脉动变星数据库的建立

为了方便国内学者对脉动变星进行研究,建立了一个数据库,目前包含了时间长达10 yr左右的巡天项目MAssive Compact Halo Objects(大质量致密银晕天体,MACHO)和Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment(光学引力透镜实验,OGLE)发现的脉动变星,一共容纳了来自银河系核球与大小麦哲伦云中的共近23万颗变星.采用的软件是LAMP,即Linux+Apache+MySQL+PHP.数据库的使用通过网页的简单搜索界面实现,搜索参数主要是天体的赤经、赤纬和半径.鉴于本数据库的灵活性,将来很方便加入其他的变星数据.     

Variable binaries and variables in binaries in the Binary star DataBase

The Binary star DataBase(BDB, http://bdb.inasan.ru) combines data from catalogs of binary and multiple stars of all observational types. There is a number of ways for variable stars to form or to be a part of binary or multiple systems. We describe how such stars are represented in the database.     

A Theoretical Probe for Excitation Mechanisms of Solar-like and Mira-like Oscillations of Stars

The linear stability analysis of the radial and non-radial oscillations for the evolutionary model of a star with the mass of 0.6∼3 M8 has been per- formed by using the nonlocal and time-dependent convection theory. The results show that the unstable low-temperature stars on the right side of the instabil- ity strip in the HR diagram can be divided into two groups. One is of the stars of solar-like oscillations, composed of the main-sequence dwarfs, subgiants, and the red giants with low- and intermediate-luminosity, which are unstable in the intermediate- and high-order (nr ≥ 12) p-modes, but stable in the low- order (nr ≤ 5) p-modes. Another is of the Mira-like stars, composed of the luminous red giants and AGB stars, which are just contrary to the solar-like stars, unstable in the low-order (nr ≤ 5) p-modes, but stable in the intermediate- and high-order (nr ≥ 12) p-modes. On the red edge of Cepheid (δ Scuti) insta- bility strip, the oscillations of solar-like and Mira-like stars can be explained uniformly by the coupling between convection and oscillations (CCO). For the low-temperature stars on the right side of the instability strip, the CCO is the dominant excitation and damping mechanism for the low- and intermediate-order p-modes, and the stochastic excitation of turbulence becomes important only for the high-order p-modes of solar-like oscillations.     

Polarization Observation Experiments for Radio Flares of Stars at the 6 cm Band

We have performed radio polarization observation experiments of the stars V772 Her and β Per with the Urumqi 25 m radio telescope at the 6 cm waveband, and obtained light curves of the stars after data processing and calibration. A radio ?are from the star V772 Her was detected on 2011 April 13. The degree of linear polarization of this ?are is about 30%, and the polarization angle is about 4°. We have detected also the slowly-varying component of the radio radiation from β Per, as well as a short ?are superposed on it, which has a very weak linear polarization.     

Automated classification of variable stars for All-Sky Automated Survey 1–2 data

With the advent of surveys generating multi-epoch photometry and the discovery of large numbers of variable stars, the classification of these stars has to be automatic. We have developed such a classification procedure for about 1700 stars from the variable star catalogue of the All-Sky Automated Survey 1–2 (ASAS 1–2) by selecting the periodic stars and by applying an unsupervised Bayesian classifier using parameters obtained through a Fourier decomposition of the light curve. For irregular light curves we used the period and moments of the magnitude distribution for the classification. In the case of ASAS 1–2, 83 per cent of variable objects are red giants. A general relation between the period and amplitude is found for a large fraction of those stars. The selection led to 302 periodic and 1429 semiperiodic stars, which are classified in six major groups: eclipsing binaries, 'sinusoidal curves', Cepheids, small amplitude red variables, SR and Mira stars. The type classification error level is estimated to be about 7 per cent.     

The density distribution of the Galactic stellar halo as traced by blue horizontal branch stars

Data of blue horizontal branch (BHB) stars and RR Lyrae variable stars from the literature are combined with unpublished observations of BHB stars in five fields. A flattened power law is used to model the spatial distribution of the horizontal branch stars. Completeness of the data sample and contamination by blue stragglers and metal-rich main-sequence A stars are considered, and taken into account. Using a maximum-likelihood method, the following best-fitting parameters are obtained: a power-law index α=−3.2±0.3 and an axial ratio of q =0.52±0.11 for the isodensity surfaces. From the fit a value for the local density of BHB stars of ρ₀=26⁺²⁰₋₁₁ kpc⁻³ is found. The values of the three parameters are in complete agreement with recent determinations by other authors.     

Identification of temperature anomaly RR Lyrae stars in LAMOST survey,misclassification and binarities

RR Lyrae stars,a well-known type of pulsating variable stars,have been known about for more than a century.A large amount of photometric data on RR Lyrae stars has been accumulated by space-and ground-based sky surveys,but the spectral data are relatively poor.Fortunately,the LAMOST sky survey project provides an opportunity to view them from the point of view of spectra.We collect the atmospheric parameters of 1685 RR Lyrae stars provided by the LAMOST catalog,and carry out research by using the reliable T_(eff).We find that there is a clear correlation between their Teff and pulsation periods,which is consistent with the pulsation and evolution theories of RR Lyrae stars.In addition,we focus on those RR Lyrae stars with abnormal temperatures.After analyzing the data from several photometric surveys,we find that some of these temperature anomalies are misclassified variable stars(e.g.,eclipsing binaries,pulsating stars on main sequence),and some are RR Lyrae binary candidates.For the latter,the temperatures of potential companions should be lower and their luminosities should not be neglected(e.g.,red giant stars).We obtain that the ratio of temperature anomaly stars to all the sample stars is 4%,which means that the impact on the further analysis(e.g.,kinematics analysis) is low.We also present the catalogs of spectral anomaly RR Lyrae stars.     

Research on Periodicity of Single Sector Variable Star of TESS Space Satellite

The short exposure and high precision photometry of TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) space satellite provide good data for distinguishing variable stars and searching planets. In this paper, a series of methods, such as periodic spectrum and phase folding, are used to analyze 19995 target sources with high-quality variable data in TESS sector 21, and these sources are classified. A total of 4624 variable stars are obtained, including 322 binary stars, 470 pulsating variable stars, and 37 planetary transients. A total of 625 variable sources were cross matched with VSX (The International Variable Star Index). Among them, 131 were eclipsing binary systems and 31 were pulsating variables, whose periods are obtained by periodic spectrum. The other 59 variable stars have flare phenomena, and 8 stars have transiting planets, whose rotation periods are also obtained through the periodic spectrum. The feasibility of the analysis of variable stars by TESS space satellite data is verified. By comparing the period results obtained by TESS space satellite sector 21 with the variable star period provided by VSX variable star table, we found that the periods of most variable stars are consistent with those in this paper, and a few of them need to be corrected. Finally, the verified and corrected variable star tables are provided in this paper.     

TESS空间卫星单扇区变星的周期性研究

TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite)空间卫星提供的短曝光、高精度光度测量为寻找并区分变星与搜寻行星提供了良好的数据.利用变星源的光变曲线,使用周期频谱分析与光变折叠等一系列方法分析了TESS空间卫星21扇区19995颗拥有高质量光变数据的目标源,并对这些源进行了分类,共获得4624颗变星,其中食双星322颗、脉动变星470颗、行星凌星37颗.所得变星结果与VSX (The International Variable Star Index)变星表进行了交叉比较,共交叉匹配了625颗变星源,这些交叉源中共有131颗为食双星系统、31颗为脉动变星,并通过周期频谱分析获取了双星绕转以及脉动周期.另外在59颗变星中发现明显耀发现象,交叉源中有8颗变星为行星凌星并同样通过周期频谱分析获取了行星绕转周期,从而验证了TESS空间卫星数据对变星分析的可行性.通过利用TESS空间卫星21扇区获得的变星周期结果与VSX变星表中提供的变星周期对比,发现与VSX变星表中绝大部分变星的周期一致,有一部分结果与VSX变星表中的结果差别较大,对这些变星周期结果做了进一步修正,并给出了变星表未列出的变星周期结果.     

A Statistical Study of the Mass Distribution of Neutron Stars

By reviewing the methods of mass measurements of neutron stars in four different kinds of systems, i.e., the high-mass X-ray binaries (HMXBs), low-mass X-ray binaries (LMXBs), double neutron star systems (DNSs) and neutron star-white dwarf (NS-WD) binary systems, we have collected the orbital parameters of 40 systems. By using the boot-strap method and the Monte-Carlo method, we have rebuilt the likelihood probability curves of the measured masses of 46 neutron stars. The statistical analysis of the simulation results shows that the masses of neutron stars in the X-ray neutron star systems and those in the radio pulsar systems exhibit different distributions. Besides, the Bayes statistics of these four different kind systems yields the most-probable probability density distributions of these four kind systems to be (1.340 ± 0.230)M8, (1, 505 ± 0.125)M8,(1.335 ± 0.055)M8 and (1.495 ± 0.225)M8, respectively. It is noteworthy that the masses of neutron stars in the HMXB and DNS systems are smaller than those in the other two kind systems by approximately 0.16M8. This result is consistent with the theoretical model of the pulsar to be accelerated to the millisecond order of magnitude via accretion of approximately 0.2M8. If the HMXBs and LMXBs are respectively taken to be the precursors of the BNS and NS-WD systems, then the influence of the accretion effect on the masses of neutron stars in the HMXB systems should be exceedingly small. Their mass distributions should be very close to the initial one during the formation of neutron stars. As for the LMXB and NS-WD systems, they should have already under- gone the process of suffcient accretion, hence there arises rather large deviation from the initial mass distribution.     

On‐line database of photometric observations of magnetic chemically peculiar stars

We present our extensive project of the On‐line database of photometric observations of magnetic chemically peculiar stars to collect published data of photometric observations of magnetic chemically peculiar (mCP) stars in the optical and near IR regions. Now the nascent database contains more than 107 000 photometric measurements of 102 mCP stars and will be continually supplemented with published or new photometric data on these and about 150 additional mCP stars. This report describes the structure and organization of the database. Moreover, for the all included data we estimated the error of measurements and the effective amplitudes of the light curves. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A New Method of Open Cluster Membership Determination

Membership determination is the key-important step to study open clusters, which can directly in?uence on the estimation of open clusters’ physical parameters. DBSCAN (Density Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise) is a density-based clustering algorithm in data mining techniques. In this paper the DBSCAN algorithm has been used for the ?rst time to make the membership determination of the open clusters NGC 6791 and M 67 (NGC 2682). Our results indicate that the DBSCAN algorithm can effectively eliminate the contamination of ?eld stars. The obtained member stars of NGC 6791 exhibit clearly a doubled main-sequence structure in the color-magnitude diagram, implying that NGC 6791 may have a more complicated history of star formation and evolution. The clustering analysis of M67 indicates the presence of mass segregation, and the distinct relative motion between the central part and the outer part of the cluster. These results demonstrate that the DBSCAN algorithm is an effective method of membership determination, and that it has some advantages superior to the conventional kinematic method.     

Database of molecular masers and variable stars

We present the database of maser sources in H2 O, OH and Si O lines that can be used to identify and study variable stars at evolved stages. Detecting the maser emission in H2 O, OH and Si O molecules toward infrared-excess objects is one of the methods for identifing long-period variables(LPVs, including miras and semiregulars), because these stars exhibit maser activity in their circumstellar shells. Our sample contains 1803 known LPV objects. Forty-six percent of these stars(832 objects) manifest maser emission in the line of at least one molecule: H2 O, OH or Si O. We use the database of circumstellar masers in order to search for LPVs which are not included in the General Catalogue of Variable Stars(GCVS). Our database contains 4806 objects(3866 objects without associations in GCVS) with maser detection in at least one molecule. Therefore it is possible to use the database in order to locate and study the large sample of LPV stars. The database can be accessed at http://maserdb.net.     

An alternative to O−C analysis of variable star periods

For more than a century now astronomers have used the O−C (Observed minus Calculated) method to detect the presence of systematic changes in the periods of variable stars. The method is based on an analysis of residuals from a linear fit to the observed epochs. A rather common error in applications of the method is a failure to make provision for autocorrelation which exists in the data. In this paper we consider a model that accounts for the presence of autocorrelation and develop an alternative to the O−C method of analysis. The proposed method focuses on the frequency domain characteristics of observed periods. Its use is illustrated by application to data from the variable stars X Aurigae and RY Sagittarii.     

Multiperiodicities from the Hipparcos epoch photometry and possible pulsation in early A-type stars

A selection criterion based on the relative strength of the largest peaks in the amplitude spectra, and an information criterion are used in combination to search for multiperiodicities in Hipparcos epoch photometry. The method is applied to all stars which have been classified as variable in the Hipparcos catalogue: periodic, unsolved and microvariables. Results are assessed critically: although there are many problems arising from aliasing, there are also a number of interesting frequency combinations which deserve further investigation. One such result is the possible occurrence of multiple periods of the order of a day in a few early A-type stars. The Hipparcos catalogue also contains a number of these stars with single periodicities: such stars with no obvious variability classifications are listed, and information about their properties (e.g., radial velocity variations) discussed. These stars may constitute a new class of pulsators.     

Variable stars in the globular cluster NGC 4590 (M68)

We present results of time series photometry to search for variable stars in the field of metal-poor globular cluster NGC 4590 (M68). Periods have been revised for 40 known variables and no significant changes were found. A considerable change in Blazhko effect for V25 has been detected. Among nine newly discovered variable candidates, 5 stars are of RRc Bailey type variables while 4 stars are unclassified. The variable stars V10, V21, V50 and V51 are found to be cluster members based on the radial velocity data taken from literature.     

A Study on the Fundamental Properties of Open Cluster NGC 6791 Based on the SDSS-DR8 and 2MASS Data

The stellar spectroscopic data of SDSS-DR8 (The Eighth Data Release of Sloan Digital Sky Survey) and the near-infrared photometric data of 2MASS (Two Micron All Sky Survey) point sources are used to analyze the fundamental parameters of the open cluster NGC 6791. Using the radial velocities of 274 stars in the region of the cluster, we calculate the membership probability for each star with the maximum likelihood method. Based on the stars with high membership probabilities, we have derived the radial velocity and metal abundance of the cluster to be respectively V_r =−46.4±0.2 km·s⁻¹ and [Fe/H]=0.32±0.11dex, in good agreement with the results obtained by other authors on the basis of high-resolution spectroscopy. Using red clump giants in the cluster as “standard candle”, we have derived the absolute distance modulus of the cluster to be (m − M)₀ =13.02±0.08mag or 4.02±0.15 kpc in distance, consistent with the values obtained from main-sequence fittings by some authors. And our main conclusions are: (1) NGC 6791 is extremely metal-rich; (2) Within the spectral resolution of SDSS, the discriminated 87 cluster members have no evident difference in matallicity; (3) The obtained distance modulus is insensitive to the age, metallicity and dust distinction, so it is a kind of reliable indirect measurement.     

Design and Implementation of CNEOST Image Database Based on NoSQL System

The China Near Earth Object Survey Telescope is the largest Schmidt telescope in China, and it has acquired more than 3 TB astronomical image data since it saw the ?rst light in 2006. After the upgrade of the CCD camera in 2013, over 10 TB data will be obtained every year. The management of the massive images is not only an indispensable part of data processing pipeline but also the basis of data sharing. Based on the analysis of requirement, an image management system is designed and implemented by employing the non-relational database.     

Sinusoidal variables from the Tycho Epoch Photometry Annex

The Tycho Epoch Photometry Annex A, a data base of photometry of more than 34 000 bright stars, has been searched for periodic variable stars with approximately sinusoidal light curves. Advantage was taken of special properties of the observing programme (photometry in two wavebands, availability of repeated measurements) to use simple but efficient variable selection criteria. Details of 70 strong candidate variables are presented.     

New Hα stars. NGC 6910 region. II.

A search for Hα objects in four fields with an overall area of about 0.14 square degrees in the region of NGC 6910 (the core of the known Cyg OB9 association) has led to the discovery of 64 emission stars, of which 49 are newly detected. The high surface density is indicative of a very rich T association or, possibly, of the projection of several T associations onto one another in this direction. The latter possibility is also indicated by the range of the R photometric stellar magnitudes of the emission stars, 9^m.68-19^m.42. A comparison with earlier observations shows that for many of the stars, the emission line intensity is variable. A P Cyg Hα line profile is recorded for the star V 1515 Cyg with an emission component equivalent width that greatly exceeds the equivalent absorption width.