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Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems: Properties of Debris Dust Around Solar-Type Stars
We present Spitzer photometric (IRAC and MIPS) and spectroscopic (IRSlow resolution) observations for 314 stars in the Formation andEvolution of Planetary Systems Legacy program. These data are used toinvestigate the properties and evolution of circumstellar dust aroundsolar-type stars spanning ages from approximately 3 Myr-3 Gyr.We identify 46 sources that exhibit excess infrared emission above thestellar photosphere at 24 μm, and 21 sources with excesses at 70μm. Five sources with an infrared excess have characteristics ofoptically thick primordial disks, while the remaining sources haveproperties akin to debris systems. The fraction of systems exhibiting a24 μm excess greater than 10.2% above the photosphere is 15% for ages< 300 Myr and declines to 2.7% for older ages. The upper envelope tothe 70 μm fractional luminosity appears to decline over a similar agerange. The characteristic temperature of the debris inferred from theIRS spectra range between 60 and 180 K, with evidence for the presenceof cooler dust to account for the strength of the 70 μm excessemission. No strong correlation is found between dust temperature andstellar age. Comparison of the observational data with disk modelscontaining a power-law distribution of silicate grains suggests that thetypical inner-disk radius is gsim 10 AU. Although the interpretation isnot unique, the lack of excess emission shortward of 16 μm and therelatively flat distribution of the 24 μm excess for ages lsim 300Myr is consistent with steady-state collisional models.
| The Palomar/Keck Adaptive Optics Survey of Young Solar Analogs: Evidence for a Universal Companion Mass Function
We present results from an adaptive optics survey for substellar andstellar companions to Sun-like stars. The survey targeted 266 F5-K5stars in the 3 Myr-3 Gyr age range with distances of 10-190 pc.Results from the survey include the discovery of two brown dwarfcompanions (HD 49197B and HD 203030B), 24 new stellar binaries, and atriple system. We infer that the frequency of 0.012-0.072Msun brown dwarfs in 28-1590 AU orbits around young solaranalogs is 3.2+3.1 -2.7% (2σ limits).The result demonstrates that the deficiency of substellar companions atwide orbital separations from Sun-like stars is less pronounced than inthe radial velocity "brown dwarf desert." We infer that the massdistribution of companions in 28-1590 AU orbits around solar-mass starsfollows a continuous dN/dM 2 vprop M -0.42 relation over the 0.01-1.0 M sun secondary massrange. While this functional form is similar to that for isolatedobjects less than 0.1 M sun, over the entire 0.01-1.0 Msun range, the mass functions of companions and of isolatedobjects differ significantly. Based on this conclusion and on similarresults from other direct imaging and radial velocity companion surveysin the literature, we argue that the companion mass function follows thesame universal form over the entire range between 0 and 1590 AU inorbital semimajor axis and ≈ 0.01-20 M sun in companionmass. In this context, the relative dearth of substellar versus stellarsecondaries at all orbital separations arises naturally from theinferred form of the companion mass function.
| The Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems: Description of the Spitzer Legacy Science Database
We present the science database produced by the Formation and Evolutionof Planetary Systems (FEPS) Spitzer Legacy program. Data reduction andvalidation procedures for the IRAC, MIPS, and IRS instruments aredescribed in detail. We also derive stellar properties for the FEPSsample from available broadband photometry and spectral types, andpresent an algorithm to normalize Kurucz synthetic spectra to opticaland near-infrared photometry. The final FEPS data products include IRACand MIPS photometry for each star in the FEPS sample and calibrated IRSspectra.
| Metallicities and activities of southern stars
Aims. We present the results from high-resolution spectroscopicmeasurements to determine metallicities and activities of bright starsin the southern hemisphere. Methods: We measured the iron abundances([Fe/H]'s) and chromospheric emission indices (log h{R}'{HK})of 353 solar-type stars with V = 7.5-9.5. [Fe/H] abundances aredetermined using a custom χ2 fitting procedure within alarge grid of Kurucz model atmospheres. The chromospheric activitieswere determined by measuring the amount of emission in the cores of thestrong Caii HK lines. Results: Our comparison of the metallicity sampleto other [Fe/H] determinations was found to agree at the ±0.05dex level for spectroscopic values and at the ±0.1 dex level forphotometric values. The distribution of chromospheric activities isdescribed by a bimodal distribution, agreeing with the conclusions fromother works. Also an analysis of Maunder minimum status was attempted,and it was found that 6 ± 4 stars in the sample could be in aMaunder minimum phase of their evolution and hence the Sun should onlyspend a few per cent of its main sequence lifetime in Maunder minimum.Based on observations made with the ESO telescopes at the La SillaParanal observatory under programme ID's 076.C-0578(B) and077.C-0192(A). Table 4 is only available in electronic form at the CDSvia anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/485/571
| High-Dispersion Optical Spectra of Nearby Stars Younger Than the Sun
We present high-dispersion (R~16,000) optical (3900-8700 Å)spectra of 390 stars obtained with the Palomar 60 inch telescope. Themajority of stars observed are part of the Spitzer Legacy ScienceProgram ``The Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems.'' Throughdetailed analysis we determine stellar properties for this sample,including radial and rotational velocities, Li I λ6708 andHα equivalent widths, the chromospheric activity indexR'HK, and temperature- and gravity-sensitive lineratios. Several spectroscopic binaries are also identified. From ourtabulations, we illustrate basic age- and rotation-related correlationsamong measured indices. One novel result is that Ca II chromosphericemission appears to saturate at vsini values above ~30 kms-1, similar to the well-established saturation of X-raysthat originate in the spatially separate coronal region.
| Structure and Evolution of Nearby Stars with Planets. II. Physical Properties of ~1000 Cool Stars from the SPOCS Catalog
We derive detailed theoretical models for 1074 nearby stars from theSPOCS (Spectroscopic Properties of Cool Stars) Catalog. The Californiaand Carnegie Planet Search has obtained high-quality (R~=70,000-90,000,S/N~=300-500) echelle spectra of over 1000 nearby stars taken with theHamilton spectrograph at Lick Observatory, the HIRES spectrograph atKeck, and UCLES at the Anglo Australian Observatory. A uniform analysisof the high-resolution spectra has yielded precise stellar parameters(Teff, logg, vsini, [M/H], and individual elementalabundances for Fe, Ni, Si, Na, and Ti), enabling systematic erroranalyses and accurate theoretical stellar modeling. We have created alarge database of theoretical stellar evolution tracks using the YaleStellar Evolution Code (YREC) to match the observed parameters of theSPOCS stars. Our very dense grids of evolutionary tracks eliminate theneed for interpolation between stellar evolutionary tracks and allowprecise determinations of physical stellar parameters (mass, age,radius, size and mass of the convective zone, surface gravity, etc.).Combining our stellar models with the observed stellar atmosphericparameters and uncertainties, we compute the likelihood for each set ofstellar model parameters separated by uniform time steps along thestellar evolutionary tracks. The computed likelihoods are used for aBayesian analysis to derive posterior probability distribution functionsfor the physical stellar parameters of interest. We provide a catalog ofphysical parameters for 1074 stars that are based on a uniform set ofhigh-quality spectral observations, a uniform spectral reductionprocedure, and a uniform set of stellar evolutionary models. We explorethis catalog for various possible correlations between stellar andplanetary properties, which may help constrain the formation anddynamical histories of other planetary systems.
| The Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems: Placing Our Solar System in Context with Spitzer
We provide an overview of the Spitzer Legacy Program, Formation andEvolution of Planetary Systems, that was proposed in 2000, begun in2001, and executed aboard the Spitzer Space Telescope between 2003 and2006. This program exploits the sensitivity of Spitzer to carry outmid-infrared spectrophotometric observations of solar-type stars. With asample of ~328 stars ranging in age from ~3 Myr to ~3 Gyr, we trace theevolution of circumstellar gas and dust from primordial planet-buildingstages in young circumstellar disks through to older collisionallygenerated debris disks. When completed, our program will help define thetimescales over which terrestrial and gas giant planets are built,constrain the frequency of planetesimal collisions as a function oftime, and establish the diversity of mature planetary architectures. Inaddition to the observational program, we have coordinated a concomitanttheoretical effort aimed at understanding the dynamics of circumstellardust with and without the effects of embedded planets, dust spectralenergy distributions, and atomic and molecular gas line emission.Together with the observations, these efforts will provide anastronomical context for understanding whether our solar system-and itshabitable planet-is a common or a rare circumstance. Additionalinformation about the FEPS project can be found on the team Web site.
| Evolution of Cold Circumstellar Dust around Solar-type Stars
We present submillimeter (Caltech Submillimeter Observatory 350 μm)and millimeter (Swedish-ESO Submillimetre Telescope [SEST] 1.2 mm, OwensValley Radio Observatory [OVRO] 3 mm) photometry for 127 solar-typestars from the Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems SpitzerLegacy program that have masses between ~0.5 and 2.0 Msolarand ages from ~3 Myr to 3 Gyr. Continuum emission was detected towardfour stars with a signal-to-noise ratio>=3: the classical T Tauristars RX J1842.9-3532, RX J1852.3-3700, and PDS 66 with SEST, and thedebris-disk system HD 107146 with OVRO. RX J1842.9-3532 and RXJ1852.3-3700 are located in projection near the R CrA molecular cloud,with estimated ages of ~10 Myr (Neuhäuser et al.), whereas PDS 66is a probable member of the ~20 Myr old Lower Centaurus-Crux subgroup ofthe Scorpius-Centaurus OB association (Mamajek et al.). The continuumemission toward these three sources is unresolved at the 24" SESTresolution and likely originates from circumstellar accretion disks,each with estimated dust masses of ~5×10-5Msolar. Analysis of the visibility data toward HD 107146(age~80-200 Myr) indicates that the 3 mm continuum emission is centeredon the star within the astrometric uncertainties and resolved with aGaussian-fit FWHM size of (6.5"+/-1.4")×(4.2"+/-1.3"), or185AU×120 AU. The results from our continuum survey are combinedwith published observations to quantify the evolution of dust mass withtime by comparing the mass distributions for samples with differentstellar ages. The frequency distribution of circumstellar dust massesaround solar-type stars in the Taurus molecular cloud (age~2 Myr) isdistinguished from that around 3-10 Myr and 10-30 Myr old stars at asignificance level of ~1.5 and ~3 σ, respectively. These resultssuggest a decrease in the mass of dust contained in small dust grainsand/or changes in the grain properties by stellar ages of 10-30 Myr,consistent with previous conclusions. Further observations are needed todetermine if the evolution in the amount of cold dust occurs on evenshorter timescales.
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Virgo |
| Right ascension: | 12h02m39.46s |
| Declination: | -10°42'49.1" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 8.506 |
| Distance: | 49.14 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | 32.3 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -16.7 |
| B-T magnitude: | 9.367 |
| V-T magnitude: | 8.578 |
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