1,607 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
The effects of climate change and variation in New Zealand: An assessment using the CLIMPACTS system
Along with a need to better understand the climate and biophysical systems of New Zealand, the need to develop an improved capacity for evaluating possible changes in climate and their effects on the New Zealand environment has been recognised. Since the middle of 1993 the CLIMPACTS programme, has been focused on the development of such a capacity, in the first instance for the agricultural sector. the goals of this present assessment are:
1. To present current knowledge on likely scenarios of climate change and associated uncertainties in New Zealand;
2. To present current knowledge, based on quantitative analyses using a consistent set of scenarios, on the likely effects of climate change on a range of agricultural and horticultural crops of economic importance;
3. To demonstrate, by way of this report and the associated technical report, the capacity that has been developed for ongoing assessments of this kind in New Zealand. This report has been prepared for both the science and policy communities in New Zealand. There are two main components:
1. The detailed findings of the assessment, presented in a series of chapters;
2. An annex, which contains technical details on models used in the assessment
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 Stellar Populations of Low-redshift Clusters
We present some preliminary results from an on-going study of the evolution
of stellar populations in rich clusters of galaxies. This sample contains core
line-strength measurements from 183 galaxies with b_J <= 19.5 from four
clusters with ~0.04. Using predictions from stellar population models to
compare with our measured line strengths we can derive relative
luminosity-weighted mean ages and metallicities for the stellar populations in
each of our clusters. We also investigate the Mgb'-sigma and Hbeta_G'-sigma
scaling relations. We find that, consistent with previous results, Mgb' is
correlated with sigma, the likely explanation being that larger galaxies are
better at retaining their heavier elements due to their larger potentials.
Hbeta', on the other hand, we find to be anti-correlated with sigma. This
result implies that the stellar populations in larger galaxies are older than
in smaller galaxies.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the Proceedings of IAU Colloquium
195: "Outskirts of Galaxy Clusters: intense life in the suburbs", Torino
Italy, March 12-16 200
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
FIJICLIM description and users guide
The FIJICLIM prototype is based on PACCLIM which was developed by the International Global Change Institute (IGCI) as part of the Pacific Islands Climate Change Assistance Programme (PICCAP) executed by the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).
Both FIJICLIM and PACCLIM build directly on a comparable model development for New Zealand, known as the CLIMPACTS system (Kenny et al., 1995, 1999; Warrick et al., 1996, 1999). The development of CLIMPACTS has been funded by the Foundation for Research Science and Technology since 1993. Its core components, which include a graphic user interface (GUI), a customised geographic information system (GIS), and data compression routines, have provided the basis for the development of FIJICLIM. The development of FIJICLIM is complementary to similar developments that have evolved from CLIMPACTS, for Bangladesh (BDCLIM), Australia (OZCLIM), and for training in climate change V&A assessment (VANDACLIM)
Hotspots: Modelling capacity for vector-borne disease risk analysis in New Zealand: A case study of Ochlerotatus camptorhynchus incursions in New Zealand
This Hotspots case study of Oc. camptorhynchus in New Zealand forms part of the wider aims and
objectives of the Hotspots project. The overall aims of the case study were:
1. To evaluate the performance of the Hotspots model as a risk analysis tool for Oc.
camptorhynchus;
2. To use and learn from the experience of the various incursions of Oc. camptorhynchus in
order to critically assess and improve the model;
3. To gain experience in using the model for risk analysis for Oc. camptorhynchus in
particular, and in so doing, also develop experience applicable to risk analysis for other
vectors of concern (Table 1); and,
4. To develop an experience and knowledge base as well as guidelines for future use of the
model in its various applications related to biosecurity, surveillance and risk assessment
and management
Hotspots: Exotic mosquito risk profiles for New Zealand
This document reports the main findings of the first systematic, spatial analyses of risks
to New Zealand associated with exotic mosquitoes of current public health concern
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