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Ejection velocities of high Galactic latitude runaway stars
We estimate the distribution of ejection velocities for the knownpopulation of high Galactic latitude runaway stars. The initial sampleis a collection of 174 early-type stars selected from the literature.The stars are first classified according to their evolutionary status inorder to obtain a homogeneous sample of 96 genuine main-sequence stars.Their present velocities and flight times are then estimated usingproper motion data from various astrometric catalogues (includingTycho-2, UCAC2 and USNO-B) and the ejection velocities are computed bytracing their orbits back in time, based on a Galactic potential. Thepotential used is constructed from a mass density model chosen to fitthe most recent observational constraints.We find evidence for two different populations of runaway stars: a'high' velocity population, with a maximum ejection velocity of about400-500 km s-1, and a 'low' velocity population, with amaximum ejection velocity of about 300 km s-1. We argue thatthe observed limit of 500 km s-1 and the bimodality of theobserved ejection velocity distribution are natural consequences of theso-called Binary Ejection Mechanism. We discuss the connection betweenthe 'high' velocity population and the so-called hypervelocity stars,showing how previously studied hypervelocity stars are consistent withthe results obtained.We also find that some stars that were once thought to be best explainedas being formed in the halo are compatible with a runaway hypothesisonce proper motions are included in the analysis. However, three starsin the selected sample appear to be inconsistent with ejection from theGalactic disc. Possible scenarios are discussed, including a possibleformation in the Galactic halo.
| The Origins and Evolutionary Status of B Stars Found Far from the Galactic Plane. II. Kinematics and Full Sample Analysis
This paper continues the analysis of faint high-latitude B stars fromMartin. Here we analyze the kinematics of the stars and combine themwith the abundance information from the first paper to classify eachone. The sample contains 31 Population I runaways, 15 old evolved stars(including 5 blue horizontal-branch [BHB] stars, 3 post-HB stars, 1pulsating helium dwarf, and 6 stars of ambiguous classification), 1 Fdwarf, and 2 stars that do not easily fit in one of the othercategories. No star in the sample unambiguously shows thecharacteristics of a young massive star formed in situ in the halo. Thetwo unclassified stars are probably extreme Population I runaways. Thelow binary frequency and rotational velocity distribution of thePopulation I runaways imply that most were ejected from dense starclusters by the dynamic ejection scenario. However, we remain puzzled bythe lack of runaway Be stars. We also confirm that PB 166 and HIP 41979are both nearby solar-metallicity BHB stars.Based on observations made at the 2.1 m Otto Struve Telescope ofMcDonald Observatory, operated by the University of Texas at Austin.
| The Origins and Evolutionary Status of B Stars Found Far from the Galactic Plane. I. Composition and Spectral Features
The existence of faint blue stars far above the Galactic plane that havespectra that are similar to nearby Population I B stars presents severalinteresting questions. Among them are the following: Can a Population IB star travel from the disk to a position many kiloparsecs above theplane in a relatively short main-sequence lifetime? Is it possible thatsingle massive star formation is occurring far from the Galactic plane?Are these objects something else masquerading as main-sequence B stars?This paper (the first of two) analyzes the abundances of a sample ofthese stars and reveals several that are chemically similar to nearbyPopulation I B stars, whereas others clearly have abundance patternsmore like those expected in blue horizontal-branch (BHB) orpost-asymptotic giant branch stars. Several of those with old evolvedstar abundances also have interesting features of note in their spectra.We also consider why this sample does not have any classical Be starsand identify at least two nearby solar-metallicity BHB stars.Based on observations made at the 2.1 m Otto Struve Telescope ofMcDonald Observatory operated by the University of Texas at Austin.
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Petit Cheval |
| Right ascension: | 21h15m18.47s |
| Declination: | +03°25'09.5" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 10.46 |
| Proper motion RA: | 4.9 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -6.2 |
| B-T magnitude: | 10.991 |
| V-T magnitude: | 10.504 |
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