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The impact of stellar duplicity on planet occurrence and properties. I. Observational results of a VLT/NACO search for stellar companions to 130 nearby stars with and without planets
Context: Although it is commonly agreed that the presence of a closestellar companion is likely to affect planet formation and evolution,the precise effects and their actual impact on planet occurrence arestill debated. Different conclusions have been reached on thetheoretical side, while observational constraints are sparse, aconsequence of the discrimination against close binaries in Dopplerplanet searches. Accordingly, basic questions such as how hospitablebinaries are to planets and how binary separation and mass ratio impacton planet formation, remain poorly known. Aims: In an effort to bringobservational constraints on the occurrence and properties of planets inbinaries and multiple stars, we have been conducting a dedicatedinvestigation, the results of which will be presented in this series. Methods: Our investigation follows two different approaches, one basedon radial-velocity monitoring, the other based on direct imaging. Inthis first paper, we present the observational results from oursystematic adaptive optics search with VLT/NACO for close stellarcompanions to 130 nearby stars, 57 with planets and 73 without, forcomparison. The inclusion of a control sub-sample is a unique feature ofour program that will enable a meaningful and rigorous comparisonbetween the properties of planet-host stars and the properties of fieldstars subject to the same selection effects against close binaries, butshowing no evidence for planetary companions. Results: Our data reveal95 companion candidates found in the vicinity of 33 of our targets.Nineteen of these candidates are true companions and 2 are likely boundobjects. Among planet-host stars, we discovered a tight pair of very lowmass companions to HD 65216 (projected separation of 255 AU), an early Mcompanion to HD 177830 (projected separation of 97 AU), and we resolvedthe previously known companion to HD 196050 into a close pair of Mdwarfs. Our data additionally confirm the bound nature of the companionsto HD 142, HD 16141, and HD 46375. Among control stars, we detected truecompanions to HD 7895, HD 24331, HD 31412, HD 40397, HD 43834, HD 70923,HD 78351, HD 104263, HD 129642, HD 154682, and HD 223913, and likelybound companions to HD 82241 and HD 134180. Most of these objects are Mdwarfs and have projected separations between 7 and 505 AU.Based on observations collected at the ESO VLT Yepun telescope,proposals 70.C-0557, 71.C-0125, 73.C-0124, 74.C-0048, 75.C-0069, and76.C-0057. Tables 1, 2, and Figs. 3, 4 are only available in electronicform at http://www.aanda.org
| A new code for automatic determination of equivalent widths: Automatic Routine for line Equivalent widths in stellar Spectra (ARES)
Aims.We present a new automatic code (ARES) for determining equivalentwidths of the absorption lines present in stellar spectra. We alsodescribe its use for determining fundamental spectroscopic stellarparameters. Methods: The code is written in C++ based on thestandard method of determining EWs and is available for the community.The code automates the manual procedure that the users normally carryout when using interactive routines such as the splot routineimplemented in IRAF. Results: We test the code using bothsimulated and real spectra with different levels of resolution and noiseand comparing its measurements to the manual ones obtained in thestandard way. The results shows a small systematic difference, alwaysbelow 1.5 mÅ. This can be explained by errors in the manualmeasurements caused by subjective continuum determination. The codeworks better and faster than others tested before.ARES Webpage: http://www.astro.up.pt/~sousasag/ares/ Full Table [seefull text] is only available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymousftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/469/783
| Spectroscopic parameters for a sample of metal-rich solar-type stars
Aims.To date, metallicity is the only parameter of a star that appearsto clearly correlate with the presence of planets and their properties.To check for new correlations between stars and the existence of anorbiting planet, we determine accurate stellar parameters for severalmetal-rich solar-type stars. The purpose is to fill the gap of thecomparison sample presented in previous works in the high metal-contentregime. Methods: .The stellar parameters were determined using anLTE analysis based on equivalent widths (EW) of iron lines and byimposing excitation and ionization equilibrium. We also present a firststep in determining these stellar parameters in an automatic manner byusing the code DAOSPEC for the EW determination. Results:.Accurate stellar parameters and metallicities are obtained for oursample composed of 64 high metal-content stars not known to harbor anyplanet. This sample will in the future give us the possibility of betterexploring the existence of differences in the chemical abundancesbetween planet-host stars and stars without known planets in themetal-rich domain. We also report stellar parameters for some recentlydiscovered planet-host stars. Finally, we present an empiricalcalibration for DAOSPEC based on the comparison between its EWmeasurements and the standard "hand made" measurements for the FEROSsample presented in this paper.
| The abundance distribution of stars with planets
We present the results of a uniform, high-precision spectroscopicmetallicity study of 136 G-type stars from the Anglo-Australian PlanetSearch, 20 of which are known to harbour extrasolar planets (as at 2005July). Abundances in Fe, C, Na, Al, Si, Ca, Ti and Ni are presented,along with Strömgen photometric metallicities. This study is one ofseveral recent studies examining the metallicities of a sample ofplanet-host and non-planet-host stars that were obtained from a singlesample, and analysed in an identical manner, providing an unbiasedestimate of the metallicity trends for planet-bearing stars. We findthat non-parametric tests of the distribution of metallicities forplanet-host and non-planet-host stars are significantly different at alevel of 99.4 per cent confidence. We confirm the previously observedtrend for planet-host stars to have higher mean metallicities thannon-planet-host stars, with a mean metallicity for planet-host stars of[Fe/H] = 0.06 +/- 0.03dex compared with [Fe/H] = -0.09 +/- 0.01dex fornon-host-stars in our sample. This enrichment is also seen in the otherelements studied. Based on our findings, we suggest that this observedenhancement is more likely a relic of the original gas cloud from whichthe star and its planets formed, rather than being due to `pollution' ofthe stellar photosphere.
| Contributions to the Nearby Stars (NStars) Project: Spectroscopy of Stars Earlier than M0 within 40 pc-The Southern Sample
We are obtaining spectra, spectral types, and basic physical parametersfor the nearly 3600 dwarf and giant stars earlier than M0 in theHipparcos catalog within 40 pc of the Sun. Here we report on resultsfor 1676 stars in the southern hemisphere observed at Cerro TololoInter-American Observatory and Steward Observatory. These resultsinclude new, precise, homogeneous spectral types, basic physicalparameters (including the effective temperature, surface gravity, andmetallicity [M/H]), and measures of the chromospheric activity of ourprogram stars. We include notes on astrophysically interesting stars inthis sample, the metallicity distribution of the solar neighborhood, anda table of solar analogs. We also demonstrate that the bimodal nature ofthe distribution of the chromospheric activity parameterlogR'HK depends strongly on the metallicity, andwe explore the nature of the ``low-metallicity'' chromosphericallyactive K-type dwarfs.
| Effective temperature scale and bolometric corrections from 2MASS photometry
We present a method to determine effective temperatures, angularsemi-diameters and bolometric corrections for population I and II FGKtype stars based on V and 2MASS IR photometry. Accurate calibration isaccomplished by using a sample of solar analogues, whose averagetemperature is assumed to be equal to the solar effective temperature of5777 K. By taking into account all possible sources of error we estimateassociated uncertainties to better than 1% in effective temperature andin the range 1.0-2.5% in angular semi-diameter for unreddened stars.Comparison of our new temperatures with other determinations extractedfrom the literature indicates, in general, remarkably good agreement.These results suggest that the effective temperaure scale of FGK starsis currently established with an accuracy better than 0.5%-1%. Theapplication of the method to a sample of 10 999 dwarfs in the Hipparcoscatalogue allows us to define temperature and bolometric correction (Kband) calibrations as a function of (V-K), [m/H] and log g. Bolometriccorrections in the V and K bands as a function of T_eff, [m/H] and log gare also given. We provide effective temperatures, angularsemi-diameters, radii and bolometric corrections in the V and K bandsfor the 10 999 FGK stars in our sample with the correspondinguncertainties.
| Spectroscopic Properties of Cool Stars (SPOCS). I. 1040 F, G, and K Dwarfs from Keck, Lick, and AAT Planet Search Programs
We present a uniform catalog of stellar properties for 1040 nearby F, G,and K stars that have been observed by the Keck, Lick, and AAT planetsearch programs. Fitting observed echelle spectra with synthetic spectrayielded effective temperature, surface gravity, metallicity, projectedrotational velocity, and abundances of the elements Na, Si, Ti, Fe, andNi, for every star in the catalog. Combining V-band photometry andHipparcos parallaxes with a bolometric correction based on thespectroscopic results yielded stellar luminosity, radius, and mass.Interpolating Yonsei-Yale isochrones to the luminosity, effectivetemperature, metallicity, and α-element enhancement of each staryielded a theoretical mass, radius, gravity, and age range for moststars in the catalog. Automated tools provide uniform results and makeanalysis of such a large sample practical. Our analysis method differsfrom traditional abundance analyses in that we fit the observed spectrumdirectly, rather than trying to match equivalent widths, and wedetermine effective temperature and surface gravity from the spectrumitself, rather than adopting values based on measured photometry orparallax. As part of our analysis, we determined a new relationshipbetween macroturbulence and effective temperature on the main sequence.Detailed error analysis revealed small systematic offsets with respectto the Sun and spurious abundance trends as a function of effectivetemperature that would be inobvious in smaller samples. We attempted toremove these errors by applying empirical corrections, achieving aprecision per spectrum of 44 K in effective temperature, 0.03 dex inmetallicity, 0.06 dex in the logarithm of gravity, and 0.5 kms-1 in projected rotational velocity. Comparisons withprevious studies show only small discrepancies. Our spectroscopicallydetermined masses have a median fractional precision of 15%, but theyare systematically 10% higher than masses obtained by interpolatingisochrones. Our spectroscopic radii have a median fractional precisionof 3%. Our ages from isochrones have a precision that variesdramatically with location in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. We planto extend the catalog by applying our automated analysis technique toother large stellar samples.
| The Planet-Metallicity Correlation
We have recently carried out spectral synthesis modeling to determineTeff, logg, vsini, and [Fe/H] for 1040 FGK-type stars on theKeck, Lick, and Anglo-Australian Telescope planet search programs. Thisis the first time that a single, uniform spectroscopic analysis has beenmade for every star on a large Doppler planet search survey. We identifya subset of 850 stars that have Doppler observations sufficient todetect uniformly all planets with radial velocity semiamplitudes K>30m s-1 and orbital periods shorter than 4 yr. From this subsetof stars, we determine that fewer than 3% of stars with-0.5<[Fe/H]<0.0 have Doppler-detected planets. Above solarmetallicity, there is a smooth and rapid rise in the fraction of starswith planets. At [Fe/H]>+0.3 dex, 25% of observed stars have detectedgas giant planets. A power-law fit to these data relates the formationprobability for gas giant planets to the square of the number of metalatoms. High stellar metallicity also appears to be correlated with thepresence of multiple-planet systems and with the total detected planetmass. This data set was examined to better understand the origin of highmetallicity in stars with planets. None of the expected fossilsignatures of accretion are observed in stars with planets relative tothe general sample: (1) metallicity does not appear to increase as themass of the convective envelopes decreases, (2) subgiants with planetsdo not show dilution of metallicity, (3) no abundance variations for Na,Si, Ti, or Ni are found as a function of condensation temperature, and(4) no correlations between metallicity and orbital period oreccentricity could be identified. We conclude that stars with extrasolarplanets do not have an accretion signature that distinguishes them fromother stars; more likely, they are simply born in higher metallicitymolecular clouds.Based on observations obtained at Lick and Keck Observatories, operatedby the University of California, and the Anglo-Australian Observatories.
| The Geneva-Copenhagen survey of the Solar neighbourhood. Ages, metallicities, and kinematic properties of 14 000 F and G dwarfs
We present and discuss new determinations of metallicity, rotation, age,kinematics, and Galactic orbits for a complete, magnitude-limited, andkinematically unbiased sample of 16 682 nearby F and G dwarf stars. Our63 000 new, accurate radial-velocity observations for nearly 13 500stars allow identification of most of the binary stars in the sampleand, together with published uvbyβ photometry, Hipparcosparallaxes, Tycho-2 proper motions, and a few earlier radial velocities,complete the kinematic information for 14 139 stars. These high-qualityvelocity data are supplemented by effective temperatures andmetallicities newly derived from recent and/or revised calibrations. Theremaining stars either lack Hipparcos data or have fast rotation. Amajor effort has been devoted to the determination of new isochrone agesfor all stars for which this is possible. Particular attention has beengiven to a realistic treatment of statistical biases and errorestimates, as standard techniques tend to underestimate these effectsand introduce spurious features in the age distributions. Our ages agreewell with those by Edvardsson et al. (\cite{edv93}), despite severalastrophysical and computational improvements since then. We demonstrate,however, how strong observational and theoretical biases cause thedistribution of the observed ages to be very different from that of thetrue age distribution of the sample. Among the many basic relations ofthe Galactic disk that can be reinvestigated from the data presentedhere, we revisit the metallicity distribution of the G dwarfs and theage-metallicity, age-velocity, and metallicity-velocity relations of theSolar neighbourhood. Our first results confirm the lack of metal-poor Gdwarfs relative to closed-box model predictions (the ``G dwarfproblem''), the existence of radial metallicity gradients in the disk,the small change in mean metallicity of the thin disk since itsformation and the substantial scatter in metallicity at all ages, andthe continuing kinematic heating of the thin disk with an efficiencyconsistent with that expected for a combination of spiral arms and giantmolecular clouds. Distinct features in the distribution of the Vcomponent of the space motion are extended in age and metallicity,corresponding to the effects of stochastic spiral waves rather thanclassical moving groups, and may complicate the identification ofthick-disk stars from kinematic criteria. More advanced analyses of thisrich material will require careful simulations of the selection criteriafor the sample and the distribution of observational errors.Based on observations made with the Danish 1.5-m telescope at ESO, LaSilla, Chile, and with the Swiss 1-m telescope at Observatoire deHaute-Provence, France.Complete Tables 1 and 2 are 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/418/989
| Extrasolar planets around HD 196050, HD 216437 and HD 160691
We report precise Doppler measurements of the stars HD 216437, HD 196050and HD 160691 obtained with the Anglo-Australian Telescope using theUCLES spectrometer together with an iodine cell as part of theAnglo-Australian Planet Search. Our measurements reveal periodicKeplerian velocity variations that we interpret as evidence for planetsin orbit around these solar type stars. HD 216437 has a period of 1294+/- 250 d, a semi-amplitude of 38 +/- 3 m s-1 and aneccentricity of 0.33 +/- 0.09. The minimum (M sin i) mass of thecompanion is 2.1 +/- 0.3 MJUP and the semi-major axis is 2.4+/- 0.5 au. HD 196050 has a period of 1300 +/- 230 d, a semi-amplitudeof 49 +/- 8 m s-1 and an eccentricity of 0.19 +/- 0.09. Theminimum mass of the companion is 2.8 +/- 0.5 MJUP and thesemi-major axis is 2.4 +/- 0.5 au. We also report further observationsof the metal-rich planet bearing star HD 160691. Our new solutionconfirms the previously reported planet and shows a trend indicating asecond, longer-period companion. These discoveries add to the growingnumbers of mildly eccentric, long-period extrasolar planets aroundmetal-rich Sun-like stars.
| Echelle spectroscopy of Caii HK activity in Southern Hemisphere planet search targets
We present the results of ultraviolet echelle spectroscopy of a sampleof 59 F, G, K and M stars from the Anglo-Australian Planet Search targetlist. Caii activity indices, which are essential in the interpretationof planet detection claims, have been determined for these stars andplaced on the Mount Wilson R 'HK system.
| Metallicity effects on the chromospheric activity-age relation for late-type dwarfs
We show that there is a relationship between the age excess, defined asthe difference between the stellar isochrone and chromospheric ages, andthe metallicity as measured by the index [Fe/H] for late-type dwarfs.The chromospheric age tends to be lower than the isochrone age formetal-poor stars, and the opposite occurs for metal-rich objects. Wesuggest that this could be an effect of neglecting the metallicitydependence of the calibrated chromospheric emission-age relation. Wepropose a correction to account for this dependence. We also investigatethe metallicity distributions of these stars, and show that there aredistinct trends according to the chromospheric activity level. Inactivestars have a metallicity distribution which resembles the metallicitydistribution of solar neighbourhood stars, while active stars appear tobe concentrated in an activity strip on the logR'_HKx[Fe/H] diagram. Weprovide some explanations for these trends, and show that thechromospheric emission-age relation probably has different slopes on thetwo sides of the Vaughan-Preston gap.
| A Survey of Ca II H and K Chromospheric Emission in Southern Solar-Type Stars
More than 800 southern stars within 50 pc have been observed forchromospheric emission in the cores of the Ca II H and K lines. Most ofthe sample targets were chosen to be G dwarfs on the basis of colors andspectral types. The bimodal distribution in stellar activity first notedin a sample of northern stars by Vaughan and Preston in 1980 isconfirmed, and the percentage of active stars, about 30%, is remarkablyconsistent between the northern and southern surveys. This is especiallycompelling given that we have used an entirely different instrumentalsetup and stellar sample than used in the previous study. Comparisons tothe Sun, a relatively inactive star, show that most nearby solar-typestars have a similar activity level, and presumably a similar age. Weidentify two additional subsamples of stars -- a very active group, anda very inactive group. The very active group may be made up of youngstars near the Sun, accounting for only a few percent of the sample, andappears to be less than ~0.1 Gyr old. Included in this high-activitytail of the distribution, however, is a subset of very close binaries ofthe RS CVn or W UMa types. The remaining members of this population maybe undetected close binaries or very young single stars. The veryinactive group of stars, contributting ~5%--10% to the total sample, maybe those caught in a Maunder Minimum type phase. If the observations ofthe survey stars are considered to be a sequence of snapshots of the Sunduring its life, we might expect that the Sun will spend about 10% ofthe remainder of its main sequence life in a Maunder Minimum phase.
| Stroemgren photometry of F- and G-type stars brighter than V = 9.6. I. UVBY photometry
Within the framework of a large photometric observing program, designedto investigate the Galaxy's structure and evolution, Hβ photometryis being made for about 9000 stars. As a by-product, supplementary uvbyphotometry has been made. The results are presented in a cataloguecontaining 6924 uvby observations of 6190 stars, all south ofδ=+38deg. The overall internal rms errors of one observation(transformed to the standard system) of a program star in the interval6.5
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Ωρολόγιον |
| Right ascension: | 03h12m54.38s |
| Declination: | -47°09'18.8" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 7.287 |
| Distance: | 37.538 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | -89.6 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -17.1 |
| B-T magnitude: | 7.992 |
| V-T magnitude: | 7.346 |
Catalogs and designations:
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