We present a phase-resolved spectroscopic study of the secondary star in the cataclysmic variable (CV) U Gem. We use our data to measure the radial velocity semi-amplitude, systemic velocity and rotational velocity of the secondary star. Combining this with literature data allows us to determine masses and radii for both the secondary star and white dwarf, which are independent of any assumptions about their structure. We use these to compare their properties to those of field stars and find that both components follow field mass-radius relationships. The secondary star has the mass, radius, luminosity and photometric temperature of an M2 star, but a spectroscopic temperature of M4. The latter may well be due to a high metallicity. There is a troubling inconsistency between the radius of the white dwarf inferred from its gravitational redshift and inclination and that inferred from its temperature, flux and astrometric distance.
Using data from the 2 Micron All Sky Survey All-Sky Point Source Catalogue, we have extended our census of nearby ultracool dwarfs to cover the full celestial sphere above Galactic latitude of 15{deg}. Starting with an initial catalog of 2139484 sources, we have winnowed the sample to 467 candidate late-type M or L dwarfs within 20pc of the Sun. Fifty-four of those sources already have spectroscopic observations confirming them as late-type dwarfs. We present optical spectroscopy of 376 of the remaining 413 sources, and identify 44 as ultracool dwarfs with spectroscopic distances less than 20pc. Twenty-five of the 37 sources that lack optical data have near-infrared spectroscopy. Combining the present sample with our previous results and data from the literature, we catalog 94 L dwarf systems within 2pc. We discuss the distribution of activity, as measured by H{alpha} emission, in this volume-limited sample. We have coupled the present ultracool catalog with data for stars in the northern 8pc sample and recent (incomplete) statistics for T dwarfs to provide a snapshot of the current 20pc census as a function of spectral type.
The occurrence of planets orbiting ultracool dwarfs is poorly constrained. We present results from a guest observer program on NASA's K2 spacecraft to search for transiting planets orbiting a sample of 827 ultracool dwarfs. Having found no transiting planets in our sample, we determined an upper limit on the occurrence of planets. We simulated planets orbiting our sample for a range of orbital periods and sizes. For the simulated planets that transit their host, we injected the transit light curve into the real K2 light curves, then attempted to recover the injected planets. For a given occurrence rate, we calculated the probability of seeing no planets, and use the results to place an upper limit on planet occurrence as a function of planet radius and orbital period. We find that short-period, mini-Neptune and Jupiter-sized planets are rare around ultracool dwarfs, consistent with results for early and mid-type M dwarf stars. We constrain the occurrence rate {eta} for planets between 0.5 and 10 R{earth} with orbital periods between 1 and 26.3days.
We present new redshift measurements for 19 candidate ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs) from the Systematically Measuring Ultra-Diffuse Galaxies (SMUDGes) survey after conducting a long-slit spectroscopic follow-up campaign on 23 candidates with the Large Binocular Telescope. We combine these results with redshift measurements from other sources for 29 SMUDGes and 20 non-SMUDGes candidate UDGs. Together, this sample yields 44 spectroscopically confirmed UDGs (r_e_>=1.5kpc and {mu}_g_(0)>=24mag/arcsec^2^ within uncertainties) and spans cluster and field environments, with all but one projected on the Coma cluster and environs. We find no statistically significant differences in the structural parameters of cluster and noncluster confirmed UDGs, although there are hints of differences among the axis ratio distributions. Similarly, we find no significant structural differences among those in locally dense or sparse environments. However, we observe a significant difference in color with respect to projected clustercentric radius, confirming trends observed previously in statistical UDG samples. This trend strengthens further when considering whether UDGs reside in either cluster or locally dense environments, suggesting starkly different star formation histories for UDGs residing in high- and low-density environments. Of the 16 large (r_e_>=3.5kpc) UDGs in our sample, only one is a field galaxy that falls near the early-type galaxy red sequence. No other field UDGs found in low-density environments fall near the red sequence. This finding, in combination with our detection of Galaxy Evolution Explorer NUV flux in nearly half of the UDGs in sparse environments, suggests that field UDGs are a population of slowly evolving galaxies.
Ultra-luminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) are interesting objects with dramatic properties. Many efforts have been made to understand the physics of their luminous infrared emission and evolutionary stages. However, a large ULIRG sample is still needed to study the properties of their central black holes (BHs), the BH-host galaxy relation, and their evolution. We identified 308 ULIRGs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 6, and classified them into the NL ULIRGs (with only narrow emission lines) and the Type I ULIRGs (with broad emission lines). About 56% of ULIRGs in our total sample show interaction features, and this percentage is 79% for redshift z<0.2. Optical identifications of these ULIRGs show that the active galactic nucleus percentage is at least 49%, and the percentage increases with the infrared luminosity. We found 62 Type I ULIRGs, and estimated their BH masses and velocity dispersions from their optical spectra. Together with known Type I ULIRGs in the literature, a sample of 90 Type I ULIRGs enables us to make a statistical study.
We have selected spectra of 232 stars from the IUE archives for inclusion in an atlas intended for various uses but tailored especially for the study of stellar winds. The atlas covers the range in spectral types from O3 to F8. The full atlas covers the reduced and normalized high resolution spectra from the IUE long- and short-wavelength spectrographs. Here we discuss the selection of the stars and the data reduction, and we present in velocity units the profiles of lines formed in the stellar winds. The selected lines cover a wide range of ionizations, allowing a comparison of the profiles from different ions in the wind of each star and a comparison of the different wind lines as a function of spectral type and luminosity. We also present the basic data on the program stars to facilitate study of the dependence of wind features on stellar parameters such as luminosity, temperature, escape velocity, and v sin i. We provide an overview of the characteristic behavior of the wind lines in the H-R diagram. The complete spectra are available in digital form through the NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS). We offer a description of the electronic database that is available through the ADS and guidelines for obtaining access to that database.
The first observations of the ultraviolet spectrum of the binary system VV Cep (M2Iab + B?) during total eclipse have been made with the HST. A rich emission-line spectrum is seen, with over two thousand emission features present. Shortward of 1600{AA}, a weak continuum presumably due to Rayleigh scattering of the hot component is present, strengthening markedly shortward of 1500{AA}. The continuum of the M supergiant becomes apparent longward of 2650{AA}. Numerous circumstellar and interstellar absorption features are also seen. We present an atlas of the spectrum from 1300-3160{AA} as observed near midtotality and at two epochs closer to egress, when gas surrounding the hot component has begun to emerge from eclipse and the flux on the short-wavelength edges of many emission lines has increased. This atlas has been annotated with line identifications. Circumstellar and interstellar absorption features seen out of eclipse remain in absorption during totality and are also annotated on the atlas. Well over 90% of the emission features have plausible identifications, but there are many blends. Only a few hundred features appear to be free enough from blending for useful measurement of the peak flux in the line. We present a list of these unblended features.
An ultraviolet atlas of the solar spectrum with a spectral resolution of 15mA in the region 1948-2000A is presented. It is the first part of the spectra recorded on the quiet Sun between 1900 and 2130A. Measurements were performed from a balloon-borne instrumentation flown at an altitude of 39km. The wavelength atlas with a list of about 550 lines has been synthesized from data at center of the Sun ({mu}=1) and at {mu}=0.89, smoothed out over an area of 30 arcsec. The wavelength scale is given with respect to the average solar spectrum. Tracings are presented at {mu}=0.89, with an intensity scale adjusted in absolute values on the level of the continuum near 2000A.
The Ursa Major Group (UMaG) is studied as a test case for the authenticity of Stellar Kinematic Groups, using Coravel radial velocities, recent compilations of astrometric data and new spectroscopic observations. Spectroscopic age indicators, particularly indices of the strength of chromospheric emission, are applied to solar-type candidate members of UMaG, and it is shown that stars that meet the spectroscopic criteria also have kinematics that agree better with the space motions of the nucleus of UMaG than does the starting sample as a whole. The primary limitation on the precision of kinematics is now parallaxes instead of radial velocities. These more restrictive kinematic criteria are then applied to other UMaG candidates and a list summarizing membership is presented. UMaG is also examined as a cluster, confirming its traditional age of 0.3 Gyr and a mean [Fe/H] of -0.08 +/- 0.09 for those stars most likely to be bona fide members.
