488 research outputs found
White Dwarf Cosmochronology in the Solar Neighborhood
The study of the stellar formation history in the solar neighborhood is a
powerful technique to recover information about the early stages and evolution
of the Milky Way. We present a new method which consists of directly probing
the formation history from the nearby stellar remnants. We rely on the volume
complete sample of white dwarfs within 20 pc, where accurate cooling ages and
masses have been determined. The well characterized initial-final mass relation
is employed in order to recover the initial masses (1 < M/Msun < 8) and total
ages for the local degenerate sample. We correct for moderate biases that are
necessary to transform our results to a global stellar formation rate, which
can be compared to similar studies based on the properties of main-sequence
stars in the solar neighborhood. Our method provides precise formation rates
for all ages except in very recent times, and the results suggest an enhanced
formation rate for the solar neighborhood in the last 5 Gyr compared to the
range 5 < Age (Gyr) < 10. Furthermore, the observed total age of ~10 Gyr for
the oldest white dwarfs in the local sample is consistent with the early
seminal studies that have determined the age of the Galactic disk from stellar
remnants. The main shortcoming of our study is the small size of the local
white dwarf sample. However, the presented technique can be applied to larger
samples in the future.Comment: 25 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
The young, active binary star EK Draconis
EK Dra (HD 129333) is a young, active, nearby star that is orbited by a low
mass companion. By combining new speckle observations with old and new radial
velocity measurements we find that the orbit is highly eccentric with
e=0.82\pm0.03, and we derive the true masses of both components. The masses are
and , for the primary and
secondary, respectively. From high resolution spectra we derive a new of K, and a of , which is different to
previous estimates. However, the new spectroscopic distance differs by only
5.8% to the distance derived by parallax measurement of the Hipparcos satellite
and thus the stellar parameters are presumably more realistic than older
determinations. We derive a somewhat higher value for the metallicity of
. EK Dra turns out to be one of the few nearby young stars
which will evolve similar to the sun. The precise radial velocity measurements
taken in the course of this program also allows us to shed more light on to the
activity of this star. In 2001 and 2002 we find a periodic signal of the radial
velocity variations with a period of days which we interpret as
the rotation period. This signal vanishes in 2003. However the signal can be
recovered if only the spectra in which the photospheric lines are asymmetric
are used. On the other hand, we do not find a close correlation between the
asymmetry of photospheric lines and the radial velocity.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures, accepted by A&
XHIP-II: Clusters and associations
Context. In the absence of complete kinematic data it has not previously been
possible to furnish accurate lists of member stars for all moving groups. There
has been an unresolved dispute concerning the apparent inconsistency of the
Hipparcos parallax distance to the Pleiades.
Aims. To find improved candidate lists for clusters and associations
represented among Hipparcos stars, to establish distances, and to cast light on
the Pleiades distance anomaly.
Methods. We use a six dimensional fitting procedure to identify candidates,
and plot CMDs for 20 of the nearest groups. We calculate the mean parallax
distance for all groups.
Results. We identify lists of candidates and calculated parallax distances
for 42 clusters and 45 associations represented within the Hipparcos catalogue.
We find agreement between parallax distance and photometric distances for the
most important clusters. For single stars in the Pleiades we find mean parallax
distance 125.6 \pm 4.2 pc and photometric distance 132 \pm 3 pc calibrated to
nearby groups of similar in age and composition. This gives no reason to doubt
either the Hipparcos database or stellar evolutionary theory.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy Letters, 10 pages, 2 fig
New Rotation Periods in the Open Cluster NGC 1039 (M 34), and a Derivation of its Gyrochronology Age
Employing photometric rotation periods for solar-type stars in NGC 1039 [M
34], a young, nearby open cluster, we use its mass-dependent rotation period
distribution to derive the cluster's age in a distance independent way, i.e.,
the so-called gyrochronology method. We present an analysis of 55 new rotation
periods,using light curves derived from differential photometry, for solar type
stars in M 34. We also exploit the results of a recently-completed,
standardized, homogeneous BVIc CCD survey of the cluster in order to establish
photometric cluster membership and assign B-V colours to each photometric
variable. We describe a methodology for establishing the gyrochronology age for
an ensemble of solar-type stars. Empirical relations between rotation period,
photometric colour and stellar age (gyrochronology) are used to determine the
age of M 34. Based on its position in a colour-period diagram, each M 34 member
is designated as being either a solid-body rotator (interface or I-star), a
differentially rotating star (convective or C-star) or an object which is in
some transitory state in between the two (gap or g-star). Fitting the period
and photometric colour of each I-sequence star in the cluster, we derive the
cluster's mean gyrochronology age.
47/55 of the photometric variables lie along the loci of the cluster main
sequence in V/B-V and V/V-I space. We are further able to confirm kinematic
membership of the cluster for half of the periodic variables [21/55], employing
results from an on-going radial velocity survey of the cluster. For each
cluster member identified as an I-sequence object in the colour-period diagram,
we derive its individual gyrochronology age, where the mean gyro age of M 34 is
found to be 193 +/- 9 Myr, formally consistent (within the errors) with that
derived using several distance-dependent, photometric isochrone methods (250
+/- 67 Myr).Comment: accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic
Spectroscopic abundance analysis of dwarfs in young open cluster IC 4665
We report a detailed spectroscopic abundance analysis for a sample of 18 F-K
dwarfs of the young open cluster IC 4665. Stellar parameters and element
abundances of Li, O, Mg, Si, Ca, Ti, Cr, Fe and Ni have been derived using the
spectroscopic synthesis tool SME (Spectroscopy Made Easy). Within the
measurement uncertainties the iron abundance is uniform with a standard
deviation of 0.04 dex. No correlation is found between the iron abundance and
the mass of the stellar convective zone, and between the Li abundance and the
Fe abundance. In other words, our results do not reveal any signature of
accretion and therefore do not support the scenario that stars with planets
(SWPs) acquire their on the average higher metallicity compared to field stars
via accretion of metal-rich planetary material. Instead the higher metallicity
of SWPs may simply reflect the fact that planet formation is more efficient in
high metallicity environs. However, since that many details of the planet
system formation processes remain poorly understood, further studies are needed
for a final settlement of the problem of the high metallicity of SWPs.
The standard deviation of [Fe/H] deduced from our observations, taken as an
upper limit on the metallicity dispersion amongst the IC 4665 member stars, has
been used to constrain proto-planetary disk evolution, terrestrial and giant
planets formation and evolution processes. Our results do not support the
possibility that the migration of gas giants and the circularization of
terrestrial planets' orbits are regulated by their interaction with a residual
population of planetesimals and dust particles.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Rotational velocities of A-type stars. III. Velocity distributions
Aim - In this work, a sample of vsini of B9 to F2-type main sequence single
stars has been built from highly homogeneous vsini parameters determined for a
large sample cleansed from objects presenting the Am and Ap phenomenon as well
as from all known binaries. The aim is to study the distributions of rotational
velocities in the mass range of A-type stars for normal single objects.
Methods - Robust statistical methods are used to rectify the vsini
distributions from the projection effect and the error distribution. The
equatorial velocity distributions are obtained for an amount of about 1100
stars divided in six groups defined by the spectral type, under the assumption
of randomly orientated rotational axes.
Results - We show that late B and early A-type main-sequence stars have
genuine bimodal distributions of true equatorial rotational velocities due
probably to phenomena of angular momentum loss and redistribution the star
underwent before reaching the main sequence. A striking lack of slow rotators
is noticed among intermediate and late A-type stars. The bimodal-like shape of
their true equatorial rotational velocity distributions could be due to
evolutionary effects.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures, accepted in A&
Evolutionary divergence of gene and protein expression in the brains of humans and chimpanzees
Although transcriptomic profiling has become the standard approach for exploring molecular differences in the primate brain, very little is known about how the expression levels of gene transcripts relate to downstream protein abundance. Moreover, it is unknown whether the relationship changes depending on the brain region or species under investigation. We performed high-throughput transcriptomic (RNA-Seq) and proteomic (liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry) analyses on two regions of the human and chimpanzee brain: The anterior cingulate cortex and caudate nucleus. In both brain regions, we found a lower correlation between mRNA and protein expression levels in humans and chimpanzees than has been reported for other tissues and cell types, suggesting that the brain may engage extensive tissue-specific regulation affecting protein abundance. In both species, only a few categories of biological function exhibited strong correlations between mRNA and protein expression levels. These categories included oxidative metabolism and protein synthesis and modification, indicating that the expression levels of mRNA transcripts supporting these biological functions are more predictive of protein expression compared with other functional categories. More generally, however, the two measures of molecular expression provided strikingly divergent perspectives into differential expression between human and chimpanzee brains: mRNA comparisons revealed significant differences in neuronal communication, ion transport, and regulatory processes, whereas protein comparisons indicated differences in perception and cognition, metabolic processes, and organization of the cytoskeleton. Our results highlight the importance of examining protein expression in evolutionary analyses and call for a more thorough understanding of tissue-specific protein expression levels
Multiwavelength optical observations of chromospherically active binary systems V. FF UMa (2RE J0933+624): a system with orbital period variation
This is the fifth paper in a series aimed at studying the chromospheres of
active binary systems using several optical spectroscopic indicators to obtain
or improve orbital solution and fundamental stellar parameters. We present here
the study of FF UMa (2RE J0933+624), a recently discovered, X-ray/EUV selected,
active binary with strong H_alpha emission. The objectives of this work are, to
find orbital solutions and define stellar parameters from precise radial
velocities and carry out an extensive study of the optical indicators of
chromospheric activity. We obtained high resolution echelle spectroscopic
observations during five observing runs from 1998 to 2004. We found radial
velocities by cross correlation with radial velocity standard stars to achieve
the best orbital solution. We also measured rotational velocity by
cross-correlation techniques and have studied the kinematic by galactic space-
velocity components (U, V, W) and Eggen criteria. Finally, we have determined
the chromospheric contribution in optical spectroscopic indicators, from Ca II
H & K to Ca II IRT lines, using the spectral subtraction technique. We have
found that this system presents an orbital period variation, higher than
previously detected in other RS CVn systems. We determined an improved orbital
solution, finding a circular orbit with a period of 3.274 days. We derived the
stellar parameters, confirming the subgiant nature of the primary component and
obtained rotational velocities (vsini), of 33.57 km/s and 32.38 km/s for the
primary and secondary components respectively. From our kinematic study, we can
deduce its membership to the Castor moving group. Finally, the activity study
has given us a better understanding of the possible mechanisms that produce the
orbital period variation.Comment: Latex file with 16 pages, 18 figures. Available at
http://www.ucm.es/info/Astrof/invest/actividad/actividad_pub.html Accepted
for publication in: Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A
The Factory and The Beehive II. Activity and Rotation in Praesepe and the Hyades
Open clusters are collections of stars with a single, well-determined age,
and can be used to investigate the connections between angular-momentum
evolution and magnetic activity over a star's lifetime. We present the results
of a comparative study of the relationship between stellar rotation and
activity in two benchmark open clusters: Praesepe and the Hyades. As they have
the same age and roughly solar metallicity, these clusters serve as an ideal
laboratory for testing the agreement between theoretical and empirical
rotation-activity relations at 600 Myr. We have compiled a sample of
720 spectra --- more than half of which are new observations --- for 516
high-confidence members of Praesepe; we have also obtained 139 new spectra for
130 high-confidence Hyads. We have collected rotation periods () for
135 Praesepe members and 87 Hyads. To compare emission, an indicator
of chromospheric activity, as a function of color, mass, and Rossby number
, we first calculate an expanded set of values, with which we can
obtain the to bolometric luminosity ratio, ,
even when spectra are not flux-calibrated and/or stars lack reliable distances.
Our values cover a broader range of stellar masses and colors (roughly
equivalent to spectral types from K0 to M9), and exhibit better agreement
between independent calculations, than existing values. We find no difference
between the two clusters in their equivalent width or
distributions, and therefore take the merged
and data to be representative of 600-Myr-old stars. Our analysis
shows that activity in these stars is saturated for
. Above that value activity declines as a
power-law with slope , before dropping off rapidly
at ...Comment: 17 pages, 15 figures, Accepted by Ap
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