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Effects of Metallicity on the Chemical Composition of Carbon Stars
We present Spitzer IRS data on 19 asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars inthe Large Magellanic Cloud, complementing existing published data setsof carbon stars in both Magellanic Clouds and the Milky Way, toinvestigate the effects of metallicity on dust and molecular spectralfeatures arising from the circumstellar envelope. We find that theC2H 2 P- and R-branches at 7.5 μm are affectedby dust dilution at higher mass-loss rates-albeit to a lesser extent forsources in the Magellanic Clouds, compared to the Milky Way-while thenarrow 13.7 μm C 2H2 Q-branch only shows theeffect of dust dilution at low mass-loss rates. A strong metallicitydependence is not observed for the Q-branch. Independent of metallicity,we also provide an explanation for the observed shifts in the centralwavelength of the SiC emission feature, as we show that these arelargely caused by molecular band absorption on either side of the dustemission feature, dominating over shifts in the central wavelengthcaused by self-absorption. We have devised a method to study the dustcondensation history in carbon-rich AGB stars in different metallicityenvironments, by measuring the strength of the 11.3 μm SiC and 30μm MgS features with respect to the continuum, as a function ofmass-loss rate. With this method, it is possible to distinguish in whatorder SiC and graphite condense, which is believed to be sensitive tothe metallicity, prior to the eventual deposit of the MgS layer.
| Three-micron spectra of AGB stars and supergiants in nearby galaxies
The dependence of stellar molecular bands on the metallicity is studiedusing infrared L-band spectra of AGB stars (both carbon-rich andoxygen-rich) and M-type supergiants in the Large and Small MagellanicClouds (LMC and SMC) and in the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy. Thespectra cover SiO bands for oxygen-rich stars, and acetylene (C2H2), CHand HCN bands for carbon-rich AGB stars. The equivalent width ofacetylene is found to be high even at low metallicity. The high C2H2abundance can be explained with a high carbon-to-oxygen (C/O) ratio forlower metallicity carbon stars. In contrast, the HCN equivalent width islow: fewer than half of the extra-galactic carbon stars show the 3.5μm HCN band, and only a few LMC stars show high HCN equivalent width.HCN abundances are limited by both nitrogen and carbon elementalabundances. The amount of synthesized nitrogen depends on the initialmass, and stars with high luminosity (i.e. high initial mass) could havea high HCN abundance. CH bands are found in both the extra-galactic andGalactic carbon stars. One SMC post-AGB star, SMC-S2, shows the 3.3μm PAH band. This first detection of a PAH band from an SMC post-AGBstar confirms PAHs can form in these low-metallicity stars. None of theoxygen-rich LMC stars show SiO bands, except one possible detection in alow quality spectrum. The limits on the equivalent widths of the SiObands are below the expectation of up to 30 Å for LMC metallicity.Several possible explanations are discussed, mostly based on the effectof pulsation and circumstellar dust. The observations imply that LMC andSMC carbon stars could reach mass-loss rates as high as their Galacticcounterparts, because there are more carbon atoms available and morecarbonaceous dust can be formed. On the other hand, the lack of SiOsuggests less dust and lower mass-loss rates in low-metallicityoxygen-rich stars. The effect on the ISM dust enrichment is discussed.
| Carbon Stars in the Infrared Telescope in Space Survey
We have identified 139 cool carbon stars in the near-infraredspectrophotometric survey of the Infrared Telescope in Space (IRTS) fromthe conspicuous presence of molecular absorption bands at 1.8, 3.1, and3.8 μm. Among them, 14 are new bright (K~4.0-7.0) carbon stars. Wefind a trend relating the 3.1 μm band strength to the K-L'color index, which is known to correlate with mass-loss rate. This couldbe an effect of a relation between the depth of the 3.1 μm featureand the degree of development of the extended stellar atmosphere wheredust starts to form.
| CHARM2: An updated Catalog of High Angular Resolution Measurements
We present an update of the Catalog of High Angular ResolutionMeasurements (CHARM, Richichi & Percheron \cite{CHARM}, A&A,386, 492), which includes results available until July 2004. CHARM2 is acompilation of direct measurements by high angular resolution methods,as well as indirect estimates of stellar diameters. Its main goal is toprovide a reference list of sources which can be used for calibrationand verification observations with long-baseline optical and near-IRinterferometers. Single and binary stars are included, as are complexobjects from circumstellar shells to extragalactic sources. The presentupdate provides an increase of almost a factor of two over the previousedition. Additionally, it includes several corrections and improvements,as well as a cross-check with the valuable public release observationsof the ESO Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). A total of 8231entries for 3238 unique sources are now present in CHARM2. Thisrepresents an increase of a factor of 3.4 and 2.0, respectively, overthe contents of the previous version of CHARM.The catalog is only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/431/773
| Molecular and dust features of 29 SiC carbon AGB stars
We have reduced and analyzed the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO)Short-Wavelength Spectrometer (SWS) spectra of 29 infrared carbon starswith a silicon carbide feature at 11.30 μm, 17 of which have not beenpreviously published. Absorption or emission features of C2,HCN, C2H2, C3 and silicon carbide (SiC)have been identified in all 17 unpublished carbon stars. In addition,two unidentified absorption features at 3.50 and 3.65 μm are listedfor the first time in this paper. We classify these 29 carbon stars intogroups A, B, C and D according to the shapes of their spectral energydistribution, and this classification seems to show an evolutionarysequence of carbon stars with an SiC feature. Moreover we have found thefollowing results for the different groups: on average, the relativeintegrated flux of the 3.05 μm C2H2+HCNabsorption feature increases gradually from group A to B and C; that ofthe 5.20 μm C3 absorption feature becomes gradually weakerfrom group A to B and C; that of the 11.30 μm SiC emission featureincreases gradually from group A to B and C but weakens in group D; andin contrast, that of the 13.70 μm C2H2absorption feature weakens gradually from group A to B and C but becomesstronger in group D. We suggest that the evolution of the IR spectra ofcarbon stars along the sequence A to D is a result of the followingphenomena: as the near-IR black-body temperature (Tnir)decreases, the circumstellar envelope becomes thicker; also theeffective temperature (Teff) of the photosphere of thecentral star decreases gradually and the C/O ratio increases from A toB.Based on observations with ISO, an ESA project with instruments fundedby ESA Member States (especially the PI countries: France, Germany, TheNetherlands and the UK) with the participation of ISAS and NASA.
| J - K DENIS photometry of a VLTI-selected sample of bright southern stars
We present a photometric survey of bright southern stars carried outusing the DENIS instrument equipped with attenuating filters. Theobservations were carried out not using the survey mode of DENIS, butwith individual target pointings. This project was stimulated by theneed to obtain near-infrared photometry of stars to be used in earlycommissioning observations of the ESO Very Large TelescopeInterferometer, and in particular to establish a network of brightcalibrator sources.We stress that near-infrared photometry is peculiarly lacking for manybright stars. These stars are saturated in 2MASS as well as in regularDENIS observations. The only other observations available for brightinfrared stars are those of the Two Micron Sky Survey dating from overthirty years ago. These were restricted to declinations above≈-30°, and thus cover only about half of the sky accessible fromthe VLTI site.We note that the final 2MASS data release includes photometry of brightstars, obtained by means of point-spread function fitting. However, thismethod only achieves about 30% accuracy, which is not sufficient formost applications.In this work, we present photometry for over 600 stars, each with atleast one and up to eight measurements, in the J and K filters. Typicalaccuracy is at the level of 0\fm05 and 0\fm04 in the J and K_s bands,respectively.Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, LaSilla.Tables 1 and 2 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/413/1037
| Reprocessing the Hipparcos data of evolved stars. III. Revised Hipparcos period-luminosity relationship for galactic long-period variable stars
We analyze the K band luminosities of a sample of galactic long-periodvariables using parallaxes measured by the Hipparcos mission. Theparallaxes are in most cases re-computed from the Hipparcos IntermediateAstrometric Data using improved astrometric fits and chromaticitycorrections. The K band magnitudes are taken from the literature andfrom measurements by COBE, and are corrected for interstellar andcircumstellar extinction. The sample contains stars of several spectraltypes: M, S and C, and of several variability classes: Mira, semiregularSRa, and SRb. We find that the distribution of stars in theperiod-luminosity plane is independent of circumstellar chemistry, butthat the different variability types have different P-L distributions.Both the Mira variables and the SRb variables have reasonablywell-defined period-luminosity relationships, but with very differentslopes. The SRa variables are distributed between the two classes,suggesting that they are a mixture of Miras and SRb, rather than aseparate class of stars. New period-luminosity relationships are derivedbased on our revised Hipparcos parallaxes. The Miras show a similarperiod-luminosity relationship to that found for Large Magellanic CloudMiras by Feast et al. (\cite{Feast-1989:a}). The maximum absolute Kmagnitude of the sample is about -8.2 for both Miras and semi-regularstars, only slightly fainter than the expected AGB limit. We show thatthe stars with the longest periods (P>400 d) have high mass lossrates and are almost all Mira variables.Based on observations from the Hipparcos astrometric satellite operatedby the European Space Agency (ESA \cite{Hipparcos}).Table \ref{Tab:data1} 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/403/993
| Hipparcos red stars in the HpV_T2 and V I_C systems
For Hipparcos M, S, and C spectral type stars, we provide calibratedinstantaneous (epoch) Cousins V - I color indices using newly derivedHpV_T2 photometry. Three new sets of ground-based Cousins V I data havebeen obtained for more than 170 carbon and red M giants. These datasetsin combination with the published sources of V I photometry served toobtain the calibration curves linking Hipparcos/Tycho Hp-V_T2 with theCousins V - I index. In total, 321 carbon stars and 4464 M- and S-typestars have new V - I indices. The standard error of the mean V - I isabout 0.1 mag or better down to Hp~9 although it deteriorates rapidly atfainter magnitudes. These V - I indices can be used to verify thepublished Hipparcos V - I color indices. Thus, we have identified ahandful of new cases where, instead of the real target, a random fieldstar has been observed. A considerable fraction of the DMSA/C and DMSA/Vsolutions for red stars appear not to be warranted. Most likely suchspurious solutions may originate from usage of a heavily biased color inthe astrometric processing.Based on observations from the Hipparcos astrometric satellite operatedby the European Space Agency (ESA 1997).}\fnmsep\thanks{Table 7 is onlyavailable 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/qcat?J/A+A/397/997
| s-Process Nucleosynthesis in Carbon Stars
We present the first detailed and homogeneous analysis of the s-elementcontent in Galactic carbon stars of N type. Abundances of Sr, Y, Zr(low-mass s-elements, or ls), Ba, La, Nd, Sm, and Ce (high-masss-elements, or hs) are derived using the spectral synthesis techniquefrom high-resolution spectra. The N stars analyzed are of nearly solarmetallicity and show moderate s-element enhancements, similar to thosefound in S stars, but smaller than those found in the only previoussimilar study (Utsumi 1985), and also smaller than those found insupergiant post-asymptotic giant branch (post-AGB) stars. This is inagreement with the present understanding of the envelope s-elementenrichment in giant stars, which is increasing along the spectralsequence M-->MS-->S-->SC-->C during the AGB phase. Wecompare the observational data with recent s-process nucleosynthesismodels for different metallicities and stellar masses. Good agreement isobtained between low-mass AGB star models (M<~3 Msolar)and s-element observations. In low-mass AGB stars, the13C(α, n)16O reaction is the main source ofneutrons for the s-process a moderate spread, however, must exist in theabundance of 13C that is burnt in different stars. Bycombining information deriving from the detection of Tc, the infraredcolors, and the theoretical relations between stellar mass, metallicity,and the final C/O ratio, we conclude that most (or maybe all) of the Nstars studied in this work are intrinsic, thermally pulsing AGB stars;their abundances are the consequence of the operation of third dredge-upand are not to be ascribed to mass transfer in binary systems.
| Carbon-rich giants in the HR diagram and their luminosity function
The luminosity function (LF) of nearly 300 Galactic carbon giants isderived. Adding BaII giants and various related objects, about 370objects are located in the RGB and AGB portions of the theoretical HRdiagram. As intermediate steps, (1) bolometric corrections arecalibrated against selected intrinsic color indices; (2) the diagram ofphotometric coefficients 1/2 vs. astrometric trueparallaxes varpi are interpreted in terms of ranges of photosphericradii for every photometric group; (3) coefficients CR andCL for bias-free evaluation of mean photospheric radii andmean luminosities are computed. The LF of Galactic carbon giantsexhibits two maxima corresponding to the HC-stars of the thick disk andto the CV-stars of the old thin disk respectively. It is discussed andcompared to those of carbon stars in the Magellanic Clouds and Galacticbulge. The HC-part is similar to the LF of the Galactic bulge,reinforcing the idea that the Bulge and the thick disk are part of thesame dynamical component. The CV-part looks similar to the LF of theLarge Magellanic Cloud (LMC), but the former is wider due to thesubstantial errors on HIPPARCOS parallaxes. The obtained meanluminosities increase with increasing radii and decreasing effectivetemperatures, along the HC-CV sequence of photometric groups, except forHC0, the earliest one. This trend illustrates the RGB- and AGB-tracks oflow- and intermediate-mass stars for a range in metallicities. From acomparison with theoretical tracks in the HR diagram, the initial massesMi range from about 0.8 to 4.0 Msun for carbongiants, with possibly larger masses for a few extreme objects. A largerange of metallicities is likely, from metal-poor HC-stars classified asCH stars on the grounds of their spectra (a spheroidal component), tonear-solar compositions of many CV-stars. Technetium-rich carbon giantsare brighter than the lower limit Mbol =~ -3.6+/- 0.4 andcentered at =~-4.7+0.6-0.9 at about =~(2935+/-200) K or CV3-CV4 in our classification. Much like the resultsof Van Eck et al. (\cite{vaneck98}) for S stars, this confirms theTDU-model of those TP-AGB stars. This is not the case of the HC-stars inthe thick disk, with >~ 3400 K and>~ -3.4. The faint HC1 and HC2-stars( =~ -1.1+0.7-1.0) arefound slightly brighter than the BaII giants ( =~-0.3+/-1.3) on average. Most RCB variables and HdC stars range fromMbol =~ -1 to -4 against -0.2 to -2.4 for those of the threepopulation II Cepheids in the sample. The former stars show the largestluminosities ( <~ -4 at the highest effectivetemperatures (6500-7500 K), close to the Mbol =~ -5 value forthe hot LMC RCB-stars (W Men and HV 5637). A full discussion of theresults is postponed to a companion paper on pulsation modes andpulsation masses of carbon-rich long period variables (LPVs; Paper IV,present issue). This research has made use of the Simbad databaseoperated at CDS, Strasbourg, France. Partially based on data from theESA HIPPARCOS astrometry satellite. 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/390/967
| CHARM: A Catalog of High Angular Resolution Measurements
The Catalog of High Angular Resolution Measurements (CHARM) includesmost of the measurements obtained by the techniques of lunaroccultations and long-baseline interferometry at visual and infraredwavelengths, which have appeared in the literature or have otherwisebeen made public until mid-2001. A total of 2432 measurements of 1625sources are included, along with extensive auxiliary information. Inparticular, visual and infrared photometry is included for almost allthe sources. This has been partly extracted from currently availablecatalogs, and partly obtained specifically for CHARM. The main aim is toprovide a compilation of sources which could be used as calibrators orfor science verification purposes by the new generation of largeground-based facilities such as the ESO Very Large Interferometer andthe Keck Interferometer. The Catalog is available in electronic form atthe 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/386/492, and from theauthors on CD-Rom.
| The 85Kr s-Process Branching and the Mass of Carbon Stars
We present new spectroscopic observations for a sample of C(N)-type redgiants. These objects belong to the class of asymptotic giant branchstars, experiencing thermal instabilities in the He-burning shell(thermal pulses). Mixing episodes called third dredge-up enrich thephotosphere with newly synthesized 12C in the He-rich zone,and this is the source of the high observed ratio between carbon andoxygen (C/O>=1 by number). Our spectroscopic abundance estimatesconfirm that, in agreement with the general understanding of the lateevolutionary stages of low- and intermediate-mass stars, carbonenrichment is accompanied by the appearance of s-process elements in thephotosphere. We discuss the details of the observations and of thederived abundances, focusing in particular on rubidium, a neutrondensity sensitive element, and on the s-elements Sr, Y, and Zr belongingto the first s-peak. The critical reaction branching at 85Kr,which determines the relative enrichment of the studied species, isdiscussed. Subsequently, we compare our data with recent models fors-processing in thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch stars, atmetallicities relevant for our sample. A remarkable agreement betweenmodel predictions and observations is found. Thanks to the differentneutron density prevailing in low- and intermediate-mass stars,comparison with the models allows us to conclude that most C(N) starsare of low mass (M<~3 Msolar). We also analyze the12C/13C ratios measured, showing that most of themcannot be explained by canonical stellar models. We discuss how thisfact would require the operation of an ad hoc additional mixing,currently called cool bottom process, operating only in low-mass starsduring the first ascent of the red giant branch and, perhaps, alsoduring the asymptotic giant branch.
| Long period variable stars: galactic populations and infrared luminosity calibrations
In this paper HIPPARCOS astrometric and kinematic data are used tocalibrate both infrared luminosities and kinematical parameters of LongPeriod Variable stars (LPVs). Individual absolute K and IRAS 12 and 25luminosities of 800 LPVs are determined and made available in electronicform. The estimated mean kinematics is analyzed in terms of galacticpopulations. LPVs are found to belong to galactic populations rangingfrom the thin disk to the extended disk. An age range and a lower limitof the initial mass is given for stars of each population. A differenceof 1.3 mag in K for the upper limit of the Asymptotic Giant Branch isfound between the disk and old disk galactic populations, confirming itsdependence on the mass in the main sequence. LPVs with a thin envelopeare distinguished using the estimated mean IRAS luminosities. The levelof attraction (in the classification sense) of each group for the usualclassifying parameters of LPVs (variability and spectral types) isexamined. Table 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/374/968 or via ASTRIDdatabase (http://astrid.graal.univ-montp2.fr).
| The effective temperatures of carbon-rich stars
We evaluate effective temperatures of 390 carbon-rich stars. Theinterstellar extinction on their lines of sights was determined andcircumstellar contributions derived. The intrinsic (dereddened) spectralenergy distributions (SEDs) are classified into 14 photometric groups(HCi, CVj and SCV with i=0,5 and j=1,7). The newscale of effective temperatures proposed here is calibrated on the 54angular diameters (measured on 52 stars) available at present from lunaroccultations and interferometry. The brightness distribution on stellardiscs and its influence on diameter evaluations are discussed. Theeffective temperatures directly deduced from those diameters correlatewith the classification into photometric groups, despite the large errorbars on diameters. The main parameter of our photometric classificationis thus effective temperature. Our photometric < k right >1/2 coefficients are shown to be angular diameters on arelative scale for a given photometric group, (more precisely for agiven effective temperature). The angular diameters are consistent withthe photometric data previously shown to be consistent with the trueparallaxes from HIPPARCOS observations (Knapik, et al. \cite{knapik98},Sect. 6). Provisional effective temperatures, as constrained by asuccessful comparison of dereddened SEDs from observations to modelatmosphere predictions, are in good agreement with the values directlycalculated from the observed angular diameters and with those deducedfrom five selected intrinsic color indices. These three approaches wereused to calibrate a reference angular diameter Phi 0 and theassociated coefficient CT_eff. The effective temperatureproposed for each star is the arithmetic mean of two estimates, one(``bolometric'') from a reference integrated flux F0, theother (``spectral'') from calibrated color indices which arerepresentative of SED shapes. Effective temperatures for about 390carbon stars are provided on this new homogeneous scale, together withvalues for some stars classified with oxygen-type SEDs with a total of438 SEDs (410 stars) studied. Apparent bolometric magnitudes are given.Objects with strong infrared excesses and optically thick circumstellardust shells are discussed separately. The new effective temperaturescale is shown to be compatible and (statistically) consistent with thesample of direct values from the observed angular diameters. Theeffective temperatures are confirmed to be higher than the mean colortemperatures (from 140 to 440 K). They are in good agreement with thepublished estimates from the infrared flux method forTeff>= 3170 K, while an increasing discrepancy is observedtoward lower temperatures. As an illustration of the efficiency of thephotometric classification and effective temperature scale, the C/Oratios and the Merrill-Sanford (M-S) band intensities are investigated.It is shown that the maximum value, mean value and dispersion of C/Oincrease along the photometric CV-sequence, i.e. with decreasingeffective temperature. The M-S bands of SiC2 are shown tohave a transition from ``none'' to ``strong'' at Teff =~(2800+/- 150right ) K. Simultaneously, with decreasing effectivetemperature, the mean C/O ratio increases from 1.04 to 1.36, thetransition in SiC2 strength occurring while 1.07<= C/O<= 1.18. This research has made use of the Simbad database operatedat CDS, Strasbourg, France. Table 10 is only available in electronicform at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5)}or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/369/178
| 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
| General Catalog of Galactic Carbon Stars by C. B. Stephenson. Third Edition
The catalog is an updated and revised version of Stephenson's Catalogueof Galactic Cool Carbon Stars (2nd edition). It includes 6891 entries.For each star the following information is given: equatorial (2000.0)and galactic coordinates, blue, visual and infrared magnitudes, spectralclassification, references, designations in the most significantcatalogs and coordinate precision classes. The main catalog issupplemented by remarks containing information for which there was noplace in entries of the main part, as well as some occasional notesabout the peculiarities of specific stars.
| Hipparcos parallaxes for Mira-like long-period variables
This paper concerns the calibration of the K period-luminosity relationfor Mira variables using Hipparcos parallaxes. K magnitudes areavailable for 255 Mira-like variables which were observed by Hipparcos.Period-luminosity zero-points are evaluated for various subgroups ofdata. The best solution for oxygen-rich Miras, which uses 180 stars,omitting the short-period red group (which had different kinematics fromthe short-period blue stars) and the low-amplitude variables, provides azero-point of σ2σ2π +(0.4605)2π2PL(K)σ2K + σ2PL(K),0.84+/-0.14mag, which implies a distance modulus for the LargeMagellanic Cloud of σK = 0.3ΔK√N,18.64+/-0.14mag, or perhaps slightly greater if a metallicity correctionis required, in good agreement with the value derived from Cepheids. Thezero-point of the period-luminosity relation for carbon stars is brieflydiscussed. Linear diameters are derived for red variables with measuredangular diameters and parallaxes, and are used to examine thelong-standing question of the pulsation mode(s) of these stars. Evidenceis presented to suggest that most of them are pulsating in the same modeand, if published model atmospheres are correct, this is probably thefirst overtone. Some discussion is given of sequences in theperiod-luminosity and period-colour diagrams and their bearing on thepulsation mode problem.
| The PL relation of galactic carbon LPVs. The distance modulus to LMC
We present a period-luminosity (PL) diagram of 115 galactic carbon-richlong period variables (LPVs) observed by the HIPPARCOS satellite, in theform of the (MK,log P) relation. Our plot is compared to thediagram of carbon variables observed in the Large Magellanic Cloud(LMC). Both diagrams are found very similar and three samples aredelineated: long period variables close to the PL relation of Feast etal. (1989), short period-overluminous variables and a few underluminousLPVs, respectively Samples 1, 2 and 3. The used data were deduced fromexpectations of true parallaxes (Knapik et al. 1997) which arestatistically free of the Lutz-Kelker effect. The remaining bias due tothe non-gaussian distribution of absolute magnitudes is avoided: anon-linear parametric method is applied in Sect. 4 to the analysis ofthe PL relation for Sample 1 (72 LPVs). We obtainMK=(-3.99+/-0.13)log P+(2.07+/-0.15), in good agreement withthe slope found for LMC variables by Reid et al. (1995). The LMCdistance modulus then derived is mu =18.50+/-0.17. A well-defined upperlimit (ul) for long period stars in Sample 1 is found, with similarslopes in both the Galaxy (-4.85) and LMC (-4.72). No correction formetallicity was applied to the results. This research has made use ofthe Simbad database operated at CDS, Strasbourg, France.
| Classification and Identification of IRAS Sources with Low-Resolution Spectra
IRAS low-resolution spectra were extracted for 11,224 IRAS sources.These spectra were classified into astrophysical classes, based on thepresence of emission and absorption features and on the shape of thecontinuum. Counterparts of these IRAS sources in existing optical andinfrared catalogs are identified, and their optical spectral types arelisted if they are known. The correlations between thephotospheric/optical and circumstellar/infrared classification arediscussed.
| 12C/13C ratios and Li abundances in C stars: evidence for deep mixing?
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1997MNRAS.289L..11A&db_key=AST
| Interstellar extinction and the intrinsic spectral distribution of variable carbon stars.
We present a new method of evaluation of the extinction by interstellardust on cool carbon variables. These late-type stars show no markedrelationship between spectral classification (the R, N- and C-types) andphotometric colour indices. The pair method is thus ruled out, at leastin the form currently in use for early-type or intermediate stars. Ourmethod makes use of the whole spectral energy distributions from UV toIR. A sample of 60 unreddened carbon variables is delineated and newcolour-colour diagrams are proposed where the reddening vector is nearlyperpendicular to their narrow intrinsic locus. Six photometric groups(or boxes : CV1 to 6) are derived among unreddened stars. They show acontinuous range of spectral energy distributions from "bluer" to"redder", and mean colour indices are obtained. A pair method isdescribed where each presumably reddened star is compared to these meanunreddened stars, a given extinction law being assumed. As anillustration, the results are shown for a sample of 133 well-documentedstars. The mean extinction law usually adopted for the diffuseinterstellar medium (R_V_=~3.1) is shown to provide good fits. Thethreshold for reddening detection turns to be E(B-V)=~0.02-0.03A goodcorrelation is observed when the derived colour excesses are compared tovalues from maps in the literature. The mean rate of visual extinctionamounts to =~1.25+/-1.1 , ranging from 0.37 nearl=~240° (intercloud) to 2.1 (cloud + intercloud) in two structurescorrelated with Gould's belt.
| A Moderate-Resolution Spectral Atlas of Carbon Stars: R, J, N, CH, and Barium Stars
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1996ApJS..105..419B&db_key=AST
| Vitesses radiales. Catalogue WEB: Wilson Evans Batten. Subtittle: Radial velocities: The Wilson-Evans-Batten catalogue.
We give a common version of the two catalogues of Mean Radial Velocitiesby Wilson (1963) and Evans (1978) to which we have added the catalogueof spectroscopic binary systems (Batten et al. 1989). For each star,when possible, we give: 1) an acronym to enter SIMBAD (Set ofIdentifications Measurements and Bibliography for Astronomical Data) ofthe CDS (Centre de Donnees Astronomiques de Strasbourg). 2) the numberHIC of the HIPPARCOS catalogue (Turon 1992). 3) the CCDM number(Catalogue des Composantes des etoiles Doubles et Multiples) byDommanget & Nys (1994). For the cluster stars, a precise study hasbeen done, on the identificator numbers. Numerous remarks point out theproblems we have had to deal with.
| Evidence for Rapid Rotation of the Carbon Star V Hydrae
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1995ApJ...450..862B&db_key=AST
| Sub-milliarcsecond resolution observations of two carbon stars: TX PISCIUM and Y Tauri revisited.
We recorded lunar occultation events of the two carbon stars TX Psc andY Tau. In the case of TX Psc, seven lightcurves were recorded fromdifferent sites in the period 1992-1994, at wavelengths ranging from0.55μm to 3.6μm. In the case of Y Tau, one occultation event wasrecorded independently at two sites at 2.2μm and 3.6μm. Ourobservations essentially confirm and refine previous photosphericangular diameter results for these two stars obtained by lunaroccultations (Lasker et al. 1973; De Vegt 1974; Dunham et al. 1975 forTX Psc, and Ridgway et al. 1977; Blow 1982; Schmidtke et al. 1986 for YTau). The good SNR of some of the traces, and the availability ofindependent observations, allow us to investigate at the highest angularresolution ever achieved on these stars (=~0.0006" on average), detailssuch as possible deviations from circular symmetry, and possiblepresence of circumstellar emission. The weighted average of the bestfits to occultation lightcurves yields a uniform-disc diameter of8.38+/-0.05 mas for TX Psc, and 8.21+/-0.08 for Y Tau. However, we alsopresent the results of model-independent data analysis. At least for TXPsc these reveal substantial departure from the simple model of circulardisk, which we interpret as due to the presence of warm dust immediatelyadjacent to the stellar photosphere, and/or of large cold spots on thephotosphere itself. We suggest that a circular disc is inadequate todescribe the brightness profile of TX Psc at both visual andnear-infrared wavelengths. The recent determination by opticalinterferometry of the angular diameter of TX Psc by Quirrenbach et al.(1994), based on such an assumption, may have been biased and theeffective temperature should be correspondingly revised. Our resultsindicate that it is in the range 3000-3150K, in good agreement with somerecent theoretical estimates. In the case of Y Tau, somewhatsurprisingly, no significant presence of circumstellar emission isrevealed at the wavelengths of our observations (<~1% of the 3.6μflux in the inner 0.15"). Our determination of the angular diameter isconsistent with previous suggestions (Schmidtke et al. 1986) that aregular pulsation of this star's photosphere with the phase in itsvariability period may have been detected.
| The evolution of galactic carbon stars.
Based on a comparison of observations with new synthetic AGB evolutioncalculations we propose a revised evolutionary scenario for carbon starsin the solar neighbourhood. From observations we derive that the lowestinitial mass from which carbon stars form is about 1.5Msun_.This constraint combined with four other constraints (the observedinitial-final mass relation, the birth rate of carbon stars, theobserved abundance ratios in planetary nebulae (PNe) and the numberratios C/M and S/C of AGB stars) are used to derive the followingparameters for the synthetic AGB evolution model. Third dredge-up occursfor core masses above 0.58Msun_ and the dredge-up efficiencyis λ=0.75. We consider a Reimers mass loss law (with a scalingfactor η_AGB_) and the mass loss rate law recently proposed byBloecker & Schoenberner (1993; with a scaling factor η_BS_). Wefind η_AGB_=4 and η_BS_=0.08. Both models fit the observationsequally well. The model predicts that stars in the range1.5Msun_<~M<~1.6Msun_ become carbon stars attheir last thermal pulse (TP) on the AGB and live only a few 10^4^yr ascarbon stars. More massive stars experience additional TPs as carbonstars (up to about 25 for a 3Msun_ star) and live up to10^6^yr. For M>4Msun_ hot-bottom burning prevents theformation of carbon stars. For M<~2Msun_, M-stars skip theS-star phase when they become carbon stars. The average lifetime of thecarbon star phase is ~3x10^5^yr. The carbon stars for which C/O ratioshave been derived in the literature (with values <~1.5) arepredominantly optical carbon stars with a 60μm excess. Yet, disk PNeare known with C/O ratios up to about 4. We predict that carbon starswith C/O ratios >1.5 are to be found among the infrared carbon stars.The model predicts that the probability that a carbon star hasC/O>1.5 is about 30%, in reasonable agreement with the observed ratioof the surface density in the galactic plane of infrared carbon stars toall carbon stars. The infrared carbon stars are predicted to be (onaverage) more massive than the optical carbon stars. The fact thatcarbon stars with C/O>1.5 apparently never reach the optical carbonstar phase (with a detached shell) is probably due to differences inevolution. If indeed infrared carbon stars are on average more massive(i.e. have larger core masses) than optical carbon stars, the interpulseperiod is shorter, and the increase in luminosity during the TP issmaller (due to the larger envelope mass). Both effects will decreasethe likelihood of a detached shell to occur. We predict that two-thirdsof all detached shells around optical carbon stars are oxygen-rich.
| Angular diameters of the carbon stars UU Aurigae, Y Canum Venaticorum, and TX PISCIUM from optical long-baseline interferometry
The angular diameters of the three carbon stars UU Aur, Y CVn, and TXPsc have been determined with the MkIII Optical Interferometer.Measurements of UU Aur at λλ= 712, 754, and 800nm agreewell with each other; the weighted mean for the uniform disk diameter isθ_UD_ = 11.28 +/-0.21mas. For Y CVn, θ_UD_ = 13.81+/-0.43mas is obtained at 800nm. There are indications of temporalvariations of the diameter of TX Psc; values between 9.4 and 11.1maswere measured for this star. Effective temperatures are calculated forthese three stars and for six other carbon stars for which diametersmeasured with the lunar occultation technique have been published. Thesefundamentally determined effective temperatures correlate well with, butare on average about 100K cooler than, effective temperatures for thesame stars obtained with the infrared flux method by Tsuji (1981). Colortemperatures determined by Baumert (1972) and by Gow (1977) correlatepoorly with effective temperatures.
| A high-resolution spectral atlas of carbon stars
We present a spectral atlas of six bright carbon stars (U Hya, TX Psc,RZ Peg, V Oph, Y CVn, and UV Cam) observed with the Hamilton EchelleSpectrograph at coude using the 3 m telescope at Lick Observatory. Thesedata are of high resolution (0.13 A at 6100 A) and high signal-to-noise.The spectral range spans from 5080 to 7850 A; however, there are gapsdue to the unmatched size of the echelle format and the charge coupleddevices (CCD). We have observed a total of 87 carbon stars in the solarneighborhood over the period from 1988 May through 1991 September, withtwo or more observations for 67 stars of the sample. The reduced spectra(40 orders per observation for a total of nearly 9200 individualspectra) will be available to the scientific community via theAstrophysics Data System (ADS). The current study has produced the mostdetailed multi-epoch observations to date of a large number of carbonstars. Presented here, along with spectra of the six sample stars, areseparate template plots to be used as a tool for the ADS on-linedatabase. These templates are of atomic features, as well as (12)CN and(12)C2 transitions taken from the tables of Davis & Phillips (1963)and Phillips & Davis (1968), respectively. We have calculated bandhead positions for the isotopic species (13)C (14)N, (12)C (13)C and(13)C (13)C, whose transitions contribute significantly to the spectraof carbon stars with enhanced C-13 abundance, known as J-type carbonstars.
| A Catalog of li Abundances and Equivalent Widths in a Sample of Galactic C-Stars
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1993A&AS..102..361B&db_key=AST
| A model of the 2-35 micron Point Source Infrared Sky
The Point Source Infrared Sky Model of Wainscoat et al. (1992) isextended to make predictions for any filter lying wholly within therange 2.0 to 35.0 micron. The development of a library of complete 2-35micron low-resolution spectra that represent the 87 categories ofGalactic object and four types of extragalactic source implicit in theModel supports this extension. This library is based upon the 'spectraltemplate' technique whereby existing spectral fragments for individualsources (from ground-based, airborne, and satellite-borne instruments)are combined into complete spectra. Templates provide a natural way torepresent the complete spectral energy distributions of celestialsources for which only infrared photometry and/or partial spectroscopyare available. Consequently, templates bear upon the important generalproblem of establishing midinfrared calibration sources. The new modelis validated by comparison with broadband K source counts.
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Sagittarius |
| Right ascension: | 17h44m56.48s |
| Declination: | -18°39'26.4" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 8.618 |
| Distance: | 10000000 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | 1.6 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -3.2 |
| B-T magnitude: | 12.322 |
| V-T magnitude: | 8.924 |
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