OB stars in the Tycho-2 and 2MASS catalogues

The Tycho-2 proper motions and five-band Tycho-2 and 2MASS photometry for approximately 2.5 million common stars have been used to select OB stars and to determine the extinction and photometric distance for each of them. We have selected 37 485 stars and calculated their reddenings based on their positions in the two-color V _T -H, J-Ks diagrams relative to the zero-age main sequence and the theoretical reddening line for B5 stars. Tests confirm that the selected stars belong to the spectral types O-B with a small admixture of later types. We calculate the extinction coefficient R and its variations with Galactic longitude based on the positions of the selected stars in the two-color B _T -V _T , V _T -Ks diagram. The interstellar extinction for each star is calculated as the product of the reddening found and the coefficient R. The extinction and its variations with Galactic longitude agree well with the extinction based on the model by Arenou et al. (1992). Calibration of the relation between the absolute magnitude and reduced proper motion V _T − + 5 + 5 log μ for Hipparcos stars has allowed us to calculate the absolute magnitudes and photometric distances for the selected stars. The distances found agree with those derived from the Hipparcos parallaxes within 500 pc. The distribution of the stars and the extinction variations with distance found show that the selected stars form an almost complete sample of stars with spectral types earlier than B5 within about 750 pc of the Sun. The sample includes many noticeably reddened stars in the first and second Galactic quadrants that are absent from the Hipparcos and Tycho Spectral Types Catalogues. This slightly changes the pattern of the distribution of OB stars compared to the classical pattern based on Hipparcos. Original Russian Text ? G.A. Goncharov, 2008, published in Pis’ma v Astronomicheskiĭ Zhurnal, 2008, Vol. 34, No. 1, pp. 10–20.     

Radial and rotational velocities for a sample of magnetic CP stars

The spectra taken with the Main Stellar Spectrograph (MSS) of the 6-m telescope with a resolution of R ～ 15000 and a signal-to-noise ratio of 200–300 are used to determine the radial velocities and projected rotational velocities (υ _e sin i) for 32 magnetic CP stars. Measured υ _e sin i values range from 18 km/s (the lower boundary determined by the instrumental profile) to 65 km/s. Measurements of standard stars demonstrate the absence of systematic differences between our and published data. Eight of the 32 magnetic stars are found or confirmed to be binary and binarity is suspected for another four stars. The components of tangential velocity are determined for 27 stars with known parallaxes.     

Spectroscopic and photometric characteristics of stars in the field of the cluster vdB 130

The observational data for 24 stars toward the young cluster vdB 130 are analyzed. The spectroscopic and photometric BV RIJHK observations have been carried out with the following telescopes: 6-m at the Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 60-cm at the Southern Station of the Moscow State University, and 2.5-m at the Caucasus Observatory of the Sternberg Astronomical Institute of theMoscow State University. Nine stars previously selected as cluster members have been found to belong to different subtypes of type B. A minimum color excess toward the cluster, E(B ? V) = 0.9 mag, has been revealed for the vdB 130 stars lying outside the molecular cloud. Maximum color excesses, E(B ? V) = 1.3?1.4 mag, have been found in the spectra of cluster stars 1r and 5r observed in dust blobs. Inside the cluster R _v is shown to differ from the standard one. The overwhelming majority of the remaining investigated stars belong to late types and have minor color excesses (≤0.3) typical of close distances.     

Searching for stars closely encountering with the solar system based on data from the Gaia DR1 and RAVE5 catalogues

We have searched for the stars that either encountered in the past or will encounter in the future with the Solar system closer than 2 pc. For this purpose, we took more than 216 000 stars with the measured proper motions and trigonometric parallaxes from the Gaia DR1 catalogue and their radial velocities from the RAVE5 catalogue. We have found several stars for which encounters closer than 1 pc are possible. The star GJ 710, for which the minimum distance is d _m = 0.063 ± 0.044 pc at time t _m = 1385 ± 52 thousand years, is the record-holder among them. Two more stars, TYC 8088-631-1 and TYC 6528-980-1, whose encounter parameters, however, are estimated with large errors, are of interest.     

Catalog of red clump candidates in Tycho-2

We present the technique we used to compile a catalog of about 61 000 local stars brighter than K _s = 8.2 ^m which were identified as most likely red clump candidates on the basis of their reduced proper motions in the K _s band. The catalog was compiled from the combined Tycho-2 and 2MASS data for the stars with color indices J-K _s ranging from 0.5 ^m to 0.8 ^m . It includes the equatorial coordinates, the proper motions, the magnitudes B _T , V _T , J, H, and K _s , and the probabilities for the stars to be red clump giants.     

Magnetic-field dependence of chemical anomalies in CP stars

The dependence of the degree of anomaly of parameter Z of Geneva photometry (Z0 = Z _CP ?Z _norm.) on the average surface magnetic field Bs is analyzed. The Z0 value is proportional to the degree of anomaly of chemical composition. It was found that Bs → 0 corresponds Z0 → ?0.010÷ ?0.015, i.e., part of CP stars are virtually devoid of magnetic field, but exhibit chemical anomalies. This effect may be due to selection whereby only objects with strong chemical anomalies are classified as CP stars, thereby producing a deficit of stars with relatively weak anomalies. Moreover, CP stars have other sources of stabilization of their atmospheres besides the magnetic field, e.g., slow rotation. Formulas relating Z0 to Bs are derived.     

Results of magnetic field measurements of CP-stars performed with the 6-m telescope. III. Observations in 2009

We present the results of measuring longitudinal magnetic fields (B_e), rotation velocities (v_e sin i), and radial velocities (V_r) of 44 stars observed with the Main Stellar Spectrograph (MSS) of the 6-m BTA telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory in 2009. For the first time, magnetic fields were detected for the stars HD5441, HD199180, HD225627, and BD+00° 4535. We show that for the same stars, the longitudinal fields B_e measured from the Hβ hydrogen line core and from metal lines can differ by 10% and up to a factor of 2–3. Except in rare cases, magnetic fields measured from the metal lines are stronger. We believe that this phenomenon is of a physical nature and depends on the magnetic field topology and the physical conditions inside a specific star. Observations of standard stars without magnetic fields confirm the absence of systematic errors capable of introducing distortions into the longitudinal-field measurement results. In this work we comment on the results for each of the stars.     

Analysis of the Z distribution of young objects in the Galactic thin disk

We have obtained new estimates of the Sun’s distance from the symmetry plane Z _⊙ and the vertical disk scale height h using currently available data on stellar OB associations, Wolf–Rayet stars, HII regions, and Cepheids. Based on individual determinations, we have calculated the mean Z _⊙ = ?16 ± 2 pc. Based on the model of a self-gravitating isothermal disk for the density distribution, we have found the following vertical disk scale heights: h = 40.2 ± 2.1 pc from OB associations, h = 47.8 ± 3.9 pc from Wolf–Rayet stars, h = 48.4 ± 2.5 pc from HII regions, and h = 66.2 ± 1.6 pc from Cepheids. We have estimated the surface, Σ = 6 kpc^?2, and volume, D(Z _⊙) = 50.6 kpc^?3, densities from a sample of OB associations. We have found that there could be ～5000 OB associations in the Galaxy.     

Evolution of low-mass helium stars in semidetached binaries

We systematically investigate the evolution of low-mass (0.35, 0.40, and 0.65M _⊙) helium donors in semidetached binaries with white-dwarf accretors. The initial periods of the binaries are chosen in such a way that the helium abundance in the center of the models at the time of Roche lobe overflow varies between Y _c = 0.98 and Y _c ? 0.1. The results of our calculations can be used to analyze the formation scenarios and evolutionary status of AM CVn stars. We show that the minimum orbital periods of the semidetached binaries depend weakly on the total mass of the components and the evolutionary phase of the donor at the time of Roche lobe overflow and are 9–10 min. The differences in the mass transfer rates after P _orb reaches its minimum in the range P _orb ≈ 10–40 min do not exceed a factor of ～2.5. For P _orb ? 20 min, the mass-losing stars are weakly degenerate homogeneous cooling objects; the He, C, N, O, and Ne abundances depend on the evolutionary phase at which Roche lobe overflow occurred. For the binaries that are currently believed to be the most probable candidates for AM CVn stars with helium donors, Y ? 0.4, X _C ? 0.3, X _O ? 0.25, and X _N ? 0.5 × 10^?2. In the binaries under consideration, once P _orb ≈ 40 min has been reached, the mass loss time scale begins to exceed the thermal time scale of the donors, the latter begin to contract, their matter becomes degenerate, and the populations of AMCVn stars with white-dwarf and helium-star progenitors of their donors probably merge together.     

Einstein–Maxwell Field Equation in Isotropic Coordinates: An Application to Modeling Superdense Star

We present a charged analogue of Pant et al. (2010, Astrophys. Space Sci., 330, 353) solution of the general relativistic field equations in isotropic coordinates by using simple form of electric intensity E that involve charge parameter K. Our solution is well behaved in all respects for all values of X lying in the range 0 <X≤ 0.11, K lying in the range 4 <K≤ 6.2 and Schwarzschild compactness parameter u lying in the range 0 <u≤ 0.247. Since our solution is well behaved for wide ranges of the parameters, we can model many different types of ultra-cold compact stars like quark stars and neutron stars. We have shown that corresponding to X = 0.077 and K = 6.13 for which u = 0.2051 and by assuming surface density ρ _b =4.6888×10¹⁴ g cm ^?3 the mass and radius are found to be 1.509M _⊙, 10.906 km respectively which match with the observed values of mass 1.51M _⊙ and radius 10.90 km of the quark star XTE J1739-217. The well behaved class of relativistic stellar models obtained in this work might have astrophysical significance in the study of more realistic internal structures of compact stars.     

Interstellar extinction toward the ultradeep Galactic field of the Chandra observatory from 2MASS data

We have measured the interstellar extinction in the region of ultradeep Galactic-field observations by the Chandra telescope (l ^II, b ^II) ≈ 0.1–1.42 using photometric data from the 2MASS infrared allsky survey. The angular resolution of our interstellar extinction map is 1′.8. We show that the interstellar extinction has a minimum, A _V ～ 3.4, near the center of the Chandra field of view and increases to A _V ～ 5.8–6 at the edge of the field of view. In addition, we show that the bulk of the extinction is gained in the Galactic disk and is approximately the same for all bulge stars. Our results will be subsequently used to process the Chandra data and to estimate the properties of the stellar population in this region.     

Determining the minimum sum of the component masses for a binary with a known parallax from observations of a short arc of its apparent motion

An inequality that allows the minimum sum of the component masses for a binary, M₀, to be determined was derived from simple geometric considerations. This quantity satisfies the observed orbital motion according to Newton's law with a known parallax. The M₀ value can be calculated if the apparent-motion parameters for the components, including the curvature of the observed short orbital arc, were determined from observations. We estimated M₀ for 14 Pulkovo program stars for which the apparent orbital arc covered with observations was no less than 10°. We compare M₀ with the masses estimated from the mass-luminosity relation. A significant mass excess was found for the star ADS 10329.     

The <Emphasis Type="Italic">z</Emphasis> distribution of hydrogen clouds and masers with kinematic distances

Data on HII regions, molecular clouds, and methanol masers have been used to estimate the Sun’s distance from the symmetry plane z _⊙ and the vertical disk scale height h. Kinematic distance estimates are available for all objects in these samples. The Local-arm (Orion-arm) objects are shown to affect noticeably the pattern of the z distribution. The deviations from the distribution symmetry are particularly pronounced for the sample of masers with measured trigonometric parallaxes, where the fraction of Local-arm masers is large. The situation with the sample of HII regions in the solar neighborhood is similar. We have concluded that it is better to exclude the Local arm from consideration. Based on the model of a self-gravitating isothermal disk, we have obtained the following estimates from objects located in the inner region of the Galaxy (R ≤ R ₀): z _⊙ = ?5.7 ± 0.5 pc and h ₂ = 24.1 ± 0.9 pc from the sample of 639 methanol masers, z _⊙ = ?7.6±0.4 pc and h ₂ = 28.6±0.5 pc from 878HII regions, z _⊙ = ?10.1 ± 0.5 pc and h ₂ = 28.2 ± 0.6 pc from 538 giant molecular clouds.     

Variations in solar shortwave radiation in the solar activity cycle as measured by the <Emphasis Type="Italic">CORONAS</Emphasis> satellites

The CORONAS-I and CORONAS-F data on variations in the ionizing shortwave ultraviolet (UV) solar radiation (EUV radiation) at wavelengths of less than 130 nm and near the H Lyman-alpha line are presented. The CORONAS-I data refer to the period close to solar minimum (the index F _10.7 = 80?100), and the CORONAS-F measurements were held close to solar maximum (F_10.7 = 140?280). The UV data are compared to those from the UARS and SOHO satellites and to the results obtained from the ionospheric measurements of ionosphere critical frequencies.     

Catalog of positions and <Emphasis Type="Italic">B</Emphasis>-magnitudes of stars in the circumpolar region of the Northern Sky Survey (FON) project

The catalog of equatorial coordinates α and δ and B-magnitudes of stars has been created at the Main Astronomical Observatory, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (MAO NASU), for the circumpolar region (from 58° to 90°) of the Northern Sky Survey (FON) project within the work on the rational use of resources accumulated in the JDA (Joint Digital Archive) of the Ukrainian Virtual Observatory (UkrVO). The total number of processed plates is 477. The plates were digitized with the using Microtek ScanMaker 9800XL TMA and Epson Expression 10000XL scanners (scanning mode was 1200 dpi, the linear size of plates was 30 × 30 cm or 13000 × 13000 px). The catalog includes 1 975 967 stars and galaxies with B of up to 16.5 ^m as of the epoch of 1985.28. The coordinates of stars and galaxies were obtained in the Tycho-2 reference system and B-magnitudes were obtained in the system of photoelectric standards. The internal errors of the catalog for all the objects are σ_αδ = 0.23′′ and σ _B = 0.12 ^m , and those for stars of the B range from 8 ^m –14 ^m , 0.11′′ and 0.06 ^m , respectively. The convergence between the calculated and reference positions is σ_αδ = 0.06′′ (for 171124 stars from Tycho-2), and that between the photoelectric stellar B-magnitudes is σ _B = 0.15m (for 5130 stars). The external error from the comparison with UCAC-4 are σ_αδ = 0.33′′ (1928367 stars and galaxies have been cross identified).     

Photometric elements,apsidal motion,and a third body in the eclipsing binary HP Aur

Highly accurate W BV R photometric measurements of the eclipsing binary HP Aur were performed in 2002–2003 with the 48-cm AZT-14 reflector at the Tien-Shan High-Altitude Observatory to determine the rate of apsidal motion. A consistent system of physical and geometrical parameters of the components and the binary as a whole has been constructed for the first time by analyzing these new measurements together with other published data: we determined their radii (R₁ = 1.05R_⊙, R₂ = 0.82R_⊙) and luminosities (L₁ = 1.10L_⊙, L₂ = 0.46L_⊙), spectral types (G2V + G8V) and surface gravities (log g₁ = 4.38, log g₂ = 4.51), age (t = 9.5 × 10⁹ yr), and the distance to the binary (d = 197 pc). We detected an ultraviolet excess in the spectra of both components, \(\Delta (W - B) \simeq - 0\mathop .\limits^m 25\), that is probably attributable to a metal deficiency in the atmospheres of these stars. In this system of two solar-type stars, we found a third body with the mass M₃ sin i ₃ ³ = 0.17_M⊙ that revolved with the period P₃ = 13.7 yr around the eclipsing binary in a highly eccentric elliptical orbit: e₃ = 0.70 and A₃ sin i₃ ? 7 AU. The orbit of the eclipsing binary itself was shown to be also elliptical, but with a low eccentricity (e = 0.0025(5)), while apsidal motion with a period U_obs > 80 yr was observed at a theoretically expected period U_th ≈ 92 yr. At least 20 to 30 more years of photoelectric measurements of this star will be required to reliably determine U_obs.     

Kinematic control of the inertiality of ICRS catalogs

We perform a kinematic analysis of the Hipparcos and TRC proper motions of stars by using a linear Ogorodnikov-Milne model. All of the distant (r>0.2 kpc) stars of the Hipparcos catalog have been found to rotate around the Galactic y axis with an angular velocity of M ₁₃ ^? =?0.36±0.09 mas yr^?1. One of the causes of this rotation may be an uncertainty in the lunisolar precession constant adopted when constructing the ICRS. In this case, the correction to the IAU (1976) lunisolar precession constant in longitude is shown to be Δp₁=?3.26±0.10 mas yr^?1. Based on the TRC catalog, we have determined the mean Oort constants: A=14.9±1.0 and B=?10.8±0.3 km s^?1 kpc^?1. The component of the model that describes the rotation of all TRC stars around the Galactic y axis is nonzero for all magnitudes, M ₁₃ ^? =?0.86±0.11 mas yr^?1.     

Investigating the correlation between the motions of the images of close stars for laser communications experiments with the artemis satellite

We investigated the correlation between the motions of the images of the components of the double star α Gem. The angular distance between the components (4.8″) corresponds approximately to the laser communications experiments with the geostationary Artemis satellite. The images were acquired with CCD cameras at the ESA’s Optical Ground Station (the Canary Islands) and at the AZT-2 telescope of the Main Astronomical Observatory (Kyiv, Ukraine). Short exposures were made every second with narrow filters at a wavelength of about 850 μm. Mean photometric positions of the α Gem component images and their deviations were determined, and the correlation coefficients for the displacements of two images in the X and Y coordinates were calculated: K _X = 0.96 and K _Y = 0.95. The defocusing of the images was examined with the use of their full widths at half-maximum. We demonstrate that the atmospheric turbulence in the laser communications experiments with the geostationary satellite Artemis can be compensated for with the use of the data on the image motion observed in the direction toward the visible position of the satellite.     

A Comprehensive Study of 94 Open Clusters Based on the Data from IPHAS,GAIA DR2, and Other Sky Surveys

We determine the color excesses, photometric distances, ages, astrometric parallaxes and proper motions for 94 open clusters in the northern part of the Milky Way. We estimate the color excesses and photometric distances based on the data from IPHAS photometric survey of the northern Galactic plane using individual total-to-selective extinction ratios R_r = A_r/E_r?i for each cluster computed via the color-difference method based on IPHAS r, i, and Hα-band, 2MASS J-, H-, and K_s-band, WISE W1-band, and Pan-STARRS i-, z-, and y-band data. The inferred R_r values vary significantly from cluster to cluster spanning the R_r = 3.1–5.2 interval with a mean and standard deviation equal to 〈R_r〉 = 3.99 and σR_r = 0.34, respectively.We identified cluster members using (1) absolute proper motions determined from individual-epoch positions of stars retrieved from IPHAS, 2MASS,URAT1, ALLWISE,UCAC5, and Gaia DR1 catalogs and positions of stars on individual Palomar Sky Survey plates reconstructed based on the data provided in USNO-B1.0 catalog and (2) absolute proper motions provided in Gaia DR2 catalog, and computed the averageGaia DR2 trigonometric parallaxes and propermotions of the clusters. Themean formal error of the inferred astrometric parallaxes of clusters is of about 7 μas, however, a comparison of astrometric and photometric parallaxes of our cluster sample implies that Gaia DR2 parallaxes are, on the average, systematically underestimated by 45 ± 9 μas. This result agrees with estimates obtained by other authors using other objects. At the same time, we find our photometric distance scale to be correct within the quoted errors (the inferred correction factor is equal to unity to within a standard error of 0.025).