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An Overview of the Rotational Behavior of Metal-poor Stars
This paper describes the behavior of the rotational velocity inmetal-poor stars ([Fe/H] <= -0.5 dex) in different evolutionarystages, based on vsin i values from the literature. Our sample iscomprised of stars in the field and some Galactic globular clusters,including stars on the main sequence, the red giant branch (RGB), andthe horizontal branch (HB). The metal-poor stars are, mainly, slowrotators, and their vsin i distribution along the HR diagram is quitehomogeneous. Nevertheless, a few moderate to high values of vsin i arefound in stars located on the main sequence and the HB. We show that theoverall distribution of vsin i values is basically independent ofmetallicity for the stars in our sample. In particular, thefast-rotating main sequence stars in our sample present rotation ratessimilar to their metal-rich counterparts, suggesting that some of themmay actually be fairly young, in spite of their low metallicity, or elsethat at least some of them would be better classified as blue stragglerstars. We do not find significant evidence of evolution in vsin i valuesas a function of position on the RGB; in particular, we do not confirmprevious suggestions that stars close to the RGB tip rotate faster thantheir less-evolved counterparts. While the presence of fast rotatorsamong moderately cool blue HB stars has been suggested to be due toangular momentum transport from a stellar core that has retainedsignificant angular momentum during its prior evolution, we find thatany such transport mechanisms most likely operate very fast as the stararrives on the zero-age HB (ZAHB), since we do not find a link betweenevolution off the ZAHB and vsin i values. We present an extensivetabulation of all quantities discussed in this paper, including rotationvelocities, temperatures, gravities, and metallicities [Fe/H], as wellas broadband magnitudes and colors.
| The End of Nucleosynthesis: Production of Lead and Thorium in the Early Galaxy
We examine the Pb and Th abundances in 27 metal-poor stars(-3.1< [Fe/H] <-1.4) whose very heavy metal (Z >56) enrichment was produced only by the rapid (r-) nucleosynthesisprocess. New abundances are derived from Hubble Space Telescope/SpaceTelescope Imaging Spectrograph, Keck/High Resolution EchelleSpectrograph, and Very Large Telescope/UV-Visual Echelle Spectrographspectra and combined with other measurements from the literature to forma more complete picture of nucleosynthesis of the heaviest elementsproduced in the r-process. In all cases, the abundance ratios among therare earth elements and the third r-process peak elements considered(La, Eu, Er, Hf, and Ir) are constant and equivalent to the scaled solarsystem r-process abundance distribution. We compare the stellarobservations with r-process calculations within the classical"waiting-point" approximation. In these computations a superposition of15 weighted neutron-density components in the range 23 <=lognn <= 30 is fit to the r-process abundance peaks tosuccessfully reproduce both the stable solar system isotopicdistribution and the stable heavy element abundance pattern between Baand U in low-metallicity stars. Under these astrophysical conditions,which are typical of the "main" r-process, we find very good agreementbetween the stellar Pb r-process abundances and those predicted by ourmodel. For stars with anomalously high Th/Eu ratios (the so-calledactinide boost), our observations demonstrate that any nucleosyntheticdeviations from the main r-process affect—at most—only theelements beyond the third r-process peak, namely Pb, Th, and U. Ourtheoretical calculations also indicate that possible r-process abundance"losses" by nuclear fission are negligible for isotopes along ther-process path between Pb and the long-lived radioactive isotopes of Thand U.
| Strömgren Photometry of Galactic Globular Clusters. I. New Calibrations of the Metallicity Index
We present a new calibration of the Strömgren metallicity indexm1 using red giant (RG) stars in four globular clusters (GCs:M92, M13, NGC 1851, 47 Tuc) with metallicity ranging from -2.2 to -0.7,marginally affected by reddening [E(B-V)<=0.04] and with accurate(u,v,b,y) photometry. The main difference between the newmetallicity-index-color (MIC) relations and similar relations availablein the literature is that we have adopted the u-y and v-y colors insteadof b-y. These colors present a stronger sensitivity to effectivetemperature, and the MIC relations show a linear slope. The differencebetween photometric estimates and spectroscopic measurements for RGs inM71, NGC 288, NGC 362, NGC 6397, and NGC 6752 is 0.04+/-0.03 dex(σ=0.11 dex). We also apply the new MIC relations to 85 field RGswith metallicity ranging from -2.4 to -0.5 and accurate reddeningestimates. We find that the difference between photometric estimates andspectroscopic measurements is -0.14+/-0.01 dex (σ=0.17 dex). Wealso provide two sets of MIC relations based on evolutionary models thathave been transformed into the observational plane by adopting eithersemiempirical or theoretical color-temperature relations. We apply thesemiempirical relations to the nine GCs and find that the differencebetween photometric and spectroscopic metallicities is 0.04+/-0.03 dex(σ=0.10 dex). A similar agreement is found for the sample of fieldRGs, with a difference of -0.09+/-0.03 dex (with σ=0.19 dex). Thedifference between metallicity estimates based on theoretical relationsand spectroscopic measurements is -0.11+/-0.03 dex (σ=0.14 dex)for the nine GCs and -0.24+/-0.03 dex (σ=0.15 dex) for the fieldRGs. Current evidence indicates that new MIC relations providemetallicities with an intrinsic accuracy better than 0.2 dex.Based in part on observations collected with the 1.54 m Danish Telescopeoperated at ESO (La Silla, Chile) and with the Nordic Optical Telescope(NOT) operated at La Palma (Spain).
| Halo Star Streams in the Solar Neighborhood
We have assembled a sample of halo stars in the solar neighborhood tolook for halo substructure in velocity and angular momentum space. Oursample (231 stars) includes red giants, RR Lyrae variable stars, and redhorizontal branch stars within 2.5 kpc of the Sun with [Fe/H] less than-1.0. It was chosen to include stars with accurate distances, spacevelocities, and metallicities, as well as well-quantified errors. Withour data set, we confirm the existence of the streams found by Helmi andcoworkers, which we refer to as the H99 streams. These streams have adouble-peaked velocity distribution in the z-direction (out of theGalactic plane). We use the results of modeling of the H99 streams byHelmi and collaborators to test how one might use vz velocityinformation and radial velocity information to detect kinematicsubstructure in the halo. We find that detecting the H99 streams withradial velocities alone would require a large sample (e.g.,approximately 150 stars within 2 kpc of the Sun and within 20° ofthe Galactic poles). In addition, we use the velocity distribution ofthe H99 streams to estimate their age. From our model of the progenitorof the H99 streams, we determine that it was accreted between 6 and 9Gyr ago. The H99 streams have [α/Fe] abundances similar to otherhalo stars in the solar neighborhood, suggesting that the gas thatformed these stars were enriched mostly by Type II supernovae. We havealso discovered in angular momentum space two other possiblesubstructures, which we refer to as the retrograde and progradeoutliers. The retrograde outliers are likely to be halo substructure,but the prograde outliers are most likely part of the smooth halo. Theretrograde outliers have significant structure in the vφdirection and show a range of [α/Fe], with two having low[α/Fe] for their [Fe/H]. The fraction of substructure stars in oursample is between 5% and 7%. The methods presented in this paper can beused to exploit the kinematic information present in future largedatabases like RAVE, SDSS-II/SEGUE, and Gaia.
| Pulkovo compilation of radial velocities for 35495 stars in a common system.
Not Available
| A catalog of rotational and radial velocities for evolved stars. IV. Metal-poor stars^
Aims.The present paper describes the first results of an observationalprogram intended to refine and extend the existing v sin i measurementsof metal-poor stars, with an emphasis on field evolved stars.Methods: .The survey was carried out with the FEROS and CORALIEspectrometers. For the v sin i measurements, obtained from spectralsynthesis, we estimate an uncertainty of about 2.0 km s-1. Results: .Precise rotational velocities v sin i are presented for alarge sample of 100 metal-poor stars, most of them evolving off themain-sequence. For the large majority of the stars composing the presentsample, rotational velocities have been measured for the first time.
| Galactic model parameters for field giants separated from field dwarfs by their 2MASS and V apparent magnitudes
We present a method which separates field dwarfs and field giants bytheir 2MASS and V apparent magnitudes. This method is based onspectroscopically selected standards and is hence reliable. We appliedit to stars in two fields, SA 54 and SA 82, and we estimated a full setof Galactic model parameters for giants including their total localspace density. Our results are in agreement with the ones given in therecent literature.
| Supernova Neutrino Effects on r-Process Nucleosynthesis in Black Hole Formation
Very massive stars with mass >=8 Msolar culminate theirevolution by supernova explosions, which are presumed to be the mostviable candidates for the astrophysical sites of r-processnucleosynthesis. If the models for the supernova r-process are correct,then the results of nucleosynthesis could also put a significantconstraint on the remnants of supernova explosions, i.e., a neutron staror black hole. In the case of very massive core collapse for aprogenitor mass 20-40 Msolar, a remnant stellar black hole isthought to be formed. Intense neutrino flux from the neutronized coreand the neutrinosphere might suddenly cease during the Kelvin-Helmholtzcooling phase because of the black hole formation. It is important andinteresting to explore the observable consequences of such a neutrinoflux truncation. It has recently been argued in the literature that eventhe neutrino mass can be determined from the time delay of the deformedneutrino energy spectrum after the cessation of neutrino ejection(neutrino cutoff effect). Here we study the expected theoreticalresponse of the r-process nucleosynthesis to the neutrino cutoff effectin order to look for another independent signature of this phenomenon.We found a sensitive response of the r-process yield if the neutrinocutoff occurs after the critical time when the expanding materials inthe neutrino-driven wind drop out of nuclear statistical equilibrium(NSE). The r-process nucleosynthesis yields drastically change if thecutoff occurs during the r-process, having maximal effect on the changein abundance of 232Th and 235,238U. There is alarge probability of finding this effect in elemental abundances ofr-process-enhanced metal-deficient halo stars whose chemical compositionis presumed to be affected by Population III supernovae in the earlyGalaxy. Using this result, connected with future detection of the timevariation of the SN neutrino spectrum, we are able to identify when theblack hole formation occurs in the course of SN collapse.
| Radioactive Ages of Metal-Poor Halo Stars
The abundances of long-lived radioactive elements Th and U observed inmetal-poor halo stars can be used as chronometers to determine the ageof individual stars, and hence set a lower limit on the age of theGalaxy and hence of the universe. This radioactive dating requires thezero-decay productions of Th and U, which involves complicated r-processnucleosynthesis calculations. Several parametric r-process models havebeen used to calculate the initial abundance ratios of Th/Eu and U/Th,but, due to the sharp sensitivity of these models to nuclear physicsinputs, the calculations have relatively large uncertainties which leadto large uncertainties in the age determinations. In order to reducethese uncertainties, we present a simple method to estimate the initialproductions of Th and U, which only depends on the solar systemabundances and the stellar abundances of stable r-process elements. From our calculations of the initial abundance ratios of Th/Eu and U/Th,we re-estimate the ages of those very metal-poor halo stars withpublished abundances of Th and U. Our age estimates are consistent,within the errors, with the other age determinations derived fromr-process models, and offer useful constrains for r-process theoreticalcalculations. The advantages and limitations of our simple method ofradioactive dating are discussed.
| Empirically Constrained Color-Temperature Relations. II. uvby
A new grid of theoretical color indices for the Strömgren uvbyphotometric system has been derived from MARCS model atmospheres and SSGsynthetic spectra for cool dwarf and giant stars having-3.0<=[Fe/H]<=+0.5 and 3000<=Teff<=8000 K. Atwarmer temperatures (i.e., 8000-2.0. To overcome thisproblem, the theoretical indices at intermediate and high metallicitieshave been corrected using a set of color calibrations based on fieldstars having well-determined distances from Hipparcos, accurateTeff estimates from the infrared flux method, andspectroscopic [Fe/H] values. In contrast with Paper I, star clustersplayed only a minor role in this analysis in that they provided asupplementary constraint on the color corrections for cool dwarf starswith Teff<=5500 K. They were mainly used to test thecolor-Teff relations and, encouragingly, isochrones thatemploy the transformations derived in this study are able to reproducethe observed CMDs (involving u-v, v-b, and b-y colors) for a number ofopen and globular clusters (including M67, the Hyades, and 47 Tuc)rather well. Moreover, our interpretations of such data are verysimilar, if not identical, with those given in Paper I from aconsideration of BV(RI)C observations for the sameclusters-which provides a compelling argument in support of thecolor-Teff relations that are reported in both studies. Inthe present investigation, we have also analyzed the observedStrömgren photometry for the classic Population II subdwarfs,compared our ``final'' (b-y)-Teff relationship with thosederived empirically in a number of recent studies and examined in somedetail the dependence of the m1 index on [Fe/H].Based, in part, on observations made with the Nordic Optical Telescope,operated jointly on the island of La Palma by Denmark, Finland, Iceland,Norway, and Sweden, in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de losMuchachos of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias.Based, in part, on observations obtained with the Danish 1.54 mtelescope at the European Southern Observatory, La Silla, Chile.
| Oxygen line formation in late-F through early-K disk/halo stars. Infrared O I triplet and [O I] lines
In order to investigate the formation of O I 7771-5 and [O I] 6300/6363lines, extensive non-LTE calculations for neutral atomic oxygen werecarried out for wide ranges of model atmosphere parameters, which areapplicable to early-K through late-F halo/disk stars of variousevolutionary stages.The formation of the triplet O I lines was found to be well described bythe classical two-level-atom scattering model, and the non-LTEcorrection is practically determined by the parameters of theline-transition itself without any significant relevance to the detailsof the oxygen atomic model. This simplifies the problem in the sensethat the non-LTE abundance correction is essentially determined only bythe line-strength (Wlambda ), if the atmospheric parametersof Teff, log g, and xi are given, without any explicitdependence of the metallicity; thus allowing a useful analytical formulawith tabulated numerical coefficients. On the other hand, ourcalculations lead to the robust conclusion that LTE is totally valid forthe forbidden [O I] lines.An extensive reanalysis of published equivalent-width data of O I 7771-5and [O I] 6300/6363 taken from various literature resulted in theconclusion that, while a reasonable consistency of O I and [O I]abundances was observed for disk stars (-1 <~ [Fe/H] <~ 0), theexistence of a systematic abundance discrepancy was confirmed between OI and [O I] lines in conspicuously metal-poor halo stars (-3 <~[Fe/H] <~ -1) without being removed by our non-LTE corrections, i.e.,the former being larger by ~ 0.3 dex at -3 <~ [Fe/H] <~ -2.An inspection of the parameter-dependence of this discordance indicatesthat the extent of the discrepancy tends to be comparatively lessenedfor higher Teff/log g stars, suggesting the preference ofdwarf (or subgiant) stars for studying the oxygen abundances ofmetal-poor stars.Tables 2, 5, and 7 are 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/402/343 and Table\ref{tab3} is only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org
| Spectroscopic Binaries, Velocity Jitter, and Rotation in Field Metal-poor Red Giant and Red Horizontal-Branch Stars
We summarize 2007 radial velocity measurements of 91 metal-poor fieldred giants. Excluding binary systems with orbital solutions, ourcoverage averages 13.7 yr per star, with a maximum of 18.0 yr. We reportfour significant findings. (1) Sixteen stars are found to bespectroscopic binaries, and we present orbital solutions for 14 of them.The spectroscopic binary frequency of the metal-poor red giants, with[Fe/H]<=-1.4, for periods less than 6000 days, is 16%+/-4%, which isnot significantly different from that of comparable-metallicity fielddwarfs, 17%+/-2%. The two CH stars in our program, BD -1°2582 and HD135148, are both spectroscopic binaries. (2) Velocity jitter is presentamong about 40% of the giants with MV<=-1.4. The twobest-observed cases, HD 3008 and BD +22°2411, showpseudoperiodicities of 172 and 186 days, longer than any knownlong-period variable in metal-poor globular clusters. Photometricvariability seen in HD 3008 and three other stars showing velocityjitter hints that starspots are the cause. However, the phasing of thevelocity data with the photometry data from Hipparcos is not consistentwith a simple starspot model for HD 3008. We argue against orbitalmotion effects and radial pulsation, so rotational modulation remainsthe best explanation. The implied rotational velocities for HD 3008 andBD +22°2411, both with MV<=-1.4 and R~50Rsolar, exceed 12 km s-1. (3) Including HD 3008and BD +22°2411, we have found signs of significant excess linebroadening in eight of the 17 red giants with MV<=-1.4,which we interpret as rotation. In three cases, BD +30°2034, CD-37°14010, and HD 218732, the rotation is probably induced by tidallocking between axial rotation and the observed orbital motion with astellar companion. But this cannot explain the other five stars in oursample that display signs of significant rotation. This high frequencyof elevated rotational velocities does not appear to be caused bystellar mass transfer or mergers: there are too few main-sequencebinaries with short enough periods. We also note that the lack of anynoticeable increase in mean rotation at the magnitude level of the redgiant branch luminosity function ``bump'' argues against the rapidrotation's being caused by the transport of internal angular momentum tothe surface. Capture of a planetary-mass companion as a red giantexpands in radius could explain the high rotational velocities. (4) Wealso find significant rotation in at least six of the roughly 15 (40%)red horizontal-branch stars in our survey. It is likely that theenhanced rotation seen among a significant fraction of both blue and redhorizontal-branch stars arose when these stars were luminous red giants.Rapid rotation alone therefore appears insufficient cause to populatethe blue side of the horizontal branch. While the largest projectedrotational velocities seen among field blue and red horizontal-branchstars are consistent with their different sizes, neither are consistentwith the large values we find for the largest red giants. This suggeststhat some form of angular momentum loss (and possibly mass loss) hasbeen at work. Also puzzling is the apparent absence of rotation seen infield RR Lyrae variables. Angular momentum transfer and conservation inevolved metal-poor field stars thus pose many interesting questions forthe evolution of low-mass stars.
| Abundances of 30 Elements in 23 Metal-Poor Stars
We report the abundances of 30 elements in 23 metal-poor([Fe/H]<-1.7) giants. These are based on 7774 equivalent widths andspectral synthesis of 229 additional lines. Hyperfine splitting is takeninto account when appropriate. Our choice of model atmospheres has themost influence on the accuracy of our abundances. We consider the effectof different model atmospheres on our results. In addition to the randomerrors in Teff, logg, and microturbulent velocity, there areseveral sources of systematic error. These include using Teffdetermined from Fe I lines rather than colors, ignoring non-LTE effectson the Fe I/Fe II ionization balance, using models with solar[α/Fe] ratios, and using Kurucz models with overshooting. Ofthese, only the use of models with solar [α/Fe] ratios had anegligible effect. However, while the absolute abundances can change bygreater than 0.10 dex, the relative abundances, especially betweenclosely allied atoms such as the rare earth group, often show only small(less than 0.03 dex) changes. We found that some strong lines of Fe I,Mn I, and Cr I consistently gave lower abundances by ~0.2 dex, a numberlarger than the quoted errors in the gf-values. After considering amodel with depth-dependent microturbulent velocity and a model withhotter temperatures in the upper layers, we conclude that the latter dida better job of resolving the problem and agreeing with observationalevidence for the structure of stars. The error analysis includes theeffects of correlation of Teff, logg, and ξ errors, whichis crucial for certain element ratios, such as [Mg/Fe]. The abundancespresented here are being analyzed and discussed in a separate series ofpapers.
| Catalogue of [Fe/H] determinations for FGK stars: 2001 edition
The catalogue presented here is a compilation of published atmosphericparameters (Teff, log g, [Fe/H]) obtained from highresolution, high signal-to-noise spectroscopic observations. This newedition has changed compared to the five previous versions. It is nowrestricted to intermediate and low mass stars (F, G and K stars). Itcontains 6354 determinations of (Teff, log g, [Fe/H]) for3356 stars, including 909 stars in 79 stellar systems. The literature iscomplete between January 1980 and December 2000 and includes 378references. The catalogue is made up of two tables, one for field starsand one for stars in galactic associations, open and globular clustersand external galaxies. The catalogue is distributed through the CDSdatabase. Access to the catalogue with cross-identification to othersets of data is also possible with VizieR (Ochsenbein et al.\cite{och00}). The catalogue (Tables 1 and 2) is only available inelectronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr(130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/373/159 and VizieRhttp://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/.
| Th Ages for Metal-poor Stars
With a sample of 22 metal-poor stars, we demonstrate that theheavy-element abundance pattern (Z>=56) is the same as the r-processcontributions to the solar nebula. This bolsters the results of previousstudies that there is a universal r-process production pattern. We usethe abundance of thorium in five metal-poor stars, along with anestimate of the initial Th abundance based on the abundances of stabler-process elements, to measure their ages. We have four field red giantswith errors of 4.2 Gyr in their ages and one M92 giant with an error of5.6 Gyr, based on considering the sources of observational error only.We obtain an average age of 11.4 Gyr, which depends critically on theassumption of an initial Th/Eu production ratio of 0.496. If theuniverse is 15 Gyr old, then the (Th/Eu)0 should be 0.590, inagreement with some theoretical models of the r-process.
| Detection of Metal-poor Stars in the Direction of the North Galactic Pole
A simple approach to detecting metal-poor stars is to measure amagnesium index, which depends on the Mg H band plus the three nearby Mgb lines and is derived through intermediate-band interference filters.An empirically established line of demarcation in the Mg index versusB-V diagram separates metal-poor stars from solar-abundance stars. Afurther separation between metal-poor dwarfs and giants depends on B-Vprimarily dwarfs for B-V<0.55, giants for B-V>0.7, with both dwarfsand giants falling in the transition region. For the metal-poor giantsthe distance from the demarcation line correlates well with [Fe/H],permitting estimates of stellar abundances. Stars in two regions on thesky in the vicinity of the north Galactic pole have been observed withsuch a set of filters. Eighteen stars (6% of the population of 299) inthe sample covering the V range 8.7 to 15.6 and 48 stars (31% of thepopulation of 163) in a deeper probe to V=19.9 found through thisprocess are suspected metal-poor stars according to their Mg indices.Twenty-three are specifically deemed giants, with<[Fe/H]><=-1.5.
| Kinematics of Metal-poor Stars in the Galaxy. II. Proper Motions for a Large Nonkinematically Selected Sample
We present a revised catalog of 2106 Galactic stars, selected withoutkinematic bias and with available radial velocities, distance estimates,and metal abundances in the range -4.0<=[Fe/H]<=0.0. This updateof the 1995 Beers & Sommer-Larsen catalog includes newly derivedhomogeneous photometric distance estimates, revised radial velocitiesfor a number of stars with recently obtained high-resolution spectra,and refined metallicities for stars originally identified in the HKobjective-prism survey (which account for nearly half of the catalog)based on a recent recalibration. A subset of 1258 stars in this cataloghave available proper motions based on measurements obtained with theHipparcos astrometry satellite or taken from the updated AstrographicCatalogue (second epoch positions from either the Hubble Space TelescopeGuide Star Catalog or the Tycho Catalogue), the Yale/San Juan SouthernProper Motion Catalog 2.0, and the Lick Northern Proper Motion Catalog.Our present catalog includes 388 RR Lyrae variables (182 of which arenewly added), 38 variables of other types, and 1680 nonvariables, withdistances in the range 0.1 to 40 kpc.
| Abundances of light elements in metal-poor stars. III. Data analysis and results
We present the results of the analysis of an extensive set of new andliterature high quality data concerning Fe, C, N, O, Na, and Mg. Thisanalysis exploited the T_eff scale determined in Gratton et al. (1996a),and the non-LTE abundance corrections computed in Gratton et al.(1999a). Results obtained with various abundance indices are discussedand compared. Detailed comparison with models of galactic chemicalevolution will be presented in future papers of this series. Our non-LTEanalysis yields the same O abundances from both permitted and forbiddenlines for stars with T_eff >4600 K, in agreement with King (1993),but not with other studies using a lower T_eff -scale for subdwarfs.However, we obtain slightly smaller O abundances for the most luminousmetal-poor field stars than for fainter stars of similar metallicities,an effect attributed to inadequacies of the adopted model atmospheres(Kurucz 1992, with overshooting) for cool stars. We find a nearlyconstant O overundance in metal-poor stars ([Fe/H]<-0.8), at a meanvalue of 0.46+/- 0.02 dex (sigma =0.12, 32 stars), with only a gentleslope with [Fe/H] ( ~ -0.1); this result is different from the steeperslope recently obtained using OH band in the near UV. If only bonafideunmixed stars are considered, C abundances scale with Fe ones (i.e.[C/Fe]~ 0) down to [Fe/H] ~ -2.5. Due to our adoption of a differentT_eff scale, we do not confirm the slight C excess in the most metalpoor disk dwarfs (-0.8<[Fe/H]<-0.4) found in previousinvestigations. Na abundances scale as Fe ones in the high metallicityregime, while metal-poor stars present a Na underabundance. None of thefield stars analyzed belong to the group of O-poor and Na-rich starsobserved in globular clusters. Na is deficient with respect to Mg inhalo and thick disk stars; within these populations, Na deficiency maybe a slow function of [Mg/H]. Solar [Na/Mg] ratios are obtained for thindisk stars. Tables~ 2 to 9 are only available in electronic form at theCDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strabg.fr/Abstract.html
| The effective temperature scale of giant stars (F0-K5). I. The effective temperature determination by means of the IRFM
We have applied the InfraRed Flux Method (IRFM) to a sample ofapproximately 500 giant stars in order to derive their effectivetemperatures with an internal mean accuracy of about 1.5% and a maximumuncertainty in the zero point of the order of 0.9%. For the applicationof the IRFM, we have used a homogeneous grid of theoretical modelatmosphere flux distributions developed by \cite[Kurucz (1993)]{K93}.The atmospheric parameters of the stars roughly cover the ranges: 3500 K<= T_eff <= 8000 K; -3.0 <= [Fe/H] <= +0.5; 0.5 <= log(g) <= 3.5. The monochromatic infrared fluxes at the continuum arebased on recent photometry with errors that satisfy the accuracyrequirements of the work. We have derived the bolometric correction ofgiant stars by using a new calibration which takes the effect ofmetallicity into account. Direct spectroscopic determinations ofmetallicity have been adopted where available, although estimates basedon photometric calibrations have been considered for some stars lackingspectroscopic ones. The adopted infrared absolute flux calibration,based on direct optical measurements of stellar angular diameters, putsthe effective temperatures determined in this work in the same scale asthose obtained by direct methods. We have derived up to fourtemperatures, TJ, TH, TK and T_{L'},for each star using the monochromatic fluxes at different infraredwavelengths in the photometric bands J, H, K and L'. They show goodconsistency over 4000 K, and there is no appreciable trend withwavelength, metallicity and/or temperature. We provide a detaileddescription of the steps followed for the application of the IRFM, aswell as the sources of error and their effect on final temperatures. Wealso provide a comparison of the results with previous work.
| Estimation of Stellar Metal Abundance. II. A Recalibration of the Ca II K Technique, and the Autocorrelation Function Method
We have recalibrated a method for the estimation of stellar metalabundance, parameterized as [Fe/H], based on medium-resolution (1-2Å) optical spectra (the majority of which cover the wavelengthrange 3700-4500 Å). The equivalent width of the Ca II K line (3933Å) as a function of [Fe/H] and broadband B-V color, as predictedfrom spectrum synthesis and model atmosphere calculations, is comparedwith observations of 551 stars with high-resolution abundances availablefrom the literature (a sevenfold increase in the number of calibrationstars that were previously available). A second method, based on theFourier autocorrelation function technique first described by Ratnatunga& Freeman, is used to provide an independent estimate of [Fe/H], ascalibrated by comparison with 405 standard-star abundances.Metallicities based on a combination of the two techniques for dwarfsand giants in the color range 0.30<=(B-V)_0<=1.2 exhibit anexternal 1 sigma scatter of approximately 0.10-0.20 dex over theabundance range -4.0<=[Fe/H]<=0.5. Particular attention has beengiven to the determination of abundance estimates at the metal-rich endof the calibration, where our previous attempt suffered from aconsiderable zero-point offset. Radial velocities, accurate toapproximately 10 km s^-1, are reported for all 551 calibration stars.
| Ca II H and K Photometry on the UVBY System. III. The Metallicity Calibration for the Red Giants
New photometry on the uvby Ca system is presented for over 300 stars.When combined with previous data, the sample is used to calibrate themetallicity dependence of the hk index for cooler, evolved stars. Themetallicity scale is based upon the standardized merger of spectroscopicabundances from 38 studies since 1983, providing an overlap of 122evolved stars with the photometric catalog. The hk index producesreliable abundances for stars in the [Fe/H] range from -0.8 to -3.4,losing sensitivity among cooler stars due to saturation effects athigher [Fe/H], as expected.
| Broad-band JHK(L') photometry of a sample of giants with 0.5 > [Fe/H] > -3
We present the results of a three-year campaign of broad-band photometryin the near-infrared J, H, K and L' bands for a sample of approximately250 giant stars carried out at the Observatorio del Teide (Tenerife,Spain). Transformations of the Telescopio Carlos Sanchez systeminto/from several currently used infrared systems are extended to theredward part of the colour axis. The linearity of our photometric systemin the range -3 mag [Fe/H] >-3. Data of comparable quality previouslypublished have been added to the sample in order to increase thereliability of the relations to be obtained. We also provide mean IRcolours for giant stars according to spectral type.ables 1, 2 and 3 are only available in electronic form via the CDS(anonymous ftp 130.79.128.5 or http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| Early evolution of the Galactic halo revealed from Hipparcos observations of metal-poor stars
The kinematics of 122 red giant and 124 RR Lyrae stars in the solarneighborhood are studied using accurate measurements of their propermotions obtained by the Hipparcos astrometry satellite, combined withtheir published photometric distances, metal abundances, and radialvelocities. A majority of these sample stars have metal abundances of(Fe/H) = -1 or less and thus represent the old stellar populations inthe Galaxy. The halo component, with (Fe/H) = -1.6 or less, ischaracterized by a lack of systemic rotation and a radially elongatedvelocity ellipsoid. About 16 percent of such metal-poor stars have loworbital eccentricities, and we see no evidence of a correlation between(Fe/H) and e. Based on the model for the e-distribution of orbits, weshow that this fraction of low-e stars for (Fe/H) = -1.6 or less isexplained by the halo component alone, without introducing the extradisk component claimed by recent workers. This is also supported by theabsence of a significant change in the e-distribution with height fromthe Galactic plane. In the intermediate-metallicity range, we find thatstars with disklike kinematics have only modest effects on thedistributions of rotational velocities and e for the sample at absolutevalue of z less than 1 kpc. This disk component appears to constituteonly 10 percent for (Fe/H) between -1.6 and -1 and 20 percent for (Fe/H)between -1.4 and -1.
| A catalogue of [Fe/H] determinations: 1996 edition
A fifth Edition of the Catalogue of [Fe/H] determinations is presentedherewith. It contains 5946 determinations for 3247 stars, including 751stars in 84 associations, clusters or galaxies. The literature iscomplete up to December 1995. The 700 bibliographical referencescorrespond to [Fe/H] determinations obtained from high resolutionspectroscopic observations and detailed analyses, most of them carriedout with the help of model-atmospheres. The Catalogue is made up ofthree formatted files: File 1: field stars, File 2: stars in galacticassociations and clusters, and stars in SMC, LMC, M33, File 3: numberedlist of bibliographical references The three files are only available inelectronic form at the Centre de Donnees Stellaires in Strasbourg, viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5), or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| Abundances of light elements in metal-poor stars. I. Atmospheric parameters and a new T_eff_ scale
We present atmospheric parameters for about 300 stars of differentchemical composition, whose spectra will be used to study the galacticenrichment of Fe and light elements. These parameters were derived usingan homogeneous iterative procedure, which considers new calibrations ofcolour-T_eff_ relations for F, G and K-type stars based on Infrared FluxMethod (IRFM) and interferometric diameters for population I stars, andthe Kurucz (1992) model atmospheres. We found that these calibrationsyield a self-consistent set of atmospheric parameters forT_eff_>4400K, representing a clear improvement over results obtainedwith older model atmospheres. Using this T_eff_ -scale and Feequilibrium of ionization, we obtained very low gravities (implyingluminosities incompatible with that expected for RGB stars) formetal-poor stars cooler than 4400K; this might be due either to amoderate Fe overionization (expected from statistical equilibriumcalculations) or to inadequacy of Kurucz models to describe theatmospheres of very cool giants. Our T_eff_ scale is compared with otherscales recently used for metal-poor stars; it agrees well with thoseobtained using Kurucz (1992) models, but it gives much larger T_eff_'sthan those obtained using OSMARCS models (Edvardsson et al. 1993). Thisdifference is attributed to the different treatment of convection in thetwo sets of models. For the Sun, the Kurucz (1992) model appears to bepreferable to the OSMARCS ones because it better predicts the solar limbdarkening; furthermore, we find that our photometric T_eff_ 's formetal-poor stars agree well with both direct estimates based on theIRFM, and with T_eff_'s derived from Hα wings when using Kuruczmodels.
| Classification of Population II Stars in the Vilnius Photometric System. I. Methods
The methods used for classification of Population II stars in theVilnius photometric system are described. An extensive set of standardswith known astrophysical parameters compiled from the literature sourcesis given. These standard stars are classified in the Vilnius photometricsystem using the methods described. The accuracy of classification isevaluated by a comparison of the astrophysical parameters derived fromthe Vilnius photometric system with those estimated from spectroscopicstudies as well as from photometric data in other systems. For dwarfsand subdwarfs, we find a satisfactory agreement between our reddeningsand those estimated in the uvbyscriptstyle beta system. The standarddeviation of [Fe/H] deter mined in the Vilnius system is about 0.2 dex.The absolute magnitude for dwarfs and subdwarfs is estimated with anaccuracy of scriptstyle <=0.5 mag.
| Ca II H and K Filter Photometry on the UVBY System. II. The Catalog of Observations
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1995AJ....109.2828T&db_key=AST
| Kinematics of metal-poor stars in the galaxy
We discuss the kinematic properties of a sample of 1936 Galactic stars,selected without kinematic bias, and with abundances (Fe/H) is less thanor equal to -0.6. The stars selected for this study all have measuredradial velocities, and the majority have abundances determined fromspectroscopic or narrow-/intermediate-band photometric techniques. Incontrast to previous examinations of the kinematics of the metal-poorstars in the Galaxy, our sample contains large numbers of stars that arelocated at distances in excess of 1 kpc from the Galactic plane. Thus, amuch clearer picture of the nature of the metal-deficient populations inthe Galaxy can now be drawn.
| An Abundance Calibration for DDO Photometry of Population-II G and K Giants
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1994MNRAS.268..733C&db_key=AST
| Reddening estimation for halo red giants using UVBY photometry
Updated uvby observations for a larger sample of metal-deficient redgiants are presented and combined with a select sample of data from theliterature transformed to a common system. Using the reddening maps ofBurstein & Heiles (1982), new absolute magnitudes, distances,metallicities, and reddenings are derived for each star. Themetallicities are determined with a revised calibration of them1, (b-y) diagram based upon comparison to a complilation ofrecent spectrsoscopic abundances transformed to a common system. Thephotometric abundances agree very well with the spectroscopic; thedispersion among the residuals for 58 giants is +/- 0.16 dex. Thedereddened indices are used to show that for red giants with (Fe/H) lessthan -1.5, there is a well-defined relation in the c0,(b-y)0 diagram which exhibits only a weak dependence uponmetallicity. Use of the standard relations allows one to obtainreddening estimates for normal halo field giants and globular clustersin the appropriate metallicity range.
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Bootes |
| Right ascension: | 14h23m58.17s |
| Declination: | +08°01'33.3" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 10.09 |
| Proper motion RA: | 7 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -21 |
| B-T magnitude: | 11.097 |
| V-T magnitude: | 10.174 |
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