Table of contents for issue 6, volume 147, The Astronomical Journal

We present the results of a program that monitored the near-IR spectroscopic variability of a sample of 19 embedded protostars. Spectra were taken on time intervals from 2 days to 3 yr, over a wavelength range from 0.85 μm to 2.45 μm, for 4–9 epochs of observations per target. We found that the spectra of all targets are variable and that every emission feature observed is also variable (although not for all targets). With one exception, there were no drastic changes in the continua of the spectra, nor did any line completely disappear, nor did any line appear that was not previously apparent. This analysis focuses on understanding the connection between accretion (traced by H Br γ and CO) and the wind (traced by He i, [Fe ii], and sometimes H₂). For both accretion and wind tracers, the median variability was constant versus the time interval between observations; however, the maximum variability that we observed increased with the time interval between observations. Extinction is observed to vary within the minimum sampling time of 2 days, suggesting extinguishing material within a few stellar radii at high disk latitudes. The variability of [Fe ii] and H₂ were correlated for most (but not all) of the 7 young stellar objects showing both features, and the amplitude of the variability depends on the veiling. Although the occurrence of CO and Br γ emission are connected, their variability is uncorrelated, suggesting that these emissions originate in separate regions near the protostar (e.g., disk and wind). The variability of Br γ and wind tracers were found to be positively correlated, negatively correlated, or uncorrelated, depending on the target. The variability of Br γ, [Fe ii], and H₂ always lies on a plane, although the orientation of the plane in three dimensions depends on the target. While we do not understand all interactions behind the variability that we observed, we have shown that spectroscopic variability is a powerful tool toward understanding the star formation process.

Comets C/2011 L4 (PanSTARRS) and C/2012 F6 (Lemmon) were observed throughout their 2012–2013 apparitions with the Solar Wind Anisotropies (SWAN) all-sky hydrogen Lyα camera on board the Solar and Heliosphere Observatory (SOHO) satellite. SOHO has been in a halo orbit around the L1 Earth–Sun Lagrange point since early 1996 and has been observing the interplanetary medium and comets beginning with C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake). The global water production from these comets was determined from an analysis of the SWAN Lyα camera observations. Comet C/2011 L4 (PanSTARRS), which reached its perihelion distance of 0.302 AU on 2013 March 10.17, was observed on 50 days between 2013 January 29 and April 30. Comet C/2012 F6 (Lemmon), which reached its perihelion distance of 0.731 AU on 2013 March 24.51, was observed on 109 days between 2012 November 29 and 2013 June 31. The maximum water production rates were ∼1 × 10³⁰ molecules s⁻¹ for both comets. The activities of both comets were asymmetric about perihelion. C/2011 L4 (PanSTARRS) was more active before perihelion than after, but C/2012 F6 (Lemmon) was more active after perihelion than before.

The Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) has measured the flux for Sirius from 0.17 to 1.01 μm on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) White Dwarf scale. Because of the cool debris disk around Vega, Sirius is commonly recommended as the primary IR flux standard. The measured STIS flux agrees well with predictions of a special Kurucz model atmosphere, adding confidence to the modeled IR flux predictions. The IR flux agrees to 2%–3% with respect to the standard template of Cohen and to 2% with the Midcourse Space Experiment absolute flux measurements in the mid-IR. A weighted average of the independent visible and mid-IR absolute flux measures implies that the monochromatic flux at 5557.5 Å (5556 Å in air) for Sirius and Vega, respectively, is 1.35 × 10⁻⁸ and 3.44 × 10⁻⁹ erg cm⁻² s⁻¹ Å⁻¹ with formal uncertainties of 0.5%. Contrary to previously published conclusions, the Hipparcos photometry offers no support for the variability of Vega. Pulse pileup severely affects the Hp photometry for the brightest stars.

We report the discovery by the HATNet survey of three new transiting extrasolar planets orbiting moderately bright (V = 13.2, 12.8, and 11.9) stars. The planets have orbital periods of 4.3012, 3.1290, and 4.4631 days, masses of 0.35, 0.89, and 0.49 M_J, and radii of 1.24, 1.43, and 1.28 R_J. The stellar hosts have masses of 0.94, 1.26, and 1.28 M_☉. Each system shows significant systematic variations in its residual radial velocities, indicating the possible presence of additional components. Based on its Bayesian evidence, the preferred model for HAT-P-44 consists of two planets, including the transiting component, with the outer planet having a period of 872 days, eccentricity of 0.494 ± 0.081, and a minimum mass of 4.0 M_J. Due to aliasing we cannot rule out alternative solutions for the outer planet having a period of 220 days or 438 days. For HAT-P-45, at present there is not enough data to justify the additional free parameters included in a multi-planet model; in this case a single-planet solution is preferred, but the required jitter of 22.5 ± 6.3 m s⁻¹ is relatively high for a star of this type. For HAT-P-46 the preferred solution includes a second planet having a period of 78 days and a minimum mass of 2.0 M_J, however the preference for this model over a single-planet model is not very strong. While substantial uncertainties remain as to the presence and/or properties of the outer planetary companions in these systems, the inner transiting planets are well characterized with measured properties that are fairly robust against changes in the assumed models for the outer planets. Continued radial velocity monitoring is necessary to fully characterize these three planetary systems, the properties of which may have important implications for understanding the formation of hot Jupiters.

We present the fractional distribution of spectroscopic subtypes, range and distribution of surface temperatures, and kinematical properties of the white dwarfs (WDs) within 25 pc of the Sun. There is no convincing evidence of halo WDs in the total 25 pc sample of 224 WDs. There is also little to suggest the presence of genuine thick disk subcomponent members within 25 pc. It appears that the entire 25 pc sample likely belongs to the thin disk. We also find no significant kinematic differences with respect to spectroscopic subtypes. The total DA to non-DA ratio of the 25 pc sample is 1.8, a manifestation of deepening envelope convection, which transforms DA stars with sufficiently thin H surface layers into non-DAs. We compare this ratio with the results of other studies. We find that at least 11% of the WDs within 25 pc of the Sun (the DAZ and DZ stars) have photospheric metals that likely originate from accretion of circumstellar material (debris disks) around them. If this interpretation is correct, then it suggests the possibility that a similar percentage have planets, asteroid-like bodies, or debris disks orbiting them. Our volume-limited sample reveals a pileup of DC WDs at the well-known cutoff in DQ WDs at T_eff ∼ 6000 K. Mindful of small number statistics, we speculate on its possible evolutionary significance. We find that the incidence of magnetic WDs in the 25 pc sample is at least 8% in our volume-limited sample, dominated by cool WDs. We derive approximate formation rates of DB and DQ degenerates and present a preliminary test of the evolutionary scenario that all cooling DB stars become DQ WDs via helium convective dredge-up with the diffusion tail of carbon extending upward from their cores.

The minimum timings of eclipsing binaries V418 Aql, SU Boo, RV CVn, CR Cas, GV Cyg, V432 Per, and BD+42 2782 were collected and analyzed. Their long-term behavior was studied via period analysis, revealing a periodic term in eclipse times. We derived 576 new times of minimum. Hence, to describe the periodic variation, a third-body hypothesis was proposed and the resulting orbital periods are as follows: 70, 7.4, 53, 37, 27, 53, and 18 yr, respectively. For the system V432 Per an additional 9.5 yr variation was also found. The predicted minimum masses of these distant bodies were calculated and their detectability discussed. The light curves of SU Boo and RV CVn were analyzed using the PHOEBE program, resulting in physical parameters of the components. New variable stars in the field of V418 Aql were discovered.

We investigate the oxygen and nitrogen abundance distributions across the optical disks of 130 nearby late-type galaxies using around 3740 published spectra of H ii regions. We use these data in order to provide homogeneous abundance determinations for all objects in the sample, including H ii regions in which not all of the usual diagnostic lines were measured. Examining the relation between N and O abundances in these galaxies we find that the abundances in their centers and at their isophotal R₂₅ disk radii follow the same relation. The variation in N/H at a given O/H is around 0.3 dex. We suggest that the observed spread in N/H may be partly caused by the time delay between N and O enrichment and the different star formation histories in galaxies of different morphological types and dimensions. We study the correlations between the abundance properties (central O and N abundances, radial O and N gradients) of a galaxy and its morphological type and dimension.

The standard Q criterion (with Q > 1) describes the stability against local, axisymmetric perturbations in a disk supported by rotation and random motion. Most astrophysical disks, however, are under the influence of an external gravitational potential, which can significantly affect their stability. A typical example is a galactic disk embedded in a dark matter halo. Here, we do a linear perturbation analysis for a disk in an external potential and obtain a generalized dispersion relation and the effective stability criterion. An external potential, such as that due to the dark matter halo concentric with the disk, contributes to the unperturbed rotational field and significantly increases its stability. We obtain the values for the effective Q parameter for the Milky Way and for a low surface brightness galaxy, UGC 7321. We find that in each case the stellar disk by itself is barely stable and it is the dark matter halo that stabilizes the disk against local, axisymmetric gravitational instabilities. Thus, the dark matter halo is necessary to ensure local disk stability. This result has been largely missed so far because in practice the Q parameter for a galactic disk is obtained using the observed rotational field that already includes the effect of the halo.

The Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) has uncovered a striking cluster of young stellar object (YSO) candidates associated with the L1509 dark cloud in Auriga. The WISE observations, at 3.4 μm, 4.6 μm, 12 μm, and 22 μm, show a number of objects with colors consistent with YSOs, and their spectral energy distributions suggest the presence of circumstellar dust emission, including numerous Class I, flat spectrum, and Class II objects. In general, the YSOs in L1509 are much more tightly clustered than YSOs in other dark clouds in the Taurus-Auriga star forming region, with Class I and flat spectrum objects confined to the densest aggregates, and Class II objects more sparsely distributed. We estimate a most probable distance of 485–700 pc, and possibly as far as the previously estimated distance of 2 kpc.

We combine data from the Spitzer Survey for Stellar Structure in Galaxies, a recently calibrated empirical stellar mass estimator from Eskew et al., and an extensive database of H i spectral line profiles to examine the baryonic Tully–Fisher (BTF) relation. We find (1) that the BTF has lower scatter than the classic Tully–Fisher (TF) relation and is better described as a linear relationship, confirming similar previous results, (2) that the inclusion of a radial scale in the BTF decreases the scatter but only modestly, as seen previously for the TF relation, and (3) that the slope of the BTF, which we find to be 3.5  ±  0.2 (Δlog M_baryon/Δlog v_c), implies that on average a nearly constant fraction (∼0.4) of all baryons expected to be in a halo are “condensed” onto the central region of rotationally supported galaxies. The condensed baryon fraction, M_baryon/M_total, is, to our measurement precision, nearly independent of galaxy circular velocity (our sample spans circular velocities, v_c, between 60 and 250 km s⁻¹, but is extended to v_c ∼ 10 km s⁻¹ using data from the literature). The observed galaxy-to-galaxy scatter in this fraction is generally ⩽ a factor of 2 despite fairly liberal selection criteria. These results imply that cooling and heating processes, such as cold versus hot accretion, mass loss due to stellar winds, and active galactic nucleus driven feedback, to the degree that they affect the global galactic properties involved in the BTF, are independent of halo mass for galaxies with 10 < v_c < 250 km s⁻¹ and typically introduce no more than a factor of two range in the resulting M_baryon/M_total. Recent simulations by Aumer et al. of a small sample of disk galaxies are in excellent agreement with our data, suggesting that current simulations are capable of reproducing the global properties of individual disk galaxies. More detailed comparison to models using the BTF holds great promise, but awaits improved determinations of the stellar masses.

A uniform scale relation between dark and baryonic matter is observed in galaxies over a broad range of physical parameter space. The ratio of dark to baryonic mass is found to increase proportionately with radial distance in observational data spanning a wide dynamic range of morphological type, rotation velocity, radius, surface density, and mass. This close relation between dark and baryonic mass poses a fine-tuning problem for galaxy formation models. Such a uniform scale relation, extending from the inner galactic region to the outermost kinematic data point, may play a role in clarifying the dark matter phenomenon.

We present radial velocities, equivalent widths, model atmosphere parameters, and abundances or upper limits for 53 species of 48 elements derived from high resolution optical spectroscopy of 313 metal-poor stars. A majority of these stars were selected from the metal-poor candidates of the HK Survey of Beers, Preston, and Shectman. We derive detailed abundances for 61% of these stars for the first time. Spectra were obtained during a 10 yr observing campaign using the Magellan Inamori Kyocera Echelle spectrograph on the Magellan Telescopes at Las Campanas Observatory, the Robert G. Tull Coudé Spectrograph on the Harlan J. Smith Telescope at McDonald Observatory, and the High Resolution Spectrograph on the Hobby–Eberly Telescope at McDonald Observatory. We perform a standard LTE abundance analysis using MARCS model atmospheres, and we apply line-by-line statistical corrections to minimize systematic abundance differences arising when different sets of lines are available for analysis. We identify several abundance correlations with effective temperature. A comparison with previous abundance analyses reveals significant differences in stellar parameters, which we investigate in detail. Our metallicities are, on average, lower by ≈0.25 dex for red giants and ≈0.04 dex for subgiants. Our sample contains 19 stars with [Fe/H] ⩽−3.5, 84 stars with [Fe/H] ⩽−3.0, and 210 stars with [Fe/H] ⩽−2.5. Detailed abundances are presented here or elsewhere for 91% of the 209 stars with [Fe/H] ⩽−2.5 as estimated from medium resolution spectroscopy by Beers, Preston, and Shectman. We will discuss the interpretation of these abundances in subsequent papers.

Parameters and abundances for 451 stars of spectral types F, G, and K of luminosity classes I and II have been derived. Absolute magnitudes and E(B − V) have been derived for the warmer stars in order to investigate the galactic abundance gradient. The value found here: d[Fe/H]/dR ∼ −0.06 dex kpc⁻¹, agrees well with previous determinations. Stellar evolution indicators have also been investigated with the derived C/O ratios indicating that standard CN processing has been operating. Perhaps the most surprising result found in these supposedly relatively young intermediate-mass stars is that both [O/Fe] and [C/Fe] show a correlation with [Fe/H] much the same as found in older populations. While the stars were selected based on luminosity class, there does exist a significant [Fe/H] range in the sample. The likely explanation of this is that there is a significant range in age in the sample; that is, some of the sample are low-mass red-giant stars with types that place them within the selection criteria.

This study presents the rotational distribution of red giant (RG) stars in 11 old to intermediate age open clusters. The masses of these stars are all above the Kraft break, so they lose negligible amounts of their birth angular momentum (AM) during the main-sequence (MS) evolution. However, they do span a mass range with quite different AM distributions imparted during formation, with the stars less massive than ∼1.6M_☉ arriving on the MS with lower rotation rates than the more massive stars. The majority of RGs in this study are slow rotators across the entire red giant branch regardless of mass, supporting the picture that intermediate-mass stars rapidly spin down when they evolve off the MS and develop convection zones capable of driving a magnetic dynamo. Nevertheless, a small fraction of RGs in open clusters show some level of enhanced rotation, and faster rotators are as common in these clusters as in the field RG population. Most of these enhanced rotators appear to be red clump stars, which is also true of the underlying stellar sample, while others are clearly RGs that are above or below the clump. In addition to rotational velocities, the radial velocities (RVs) and membership probabilities of individual stars are also presented. Cluster heliocentric RVs for NGC 6005 and Pismis 18 are reported for the first time.

We have developed a maximum-likelihood procedure to fit theoretical isochrones to the observed cluster color–magnitude diagrams of NGC 6866, an open cluster in the Kepler spacecraft field of view. The Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm permits exploration of the entire parameter space of a set of isochrones to find both the best solution and the statistical uncertainties. For clusters in the age range of NGC 6866 with few, if any, red giant members, a purely photometric determination of the cluster properties is not well-constrained. Nevertheless, based on our UBVRI photometry alone, we have derived the distance, reddening, age, and metallicity of the cluster and established estimates for the binary nature and membership probability of individual stars. We derive the following values for the cluster properties: (m − M)_V = 10.98 ± 0.24, E(B − V) = 0.16 ± 0.04 (so the distance = 1250 pc), age =705 ± 170 Myr, and Z = 0.014 ± 0.005.

FU Orionis stars (FUors) are eruptive pre-main sequence objects thought to represent quasi-periodic or recurring stages of enhanced accretion during the low-mass star-forming process. We characterize the sample of known and candidate FUors in a homogeneous and consistent way, deriving stellar and circumstellar parameters for each object. We emphasize the analysis in those parameters that are supposed to vary during the FUor stage. We modeled the spectral energy distributions of 24 of the 26 currently known FUors, using the radiative transfer code of Whitney et al. We compare our models with those obtained by Robitaille et al. for Taurus class II and I sources in quiescence periods by calculating the cumulative distribution of the different parameters. FUors have more massive disks: we find that ∼80% of the disks in FUors are more massive than any Taurus class II and I sources in the sample. Median values for the disk mass accretion rates are ∼10⁻⁷ M_☉ yr⁻¹ versus ∼10⁻⁵ M_☉ yr⁻¹ for standard young stellar objects (YSOs) and FUors, respectively. While the distributions of envelope mass accretion rates for class I FUors and standard class I objects are similar, FUors, on average, have higher envelope mass accretion rates than standard class II and class I sources. Most FUors (∼70%) have envelope mass accretion rates above 10⁻⁷ M_☉ yr⁻¹. In contrast, 60% of the classical YSO sample has an accretion rate below this value. Our results support the current scenario in which changes experimented by the circumstellar disk explain the observed properties of these stars. However, the increase in the disk mass accretion rate is smaller than theoretically predicted, although in good agreement with previous determinations.

We present the results of the sulfur monoxide, SO, line emission observations of G0.253+0.016 with the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array at an angular resolution of 17. The dense and massive molecular cloud of G0.253+0.016 is highly sub-structured, yet it shows no obvious signs of cluster formation. We found three outstanding features of the cloud from the SO emission, namely, shell structure with a radius of 1.3 pc, large velocity gradients of 20 km s⁻¹ pc⁻¹ with the cloud, and cores with large velocity dispersions (30–40 km s⁻¹) around the shell structure. We suggest that these large-velocity dispersion cores will form high-mass stars in the future. In an attempt to explore the formation scenario of the dense cloud, we compared our results with numerical simulations; therefore, we propose that G0.253+0.016 may have formed due to a cloud–cloud collision process.

Only a few percent of cool, old white dwarfs (WDs) have infrared excesses interpreted as originating in small hot disks due to the infall and destruction of single asteroids that come within the star's Roche limit. Infrared excesses at 24 μm were also found to derive from the immediate vicinity of younger, hot WDs, most of which are still central stars of planetary nebulae (CSPNe). The incidence of CSPNe with this excess is 18%. The Helix CSPN, with a 24 μm excess, has been suggested to have a disk formed from collisions of Kuiper belt-like objects (KBOs). In this paper, we have analyzed an additional sample of CSPNe to look for similar infrared excesses. These CSPNe are all members of the PG 1159 class and were chosen because their immediate progenitors are known to often have dusty environments consistent with large dusty disks. We find that, overall, PG 1159 stars do not present such disks more often than other CSPNe, although the statistics (five objects) are poor. We then consider the entire sample of CSPNe with infrared excesses and compare it to the infrared properties of old WDs, as well as cooler post-asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. We conclude with the suggestion that the infrared properties of CSPNe more plausibly derive from AGB-formed disks rather than disks formed via the collision of KBOs, although the latter scenario cannot be ruled out. Finally, there seems to be an association between CSPNe with a 24 μm excess and confirmed or possible binarity of the central star.

We have obtained milliarcsecond-scale spectral index distributions for a sample of 190 extragalactic radio jets through the Monitoring of Jets in Active Galactic Nuclei with the VLBA Experiments (MOJAVE) project. The sources were observed in 2006 at 8.1, 8.4, 12.1, and 15.4 GHz, and we have determined spectral index maps between 8.1 and 15.4 GHz to study the four-frequency spectrum in individual jet features. We have performed detailed simulations to study the effects of image alignment and (u, v)-plane coverage on the spectral index maps to verify our results. We use the spectral index maps to study the spectral index evolution along the jet and determine the spectral distributions in different locations of the jets. The core spectral indices are on average flat with a mean value of +0.22 ± 0.03 for the sample, while the jet spectrum is in general steep with a mean index of −1.04 ± 0.03. A simple power-law fit is often inadequate for the core regions, as expected if the cores are partially self-absorbed. The overall jet spectrum steepens at a rate of about −0.001 to −0.004 per deprojected parsec when moving further out from the core with flat spectrum radio quasars having significantly steeper spectra (mean −1.09 ± 0.04) than the BL Lac objects (mean −0.80 ± 0.05). However, the spectrum in both types of objects flattens on average by ∼0.2 at the locations of the jet components indicating particle acceleration or density enhancements along the jet. The mean spectral index at the component locations of −0.81 ± 0.02 corresponds to a power-law index of ∼2.6 for the electron energy distribution. We find a significant trend that jet components with linear polarization parallel to the jet (magnetic field perpendicular to the jet) have flatter spectra, as expected for transverse shocks. Compared to quasars, BL Lacs have more jet components with perpendicular magnetic field alignment, which may explain their generally flatter spectra. The overall steepening of the spectra with distance can be explained with radiative losses if the jets are collimating or with the evolution of the high-energy cutoff in the electron spectrum if the jets are conical. This interpretation is supported by a significant correlation with the age of the component and the spectral index, with older components having steeper spectra.

We report the discovery of HATS-5b, a transiting hot Saturn orbiting a G-type star, by the HATSouth survey. HATS-5b has a mass of M_p ≈ 0.24 M_J, radius of R_p ≈ 0.91 R_J, and transits its host star with a period of P ≈ 4.7634 days. The radius of HATS-5b is consistent with both theoretical and empirical models. The host star has a V-band magnitude of 12.6, mass of 0.94 M_☉, and radius of 0.87 R_☉. The relatively high scale height of HATS-5b and the bright, photometrically quiet host star make this planet a favorable target for future transmission spectroscopy follow-up observations. We reexamine the correlations in radius, equilibrium temperature, and metallicity of the close-in gas giants and find hot Jupiter-mass planets to exhibit the strongest dependence between radius and equilibrium temperature. We find no significant dependence in radius and metallicity for the close-in gas giant population.

New extensive photometry for two triple binary stars, DI Peg and AF Gem, was performed from 2012 October to 2013 January, with two small telescopes at Xinglong station (XLs) of NAOC. From new multi-color observations and previously published ones in literature, the photometric models were (re)deduced using the updated Wilson–Devinney code. The results indicated that the low third lights exist in two classic Algol-type binaries, whose fill-out factors for the more massive components are f_p = 78.2(± 0.4)% for DI Peg, and f_p = 69.0(± 0.3)% for AF Gem, respectively. Through analyzing the O−C curves, the orbital periods for two binaries change in the complicated mode. The period of DI Peg possibly appears to show two light-time orbits, whose modulated periods are P₃ = 54.6(± 0.5) yr and P₄ = 23.0(± 0.6) yr, respectively. The inferred minimum masses for the inner and outer sub-stellar companions are M_in = 0.095 M_☉ and M_out = 0.170 M_☉, respectively. Therefore, DI Peg may be a quadruple star. The orbital period of AF Gem appears to show a continuous period decrease or a cyclic variation; the latter may be preferable. The cyclic oscillation, with a period of 120.3(± 2.5) yr, may be attributed to the light-time effect due to the third body. This kind of additional companion may extract angular momentum from the central system, which may play a key role in the evolution of the binary.

We report the selection and spectroscopic confirmation of 129 new late-type (SpT = K3–M6) members of the Tucana–Horologium moving group, a nearby (d ∼ 40 pc), young (τ ∼ 40 Myr) population of comoving stars. We also report observations for 13 of the 17 known Tuc–Hor members in this spectral type range, and that 62 additional candidates are likely to be unassociated field stars; the confirmation frequency for new candidates is therefore 129/191 = 67%. We have used radial velocities, Hα emission, and Li₆₇₀₈ absorption to distinguish between contaminants and bona fide members. Our expanded census of Tuc–Hor increases the known population by a factor of ∼3 in total and by a factor of ∼8 for members with SpT ⩾ K3, but even so, the K–M dwarf population of Tuc–Hor is still markedly incomplete. Our expanded census allows for a much more detailed study of Tuc–Hor than was previously feasible. The spatial distribution of members appears to trace a two-dimensional sheet, with a broad distribution in X and Y, but a very narrow distribution (±5 pc) in Z. The corresponding velocity distribution is very small, with a scatter of ±1.1 km s⁻¹ about the mean UVW velocity for stars spanning the entire 50 pc extent of Tuc–Hor. We also show that the isochronal age (τ ∼ 20–30 Myr) and the lithium depletion boundary age (τ ∼ 40 Myr) disagree, following the trend in other pre-main-sequence populations for isochrones to yield systematically younger ages. The Hα emission line strength follows a trend of increasing equivalent width with later spectral type, as is seen for young clusters. We find that moving group members have been depleted of measurable lithium for spectral types of K7.0–M4.5. None of our targets have significant infrared excesses in the WISEW3 band, yielding an upper limit on warm debris disks of F < 0.7%. Finally, our purely kinematic and color–magnitude selection procedure allows us to test the efficiency and completeness for activity-based selection of young stars. We find that 60% of K–M dwarfs in Tuc–Hor do not have ROSAT counterparts and would have been omitted in X-ray-selected samples. In contrast, GALEX UV-selected samples using a previously suggested criterion for youth achieve completeness of 77% and purity of 78%, and we suggest new SpT-dependent selection criteria that will yield >95% completeness for τ ∼ 40 Myr populations with GALEX data available.

An array of antennas is usually used in long distance communication. The observation of celestial objects necessitates a large array of antennas, such as the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT). Optimizing this kind of array is very important when observing a high performance system. The genetic algorithm (GA) is an optimization solution for these kinds of problems that reconfigures the position of antennas to increase the u–v coverage plane or decrease the sidelobe levels (SLLs). This paper presents how to optimize a correlator antenna array using the GA. A brief explanation about the GA and operators used in this paper (mutation and crossover) is provided. Then, the results of optimization are discussed. The results show that the GA provides efficient and optimum solutions among a pool of candidate solutions in order to achieve the desired array performance for the purposes of radio astronomy. The proposed algorithm is able to distribute the u–v plane more efficiently than GMRT with a more than 95% distribution ratio at snapshot, and to fill the u–v plane from a 20% to more than 68% filling ratio as the number of generations increases in the hour tracking observations. Finally, the algorithm is able to reduce the SLL to −21.75 dB.

AP And is a well-detached F5 eclipsing binary star for which only a very limited amount of information was available before this publication. We have obtained very extensive measurements of the light curve (19,097 differential V magnitude observations) and a radial velocity curve (83 spectroscopic observations) which allow us to fit orbits and determine the absolute properties of the components very accurately: masses of 1.277 ± 0.004 and 1.251 ± 0.004 M_☉, radii of 1.233 ± 0.006 and 1.1953 ± 0.005 R_☉, and temperatures of 6565 ± 150 K and 6495 ± 150 K. The distance to the system is about 400 ± 30 pc. Comparison with the theoretical properties of the stellar evolutionary models of the Yonsei–Yale series of Yi et al. shows good agreement between the observations and the theory at an age of about 500 Myr and a slightly sub-solar metallicity.

Three presumably young eclipsing binary systems in the direction of the Cygnus OB1, OB3, and OB9 associations are studied. Component spectra are reconstructed and their orbits are determined using light curves and spectra disentangling techniques. V443 Cyg and V456 Cyg have circular orbits while the light curve of V2107 Cyg imposes a slightly eccentric orbit (e = 0.045 ± 0.03). V443 Cyg harbors F-type stars, not young early-A stars as previously suggested in the literature based solely on photometry. It appears to be situated in the foreground (distance 0.6 ± 0.2 kpc) of the young stellar populations in Cygnus. V456 Cyg, at a distance of 0.50 ± 0.03 kpc, consists of a slightly metal-weak A-type star and an early-F star. The age of both systems, on or very near to the main sequence, remains uncertain by an order of magnitude. V2107 Cyg is a more massive system (8.9 ± 2 and 4.5 ± 1.2 M_☉) at 1.5 ± 0.5 kpc and, also kinematically, a strong candidate-member of Cyg OB1. The more massive component is slightly evolved and appears to undergo non-radial βCep-type pulsations. The Doppler signal of the secondary is barely detectable. A more extensive, asteroseismological study is necessary to fix masses more precisely. Nevertheless, the position of the primary in the H-R diagram confines the age reasonably well to 20 ± 5 Myr, indicating that for Cyg OB1 has a similar extent of star formation history as that established for Cyg OB2.

We have obtained radial velocity measurements for 51 new globular clusters around the Sombrero galaxy. These measurements were obtained using spectroscopic observations from the AAOmega spectrograph on the Anglo-Australian Telescope and the Hydra spectrograph at WIYN. Combining our own past measurements and velocity measurements obtained from the literature, we have constructed a large database of radial velocities that contains a total of 360 confirmed globular clusters. Previous studies' analyses of the kinematics and mass profile of the Sombrero globular cluster system have been constrained to the inner ∼9′ (∼24 kpc or ∼5R_e), but our new measurements have increased the radial coverage of the data, allowing us to determine the kinematic properties of M104 out to ∼15′ (∼41 kpc or ∼9R_e). We use our set of radial velocities to study the GC system kinematics and to determine the mass profile and V-band mass-to-light profile of the galaxy. We find that M/L_V increases from 4.5 at the center to a value of 20.9 at 41 kpc (∼9R_e or 15′), which implies that the dark matter halo extends to the edge of our available data set. We compare our mass profile at 20 kpc (∼4R_e or ∼74) to the mass computed from X-ray data and find good agreement. We also use our data to look for rotation in the globular cluster system as a whole, as well as in the red and blue subpopulations. We find no evidence for significant rotation in any of these samples.

We present new elements of apsidal motion in three eccentric eclipsing binaries located in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The apsidal motions of the systems were analyzed using both light curves and eclipse timings. The OGLE-III data obtained during the long period of 8 yr (2002–2009) allowed us to determine the apsidal motion period from their analyses. The existence of third light in all selected systems was investigated by light curve analysis. The O − C diagrams of EROS 1018, EROS 1041, and EROS 1054 were analyzed using the 30, 44, and 26 new times of minimum light, respectively, determined from full light curves constructed from EROS, MACHO, OGLE-II, OGLE-III, and our own observations. This enabled a detailed study of the apsidal motion in these systems for the first time. All of the systems have a significant apsidal motion below 100 yr. In particular, EROS 1018 shows a very fast apsidal period of 19.9 ± 2.2 yr in a detached system.

As a modification of the oblate spheroidal case, a recursive method is developed to compute the point value and a few low-order derivatives of the prolate spheroidal harmonics of the second kind, Q_nm(y), namely the unnormalized associated Legendre function (ALF) of the second kind with its argument in the domain, 1 < y < ∞. They are required in evaluating the prolate spheroidal harmonic expansion of the gravitational field in addition to the point value and the low-order derivatives of $\overline{P}_{nm}(t)$, the 4π fully normalized ALF of the first kind with its argument in the domain, |t| ⩽ 1. The new method will be useful in the gravitational field computation of elongated celestial objects.

We report the discovery of four doubly imaged quasar lenses. All the four systems are selected as lensed quasar candidates from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey data. We confirm their lensing hypothesis with additional imaging and spectroscopic follow-up observations. The discovered lenses are SDSS J0743+2457 with the source redshift z_s = 2.165, the lens redshift z_l = 0.381, and the image separation θ = 1034, SDSS J1128+2402 with z_s = 1.608 and θ = 0844, SDSS J1405+0959 with z_s = 1.810, z_l ≈ 0.66, and θ = 1978, and SDSS J1515+1511 with z_s = 2.054, z_l = 0.742, and θ = 1989. It is difficult to estimate the lens redshift of SDSS J1128+2402 from the current data. Two of the four systems (SDSS J1405+0959 and SDSS J1515+1511) are included in our final statistical lens sample to derive constraints on dark energy and the evolution of massive galaxies.

Debris disks are thought to be sculptured by neighboring planets. The same is true for the Edgeworth–Kuiper debris disk, yet no direct observational evidence for signatures of giant planets in the Kuiper Belt dust distribution has been found so far. Here we model the dust distribution in the outer solar system to reproduce the dust impact rates onto the dust detector on board the New Horizons spacecraft measured so far and to predict the rates during the Neptune orbit traverse. To this end, we take a realistic distribution of trans-Neptunian objects to launch a sufficient number of dust grains of different sizes and follow their orbits by including radiation pressure, Poynting–Robertson and stellar wind drag, as well as the perturbations of four giant planets. In a subsequent statistical analysis, we calculate number densities and lifetimes of the dust grains in order to simulate a collisional cascade. In contrast to the previous work, our model not only considers collisional elimination of particles but also includes production of finer debris. We find that particles captured in the 3:2 resonance with Neptune build clumps that are not removed by collisions, because the depleting effect of collisions is counteracted by production of smaller fragments. Our model successfully reproduces the dust impact rates measured by New Horizons out to ≈23 AU and predicts an increase of the impact rate of about a factor of two or three around the Neptune orbit crossing. This result is robust with respect to the variation of the vaguely known number of dust-producing scattered disk objects, collisional outcomes, and the dust properties.

Homogeneous B, V photometry is presented for 19,324 stars in and around 5 Magellanic Cloud globular clusters: NGC 1466, NGC 1841, NGC 2210, NGC 2257, and Reticulum. The photometry is derived from eight nights of CCD imaging with the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory 0.9 m SMARTS telescope. Instrumental magnitudes were transformed to the Johnson B, V system using accurate calibration relations based on a large sample of Landolt–Stetson equatorial standard stars, which were observed on the same nights as the cluster stars. Residual analysis of the equatorial standards used for the calibration, and validation of the new photometry using Stetson's sample of secondary standards in the vicinities of the five Large Magellanic Cloud clusters, shows excellent agreement with our values in both magnitudes and colors. Color–magnitude diagrams reaching to the main-sequence turnoffs at V ∼ 22 mag, sigma–magnitude diagrams, and various other summaries are presented for each cluster to illustrate the range and quality of the new photometry. The photometry should prove useful for future studies of the Magellanic Cloud globular clusters, particularly studies of their variable stars.

We present a detailed Chandra study of a sample of 10 clusters of galaxies selected based on the presence of substructures in their optical images. The X-ray surface brightness maps of most of these clusters show anisotropic morphologies, especially in the central regions. A total of 22 well resolved significantly bright X-ray peaks (corresponding with high-density regions) are seen in the central parts (within r_c/2) of the clusters. Multiple peaks are seen in central parts of six clusters. We found 11 peaks to have optical counterparts (10 coinciding with the brightest cluster galaxies of the 10 clusters and 1 coinciding with the second brightest galaxy in A539). For most of the clusters, the optical substructures detected in the previous studies are found to be outside the field of view of Chandra. In the spectroscopically produced two-dimensional temperature maps, significantly lower temperatures are seen at the locations of three peaks (two in A539 and one in A376). The centers of five clusters in our sample also host regions of higher temperature compared to the ambient medium, indicating the presence of galaxy scale mergers. The X-ray luminosity, gas mass, and central cooling time estimates for all the clusters are presented. The radial X-ray surface-brightness profiles of all but one of the clusters are found to be best-fitted with a double-β model, pointing toward the presence of double-phased central gas due to cool cores. The cooling time estimates of all the clusters, however, indicate that none of them hosts a strong cool core, although the possibility of weak cool cores cannot be ruled out.

We present results from our ongoing program to map the visual orbits of pre-main sequence (PMS) binaries in the Taurus star forming region using adaptive optics imaging at the Keck Observatory. We combine our results with measurements reported in the literature to analyze the orbital motion for each binary. We present preliminary orbits for DF Tau, T Tau S, ZZ Tau, and the Pleiades binary HBC 351. Seven additional binaries show curvature in their relative motion. Currently, we can place lower limits on the orbital periods for these systems; full solutions will be possible with more orbital coverage. Five other binaries show motion that is indistinguishable from linear motion. We suspect that these systems are bound and might show curvature with additional measurements in the future. The observations reported herein lay critical groundwork toward the goal of measuring precise masses for low-mass PMS stars.

Obtaining accurate photometry of bright stars from the ground remains problematic due to the danger of overexposing the target and/or the lack of suitable nearby comparison stars. The century-old method of using objective wire mesh to produce multiple stellar images seems promising for the precise CCD photometry of such stars. Furthermore, our tests on β Cep and its comparison star, differing by 5 mag, are very encouraging. Using a CCD camera and a 20 cm telescope with the objective covered by a plastic wire mesh, in poor weather conditions, we obtained differential photometry with a precision of 4.5 mmag per two minute exposure. Our technique is flexible and may be tuned to cover a range as big as 6–8 mag. We discuss the possibility of installing a wire mesh directly in the filter wheel.

We report on intriguing photometric properties of Galactic stars observed in the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) satellite's far-UV (FUV) and near-UV (NUV) bandpasses, as well as from the ground-based Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and the Kepler Input Catalog. The first property is that the (FUV − NUV) color distribution of stars in the Kepler field consists of two well-separated peaks. A second and more perplexing property is that for stars with spectral types G or later the mean (FUV − NUV) color becomes much bluer, contrary to expectation. Investigating this tendency further, we found in two samples of mid-F through K type stars that 17%–22% of them exhibit FUV excesses relative to their NUV fluxes and spectral types. A correction for FUV incompleteness of the FUV magnitude-limited star sample brings this ratio to 14%–18%. Nearly the same fractions are also discovered among members of the Kepler Eclipsing Binary Catalog and in the published list of Kepler Objects of Interest. These UV-excess (“UVe”) colors are confirmed by the negative UV continuum slopes in GALEX spectra of members of the population. The SDSS spectra of some UVe stars exhibit metallic line weakening, especially in the blue. This suggests an enhanced contribution of UV flux relative to photospheric flux of a solar-type single star. We consider the possibility that the UV excesses originate from various types of hot stars, including white dwarf DA and sdB stars, binaries, and strong chromosphere stars that are young or in active binaries. The space density of compact stars is too low to explain the observed frequency of the UVe stars. Our model atmosphere-derived simulations of colors for binaries with main-sequence pairs with a hot secondary demonstrate that the color loci conflict with the observed sequence. As a preferred alternative we are left with the active chromospheres explanation, whether in active close binaries or young single stars, despite the expected paucity of young, chromospherically active stars in the field. We also address a third perplexing color property, namely, the presence of a prominent island of “UV red” stars surrounded by “UV blue” stars in the diagnostic (NUV−g), (g − i) color diagram. We find that the subpopulation composing this island is mainly horizontal branch stars. These objects do not exhibit UV excesses and therefore have UV colors typical for their spectral types. This subpopulation appears “red” in the UV only because the stars' colors are not pulled to the blue by the inclusion of UVe stars.

Metallicity is a fundamental parameter that contributes to the physical characteristics of a star. The low temperatures and complex molecules present in M dwarf atmospheres make it difficult to measure their metallicities using techniques that have been commonly used for Sun-like stars. Although there has been significant progress in developing empirical methods to measure M dwarf metallicities over the last few years, these techniques have been developed primarily for early- to mid-M dwarfs. We present a method to measure the metallicity of mid- to late-M dwarfs from moderate resolution (R ∼ 2000) K-band (≃ 2.2 μm) spectra. We calibrate our formula using 44 wide binaries containing an F, G, K, or early-M primary of known metallicity and a mid- to late-M dwarf companion. We show that similar features and techniques used for early-M dwarfs are still effective for late-M dwarfs. Our revised calibration is accurate to ∼0.07 dex for M4.5–M9.5 dwarfs with −0.58 < [Fe/H] < +0.56 and shows no systematic trends with spectral type, metallicity, or the method used to determine the primary star metallicity. We show that our method gives consistent metallicities for the components of M+M wide binaries. We verify that our new formula works for unresolved binaries by combining spectra of single stars. Lastly, we show that our calibration gives consistent metallicities with the Mann et al. study for overlapping (M4–M5) stars, establishing that the two calibrations can be used in combination to determine metallicities across the entire M dwarf sequence.

Since the first report of a potentially non-solar carbon-to-oxygen ratio (C/O) in its dayside atmosphere, the highly irradiated exoplanet WASP-12b has been under intense scrutiny and the subject of many follow-up observations. Additionally, the recent discovery of stellar binary companions ∼1″ from WASP-12 has obfuscated interpretation of the observational data. Here we present new ground-based multi-object transmission-spectroscopy observations of WASP-12b that we acquired over two consecutive nights in the red optical with Gemini-N/GMOS. After correcting for the influence of WASP-12's stellar companions, we find that these data rule out a cloud-free H₂ atmosphere with no additional opacity sources. We detect features in the transmission spectrum that may be attributed to metal oxides (such as TiO and VO) for an O-rich atmosphere or to metal hydrides (such as TiH) for a C-rich atmosphere. We also reanalyzed NIR transit-spectroscopy observations of WASP-12b from HST/WFC3 and broadband transit photometry from Warm Spitzer. We attribute the broad spectral features in the WFC3 data to either H₂O or CH₄ and HCN for an O-rich or C-rich atmosphere, respectively. The Spitzer data suggest shallower transit depths than the models predict at infrared wavelengths, albeit at low statistical significance. A multi-instrument, broad-wavelength analysis of WASP-12b suggests that the transmission spectrum is well approximated by a simple Rayleigh scattering model with a planet terminator temperature of 1870 ± 130 K. We conclude that additional high-precision data and isolated spectroscopic measurements of the companion stars are required to place definitive constraints on the composition of WASP-12b's atmosphere.

We present a detailed study of new Australia Telescope Compact Array and XMM-Newton observations of LHA 120–N 70 (hereafter N 70), a spherically shaped object in the Large Magellanic Cloud, classified as a superbubble. Both archival and new observations were used to produce high quality radio continuum, X-ray, and optical images. The radio spectral index of N 70 is estimated to be α = −0.12 ± 0.06, indicating that while a supernova (SN) or supernovae have occurred in the region at some time in the distant past, N 70 is not the remnant of a single specific SN. N 70 exhibits limited polarization with a maximum fractional polarization of 9% in a small area of the northwest limb. We estimate the size of N 70 to have a diameter of 104 pc (±1 pc). The morphology of N 70 in X-rays closely follows that in radio and optical, with most X-ray emission confined within the bright shell seen at longer wavelengths. Purely thermal models adequately fit the soft X-ray spectrum which lacks harder emission (above 1 keV). We also examine the pressure output of N 70 where the values for the hot (P_X) and warm ($P_{{{\rm H}\,\scriptsize{II}}}$) phases are consistent with other studied H ii regions. However, the dust-processed radiation pressure (P_IR) is significantly smaller than in any other object studied in Lopez et al. N 70 is a very complex region that is likely to have had multiple factors contributing to both the origin and evolution of the entire region.