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Bayesian inference of stellar parameters and interstellar extinction using parallaxes and multiband photometry
Astrometric surveys provide the opportunity to measure the absolutemagnitudes of large numbers of stars, but only if the individualline-of-sight extinctions are known. Unfortunately, extinction is highlydegenerate with stellar effective temperature when estimated frombroad-band optical/infrared photometry. To address this problem, Iintroduce a Bayesian method for estimating the intrinsic parameters of astar and its line-of-sight extinction. It uses both photometry andparallaxes in a self-consistent manner in order to provide anon-parametric posterior probability distribution over the parameters.The method makes explicit use of domain knowledge by employing theHertzsprung-Russell Diagram (HRD) to constrain solutions and to ensurethat they respect stellar physics. I first demonstrate this method byusing it to estimate effective temperature and extinction from BVJHKdata for a set of artificially reddened Hipparcos stars, for whichaccurate effective temperatures have been estimated from high-resolutionspectroscopy. Using just the four colours, we see the expected strongdegeneracy (positive correlation) between the temperature andextinction. Introducing the parallax, apparent magnitude and the HRDreduces this degeneracy and improves both the precision (reduces theerror bars) and the accuracy of the parameter estimates, the latter byabout 35 per cent. The resulting accuracy is about 200 K in temperatureand 0.2 mag in extinction. I then apply the method to estimate theseparameters and absolute magnitudes for some 47 000 F, G, K Hipparcosstars which have been cross-matched with Two-Micron All-Sky Survey(2MASS). The method can easily be extended to incorporate the estimationof other parameters, in particular metallicity and surface gravity,making it particularly suitable for the analysis of the 109stars from Gaia.
| Automated Determination of [Fe/H] and [C/Fe] from Low-Resolution Spectroscopy
We develop an automated spectral synthesis technique for the estimationof metallicities ([Fe/H]) and carbon abundances ([C/Fe]) for metal-poorstars, including carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars, for which othermethods may prove insufficient. This technique, autoMOOG, is designed tooperate on relatively strong features visible in even low- tomedium-resolution spectra, yielding results comparable to much moretelescope-intensive high-resolution studies. We validate this method bycomparison with 913 stars which have existing high-resolution and low-to medium-resolution to medium-resolution spectra, and that cover a widerange of stellar parameters. We find that at low metallicities ([Fe/H]lsim-2.0), we successfully recover both the metallicity and carbonabundance, where possible, with an accuracy of ~0.20 dex. At highermetallicities, due to issues of continuum placement in spectralnormalization done prior to the running of autoMOOG, a generalunderestimate of the overall metallicity of a star is seen, although thecarbon abundance is still successfully recovered. As a result, thismethod is only recommended for use on samples of stars of knownsufficiently low metallicity. For these low-metallicity stars, however,autoMOOG performs much more consistently and quickly than similar,existing techniques, which should allow for analyses of large samples ofmetal-poor stars in the near future. Steps to improve and correct thecontinuum placement difficulties are being pursued.
| 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).
| 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.
| 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/.
| 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.
| Revised Strömgren metallicity calibration for red giants
A new calibration of the Strömgren (b-y),m_1 diagram in terms ofiron abundance of red giants is presented. This calibration is based ona homogeneous sample of giants in the globular clusters omega Centauri,M 22, and M 55 as well as field giants from the list of Anthony-Twarog& Twarog (\cite{anth98}). Towards high metallicities, the newcalibration is connected to a previous calibration by Grebel &Richtler (\cite{greb92}), which was unsatisfactory for iron abudanceslower than -1.0 dex. The revised calibration is valid for CN-weak/normalred giants in the abundance range of -2.0 <[Fe/H]< 0.0 dex, and acolor range of 0.5 < (b-y) < 1.1 mag. As shown for red giants inomega Centauri, CN-weak stars with Strömgren metallicities higherthan -1.0 dex cannot be distinguished in the (b-y),m_1 diagram fromstars with lower iron abundances but higher CN band strengths. Based ondata collected at the European Southern Observatory, La Silla, Chile
| 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.
| Catalogs of temperatures and [Fe/H] averages for evolved G and K stars
A catalog of mean values of [Fe/H] for evolved G and K stars isdescribed. The zero point for the catalog entries has been establishedby using differential analyses. Literature sources for those entries areincluded in the catalog. The mean values are given with rms errors andnumbers of degrees of freedom, and a simple example of the use of thesestatistical data is given. For a number of the stars with entries in thecatalog, temperatures have been determined. A separate catalogcontaining those data is briefly described. Catalog only available atthe CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| 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.
| Kinematics and Metallicity of Stars in the Solar Region
Several samples of nearby stars with the most accurate astrometric andphotometric parameters are searched for clues to their evolutionaryhistory. The main samples are (1) the main-sequence stars with b - ybetween 0.29 and 0.59 mag (F3 to K1) in the Yale parallax catalog, (2) agroup of high-velocity subgiants studied spectroscopically by Ryan &Lambert, and (3) high-velocity main-sequence stars in the extensiveinvestigation by Norris, Bessel, & Pickles. The major conclusionsare as follows: (1) The oldest stars (halo), t >= 10-12 Gyr, haveV-velocities (in the direction of Galactic rotation and referred to theSun) in the range from about -50 to -800 km s^-1 and have aheavy-element abundance [Fe/H] of less than about -0.8 dex. The agerange of these objects depends on our knowledge of globular clusterages, but if age is correlated with V-velocity, the youngest may be M22and M28 (V ~ -50 km s^-1) and the oldest NGC 3201 (V ~ -500 km s^-1) andassorted field stars. (2) The old disk population covers the large agerange from about 2 Gyr (Hyades, NGC 752) to 10 or 12 Gyr (Arcturusgroup, 47 Tuc), but the lag (V) velocity is restricted to less thanabout 120 km s^-1 and [Fe/H] >= -0.8 or -0.9 dex. The [Fe/H] ~ -0.8dex division between halo and old disk, near t ~ 10-12 Gyr, is marked bya change in the character of the CN index (C_m) and of the blanketingparameter K of the DDO photometry. (3) The young disk population, t <2 Gyr, is confined exclusively to a well-defined area of the (U, V)velocity plane. The age separating young and old disk stars is also thatseparating giant evolution of the Hyades (near main-sequence luminosity)and M67 (degenerate helium cores and a large luminosity rise) kinds. Thetwo disk populations are also separated by such indexes as the g-indexof Geveva photometry. There appears to be no obvious need to invokeexogeneous influences to understand the motion and heavy-elementabundance distributions of the best-observed stars near the Sun.Individual stars of special interest include the parallax star HD 55575,which may be an equal-component binary, and the high-velocity star HD220127, with a well-determined space velocity near 1000 km s^-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
| The Demise of the Metal Poor Disk?: Spectroscopic Iron Abundances
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1995AJ....109.2068R
| 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.
| A revised DDO abundance calibration for population I red giants
Several arguments that justify establishing a revised abundancecalibration for DDO photometry of population I red giants are presented.The components of the blanketing vector in the DDO C(45-48) vs C(42-45)diagram are determined for late-type dwarfs and giants. We haveredefined the DDO cyanogen anomaly and calibrated it againstmetallicity. The sample of field giants now available with abundancesderived from high dispersion spectroscopy is substantially larger thanpreviously available, leading to a more accurate abundance calibration.Iso-abundance lines in the C(41-42) vs C(42-45) diagram have beendetermined for population IG and K giants and an iterative method forderiving abundances of these stars is described. We show that the newDDO abundances are in very good agreement with those derived from highdispersion spectroscopy. The new method improves by about 0.1 dex theDDO abundances derived for early G and/or late K giants, with respect tothe delta(CN) method of Janes (1975).
| Astrometric and astrophysical discontinuities between the galactic old disk and halo stellar populations
Intermediate band, RI, and DDO photometry of the weak-lined stars in thefirst three volumes of the Michigan catalogs of spectral type arediscussed on the basis of luminosity and heavy element abundance. Theinterface between the old disk (Fe/H greater than -0.8 dex) and halo(Fe/H less than -1.2 dex) populations represents discontinuities in boththe stellar motions and the stellar physics. The CN strengths of bothevolved and unevolved halo stars decrease with decreasing temperature,in a mirror image of the increase with decreasing temperature for thedisk objects. The result for the halo giants has been attributed to deepmixing in the stellar atmospheres but the similar result for unevolveddwarfs indicates a difference in formation rather than in evolutionaryprocess of the two populations.
| Estimation of stellar metal abundance. I - Calibration of the CA II K index
A method for estimating the stellar metal abundances is proposed whichcompares measures of the equivalent width of a single feature inmoderate resolution (1 A) optical spectra of stars, the Ca II K line at3933 A, with models of the predicted line strength as a function of thebroadband B-V color and Fe/H. The approach is capable of providingestimates of stellar metallicity over the range -4.5 to -1.0 with ascatter of about 0.15 dex for dwarfs and giants in the color range0.33-0.85. For cooler stars, with B-V in the range 0.85-1.1, the scattermay be as large as 0.19 dex. The calibration of the Ca II K index withFe/H is discussed, and average radial velocities and abundances arepresented for several galactic globular clusters.
| Armchair cartography - A map of the Galactic halo based on observations of local, metal-poor stars
The velocity distribution of metal-poor halo stars in the solarneighborhood is studied to extract data on the global spatial andkinematic properties of the Galactic stellar halo. A global model of thesolar neighborhood stars is constructed from observed positions andthree-dimensional velocity of local, metal-poor halo stars in terms of adiscrete sum of orbits. The characteristics of the reconstructed haloare examined and used to study the evolution of the halo subsystems.
| Population studies. II - Kinematics as a function of abundance and galactocentric position for (Fe/H) of -0.6 or less
A catalog is presented of some 1200 Galactic objects which have radialvelocities and (Fe/H) abundances of -0.6 or less. These data areanalyzed to yield information on the kinematic properties of the olderpopulations of the Galaxy and on the interdependence between kinematicsand abundance. It is found that the kinematics of the availablekinematically selected stars differ from those of the nonkinematicallyselected objects. No evidence is found for any significant difference inthe kinematic properties of the various halo subgroups, nor for anydependence of kinematics on abundance. While the rotation of the halo issmall at about 37 km/s for (Fe/H) of -1.2 or less, it rises quickly forhigher abundances to a value of about 160 km/s at (Fe/H) = 0.6. Objectsin the abundance range -0.9 to -0.6 appear to belong predominantly to apopulation possessing the kinematic characteristics of a thick disk. Theimplications of these findings for the suggestion that globular clustersbelong to the same population as the noncluster objects, for the originof the thick disk, and for the mass of the Galaxy are discussed.
| Population studies. I - The Bidelman-MacConnell 'weak-metal' stars
BRVI and DDO photometry are presented for 309 Bidelman-MacConnell'weak-metal' stars. Radial velocities are calculated for most of thestars having Fe/H abundances of no more than -0.8. The photometricobservations were carried out using the 0.6-meter and 1.0-metertelescopes of the Siding Spring Observatory. Photometric taxonomy wasused to classify the stars as dwarfs, giants, red-horizontal branchstars, and ultraviolet-bright stars, respectively. It is found that 35percent of the stars are giants; 50 percent are dwarfs; and 5 percentbelong to the red-horizontal branch group. The role of selection effectsin investigations of the formation of the Galaxy is discussed on thebasis of the photometric observations and the observational constraintsproposed by Eggen et al. (1962).
| Southern metal-poor stars - UBVRI photometry
Considering the study of subdwarf kinematics and metallicities by Eggen,Lynden-Bell, and Sandage (1962), UBVRI photometry and normalizedultraviolet excesses are presented for 178 metal-poor stars, 144 ofwhich are contained in the kinematically unbiased list of Bidelman andMacConnell (1973). The Lowell 0.6 m telescope at Cerro Tololo was used,equipped with a single-channel photometer and a Ga-As photomultiplier.The final magnitudes and colors, number of observations, value ofdelta(U-B)0.6 (if B-V lies between 0.35 and 0.90), B and M class, andpublished spectral types for these stars are presented; severalextremely metal-poor stars are evident. In addition, sixteen nearbyvisual companions of the stars were measured, and their magnitudes andcolors are given.
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Schwertfisch |
| Right ascension: | 04h36m40.39s |
| Declination: | -57°32'40.5" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 9.25 |
| Proper motion RA: | 30.7 |
| Proper motion Dec: | 11.4 |
| B-T magnitude: | 10.429 |
| V-T magnitude: | 9.348 |
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