71 research outputs found
New low-mass members of the Octans stellar association and an updated 30-40 Myr lithium age
The Octans association is one of several young stellar moving groups recently
discovered in the Solar neighbourhood, and hence a valuable laboratory for
studies of stellar, circumstellar disc and planetary evolution. However, a lack
of low-mass members or any members with trigonometric parallaxes means the age,
distance and space motion of the group are poorly constrained. To better
determine its membership and age, we present the first spectroscopic survey for
new K and M-type Octans members, resulting in the discovery of 29 UV-bright
K5-M4 stars with kinematics, photometry and distances consistent with existing
members. Nine new members possess strong Li I absorption, which allow us to
estimate a lithium age of 30-40 Myr, similar to that of the Tucana-Horologium
association and bracketed by the firm lithium depletion boundary ages of the
Beta Pictoris (20 Myr) and Argus/IC 2391 (50 Myr) associations. Several stars
also show hints in our medium-resolution spectra of fast rotation or
spectroscopic binarity. More so than other nearby associations, Octans is much
larger than its age and internal velocity dispersion imply. It may be the
dispersing remnant of a sparse, extended structure which includes some younger
members of the foreground Octans-Near association recently proposed by
Zuckerman and collaborators.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS (16 pages, 5 tables
New members of the TW Hydrae Association and two accreting M-dwarfs in Scorpius-Centaurus
We report the serendipitous discovery of several young mid-M stars found
during a search for new members of the 30-40 Myr-old Octans Association. Only
one of the stars may be considered a possible Octans(-Near) member. However,
two stars have proper motions, kinematic distances, radial velocities,
photometry and Li I 6708AA measurements consistent with membership in the 8-10
Myr-old TW Hydrae Association. Another may be an outlying member of TW Hydrae
but has a velocity similar to that predicted by membership in Octans. We also
identify two new lithium-rich members of the neighbouring Scorpius-Centaurus OB
Association (Sco-Cen). Both exhibit large 12 and 22 micron excesses and strong,
variable H-alpha emission which we attribute to accretion from circumstellar
discs. Such stars are thought to be incredibly rare at the ~16 Myr median age
of Sco-Cen and they join only one other confirmed M-type and three higher-mass
accretors outside of Upper Scorpius. The serendipitous discovery of two
accreting stars hosting large quantities of circumstellar material may be
indicative of a sizeable age spread in Sco-Cen, or further evidence that disc
dispersal and planet formation time-scales are longer around lower-mass stars.
To aid future studies of Sco-Cen we also provide a newly-compiled catalogue of
305 early-type Hipparcos members with spectroscopic radial velocities sourced
from the literature.Comment: 12 pages. Accepted for publication in MNRA
First detection of a low-mass stellar halo around the young open cluster Eta Chamaeleontis
We have identified several lithium-rich low-mass (0.08<M<0.3 Msun) stars
within 5.5 deg of the young open cluster Eta Chamaeleontis, nearly four times
the radius of previous search efforts. Of these stars we propose 4 new probable
cluster members, and 3 possible members requiring further investigation. These
findings are consistent with a dynamical origin for the current configuration
of the cluster, without the need to invoke an abnormal Initial Mass Function
deficient in low-mass objects. Candidates were selected on the basis of DENIS
and 2MASS photometry, NOMAD astrometry and extensive follow-up spectroscopy.Comment: 5 Pages. 5 Figures and 1 Table. Accepted for publication in MNRAS
Letters. Higher resolution figures available at
http://www.mso.anu.edu.au/~murphysj/
The characteristics of cool hydrogen deficient carbon stars
Observations of many R Coronae Borealis (RCB) stars and Hydrogen deficient Carbon (HdC) stars have been obtained to more fully understand the characteristics of these types of objects.
A long term photometric programme has been undertaken to observe most of the known RCB and HdC stars, including those in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Photometry has been obtained over durations of 700-1100 d for many of these stars, permitting a more accurate analysis of the light and colour curves of these objects than has been possible with previously published data. Properties of the low amplitude variations, observed in all these stars, are described and analysed using Fourier techniques. By combining the observed periods and estimated temperatures, the latter obtained from spectra, a period temperature relationship is produced for these stars. Most stars have a period that can be identified with a radial pulsation mode from models of hydrogen deficient carbon stars.
Theoretical period decrease rates for these types of stars indicate that cooler (T eff ≈ 5000 K) stars should dominate the temperature distribution. This is not observed. The reasons for this apparent lack of cooler stars are discussed. If the evolutionary models are correct, there should be many more cool hydrogen deficient carbon stars still to be discovered.
Observations obtained during declines of several RCB stars are discussed. The observations of the 1988 decline of R CrB represent the first occasion where both photometric and spectroscopic observations were obtained during the onset of the decline. For those declines for which extensive photometry is available, a major division in photometric properties is observed during the early stages of the decline. This division, where the colours of the star become either bluer, or redder, may be due to a range of dust formation angles, which alters the relative flux contributions of the photosphere and chromosphere of the star.
Additional aspects of two RCB stars, NSV 6708 and RY Sgr, are described in greater detail. For NSV 6708, the low radial velocity amplitude of NSV 6708 (< 4 kms-¹) causes some difficulty for the standard decline model for these stars, which assumes that the dust formation is linked to radial pulsations. For RY Sgr, observed changes in the pulsation period in the star are interpreted with an O-C analysis to the times of maxima. Only a series of linear solutions, which have lifetimes of ~ 10 yrs, satisfy the O-C residuals to within the observational uncertainty. In addition, spectra have been obtained during the shock wave event of RY Sgr, which is seen as a splitting of the absorption lines near Vmax. Low excitation lines have a greater shock amplitude, which is consistent with their formation in the upper regions of the photosphere of the highly extended atmospheres of these stars.
Finally, areas where additional progress could be made on the study of these stars are discussed
A deep photometric survey of the eta Chamaeleontis cluster down to the brown dwarf - planet boundary
We report the outcome of the deep optical/infrared photometric survey of the
central region (33 X 33 arcmin or 0.9 pc^2) of the eta Chamaeleontis pre-main
sequence star cluster. The completeness limits of the photometry are I = 19.1,
J = 18.2 and H = 17.6; faint enough to reveal low mass members down to the
brown dwarf and planet boundary of ~ 13 M_Jup. We found no such low mass
members in this region. Our result combined with a previous shallower (I = 17)
but larger area survey indicates that low mass objects (0.013 < M/M(solar mass)
< 0.075) either were not created in the eta Cha cluster or were lost due to the
early dynamical history of the cluster and ejected to outside the surveyed
areas.Comment: 5 pages with 4 figures, accepted by MNRA
Episodic disk accretion in the halo of the 'old' Pre-Main Sequence cluster Eta Chamaeleontis
We present multi-epoch medium-resolution observations of two M4.5 candidate
members in the halo of the ~8 Myr Eta Chamaeleontis open cluster. Over six
months of observations both stars exhibited variations in their H-alpha line
profiles on timescales of days to months, with at least one episode of
substantial activity attributable to accretion from a circumstellar disk. We
derive an accretion rate ~10^-8.7 Msun/yr for this event, with a rate of
~10^-10.6 Msun/yr in quiescence. Episodic accretion like that observed here
means existing surveys of accreting Weak-lined T-Tauri Stars in young clusters
are likely incomplete and that gas dissipation timescales calculated from the
fraction of accreting objects are underestimates.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in MNRAS
Letter
Re-examining the membership and origin of the € Cha association
We present a comprehensive investigation of the Ε Chamaeleontis association (Ε Cha), one of several young moving groups spread across the southern sky. We re-assess the putative membership of Ε Cha using the best available proper motion and spectrosco
The Ever Changing Circumstellar Nebula Around UW Centauri
We present new images of the reflection nebula surrounding the R Coronae
Borealis Star, UW Cen. This nebula, first detected in 1990, has changed its
appearance significantly. At the estimated distance of UW Cen, this nebula is
approximately 0.6 ly in radius so the nebula cannot have physically altered in
only 8 years. Instead, the morphology of the nebula appears to change as
different parts are illuminated by light from the central star modulated by
shifting thick dust clouds near its surface. These dust clouds form and
dissipate at irregular intervals causing the well-known declines in the R
Coronae Borealis (RCB) stars. In this way, the central star acts like a
lighthouse shining through holes in the dust clouds and lighting up different
portions of the nebula. The existence of this nebula provides clues to the
evolutionary history of RCB stars possibly linking them to the Planetary
Nebulae and the final helium shell flash stars.Comment: To be published in ApJ Letters. 5 pages, 3 figures (2 in color
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