Searches for OH masers in the circumstellar envelopes of red giant irregular variable stars
Irregular variables of type Lb share many characteristics withasymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars such as Miras and semiregulars(SRs). Despite their large number, irregulars are poorly understood.Using the large Nançay radio telescope, we searched for 18-cm OHmaser emission from these stars. We selected two samples of Lbs thatpresent a noticeable circumstellar envelope. In the first one, 44high-latitude objects with infrared colours of dusty mass-losing starswere observed in a wide-bandwidth velocity-search mode. In addition, 16objects (including six from the first sample), in which othercircumstellar molecular lines had recently been found, were observedwith higher resolution and sensitivity. We did not detect any new OHmaser emission from these samples down to 3σ sensitivity limitsranging from 30 to 200 mJy. We derived upper limits for the efficiencyof a typical pump using far-infrared photons. When compared with knownOH masers in AGB stars, we show that a significant gap is leftunexplored below the threshold that we determined for Lbs. Lowerefficiencies exist in some OH Miras and in the OH SRs. We cannot discardthe possibility of faint OH emission from certain Lbs, based on the sameprocesses as encountered in those sources. We briefly discuss physicalconditions allowing OH emission in the envelope, and the evolutionarystage of objects classified as Lb variables with respect to the AGB.
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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
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New periodic variables from the Hipparcos epoch photometry
Two selection statistics are used to extract new candidate periodicvariables from the epoch photometry of the Hipparcos catalogue. Theprimary selection criterion is a signal-to-noise ratio. The dependenceof this statistic on the number of observations is calibrated usingabout 30000 randomly permuted Hipparcos data sets. A significance levelof 0.1 per cent is used to extract a first batch of candidate variables.The second criterion requires that the optimal frequency be unaffectedif the data are de-trended by low-order polynomials. We find 2675 newcandidate periodic variables, of which the majority (2082) are from theHipparcos`unsolved' variables. Potential problems with theinterpretation of the data (e.g. aliasing) are discussed.
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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).
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Stars with the Largest Hipparcos Photometric Amplitudes
A list of the 2027 stars that have the largest photometric amplitudes inHipparcos Photometry shows that most variable stars are all Miras. Thepercentage of variable types change as a function of amplitude. Thiscompilation should also be of value to photometrists looking forrelatively unstudied, but large amplitude stars.
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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.
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H_2_O maser emission from irregular variables.
We have performed a search for the 22 GHz water maser line among 72optically identified irregular and semiregular red variables. Newdetections were made of five stars, while only four of nine objectspreviously known as maser sources were redetected. The probability forthe detection of H_2_O maser emission increases with V light amplitude,and with H-K and K-[12] colours just as in regular Mira and semiregularvariables of SRa- and SRb-types. The detection rate of water masers isabout 25% for nearby Lb objects (D<400 pc) in the sample, comparableto that observed in the SRa and SRb stars. No masers were detected inobjects with mass loss rates <=4x10^-8^Msun_/yr. Maserluminosities are 10^41^-10^43^photons/s similar to that of the bluestMiras and typical SRa and SRb stars showing water maser emission. Acomparison of our data on irregular stars with those previously obtainedon SRa and SRb variables suggests that most radio and infraredproperties are indistinguishable among both classes of objects.
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Irregular variables of type Lb. New JHKL'M-photometry for 160 stars.
This paper presents new near infrared observations of 160 Irregularvariables of type Lb in the JHKL'M filter bands. These measurements aresupplemented by data for additional 56 stars taken from the literature.In total 220 datasets are available because of some multipleobservations. From our sample, 216 stars have near infrared (NIR)photometry now. Our sample of visually bright Lb-variables displays verysimilar infrared properties when compared with SRa- and SRb-variables.Derived from NIR-two colour diagrams the oxygen-rich Lbs seem to haveintermediate atmospheric conditions between Miras and normal giants.There may be a sligthly larger "contamination" with non AGB-giants thanin the case of the semiregulars. Using only our IR-colours the S- andthe Carbon-stars among the Lbs again are undistinguishable fromSR-variables of the same chemistry.
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Oxygen-rich semiregular and irregular variables
All the known oxygen-rich semiregulars and irregulars of spectralclasses K and M with the absolute value of B not greater than 30 deg,Delta(m) not less than 0.5 mag, and, for the semiregulars, periods inthe range of 50 to 400 d are compiled. On the basis of theirdistributions on the sky and their brightnesses in the K band at 2.2microns, it is argued that the semiregulars with a period of 300-400 dappear to belong to the same population as the 'thin disk' Miras in thesame period range and have an exponential scale height from the Galacticplane of about 250 pc. The semiregulars with a period range of 200 to300 d belong to the population of the 'thick disk' Miras with anexponential scale height from the Galactic plane of about 500 pc. On thebasis of the similarities of their space distributions and the presenceof Tc in their atmospheres, and using the pulsational mode calculationsby Ostlie and Cox (1986), it is suggested that the semiregulars with aperiod range of 100-150 d are first and second overtone pulsations ofthe same population of AGB stars as the Miras in their fundamentalpulsational mode with periods longer than 300 d.
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A different type of maser star
A systematic survey of short-period, semiregular variable stars has beenmade resulting in the detection of six new water masers. Of the 14short-period maser stars now known, nine are classified as SRbvariables. All are very late spectral type SRb's, typically M7, whilethe overwhelming majority of normal SRb stars is M4 to M6. Their 2.2-11micron color indices are among the lowest of any known maser stars. Theyare presumably less dusty as well. Four of the SRb stars and two of theremainder do not obey the correlation between period and velocity spreadof the emission features that is found for the Mira and long-period,semiregular variables. Finally, high galactic latitudes dominate; 13 ofthe 14 are in excess of 13 deg, and nine of these are greater than 25deg. These facts suggest that the short-period semiregular variables -particularly in SRb stars - may be a very different type of maser starthan the Mira and long-period semiregular variables.
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Spectral Classifications for 112 Variable Stars.
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1960ApJ...131..632H&db_key=AST
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Benennung von veränderlichen Sternen
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132 neue Veräderliche
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