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Astrometric orbits of SB^9 stars
Hipparcos Intermediate Astrometric Data (IAD) have been used to deriveastrometric orbital elements for spectroscopic binaries from the newlyreleased Ninth Catalogue of Spectroscopic Binary Orbits(SB^9). This endeavour is justified by the fact that (i) theastrometric orbital motion is often difficult to detect without theprior knowledge of the spectroscopic orbital elements, and (ii) suchknowledge was not available at the time of the construction of theHipparcos Catalogue for the spectroscopic binaries which were recentlyadded to the SB^9 catalogue. Among the 1374 binaries fromSB^9 which have an HIP entry (excluding binaries with visualcompanions, or DMSA/C in the Double and Multiple Stars Annex), 282 havedetectable orbital astrometric motion (at the 5% significance level).Among those, only 70 have astrometric orbital elements that are reliablydetermined (according to specific statistical tests), and for the firsttime for 20 systems. This represents a 8.5% increase of the number ofastrometric systems with known orbital elements (The Double and MultipleSystems Annex contains 235 of those DMSA/O systems). The detection ofthe astrometric orbital motion when the Hipparcos IAD are supplementedby the spectroscopic orbital elements is close to 100% for binaries withonly one visible component, provided that the period is in the 50-1000 drange and the parallax is >5 mas. This result is an interestingtestbed to guide the choice of algorithms and statistical tests to beused in the search for astrometric binaries during the forthcoming ESAGaia mission. Finally, orbital inclinations provided by the presentanalysis have been used to derive several astrophysical quantities. Forinstance, 29 among the 70 systems with reliable astrometric orbitalelements involve main sequence stars for which the companion mass couldbe derived. Some interesting conclusions may be drawn from this new setof stellar masses, like the enigmatic nature of the companion to theHyades F dwarf HIP 20935. This system has a mass ratio of 0.98 but thecompanion remains elusive.
| Statistical Constraints for Astrometric Binaries with Nonlinear Motion
Useful constraints on the orbits and mass ratios of astrometric binariesin the Hipparcos catalog are derived from the measured proper motiondifferences of Hipparcos and Tycho-2 (Δμ), accelerations ofproper motions (μ˙), and second derivatives of proper motions(μ̈). It is shown how, in some cases, statistical bounds can beestimated for the masses of the secondary components. Two catalogs ofastrometric binaries are generated, one of binaries with significantproper motion differences and the other of binaries with significantaccelerations of their proper motions. Mathematical relations betweenthe astrometric observables Δμ, μ˙, and μ̈ andthe orbital elements are derived in the appendices. We find a remarkabledifference between the distribution of spectral types of stars withlarge accelerations but small proper motion differences and that ofstars with large proper motion differences but insignificantaccelerations. The spectral type distribution for the former sample ofbinaries is the same as the general distribution of all stars in theHipparcos catalog, whereas the latter sample is clearly dominated bysolar-type stars, with an obvious dearth of blue stars. We point outthat the latter set includes mostly binaries with long periods (longerthan about 6 yr).
| The Mass Ratio Distribution in Main-Sequence Spectroscopic Binaries Measured by Infrared Spectroscopy
We report infrared spectroscopic observations of a large well-definedsample of main-sequence, single-lined spectroscopic binaries to detectthe secondaries and derive the mass ratio distribution of short-periodbinaries. The sample consists of 51 Galactic disk spectroscopic binariesfound in the Carney and Latham high proper motion survey, with primarymasses in the range 0.6-0.85 Msolar. Our infraredobservations detect the secondaries in 32 systems, two of which havemass ratios, q=M2/M1, as low as ~0.20. Togetherwith 11 systems previously identified as double-lined binaries byvisible light spectroscopy, we have a complete sample of 62 binaries, ofwhich 43 are double lined. The mass ratio distribution is approximatelyconstant over the range q=1.0-0.3. The distribution appears to rise atlower q values, but the uncertainties are sufficiently large that wecannot rule out a distribution that remains constant. The massdistribution derived for the secondaries in our sample and that of theextrasolar planets apparently represent two distinct populations.
| On the Mass-Ratio Distribution of Spectroscopic Binaries
In this paper we derive the mass-ratio and secondary-mass distributionsof a large, well-defined, complete sample of 129 spectroscopic binarieswith periods between 1 and 2500 days. The binaries, whose orbits werepublished recently, were detected by a systematic radial-velocity surveyof a sample of more than 1400 large proper motion stars. Three featuresstand out in the mass-ratio distribution: a rise as the mass ratio goesdown to q~0.2, a sharp drop below q~0.2, and a smaller peak at q~0.8.Another way to characterize the results is to state that thedistribution includes two ``populations,'' one with a high asymmetricpeak at q~0.2 and another with a smaller peak at q~0.8, while theminimum between the two populations is centered at q~0.55. The size ofthe binary sample allows us to divide it into two subsamples and lookfor differences in the mass-ratio distributions of the two subsamples.We performed two different divisions: one into Galactic halo versus diskpopulations, and the other into high- and low-mass primary stars (aboveand below 0.67 Msolar). The former division yieldsdifferences with moderate statistical significance of 88%, while thelatter is more significant at a level of 97%. Our analysis suggests thatthe rise toward low mass ratios does not appear in the mass-ratiodistribution of the halo binaries. The other separation shows a broadpeak at mass ratio of q~0.8-1 for the subsample of binaries withlow-mass primaries but no corresponding peak in the subsample withhigh-mass primaries. We discuss our findings and their application totheories of binary formation.
| Improved Astrometry and Photometry for the Luyten Catalog. II. Faint Stars and the Revised Catalog
We complete construction of a catalog containing improved astrometry andnew optical/infrared photometry for the vast majority of NLTT starslying in the overlap of regions covered by POSS I and by the secondincremental Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) release, approximately 44%of the sky. The epoch 2000 positions are typically accurate to 130 mas,the proper motions to 5.5 mas yr-1, and the V-J colors to0.25 mag. Relative proper motions of binary components are measured to 3mas yr-1. The false-identification rate is ~1% for11<~V<~18 and substantially less at brighter magnitudes. Theseimprovements permit the construction of a reduced proper-motion diagramthat, for the first time, allows one to classify NLTT stars intomain-sequence (MS) stars, subdwarfs (SDs), and white dwarfs (WDs). We inturn use this diagram to analyze the properties of both our catalog andthe NLTT catalog on which it is based. In sharp contrast to popularbelief, we find that NLTT incompleteness in the plane is almostcompletely concentrated in MS stars, and that SDs and WDs are detectedalmost uniformly over the sky δ>-33deg. Our catalogwill therefore provide a powerful tool to probe these populationsstatistically, as well as to reliably identify individual SDs and WDs.
| A Survey of Proper-Motion Stars. XVI. Orbital Solutions for 171 Single-lined Spectroscopic Binaries
We report 25,563 radial velocity measurements for 1359 single-linedstars in the Carney-Latham sample of 1464 stars selected for high propermotion. For 171 of these, we present spectroscopic orbital solutions. Wefind no obvious difference between the binary characteristics in thehalo and the disk populations. The observed frequency is the same, andthe period distributions are consistent with the hypothesis that the twosets of binaries were drawn from the same parent population. Thissuggests that metallicity in general, and radiative opacities inparticular, have little influence over the fragmentation process thatleads to short-period binaries. All the binaries with periods shorterthan 10 days have nearly circular orbits, while the binaries withperiods longer than 20 days exhibit a wide range of eccentricities and amedian value of 0.37. For the metal-poor high-velocity halo binaries inour sample, the transition from circular to eccentric orbits appears tooccur at about 20 days, supporting the conclusion that tidalcircularization on the main sequence is important for the oldestbinaries in the Galaxy. Some of the results presented here usedobservations made with the Multiple Mirror Telescope, a joint facilityof the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Arizona.
| Radial Velocities of Population II Stars. II.
A program for radial velocity measurements of Population II stars wasstarted in 1988 and was carried out during six observing runs. Theprogram includes metal-deficient stars, components of Population IIvisual binaries or common proper motion stars, suspected radial velocityvariables and the Population II stars from the Hipparcos program. Themeasurements were made with the 1 meter reflector at the MaidanakObservatory in Uzbekistan. The average error of a single measurement isabout 0.6 km/s, but for stars at 13 mag or for extremely metal-deficientstars the error is about 2.5 km/s. The catalog contains 621 measurementsfor 164 stars.
| A survey of proper motion stars. 12: an expanded sample
We report new photometry and radial velocities for almost 500 stars fromthe Lowell Proper Motion Catalog. We combine these results with ourprior sample and rederive stellar temperatures based on the photometry,reddening, metallicities (using chi squared matching of our 22,500 lowSignal to Noise (S/N) high resolution echelle spectra with a grid ofsynthetic spectra), distances, space motions, and Galactic orbitalparameters for 1269 (kinematics) and 1261 (metallicity) of the 1464stars in the complete survey. The frequency of spectroscopic binariesfor the metal-poor ((m/H) less than or equal to -1.2) stars with periodsshorter than 3000 days is at least 15%. The spectroscopic binaryfrequency for metal-rich stars ((m/H) greater than -0.5) appears to belower, about 9%, but this may be a selection effect. We also discussspecial classes of stars, including treatment of the double-linedspectroscopic binaries, and identification of subgiants. Four possiblenew members of the class of field blue stragglers are noted. We pointout the detection of three possible new white dwarfs, six broad-lined(binary) systems, and discuss briefly the three already knownnitrogen-rich halo dwarfs. The primary result of this paper will beavailable on CD-ROM, in the form of a much larger table.
| UVBY - beta photometry of high-velocity and metal-poor stars. VI - A second catalogue, and stellar populations of the Galaxy
A second catalog of uvby-beta photometry for 553 high-velocity stars ispresented. Combining the catalogs, reliable (Fe/H) values are obtainedfor 1214 stars and reliable kinematic parameters for 1149. The totalsample contains at least three significant, distinct stellar populationswith properties very similar to those given in the literature of the oldthin disk, thick disk, and halo. The thick-disk component has mean(Fe/H) about -0.50 +/- 0.10 dex and sigma(Fe/H) about 0.25 +/- 0.03 dex,but there is evidence for a significant thick-disk contribution down to(Fe/H) about -1.4. A diagonal cut in the V(rot), (Fe/H) diagramindicates that there is not a chemical gradient in the Galactic halo.The mean V(rot), mean (Fe/H) curve for the whole sample indicates thatthe halo evolved mostly independently of the disk.
| A survey of proper motion stars. IX - The galactic halo's metallicity gradient
Using data already presented for a survey of proper motion stars and theBahcall, Schmidt, and Soneira (1983) model of the Galaxy, Galacticorbital parameters are computed, including planar and three-dimensionaleccentricities, apo- and perigalacticon distances, and maximum distancesreached above/below the plane, based on extreme values for R and theabsolute value of Z over 15 azimuthal periods. The orbital data are usedto bin the survey's stars by apogalacticon and maximum Z distances. Inan attempt to isolate a halo population sample, analyses are restrictedto those stars that lag behind the local standard of the rest's circularorbital velocity by 50, 100, 150, and 200 km/s. The mean metallicitiesof the stars in a variety of Rapo and Zmax bins are compared .
| A survey of proper-motion stars. III - Reddenings, distances, and metallicities
Further data on the Lowell proper-motion stars surveyed by Carney andLatham (1987) are presented. Both new and published photometry aresummarized for 286 of these stars. Included are R-I data for 64 stars,uvby (or by) data for 221 stars (of which are included new results for152 stars), and JHK (or K) data for 238 stars (of which are included newresults for 180 stars). The procedures used to estimate the reddeningand photometric parallax of each star are discussed. The metallicitiesfor 818 stars, based on 5795 spectra, determined using a new method,described in an earlier paper, which compares synthetic spectra to thelow-signal-to-noise spectra obtained for radial velocities are alsopresented. The reddening, distance, and metallicity are interdependentand have been determined in a self-consistent manner.
| A survey of proper-motion stars. I - UBV photometry and radial velocities
The background, motivation, and goals of a photometric and spectroscopicsurvey of over 900 stars selected from the Lowell Proper Motion Surveywithout any metallicity bias are discussed, and 1225 new UBV measures of867 stars with V = 7-16 mag, and a new mean radial velocities for 914stars based on 5815 high-resolution spectra are presented. Theradial-velocity data indicate the binary fraction of th high-velocitystars probably exceeds 25 percent.
| New subdwarfs. VI - Kinematics of 1125 high-proper-motion stars and the collapse of the Galaxy
The UVW velocity components, planar eccentricities, and angular momentaof 878 high-proper-motion stars are determined using the radial-velocitydata of Fouts and Sandage (1986) and compared with chemical abundancesand photometric parallaxes from the UBV photometry of Sandage and Kowal(1986). The results are presented, along with published data on 247additional stars, in extensive tables and graphs and characterized indetail. Two approximately equal components are differentiated: alow-velocity component identified as part of the thick disk described byGilmore and Reid (1983) and a high-velocity halo component. The data arefound to support a model of Galactic collapse (with concomitant spinupand progressive chemical enrichment) which includes a rotating bulge(the thick disk) with kinematic and metallicity properties between thoseof the old thin disk and the halo.
| New subdwarfs. V - Radial velocities for 889 high-proper-motion stars measured with the Mount Wilson 100 inch reflector
New radial velocities have been obtained from 2265 measurements of 889high-proper-motion stars taken from the subdwarf candidate list of aprevious paper. The observations were made with the Mount Wilson 100 inHooker reflector coude spectrograph with a Reticon detector, giving aninternal error of a single measurement of 4.7 km/s. From 88 stars incommon with previously known subdwarfs; the external error of the datais 6.9 km/s per measurement, and the velocity system is shown to be onthe system of the Wilson General Catalog to better than 1 km/s. Of the878 stars with nonvariable velocities in the sample, 38 have radialvelocities larger than 200 km/s, of which 22 are new. There is acorrelation between radial velocity and reduced ultraviolet excess asexpected from the previously known relations between space motion andchemical composition. The Stroemberg asymmetric drift is directlyvisible in the radial velocity and the proper-motion data separately aseach is displayed as a function of galactic longitude.
| New subdwarfs. IV - UBV photometry of 1690 high-proper-motion stars
A photometric list of 1690 stars of known high proper motion is used tosearch for potential high-velocity stars of various metallicity valuesin order to find candidates for trigonometric programs on subdwarfs andto enlarge the sample with which to study the relation between stellarkinematics and metal abundance. A list of 113 stars with tangentialspace velocities of 300 km/s or greater is obtained, the highesttangential velocity relative to the sun being 630 km/s. By using thevariation of the tangential velocity with longitude and adopting thegalactic rotation at the solar circle to be 220 km/s, the rotation ofthe subdwarf system is estimated at 0 + or - 50 km/s from the transversevelocity alone, in agreement with determinations based on other methods.
| High-tangential-velocity stars
Two lists of high tangential velocity (greater than 100 km/s) starscontained in the Lowell Northern Hemisphere proper motion surveycatalogue have been compiled, the stellar distances being inferred fromeither trigonometric or spectroscopic parallaxes. The information givenincludes equatorial coordinates, corrected photographic magnitudes,proper motions, trigonometric or spectroscopic parallaxes, and spectraltypes.
| Lowell proper motions III : proper motion survey of the Northern Hemisphere with the 13-inch photographic telescope of the Lowell Observatory
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