Search results for "Observational astronomy"
showing 10 items of 97 documents
XMM-Newton Extended Survey of Taurus
2007
The XMM-Newton Extended Survey of the Taurus Molecular Cloud (XEST) surveys the most populated ~5 square degrees of the Taurus Molecular Cloud, using the XMM-Newton X-ray observatory to study the thermal structure, variability, and long-term evolution of hot plasma, to investigate the magnetic dynamo, and to search for new potential members of the association. We present overall correlations with fundamental stellar parameters that were derived from the previous literature. The present overview paper introduces the project and provides the basic results from the X-ray analysis of all sources detected in the XEST survey. Comprehensive tables summarize the stellar properties of all targets su…
BVRI photometry of high-mass X-ray binaries
2015
We present photometric observations of the field around the optical counterparts of high-mass X-ray binaries. Our aim is to study the long-term photometric variability in correlation with their X-ray activity and derive a set of secondary standard stars that can be used for time series analysis. We find that the donors in Be/X-ray binaries exhibit larger amplitude changes in the magnitudes and colours than those hosting a supergiant companion. The amplitude of variability increases with wavelength in Be/X-ray binaries and remains fairly constant in supergiant systems. When time scales of years are considered, a good correlation between the X-ray and optical variability is observed. The X-ra…
IPHAS-selected classical Be stars
2016
We present a semi-automatic procedure to obtain fundamental physical parameters and distances of classical Be (CBe) stars, based on the Barbier-Chalonge-Divan (BCD) spectrophotometric system. Our aim is to apply this procedure to a large sample of CBe stars detected by the IPHAS photometric survey, to determine their fundamental physical parameters and to explore their suitability as galactic structure tracers. In this paper we describe the methodology used and the validation of the procedure by comparing our results with those obtained from different independent astrophysical techniques for subsamples of stars in common with other studies. We also present a test case study of the galactic …
Trumpler 14 and 16 in the Carina nebula
2017
We present the first extensive spectroscopic study of the global population in star clusters Trumpler 16, Trumpler 14, and Collinder 232 in the Carina nebula, using data from the Gaia-ESO Survey, down to solar-mass stars. In addition to the standard homogeneous survey data reduction, a special processing was applied here because of the bright nebulosity surrounding Carina stars. We find about 400 good candidate members ranging from OB types down to slightly subsolar masses. About 100 heavily reddened early-type Carina members found here were previously unrecognized or poorly classified, including two candidate O stars and several candidate Herbig Ae/Be stars. Their large brightness makes th…
Stellar parameters & abund. from BACCHUS analysis
2019
Data from the SDSS-IV/Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE-2) have been released as part of SDSS Data Releases 13 (DR13) and 14 (DR14). These include high-resolution H-band spectra, radial velocities, and derived stellar parameters and abundances. DR13, released in 2016 August, contained APOGEE data for roughly 150000 stars, and DR14, released in 2017 August, added about 110000 more. Stellar parameters and abundances have been derived with an automated pipeline, the APOGEE Stellar Parameter and Chemical Abundance Pipeline (ASPCAP). We evaluate the performance of this pipeline by comparing the derived stellar parameters and abundances to those inferred from optical …
Sgr A* 1.3mm VLBI observations with the EHT in 2013
2019
We report results from very long baseline interferometric (VLBI) observations of the supermassive black hole in the Galactic center, Sgr A*, at 1.3mm (230GHz). The observations were performed in 2013 March using six VLBI stations in Hawaii, California, Arizona, and Chile. Compared to earlier observations, the addition of the APEX telescope in Chile almost doubles the longest baseline length in the array, provides additional uv coverage in the N-S direction, and leads to a spatial resolution of ~30 {mu}as (~3 Schwarzschild radii) for Sgr A*. The source is detected even at the longest baselines with visibility amplitudes of ~4%-13% of the total flux density. We argue that such flux densities …
Astrophysik contra Astronomie
1981
[Astrophysics contra astronomy] means the displacement of astrometry and stellar astronomy as the main and solely conceded branches of astronomy by the new astrophysics. This displacement started with the introduction of spectroscopic and photometric methods of observation in astronomy founded by J. C. F. Zoellner and W. Huggins in the late 1850s. It was Zoellner, too, who gave the methodical and intrumental foundations of the new branch called consciously [Astrophysik] by him, because it gives insight into the [physical constitution] of the celestial bodies - whereas the traditional astronomy (or: astrophysics according to the older meaning) had been studying only the motions of the stars …
Mapping accretion variability in NGC 2264
2014
Our study aims at characterizing the accretion properties of several hundred members of the star-forming region NGC 2264 (3Myr). We performed a deep u,g,r,i mapping of the cluster with CFHT/MegaCam, and monitored the simultaneous u+r variability of its members over a baseline of two weeks. Stellar parameters are determined homogeneously for about 750 monitored young objects, 40% of which are accreting T Tauri stars. Accretion properties and accretion variability are investigated and characterized from UV excess measurements. Non-accreting members of the cluster define the reference UV emission level over which flux excess is detected and measured. Cone search capability for table J/A+A/570/…
X-ray sources in NGC 752
2008
While observational evidence shows that most of the decline in a star's X-ray activity occurs between the age of the Hyades (~8x10^8yr) and that of the Sun, very little is known about the evolution of stellar activity between these ages. To gain information on the typical level of coronal activity at a star's intermediate age, we studied the X-ray emission from stars in the 1.9Gyr old open cluster NGC 752. We analysed a ~140ks Chandraobservation of NGC 752 and a ~50ks XMM-Newtonobservation of the same cluster. We detected 262 X-ray sources in the Chandra data and 145 sources in the XMM-Newton observation. Around 90% of the catalogued cluster members within Chandra's field-of-view are detect…
Gamma Vel cluster membership and IMF
2016
Understanding the properties of young open clusters, such as the Initial Mass Function (IMF), star formation history and dynamic evolution, is crucial to obtain reliable theoretical predictions of the mechanisms involved in the star formation process. We want to obtain a list, as complete as possible, of confirmed members of the young open cluster Gamma Velorum, with the aim of deriving general cluster properties such as the IMF. We used all available spectroscopic membership indicators within the Gaia-ESO public archive together with literature photometry and X-ray data and, for each method, we derived the most complete list of candidate cluster members. Then, we considered photometry, gra…