A New Stellar Companion to TYC 5493-889-1

We present a serendipitous discovery of a new stellar companion to TYC 5493-889-1 detected with the Differential Speckle Survey Instrument at the 4.3 m Lowell Discovery Telescope. We also present photometric observations of TYC 5493-889-1, and determine a spectral type of F1V and a photometric distance of roughly 320 parsecs.

TOWARDS AN IMPROVED V-VLC OPTICAL CHANNEL MODELLING

Visible Light Communication (VLC) requires better optical channel modelling if it is to be used in vehicular applications. Therefore, the radiation transfer between the transmitter and emitter shall be well defined in all circumstances. An important aspect herein is the determination of the Limiting Photometric Distance (LPD), which characterises the transition between near-field and far-field description of the light source. The LPD allows to determine whether simplified equations can be used in the V-VLC channel model. A first step towards this goal is the analysis of a simple, narrow beam, disk-source with uniform luminance. On-axis, analytical solutions exist. Off-axis, however, no closed loop solutions exist. Therefore, a numerical approach is used, which is validated against on-axis measurements and then expanded to off-axis scenarios. This allows to compute the on- and off-axis LPD of the light source, an important step towards a more accurate description of complex systems for VLC.

Absolute parameters of young stars: PU Pup

We present combined photometric and spectroscopic analyses of the southern binary star PU Pup. High-resolution spectra of this system were taken at the University of Canterbury Mt. John Observatory in the years 2008 and again in 2014–2015. We find the light contribution of the secondary component to be only ∼2% of the total light of the system in optical wavelengths, resulting in a single-lined spectroscopic binary. Recent TESS data revealed grazing eclipses within the light minima, though the tidal distortion, examined also from Hipparcos data, remains the predominating light curve effect. Our model shows PU Pup to have the more massive primary relatively close to filling its Roche lobe. PU Pup is thus approaching the rare ‘fast phase’ of interactive (Case B) evolution. Our adopted absolute parameters are as follows: M 1 = 4.10 (±0.20) M ⊙, M 2 = 0.65 (±0.05) M ⊙, R 1 = 6.60 (±0.30) R ⊙, R 2 = 0.90 (±0.10) R ⊙; T 1 = 11500 (±500) K, T 2 = 5000 (±350) K; photometric distance = 186 (±20) pc, age = 170 (±20) Myr. The less-massive secondary component is found to be significantly oversized and overluminous compared to standard main sequence models. We discuss this discrepancy referring to heating from the reflection effect.

Absolute Parameters of Young Stars: V Puppis

New spectrometric data on V Pup are combined with satellite photometry (HIPPARCOS and recent TESS) to allow a revision of the absolute parameters with increased precision. We find: M1 = 14.0±0.5, M2 = 7.3±0.3 (M⊙); R1 = 5.48±0.18, R2 = 4.59±0.15 (R⊙); T1 26000±1000, T2 24000 ±1000 (K), age 5 ±1 (Myr), photometric distance 320 ±10 (pc). The TESS photometry reveals low-amplitude (∼0.002 mag) variations of the β Cep kind, consistent with the deduced evolutionary condition and age of the optical primary. This fact provides independent support to our understanding of the system as in a process of Case A type interactive evolution that can be compared with μ1 Sco. The ∼10 M⊙ amount of matter shed by the over-luminous present secondary must have been mostly ejected from the system rather than transferred, thus taking angular momentum out of the orbit and keeping the pair in relative close proximity. New times of minima for V Pup have been studied and the results compared with previous analyses. The implied variation of period is consistent with the Case A evolutionary model, though we offer only a tentative sketch of the original arrangement of this massive system. We are not able to confirm the previously reported cyclical variations having a 5.47 yr period with the new data, though a direct comparison between the HIPPARCOS and TESS photometry points to the presence of third light from a star that is cooler than those of the close binary, as mentioned in previous literature.

Sixteen overlooked open clusters in the fourth Galactic quadrant

Aims. This paper has two main objectives: (1) To determine the intrinsic properties of 16 faint and mostly unstudied open clusters in the poorly known sector of the Galaxy at 270° −300° to probe the Milky Way structure in future investigations. (2) To address previously reported systematics in Gaia DR2 parallaxes by comparing the cluster distances derived from photometry with those derived from parallaxes. Methods. Deep UBVI photometry of 16 open clusters was carried out. Observations were reduced and analyzed in an automatic way using the ASteCA package to obtain individual distances, reddening, masses, ages, and metallicities. Photometric distances were compared to those obtained from a Bayesian analysis of Gaia DR2 parallaxes. Results. Ten out of the sixteen clusters are true or highly probable open clusters. Two of them are quite young and follow the trace of the Carina Arm and the already detected warp. The remaining clusters are placed in the interarm zone between the Perseus and Carina Arms, as expected for older objects. We found that the cluster van den Berg-Hagen 85 is 7.5 × 109 yr old, which means that it is one of the oldest open clusters detected in our Galaxy so far. The relationship of these ten clusters with the Galaxy structure in the solar neighborhood is discussed. The comparison of distances from photometry and parallaxes data in turn reveals a variable level of disagreement. Conclusions. Various zero-point corrections for Gaia DR2 parallax data recently reported were considered for a comparison between photometry- and parallax-based distances. The results tend to improve with some of these corrections. Photometric distance analysis suggests an average correction of ∼+0.026 mas (to be added to the parallaxes). The correction may have a more intricate dependence on distance, but addressing this level of detail will require a larger cluster sample.

The inverse square law in metrology considering a finite photosensitive area

In the field of photometry, an inverse square law is often used in which the illuminance value is inversely proportional to the square of the photometric distance. It is well known that this is a rule that assumes that the light source is a point light source. In this research, it is shown by model simulation that the inverse square law cannot be applied with high accuracy depending on the distance and the size of the light-receiving area even in the case of a point light source. Also, when checked experimentally, the experimental results agree well with the simulation.

The retrograde orbit of the globular cluster FSR1758 revealed with Gaia DR2

ABSTRACT We report the first radial velocity measurements of the recently identified globular cluster FSR1758. From the two member stars with radial velocities from the Gaia Radial Velocity Spectrograph reported in Gaia DR2, we find FSR1758 has a radial velocity of 227 ± 1$\, \textrm{km}\, \textrm{s}^{-1}$. We also find potential extra-tidal star lost from the cluster in the surrounding 1 deg. Combined with Gaia proper motions and photometric distance estimates, this shows that FSR1758 is on a relatively retrograde, radial orbit with a pericentre of $3.8_{-0.9}^{+0.9}$ kpc, an apocentre of $16_{-5}^{+8}$ kpc, and eccentricity of $0.62_{-0.04}^{+0.05}$. Although it is currently at a Galactocentric distance of $3.8_{-0.9}^{+0.9}$ kpc – at the edge of the bulge – it is an intruder from the halo. We investigate whether a reported ‘halo’ of stars around FSR1758 is related to the cluster, and find that most of these stars are likely foreground dwarf stars. We conclude that FSR1758 is not a dwarf galaxy, but rather a globular cluster.

Interstellar polarization and extinction towards the young open cluster NGC 1502

Aims. NGC 1502 is located at the periphery of the Cam OB1 association and probably within the Orion Spur, with published distance estimates varying between 0.7 and 1.5 kpc. We combine new polarimetric observations and existing uvbyβ and UBV photometries to provide new estimates of the cluster’s parameters. Methods. We present new multi-wavelength polarization observations of 22 stars in the direction of the cluster and, using the wavelength of maximum polarization, calculate the total-to-selective extinction ratio for each of these stars. These are combined with homogenized uvbyβ and UBV photometries to obtain the individual stellar distances and study the structure of the field. Results. We found no evidence of significant extinction variation across the cluster and obtained an average color excess E(b − y) = 0.56 ± 0.02 mag, corresponding to E(B − V) = 0.76 mag. Given the uniformity of both pmax and λmax toward the cluster and the distribution of the color excess with distance, it seems likely that the polarization in this region arises from aligned dust grains in the foreground of the cluster, not farther than 500–600 pc. Based on 20 stars located beyond 500 pc within the studied field of view, we obtained an average polarization-based total-to-selective extinction ratio R = 2.83 ± 0.14 yielding visual absorption AV = 2.14 ± 0.16 mag. Using 11 stars with uvbyβ data that represent the main sequence of the cluster, we calculated a photometric distance of 1117−89+96 pc. This estimate is fully supported by the UBV -based analysis and the new individual membership probabilities that we derive. Assuming a solar metallicity yields an age of 5 Myr. Our analysis yields controversial results regarding the membership of the stars associated with the SZ Cam system (HD 25638 and HD 25639) to the cluster.

A preliminary comparison of photometric (MWSC) and trigonometric (TGAS) distances of open cluster stars

The goal of this researchwas to compare the open cluster photometric distance scale of the global survey of star clusters in the MilkyWay (MWSC) with the distances derived fromtrigonometric parallaxes fromthe Gaia DR1/TGAS catalogue and to investigate towhich degree and extent both scales agree.We compared the parallax-based and photometrybased distances of 5743 cluster stars selected as members of 1118 clusters based on their kinematic and photometric MWSC membership probabilities. We found good overall agreement between trigonometric and photometric distances of open cluster stars. The residuals between them were small and unbiased up to log(d, [pc]) ≈ 2.8. If we considered only the most populated clusters and used cluster distances obtained from the mean trigonometric parallax of their MWSC members, the good agreement of the distance scales continued up to log(d, [pc]) ≈ 3.3.

Kinematics of M dwarfs in the CARMENES Input Catalogue: Membership in Young Moving Groups

We present a detailed study of the kinematics of M dwarfs in the CARMENES (Calar Alto high-Resolution search for M dwarfs with Exoearths with Near-infrared and optical Échelle Spectrographs) input catalog. We have selected all M dwarfs with known parallactic distance or a good photometric distance estimation, precise proper motion in the literature or as determined by us, and radial velocity measurements. Using these parameters, we computed the M dwarfs galactic space motions (U, V, W). For the stars with U and V velocity components inside or near the boundaries that determine the young disk population, we have analyzed the possible membership in the classical moving groups and nearby loose associations with ages between 10 and 600 Myr. For the candidate members, we have compiled information available in the literature in order to constrain their membership by applying other age-dating methods.