster of galaxies comprise only ~ 4% and ~ 5%,respectively. In ~ 3% of the RASS-BSC sources no object was visible onour blue direct plates within 40\arcsec around the X-ray sourceposition. The catalogue is used as a source for the selection of(nearly) complete samples of the various classes of X-ray emitters.
| Discovery of a Near-Infrared Jetlike Feature in the Z Canis Majoris System
We present near-infrared high-resolution observations of the youngbinary system Z Canis Majoris using the adaptive optics system at theKeck II telescope. Both components are unresolved at 1.25 and 1.65μm, although high dynamic range images reveal a previously unknownjetlike feature in the circumstellar environment. We argue that thisfeature probably arises from light scattered off the walls of ajet-blown cavity, and proper-motion studies of this feature can probethe dynamics of the bipolar outflow. Potentially, the morphology of thedust-laden cavity walls offers a new probe of the momentum profile andcollimation of bipolar winds from young stellar objects. We also derivehigh-precision binary parameters, which when combined with historicaldata have allowed the first detection of orbital motion. Finally, ourobservations confirm the high degree of flux variability in the system;the northwest binary component is dominant at the H band, in contrast toall previous observations.
| 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 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.
| 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
| XID: Cross-Association of ROSAT/Bright Source Catalog X-Ray Sources with USNO A-2 Optical Point Sources
We quantitatively cross-associate the 18,811 ROSAT Bright Source Catalog(RASS/BSC) X-ray sources with optical sources in the USNO A-2 catalog,calculating the probability of unique association (Pid)between each candidate within 75" of the X-ray source position, on thebasis of optical magnitude and proximity. We present catalogs ofRASS/BSC sources for which Pid>98%, Pid>90%,and Pid>50%, which contain 2705, 5492, and 11,301 uniqueUSNO A-2 optical counterparts respectively down to the stated level ofsignificance. Together with identifications of objects not cataloged inUSNO A-2 due to their high surface brightness (M31, M32, ...) andoptical pairs, we produced a total of 11,803 associations to aprobability of Pid>50%. We include in this catalog a listof objects in the SIMBAD database within 10" of the USNO A-2 position,as an aid to identification and source classification. This is the firstRASS/BSC counterpart catalog which provides a probability of associationbetween each X-ray source and counterpart, quantifying the certainty ofeach individual association. The catalog is more useful than previouscatalogs which either rely on plausibility arguments for association ordo not aid in selecting a counterpart between multiple off-band sourcesin the field. Sources of high probability of association can beseparated out, to produce high-quality lists of classes (Seyfert 1/2s,QSOs, RS CVns) desired for targeted study, or for discovering newexamples of known classes (or new classes altogether) through thespectroscopic classification of securely identified but unclassifiedUSNO A-2 counterparts. Low Pid associations can be used forstatistical studies and follow-on investigation-for example, performingfollow-up spectroscopy of the many low-mass stars to search forsignatures of coronal emission, or to investigate the relationshipbetween X-ray emission and classes of sources not previouslywell-studied for their X-ray emissions (such as pulsating variablestars). We find that a fraction ~65.8% of RASS/BSC sources have anidentifiable optical counterpart, down to the magnitude limit of theUSNO A-2 catalog which could be identified by their spatial proximityand high optical brightness.
| The ROSAT Bright Survey: II. Catalogue of all high-galactic latitude RASS sources with PSPC countrate CR > 0.2 s-1
We present a summary of an identification program of the more than 2000X-ray sources detected during the ROSAT All-Sky Survey (Voges et al.1999) at high galactic latitude, |b| > 30degr , with countrate above0.2 s-1. This program, termed the ROSAT Bright Survey RBS, isto more than 99.5% complete. A sub-sample of 931 sources with countrateabove 0.2 s-1 in the hard spectral band between 0.5 and 2.0keV is to 100% identified. The total survey area comprises 20391deg2 at a flux limit of 2.4 x 10-12 ergcm-2 s-1 in the 0.5 - 2.0 keV band. About 1500sources of the complete sample could be identified by correlating theRBS with SIMBAD and the NED. The remaining ~ 500 sources were identifiedby low-resolution optical spectroscopy and CCD imaging utilizingtelescopes at La Silla, Calar Alto, Zelenchukskaya and Mauna Kea. Apartfrom completely untouched sources, catalogued clusters and galaxieswithout published redshift as well as catalogued galaxies with unusualhigh X-ray luminosity were included in the spectroscopic identificationprogram. Details of the observations with an on-line presentation of thefinding charts and the optical spectra will be published separately.Here we summarize our identifications in a table which contains opticaland X-ray information for each source. As a result we present the mostmassive complete sample of X-ray selected AGNs with a total of 669members and a well populated X-ray selected sample of 302 clusters ofgalaxies with redshifts up to 0.70. Three fields studied by us remainwithout optical counterpart (RBS0378, RBS1223, RBS1556). While the firstis a possible X-ray transient, the two latter are isolated neutron starcandidates (Motch et al. 1999, Schwope et al. 1999).
| Spectroscopic binary orbits from photoelectric radial velocities Paper 147: 62 Ursae Majoris
Not Available
| Spectroscopic binary orbits from photoelectric radial velocities. Paper 144: HR 5 B
Not Available
| Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer Photometry of RS Canum Venaticorum Systems: Four Flaring Megaseconds
We present an analysis of 12.2 Ms of Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE)photometry of 16 RS CVn systems (including four flaring megaseconds).Our study attempts a systematic categorization of stellar coronalemission in RS CVn binary systems. The temporal resolution of the EUVEsatellite and the opportunity for long observations enables us to studyseparately the quiescent and flaring states of RS CVn systems. Thirty of31 observations are statistically variable. We examine light curves,characterizing both phase-dependent variations and large- andsmall-scale flaring. There is evidence for small-scale stochasticvariability on the one short-period (P_orb<1 day) system in oursample (ER Vul), which we interpret as small-scale flaring. CF Tuc isthe only system for which phase-dependent variations over multipleorbital periods are seen. We analyze 30 flares on nine systems, fittingrise and decay times. Several flares have durations >0.5P_orb andthus cannot originate from compact emission regions close to the stellarsurfaces. Many flares have unusual flare morphologies, with rise timescomparable to or greater than the decay time, and emission plateaus. Inaddition, eight flares have decay phases that are fit better by a brokenpower law than a single power law. The decay times for the second powerlaw are statistically different than the single decay times and arecorrelated with the flare rise times. This observed connection points tothe potential importance of the change in decay rate as a means ofexamining the physical processes operating during the flare. Thedistribution of orbital phases of flare onsets on V711 Tau (HR 1099),the best-studied RS CVn in our sample, is consistent with a Poissondistribution that is random in time. In two systems that are partiallyeclipsing (CF Tuc and ER Vul), we find no evidence for an eclipse in thelight curve, indicating that the emission region is large compared tothe stellar radius. We parameterize the distribution of flare energiesas a power law, finding a cut-off energy of ~10^33 ergs and a slope of-0.6. Flare energy increases with flare duration as E~Deltat^1.42,confirming the long-duration nature of high-energy flares on RS CVnsystems. The integrated flare luminosity depends on the quiescentluminosity as L_flare~L^1.05_quiescent. Flare frequencies range from 0.1day^-1 to 1.5 day^-1. For observations not affected by the dead spot onthe Deep Survey detector, 40% of the observed time was spent in aflaring state, indicating that flaring is a ``normal'' state for thecoronae of these systems. We note the presence of a quasi-periodicity inEUVE photometric data on the order of 1 day, which is not corrected forin the standard reduction and analysis software.
| Speckle Interferometry at the US Naval Observatory. II.
Position angles and separations resulting from 2406 speckleinterferometric observations of 547 binary stars are tabulated. This isthe second in a series of papers presenting measures obtained using the66 cm refractor at the US Naval Observatory in Washington, DC, with anintensified CCD detector. Program stars range in separation from 0.2" to3.8", with Deltam<=2.5 mag and a limiting magnitude of V=10.0. Theobservation epochs run from 1993 January through 1995 August. Randomerrors are estimated to be 14 mas in separation and 0.52d/rho inposition angle, where rho is the separation in arcseconds. Theinstrumentation and calibration are briefly described. Aspects of thedata analysis related to the avoidance of systematic errors are alsodiscussed.
| Speckle Observations of Binary Stars with the WIYN Telescope. I. Measures During 1997
Two hundred seventy-seven position angle and separation measures of 154double stars are presented. Three of the systems were previously unknownto be double, and 16 other systems were discovered earlier this decadeby the Hipparcos satellite. Measures are derived from speckleobservations taken with the Wisconsin-Indiana-Yale-NOAO (WIYN) 3.5 mtelescope located at Kitt Peak, Arizona. Speckle images were obtainedusing two different imaging detectors, namely, a multianode microchannelarray (MAMA) detector and a fast-readout CCD. A measurement precisionstudy was performed on a sample of binaries with extremely well knownorbits by comparing the measures obtained here to the ephemerispredictions. For the CCD, the root mean square (rms) deviation ofresiduals was found to be 3.5 milliarcseconds (mas) in separation and1.2d in position angle, while the residuals of the MAMA data varieddepending on the magnification used and seeing conditions but can becomparable or superior to the CCD values. In addition, the two cameraswere compared in terms of the detection limit in total magnitude andmagnitude difference of the systems under study. The MAMA system has theability to detect some systems with magnitude differences larger than3.5, although reliable astrometry could not be obtained on theseobjects. Reliable astrometry was obtained on a system of magnitudedifference of 5.3 with the CCD system.
| Visual binary orbits and masses POST HIPPARCOS
The parallaxes from Hipparcos are an important ingredient to derive moreaccurate masses for known orbital binaries, but in order to exploit theparallaxes fully, the orbital elements have to be known to similarprecision. The present work gives improved orbital elements for some 205systems by combining the Hipparcos astrometry with existing ground-basedobservations. The new solutions avoid the linearity constraints andomissions in the Hipparcos Catalog by using the intermediate TransitData which can be combined with ground-based observations in arbitarilycomplex orbital models. The new orbital elements and parallaxes give newmass-sum values together with realistic total error-estimates. To getindividual masses at least for main-sequence systems, the mass-ratioshave been generally estimated from theoretical isochrones and observedmagnitude-differences. For some 25 short-period systems, however, trueastrometric mass-ratios have been determined through the observedorbital curvature in the 3-year Hipparcos observation interval. Thefinal result is an observed `mass-luminosity relation' which falls closeto theoretical expectation, but with `outliers' due to undetectedmultiplicity or to composition- and age-effects in the nonuniformnear-star sample. Based in part on observations collected with the ESAHipparcos astrometry satellite. Tables~ 1, 3, 4 and 6 are also availablein electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr~(130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| Inclination of the Orbital Planes of Visual Binaries
The inclination of the orbital planes of 78 visual binaries with knownorbits with respect to the galactic was examined. No double stargroupings were found having approximately equal orientation of theirorbital planes. Viewed the orbital plane north poles there are morebinary systems with counterclockwise motion than those moving clockwise.
| Spectroscopic binary orbits from photoelectric radial velocities. Paper 142: Xi Ursae Majoris
Not Available
| On the rotation-activity correlation for active binary stars
We present an investigation of rotation-activity correlations usingInternational Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) SWP measurements of the Civemission line at 1550Angstroms for 72 active binary systems. We use astandard stellar evolution code to derive non-empirical Rossby numbers,R_0, for each star in our sample and compare the resulting Civrotation-activity correlation to that found for empirically derivedvalues of the Rossby number and that based on rotation alone. For dwarfstars our values of R_0 do not differ greatly from empirical ones and wefind a corresponding lack of improvement in correlation. Only a marginalimprovement in correlation is found for evolved components in oursample. We discuss possible additional factors, other than rotation orconvection, that may influence the activity levels in active binaries.Our observational data imply, in contrast to the theoretical predictionsof convective motions, that activity is only weakly related to mass inevolved stars. We conclude that current dynamo theory is limited in itsapplication to the study of active stars because of the uncertainty inthe angular velocity-depth profile in stellar interiors and the unknowneffects of binarity and surface gravity.
| Measurements of double stars 1993.67 - 1998.13
624 Micrometer Measurements of 224 pairs with a 32.5 cm Cassegrain, 719Measurements of 310 double stars with a 360 mm Newtonian are given.Tables 1 to 4 are available in electronic form only at the CDS130.79.128.5 or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
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Observation and Astrometry data
Catalogs and designations:
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