Home     Getting Started     To Survive in the Universe    
Inhabited Sky
    News@Sky     Astro Photo     The Collection     Forum     Blog New!     FAQ     Press     Login  

ε UMi (Epsilon Ursae Minoris)


Contents

Images

Upload your image

DSS Images   Other Images


Related articles

Mass loss and orbital period decrease in detached chromospherically active binaries
The secular evolution of the orbital angular momentum (OAM), thesystemic mass (M=M1+M2) and the orbital period of114 chromospherically active binaries (CABs) were investigated afterdetermining the kinematical ages of the subsamples which were setaccording to OAM bins. OAMs, systemic masses and orbital periods wereshown to be decreasing by the kinematical ages. The first-orderdecreasing rates of OAM, systemic mass and orbital period have beendetermined as per systemic OAM, per systemic mass and per orbitalperiod, respectively, from the kinematical ages. The ratio of d logJ/dlogM= 2.68, which were derived from the kinematics of the presentsample, implies that there must be a mechanism which amplifies theangular momentum loss (AML) times in comparison to isotropic AML ofhypothetical isotropic wind from the components. It has been shown thatsimple isotropic mass loss from the surface of a component or bothcomponents would increase the orbital period.

Mg II chromospheric radiative loss rates in cool active and quiet stars
The Mg II k emission line is a good indicator of the level ofchromospheric activity in late-type stars. We investigate the dependenceof this activity indicator on fundamental stellar parameters. To thispurpose we use IUE observations of the Mg II k line in 225 late-typestars of luminosity classes I-V, with different levels of chromosphericactivity. We first re-analyse the relation between Mg II k lineluminosity and stellar absolute magnitude, performing linear fits to thepoints. The ratio of Mg II surface flux to total surface flux is foundto be independent of stellar luminosity for evolved stars and toincrease with decreasing luminosity for dwarfs. We also analyse the MgII k line surface flux-metallicity connection. The Mg II k emissionlevel turns out to be not dependent on metallicity. Finally, the Mg II kline surface flux-temperature relation is investigated by treatingseparately, for the first time, a large sample of very active and normalstars. The stellar surface fluxes in the k line of normal stars arefound to be strongly dependent on the temperature and slightly dependenton the gravity, thus confirming the validity of recently proposedmodels. In contrast, data relative to RS CVn binaries and BY Dra stars,which show very strong chromospheric activity, are not justified in theframework of a description based only on acoustic waves and uniformlydistributed magnetic flux tubes so that they require more detailedmodels.

Kinematics of chromospherically active binaries and evidence of an orbital period decrease in binary evolution
The kinematics of 237 chromospherically active binaries (CABs) werestudied. The sample is heterogeneous with different orbits andphysically different components from F to M spectral-type main-sequencestars to G and K giants and supergiants. The computed U, V, W spacevelocities indicate that the sample is also heterogeneous in velocityspace. That is, both kinematically younger and older systems exist amongthe non-evolved main sequence and the evolved binaries containing giantsand subgiants. The kinematically young (0.95 Gyr) subsample (N= 95),which is formed according to the kinematical criteria of moving groups,was compared with the rest (N= 142) of the sample (3.86 Gyr) toinvestigate any observational clues of binary evolution. Comparing theorbital period histograms between the younger and older subsamples,evidence was found supporting the finding of Demircan that the CABs losemass (and angular momentum) and evolve towards shorter orbital periods.The evidence of mass loss is noticeable on the histograms of the totalmass (Mh+Mc), which is compared between theyounger (only N= 53 systems available) and older subsamples (only N= 66systems available). The orbital period decrease during binary evolutionis found to be clearly indicated by the kinematical ages of 6.69, 5.19and 3.02 Gyr which were found in the subsamples according to the periodranges of logP<= 0.8, 0.8 < logP<= 1.7 and 1.7 < logP<=3, respectively, among the binaries in the older subsample.

Rotation and Lithium Surface Abundances, Revisited
For giants in the Hertzsprung gap, the relations betweenTeff, vsini, and lithium surface abundances arereinvestigated and compared with the relations found for Hyadesmain-sequence F stars. For the Hyades main-sequence F stars, the vsinidecrease steeply around Teff~6450 K. At the same temperaturethe lithium surface abundances show a narrow, deep dip. For most giantsthere is also a steep decrease of vsini for Teff around 6450K. At this temperature the lithium surface abundances of the giants alsodecrease steeply and remain low for Teff<6400 K. Thechanges in rotation and Li surface abundances occur over a temperatureinterval of less than 300 K, which for a 2 Msolar giantcorresponds to an age interval of about 106 yr. Thesimultaneous steep decreases of rotation velocities and Li surfaceabundances indicate that for the giants these changes are due to thesame cause, which we suggest to be deep mixing. It then seems ratherlikely that for the Hyades main-sequence F5 V stars the decrease ofrotation and Li surface abundance is also caused by deep mixing. Wesuggest that in both cases the changes are related to the merging of thehydrogen and helium convection zones.

Stellar Kinematic Groups. II. A Reexamination of the Membership, Activity, and Age of the Ursa Major Group
Utilizing Hipparcos parallaxes, original radial velocities and recentliterature values, new Ca II H and K emission measurements,literature-based abundance estimates, and updated photometry (includingrecent resolved measurements of close doubles), we revisit the UrsaMajor moving group membership status of some 220 stars to produce afinal clean list of nearly 60 assured members, based on kinematic andphotometric criteria. Scatter in the velocity dispersions and H-Rdiagram is correlated with trial activity-based membership assignments,indicating the usefulness of criteria based on photometric andchromospheric emission to examine membership. Closer inspection,however, shows that activity is considerably more robust at excludingmembership, failing to do so only for <=15% of objects, perhapsconsiderably less. Our UMa members demonstrate nonzero vertex deviationin the Bottlinger diagram, behavior seen in older and recent studies ofnearby young disk stars and perhaps related to Galactic spiralstructure. Comparison of isochrones and our final UMa group membersindicates an age of 500+/-100 Myr, some 200 Myr older than thecanonically quoted UMa age. Our UMa kinematic/photometric members' meanchromospheric emission levels, rotational velocities, and scattertherein are indistinguishable from values in the Hyades and smaller thanthose evinced by members of the younger Pleiades and M34 clusters,suggesting these characteristics decline rapidly with age over 200-500Myr. None of our UMa members demonstrate inordinately low absolutevalues of chromospheric emission, but several may show residual fluxes afactor of >=2 below a Hyades-defined lower envelope. If one defines aMaunder-like minimum in a relative sense, then the UMa results maysuggest that solar-type stars spend 10% of their entire main-sequencelives in periods of precipitously low activity, which is consistent withestimates from older field stars. As related asides, we note six evolvedstars (among our UMa nonmembers) with distinctive kinematics that liealong a 2 Gyr isochrone and appear to be late-type counterparts to diskF stars defining intermediate-age star streams in previous studies,identify a small number of potentially very young but isolated fieldstars, note that active stars (whether UMa members or not) in our samplelie very close to the solar composition zero-age main sequence, unlikeHipparcos-based positions in the H-R diagram of Pleiades dwarfs, andargue that some extant transformations of activity indices are notadequate for cool dwarfs, for which Ca II infrared triplet emissionseems to be a better proxy than Hα-based values for Ca II H and Kindices.

Observational constraints for lithium depletion before the RGB
Precise Li abundances are determined for 54 giant stars mostly evolvingacross the Hertzsprung gap. We combine these data with rotationalvelocity and with information related to the deepening of the convectivezone of the stars to analyse their link to Li dilution in the referredspectral region. A sudden decline in Li abundance paralleling the onealready established in rotation is quite clear. Following similarresults for other stellar luminosity classes and spectral regions, thereis no linear relation between Li abundance and rotation, in spite of thefact that most of the fast rotators present high Li content. The effectsof convection in driving the Li dilution is also quite clear. Stars withhigh Li content are mostly those with an undeveloped convective zone,whereas stars with a developed convective zone present clear sign of Lidilution.Based on observations collected at ESO, La Silla, Chile, and at theObservatoire de Haute Provence, France, operated by the Centre Nationalde la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS).

A study of the Mg II 2796.34 Å emission line in late-type normal and RS CVn stars
We carry out an analysis of the Mg II 2796.34 Å emission line inRS CVn stars and make a comparison with the normal stars studied in aprevious paper (Paper I). The sample of RS CVn stars consists of 34objects with known HIPPARCOS parallaxes and observed at high resolutionwith IUE. We confirm that RS CVn stars tend to possess wider Mg II linesthan normal stars having the same absolute visual magnitude. However, wecould not find any correlation between the logarithmic line width logWdeg and the absolute visual magnitude MV (theWilson-Bappu relationship) for these active stars, contrary to the caseof normal stars addressed in Paper I. On the contrary, we find that astrong correlation exists in the (MV, log LMg II)plane (LMg II is the absolute flux in the line). In thisplane, normal and RS CVn stars are distributed along two nearly parallelstraight lines with RS CVn stars being systematically brighter by ~1dex. Such a diagram provides an interesting tool to discriminate activefrom normal stars. We finally analyse the distribution of RS CVn and ofnormal stars in the (log LMg II, log Wdeg) plane,and find a strong linear correlation for normal stars, which can be usedfor distance determinations.

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.

Reprocessing the Hipparcos Intermediate Astrometric Data of spectroscopic binaries. II. Systems with a giant component
By reanalyzing the Hipparcos Intermediate Astrometric Data of a largesample of spectroscopic binaries containing a giant, we obtain a sampleof 29 systems fulfilling a carefully derived set of constraints andhence for which we can derive an accurate orbital solution. Of these,one is a double-lined spectroscopic binary and six were not listed inthe DMSA/O section of the catalogue. Using our solutions, we derive themasses of the components in these systems and statistically analyzethem. We also briefly discuss each system individually.Based on observations from the Hipparcos astrometric satellite operatedby the European Space Agency (ESA 1997) and on data collected with theSimbad database.

The Rotation of Binary Systems with Evolved Components
In the present study we analyze the behavior of the rotational velocity,vsini, for a large sample of 134 spectroscopic binary systems with agiant star component of luminosity class III, along the spectral regionfrom middle F to middle K. The distribution of vsini as a function ofcolor index B-V seems to follow the same behavior as their singlecounterparts, with a sudden decline around G0 III. Blueward of thisspectral type, namely, for binary systems with a giant F-type component,one sees a trend for a large spread in the rotational velocities, from afew to at least 40 km s-1. Along the G and K spectral regionsthere are a considerable number of binary systems with moderate tomoderately high rotation rates. This reflects the effects ofsynchronization between rotation and orbital motions. These rotatorshave orbital periods shorter than about 250 days and circular or nearlycircular orbits. Except for these synchronized systems, the largemajority of binary systems with a giant component of spectral type laterthan G0 III are composed of slow rotators.

Is the EGRET Source 3EG J1621+8203 the Radio Galaxy NGC 6251?
We discuss the nature of the unidentified EGRET source 3EG J1621+8203.In an effort to identify the gamma-ray source, we have examined X-rayimages of the field from ROSAT PSPC, ROSAT HRI, and ASCA GIS. Of theseveral faint X-ray point sources in the error circle of 3EG J1621+8203,most are stars or faint radio sources, unlikely to be counterparts tothe EGRET source. The most notable object in the gamma-ray error box isthe bright FR I radio galaxy NGC 6251. If 3EG J1621+8203 corresponds toNGC 6251, then it would be the second radio galaxy to be detected inhigh-energy gamma rays after Cen A, which provided the first clearevidence of the detection above 100 MeV of an active galactic nucleus(AGN) with a large-inclination jet. If the detection of more radiogalaxies by EGRET has been limited by its threshold sensitivity, thereexists the exciting possibility that new high-energy gamma-rayinstruments, with much higher sensitivity, will detect a larger numberof radio galaxies in the future.

Determination of the Ages of Close Binary Stars on the Main Sequence from Evolutionary Model Stars of Claret and Gimenez
A grid of isochrones, covering a wide range of stellar ages from thezero-age main sequence to 10 billion years, is calculated in the presentwork on the basis of the model stars of Claret and Gimenez withallowance for convective overshoot and mass loss by the components. Theages of 88 eclipsing variables on the main sequence from Andersen'scatalog and 100 chromospherically active stars from Strassmeier'scatalog are calculated with a description of the method of optimuminterpolation. Comparisons with age determinations by other authors aregiven and good agreement is established.

The comparative accuracy of photographic observations of radio stars observed at the Engelhardt Astronomical Observatory
At the Engelhardt Astronomical Observatory (EAO), we observedphotographic positions of 113 Galactic Radio Sources (GRS) in the systemPPM catalogue (Rizvanov & Dautov 1998). Analysis of their accuracyis made by comparison with the Hipparcos catalogue (Perryman et al.1997) and astrometric catalogue of radio stars in the radio window fromthe article of Walter et al. (1991). Table 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/375/670

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

The proper motions of fundamental stars. I. 1535 stars from the Basic FK5
A direct combination of the positions given in the HIPPARCOS cataloguewith astrometric ground-based catalogues having epochs later than 1939allows us to obtain new proper motions for the 1535 stars of the BasicFK5. The results are presented as the catalogue Proper Motions ofFundamental Stars (PMFS), Part I. The median precision of the propermotions is 0.5 mas/year for mu alpha cos delta and 0.7mas/year for mu delta . The non-linear motions of thephotocentres of a few hundred astrometric binaries are separated intotheir linear and elliptic motions. Since the PMFS proper motions do notinclude the information given by the proper motions from othercatalogues (HIPPARCOS, FK5, FK6, etc.) this catalogue can be used as anindependent source of the proper motions of the fundamental stars.Catalogue (Table 3) is only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strastg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/365/222

On the Variability of G0-G9 Stars
We investigate the Hipparcos Satellite photometry of G0-G9 stars. Mostare not particularly variable over the 3 year observing period, but maybe over a longer time. Stars for which further study is desirable areidentified.

The Northern ROSAT All-Sky (NORAS) Galaxy Cluster Survey. I. X-Ray Properties of Clusters Detected as Extended X-Ray Sources
In the construction of an X-ray-selected sample of galaxy clusters forcosmological studies, we have assembled a sample of 495 X-ray sourcesfound to show extended X-ray emission in the first processing of theROSAT All-Sky Survey. The sample covers the celestial region withdeclination δ>=0deg and Galactic latitude|bII|>=20deg and comprises sources with a countrate >=0.06 counts s-1 and a source extent likelihood ofL>=7. In an optical follow-up identification program we find 378(76%) of these sources to be clusters of galaxies. It was necessary toreanalyze the sources in this sample with a new X-ray sourcecharacterization technique to provide more precise values for the X-rayflux and source extent than obtained from the standard processing. Thisnew method, termed growth curve analysis (GCA), has the advantage overprevious methods in its ability to be robust, to be easy to model and tointegrate into simulations, to provide diagnostic plots for visualinspection, and to make extensive use of the X-ray data. The sourceparameters obtained assist the source identification and provide moreprecise X-ray fluxes. This reanalysis is based on data from the morerecent second processing of the ROSAT Survey. We present a catalog ofthe cluster sources with the X-ray properties obtained as well as a listof the previously flagged extended sources that are found to have anoncluster counterpart. We discuss the process of source identificationfrom the combination of optical and X-ray data. To investigate theoverall completeness of the cluster sample as a function of the X-rayflux limit, we extend the search for X-ray cluster sources to the dataof the second processing of the ROSAT Survey for the northern sky regionbetween 9h and 14h in right ascension. We includethe search for X-ray emission of known clusters as well as a newinvestigation of extended X-ray sources. In the course of this search wefind X-ray emission from 85 additional Abell clusters and 56 veryprobable cluster candidates among the newly found extended sources. Acomparison of the X-ray cluster number counts of the NORAS sample withthe ROSAT-ESO Flux-limited X-Ray (REFLEX) Cluster Survey results leadsto an estimate of the completeness of the NORAS sample of ROSAT All-SkySurvey (RASS) I extended clusters of about 50% at an X-ray flux ofFX(0.1-2.4 keV)=3×10-12 ergs s-1cm-2. The estimated completeness achieved by adding thesupplementary sample in the study area amounts to about 82% incomparison to REFLEX. The low completeness introduces an uncertainty inthe use of the sample for cosmological statistical studies that will becured with the completion of the continuing Northern ROSAT All-Sky(NORAS) Cluster Survey project. Results reported here are based onobservations made with the Multiple Mirror Telescope, a joint facilityof the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Arizona.

Ultraviolet Emission Lines in BA and Non-BA Giants
With the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and the Goddard High ResolutionSpectrograph we have observed four barium and three weak barium stars inthe ultraviolet spectral region, together with two nonpeculiar giantstandard stars. An additional suspected Ba star was observed with HSTand the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph. In the H-R diagram, threeof the observed Ba stars lie on the same evolutionary tracks as theHyades giants. Using International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) spectra ofpreviously studied giants together with our HST spectra, we investigatewhether the chromospheric and transition layer emission-line spectra ofthe Ba stars are different from those of nonpeculiar giants and fromthose of giants with peculiar carbon and/or nitrogen abundances. Exceptfor the Ba star HD 46407 and the suspected Ba star HD 65699, the Ba starand mild Ba star emission-line fluxes are, for a given effectivetemperature and for a given luminosity, lower than those for thenonpeculiar giants observed with IUE. In comparison with theHST-observed standard stars, the C IV λ1550-to-C II λ1335line flux ratios are smaller, but not necessarily so in comparison withall IUE-observed nonpeculiar giants. However, the C IV-to-C II line fluxratios for the Ba stars decrease with increasing carbon abundances. Thisshows that the energy balance in the lower transition layer isinfluenced by the carbon abundance. The temperature gradient appears tobe smaller in the C II line-emitting region. There does not seem to be adifference in chromospheric electron densities for the Ba and non-Bastars, though this result is rather uncertain. Based on observationswith the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope obtained at the Space TelescopeScience Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universitiesfor Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555.

Near-Infrared Classification Spectroscopy: J-Band Spectra of Fundamental MK Standards
We present a catalog of J-band spectra for 88 fundamental MK standardstars observed at a resolving power of R~3000. This contribution servesas a companion atlas to the K-band spectra recently published by Wallace& Hinkle and the H-band atlas by Meyer and coworkers. We report datafrom 7400 to 9550 cm-1 (1.05-1.34 μm) for stars ofspectral types O7-M6 and luminosity classes I-V as defined in the MKsystem. In reducing these data, special care has been taken to removetime-variable telluric features of water vapor. We identify atomic andmolecular indexes that are both temperature and luminosity sensitivethat aid in the classification of stellar spectra in the J band. Inaddition to being useful in the classification of late-type stars, the Jband contains several features of interest in the study of early-typestellar photospheres. These data are available electronically foranonymous FTP in addition to being served on the World Wide Web.

High excitation emission lines in binary systems with roundchroms
An unexpected empirical fact, a dependence of the observed luminositiesin high excitation emission lines - 1240 NV, 1400 SiIV, 1550 CIV, 1640HeII - on the intercomponent distance a of RS CVn type close binarysystems, is revealed. It is assumed that those high excitation emissionlines are generated most probably in a cone-like region between theLagrangian point L_1 and the surface of the primary component of thesystem. The behavior of high excitation emission lines at various phasesof the eclipse in the case of two binary systems, SX Cas and 22 Vul,indicates the possibility of existence of such a `Lagrangian cone' inthe structure of common chromospheres - roundchroms - of close binarysystems as a main source of generation of high excitation emissionlines.

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).

On X-Ray Variability in Active Binary Stars
We have compared the X-ray emissions of active binary stars observed atvarious epochs by the Einstein and ROSAT satellites in order toinvestigate the nature of their X-ray variability. The primary aim ofthis work is to determine whether or not active binaries exhibitlong-term variations in X-ray emission, perhaps analogous to theobserved cyclic behavior of solar magnetic activity. We find that, whilethe mean level of emission of the sample remains steady, comparison ofdifferent ROSAT observations of the same stars shows significantvariation on timescales <~2 yr, with an ``effective variability''ΔI/I=0.32+/-0.04, where I and ΔI represent the mean emissionand variation from the mean emission, respectively. A comparison of theROSAT All-Sky Survey and later pointed observations with earlierobservations of the same stars carried out with Einstein yields onlymarginal evidence for a larger variation (ΔI/I=0.38+/-0.04 forEinstein vs. ROSAT All-Sky Survey and 0.46+/-0.05 for Einstein vs. ROSATpointed) at these longer timescales (~10 yr), thus indicating thepossible presence of a long-term component to the variability. Whetheror not this long-term component is due to the presence of cyclicvariability cannot be decided on the basis of existing data. However,assuming that this component is analogous to the observed cyclicvariability of the Sun, we find that the relative magnitude of thecyclic component in the ROSAT passband can, at most, be a factor of 4,i.e., I_cyc/I_min<4. This is to be compared with the correspondingbut significantly higher solar value of ~10-10^2 derived from GOES,Yohkoh, and Solrad data. These results are consistent with thesuggestions of earlier studies that a turbulent or distributive dynamomight be responsible for the observed magnetic activity on the mostactive, rapidly rotating stars.

A catalog of rotational and radial velocities for evolved stars
Rotational and radial velocities have been measured for about 2000evolved stars of luminosity classes IV, III, II and Ib covering thespectral region F, G and K. The survey was carried out with the CORAVELspectrometer. The precision for the radial velocities is better than0.30 km s-1, whereas for the rotational velocity measurementsthe uncertainties are typically 1.0 km s-1 for subgiants andgiants and 2.0 km s-1 for class II giants and Ib supergiants.These data will add constraints to studies of the rotational behaviourof evolved stars as well as solid informations concerning the presenceof external rotational brakes, tidal interactions in evolved binarysystems and on the link between rotation, chemical abundance and stellaractivity. In this paper we present the rotational velocity v sin i andthe mean radial velocity for the stars of luminosity classes IV, III andII. Based on observations collected at the Haute--Provence Observatory,Saint--Michel, France and at the European Southern Observatory, LaSilla, Chile. Table \ref{tab5} also available in electronic form at CDSvia anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html

The Wilson-Bappu relation for RS CVn stars
We investigate the extent to which the Wilson-Bappu relationship holdsfor chromospherically active binaries using the Mg ii h&k lines of41 RS CVn stars observed with IUE. The resulting fits are different fromthe relationships obtained for single, less active stars. The parallaxused were those from the hipparcos catalogue, these give a much bettercorrelation than the magnitudes taken from CABS. Within a particularluminosity class the relationship is good, however it tends to breakdown when we incorporate objects ranging in luminosity from class i tov. From model calculations there is very little dependence of the Mg iiline width on effective temperature. The line width does however dependon the column mass at the transition region boundary showing increasedline width at lower column mass. There is also a dependence on thecolumn mass adopted for the temperature minimum, however, the major anddominant parameter is the surface gravity scaling as g(-1/4) . Within aluminosity class more active objects will show larger lines widthsreflecting a higher column mass deeper in the atmosphere, e.g. at thetemperature minimum level.

Optical spectroscopy of X-ray sources in the old open cluster M 67
We have obtained optical spectra of seven stars in the old galacticcluster M 67 that are unusual sources of X-rays, andinvestigate whether the X-ray emission is due to magnetic activity or tomass transfer. The two binaries below the giant branch S 1063 and S1113, the giant with the white dwarf companion S 1040 and the eccentricbinary on the subgiant branch S 1242 show magnetic activity in the formof Ca Ii H&K emission and Hα emission, suggesting that theirX-rays are coronal. The reason for the enhanced activity level in S 1040is not clear. The two wide, eccentric binaries S 1072 and S 1237 and theblue straggler S 1082 do not show evidence for Ca Ii H&K emission. Asecond spectral component is found in the spectrum of S 1082, mostclearly in the variable Hα absorption profile. We interpret thisas a signature of the proposed hot subluminous companion. Based onobservations made with the William Herschel Telescope operated on theisland of La Palma by the Isaac Newton Group in the Spanish Observatoriodel Roque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias

Ten CORAVEL spectroscopic binary orbits of evolved stars
On the basis of Coravel observations, we present orbital parameters for10 spectroscopic-binary systems including an evolved star, namely HD13530, HD 28591, HD 47415, HD 78414, HD 123999, HD 153751, HD 174881, HD179094, HD 212280 and HD 217188. The most significant result is relatedto HD 13530, for which we have found an orbital period of 1575.48+/-1.63days and an eccentricity of 0.8815. Such an eccentricity value is thelargest one known up to date for a single-lined spectroscopic binarywith a giant component. The other spectroscopic orbits described in thispaper principally confirm with independent data previously obtainedorbital solutions except HD 179094 for which the double-lined status wasstill unknown. Based on observations collected at the Haute-ProvenceObservatory, Saint-Michel, France and at ESO, La Silla, Chile.

The ROSAT all-sky survey catalogue of optically bright late-type giants and supergiants
We present X-ray data for all late-type (A, F, G, K, M) giants andsupergiants (luminosity classes I to III-IV) listed in the Bright StarCatalogue that have been detected in the ROSAT all-sky survey.Altogether, our catalogue contains 450 entries of X-ray emitting evolvedlate-type stars, which corresponds to an average detection rate of about11.7 percent. The selection of the sample stars, the data analysis, thecriteria for an accepted match between star and X-ray source, and thedetermination of X-ray fluxes are described. Catalogue only available atCDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html

The age-mass relation for chromospherically active binaries. III. Lithium depletion in giant components
We present a study of the lithium abundances of a sample of evolvedcomponents of Chromospherically Active Binary Systems. We show that asignificant part of them have lithium excesses, independently of theirmass and evolutionary stage. Therefore, it can be concluded that Liabundance does not depend on age for giant components of CABS. Theseoverabundances appear to be closely related to the stellar rotation, andwe interpret them as a consequence of the transfer of angular momentumfrom the orbit to the rotation as the stars evolve in and off the MainSequence, in a similar way as it happens in the dwarf components of thesame systems and in the Tidally Locked Binaries belonging to the Hyadesand M67. Based on observations collected with the 2.2\,m telescope ofthe German-Spanish Observatorio de Calar Alto (Almeria, Spain), and withthe 2.56\,m Nordic Optical Telescope in the Spanish Observatorio delRoque de los Muchachos of the Instituto de Astrof\'\i sica de Canarias(La Palma, Spain)

The Tokyo PMC catalog 90-93: Catalog of positions of 6649 stars observed in 1990 through 1993 with Tokyo photoelectric meridian circle
The sixth annual catalog of the Tokyo Photoelectric Meridian Circle(PMC) is presented for 6649 stars which were observed at least two timesin January 1990 through March 1993. The mean positions of the starsobserved are given in the catalog at the corresponding mean epochs ofobservations of individual stars. The coordinates of the catalog arebased on the FK5 system, and referred to the equinox and equator ofJ2000.0. The mean local deviations of the observed positions from theFK5 catalog positions are constructed for the basic FK5 stars to comparewith those of the Tokyo PMC Catalog 89 and preliminary Hipparcos resultsof H30.

The structure of roundchroms in close binary systems
The determination of common chromospheres - roundchroms - for 32 closebinary systems, all of RS CVn type, is described; the main parameters ofthese roundchroms - volumes, electron concentrations and masses, areestimated. Three types of roundchroms are established according to theirstructure. The empirical relationship between their electronconcentration n_e and intercomponent distance a - n_e = K a^-0.80,discovered earlier, is confirmed by data for over fifty close binarysystems. This law holds promise for the determination of component radiiof close binary systems and some parameters of their roundchroms.

Submit a new article


Related links

  • - No Links Found -
Submit a new link


Member of following groups:


Observation and Astrometry data

Constellation:Ursa Minor
Right ascension:16h45m58.10s
Declination:+82°02'14.0"
Apparent magnitude:4.23
Distance:106.27 parsecs
Proper motion RA:20.6
Proper motion Dec:2.3
B-T magnitude:5.335
V-T magnitude:4.312

Catalogs and designations:
Proper NamesEpsilon Ursae Minoris
  (Edit)
Bayerε UMi
Flamsteed22 UMi
HD 1989HD 153751
TYCHO-2 2000TYC 4580-1154-1
USNO-A2.0USNO-A2 1650-01885864
BSC 1991HR 6322
HIPHIP 82080

→ Request more catalogs and designations from VizieR