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 Simulating observable comets. III. Real stellar perturbers of the Oort cloud and their outputContext: .This is the third of a series of papers on simulating themechanisms acting currently on the Oort cloud and producing the observedlong-period comets.Aims.In this paper we investigate the influence ofcurrent stellar perturbers on the Oort cloud of comets under thesimultaneous galactic disk tide. We also analyse the past motion of theobserved long-period comets under the same dynamical model to verify thewidely used definition of dynamically new comets. Methods.The action ofnearby stars and the galactic disk tide on the Oort cloud was simulated.The original orbital elements of all 386 long-period comets of qualityclasses 1 and 2 were calculated, and their motion was followednumerically for one orbital revolution into the past, down to theprevious perihelion. We also simulated the output of the close futurepass of GJ 710 through the Oort cloud. Results.The simulated flux of theobservable comets resulting from the current stellar and galacticperturbations, as well as the distribution of perihelion direction, wasobtained. The same data are presented for the future passage of GJ 710.A detailed description is given of the past evolution of aphelion andperihelion distances of the observed long-period comets. Conclusions. Weobtained no fingerprints of the stellar perturbations in the simulatedflux and its directional structure. The mechanisms producing observablecomets are highly dominated by galactic disk tide because all currentstellar perturbers are too weak. Also the effect of the close passage ofthe star GJ 710 is very difficult to recognise on the background of theGalactic-driven observable comets. For the observed comets we found only45 to be really dynamically "new" according to our definition based onthe previous perihelion distance value. Atlas and Catalog of Dark Clouds Based on Digitized Sky Survey IWe present a quantitative atlas and catalog of dark clouds derived byusing the optical database Digitized Sky Survey I''. Applying atraditional star-count technique to 1043 plates contained in thedatabase, we produced an AV map covering the entire region inthe galactic latitude range |b| ≤ 40°. The map was drawn at twodifferent angular resolutions of 6' and 18', and is shown in detail in aseries of figures in this paper. Based on the AV map, weidentified 2448 dark clouds and 2841 clumps located inside them. Somephysical parameters, such as the position, extent, and opticalextinction, were measured for each of the clouds and clumps. We alsosearched for counterparts among already known dark clouds in theliterature. The catalog of dark clouds presented in this paper lists thecloud parameters as well as the counterparts. Deepsky delights.Not Available Observed Orbital EccentricitiesFor 391 spectroscopic and visual binaries with known orbital elementsand having B0-F0 IV or V primaries, we collected the derivedeccentricities. As has been found by others, those binaries with periodsof a few days have been circularized. However, those with periods up toabout 1000 or more days show reduced eccentricities that asymptoticallyapproach a mean value of 0.5 for the longest periods. For those binarieswith periods greater than 1000 days their distribution of eccentricitiesis flat from 0 to nearly 1, indicating that in the formation of binariesthere is no preferential eccentricity. The binaries with intermediateperiods (10-100 days) lack highly eccentric orbits. Can Life Develop in the Expanded Habitable Zones around Red Giant Stars?We present some new ideas about the possibility of life developingaround subgiant and red giant stars. Our study concerns the temporalevolution of the habitable zone. The distance between the star and thehabitable zone, as well as its width, increases with time as aconsequence of stellar evolution. The habitable zone moves outward afterthe star leaves the main sequence, sweeping a wider range of distancesfrom the star until the star reaches the tip of the asymptotic giantbranch. Currently there is no clear evidence as to when life actuallyformed on the Earth, but recent isotopic data suggest life existed atleast as early as 7×108 yr after the Earth was formed.Thus, if life could form and evolve over time intervals from5×108 to 109 yr, then there could behabitable planets with life around red giant stars. For a 1Msolar star at the first stages of its post-main-sequenceevolution, the temporal transit of the habitable zone is estimated to beseveral times 109 yr at 2 AU and around 108 yr at9 AU. Under these circumstances life could develop at distances in therange 2-9 AU in the environment of subgiant or giant stars, and in thefar distant future in the environment of our own solar system. After astar completes its first ascent along the red giant branch and the Heflash takes place, there is an additional stable period of quiescent Hecore burning during which there is another opportunity for life todevelop. For a 1 Msolar star there is an additional109 yr with a stable habitable zone in the region from 7 to22 AU. Space astronomy missions, such as proposed for the TerrestrialPlanet Finder (TPF) and Darwin, that focus on searches for signatures oflife on extrasolar planets, should also consider the environments ofsubgiants and red giant stars as potentially interesting sites forunderstanding the development of life. We performed a preliminaryevaluation of the difficulty of interferometric observations of planetsaround red giant stars compared to a main-sequence star environment. Weshow that pathfinder missions for TPF and Darwin, such as Eclipse andFKSI, have sufficient angular resolution and sensitivity to search forhabitable planets around some of the closest evolved stars of thesubgiant and red giant class. A new look at the position of the 1604 Supernova (V843 Ophiuchi)The position of the supernova of 1604 (V843 Oph) is re-assessed, withrelevant discussion pertaining to the present-day remnant, 3C 358. Tidal Effects in Binaries of Various PeriodsWe found in the published literature the rotational velocities for 162B0-B9.5, 152 A0-A5, and 86 A6-F0 stars, all of luminosity classes V orIV, that are in spectroscopic or visual binaries with known orbitalelements. The data show that stars in binaries with periods of less thanabout 4 days have synchronized rotational and orbital motions. Stars inbinaries with periods of more than about 500 days have the samerotational velocities as single stars. However, the primaries inbinaries with periods of between 4 and 500 days have substantiallysmaller rotational velocities than single stars, implying that they havelost one-third to two-thirds of their angular momentum, presumablybecause of tidal interactions. The angular momentum losses increase withdecreasing binary separations or periods and increase with increasingage or decreasing mass. Speckle Observations of Binary Stars with the WIYN Telescope. IV. Differential PhotometryFive hundred seventy-six magnitude difference measures are presented for260 binary stars. These measures are derived from CCD-based speckleobservations taken at the WIYN 3.5 m telescope at Kitt Peak NationalObservatory during the period 1997-2000. Separations of the systemsrange from over 1" down to near the diffraction limit of the telescope.A study of multiple measures of the same targets indicates that themeasures have a typical uncertainty of better than 0.13 mag per 2 minuteobservation, and that multiple observations can be averaged to arrive atsmaller uncertainties. Results presented here are also compared, insofaras it is possible, with measures in the Hipparcos Catalogue and toprevious studies using adaptive optics. No major systematic errors wereidentified.The WIYN Observatory is a joint facility of the University ofWisconsin-Madison, Indiana University, Yale University, and the NationalOptical Astronomy Observatory. Adaptive Optics Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of the Sagittarius A* ClusterWe present K-band λ/Δλ~2600 spectroscopy of fivestars (K~14-16 mag) within 0.5" of Sgr A*, the radio source associatedwith the compact massive object suspected to be a2.6×106Msolar black hole at the center ofour Galaxy. High spatial resolution of ~0.09" and good Strehl ratios of~0.2 achieved with adaptive optics on the 10 m Keck telescope make itpossible to measure moderate-resolution spectra of these starsindividually for the first time. Two stars (S0-17 and S0-18) areidentified as late-type stars by the detection of CO band headabsorption in their spectra. Their absolute K magnitudes and CO bandhead absorption strengths are consistent with early K giants. Threestars (S0-1, S0-2, and S0-16) with rproj<0.0075 pc (~0.2")from Sgr A* lack CO band head absorption, confirming the results ofearlier lower spectral and lower spatial resolution observations thatthe majority of the stars in the Sgr A* cluster are early-type stars.The absolute K magnitudes of the early-type stars suggest that they arelate O, early B main-sequence stars of ages less than 20 Myr. Thepresence of young stars in the Sgr A* cluster so close to the centralsupermassive black hole poses the intriguing problem of how these starscould have formed or could have been brought within its strong tidalfield. Speckle Observations of Binary Stars with the WIYN Telescope. II. Relative Astrometry Measures during 1998-2000Five hundred twelve relative astrometry measures are presented for 253double stars, including 53 double stars discovered by Hipparcos. In 15cases, relative astrometry is reported for the first time for newlyconfirmed pairs. In addition, 20 high-quality nondetections ofcompanions are reported for stars suspected of being nonsingle byHipparcos. Observations were taken using a fast-readout CCD camerasystem at the WIYN 3.5 m telescope at Kitt Peak, Arizona. In comparingthese measures with ephemeris predictions for binary stars with verywell known orbits, we find that the measurement precision is better than3 mas in separation and 1° in position angle per individualobservation. Measurement precision and detection capabilities are fullydiscussed, and confirmed orbital motion is reported in four cases of theHipparcos double star discoveries. The WIYN Observatory is a jointfacility of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Indiana University,Yale University, and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory. Rotational velocities of A-type stars in the northern hemisphere. II. Measurement of v sin iThis work is the second part of the set of measurements of v sin i forA-type stars, begun by Royer et al. (\cite{Ror_02a}). Spectra of 249 B8to F2-type stars brighter than V=7 have been collected at Observatoirede Haute-Provence (OHP). Fourier transforms of several line profiles inthe range 4200-4600 Å are used to derive v sin i from thefrequency of the first zero. Statistical analysis of the sampleindicates that measurement error mainly depends on v sin i and thisrelative error of the rotational velocity is found to be about 5% onaverage. The systematic shift with respect to standard values fromSlettebak et al. (\cite{Slk_75}), previously found in the first paper,is here confirmed. Comparisons with data from the literature agree withour findings: v sin i values from Slettebak et al. are underestimatedand the relation between both scales follows a linear law ensuremath vsin inew = 1.03 v sin iold+7.7. Finally, thesedata are combined with those from the previous paper (Royer et al.\cite{Ror_02a}), together with the catalogue of Abt & Morrell(\cite{AbtMol95}). The resulting sample includes some 2150 stars withhomogenized rotational velocities. Based on observations made atObservatoire de Haute Provence (CNRS), France. Tables \ref{results} and\ref{merging} are only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.125.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/393/897 Rotational velocities of A-type stars. I. Measurement of v sin i in the southern hemisphereWithin the scope of a Key Programme determining fundamental parametersof stars observed by HIPPARCOS, spectra of 525 B8 to F2-type starsbrighter than V=8 have been collected at ESO. Fourier transforms ofseveral line profiles in the range 4200-4500 Å are used to derivev sin i from the frequency of the first zero. Statistical analysis ofthe sample indicates that measurement error is a function of v sin i andthis relative error of the rotational velocity is found to be about 6%on average. The results obtained are compared with data from theliterature. There is a systematic shift from standard values from\citet{Slk_75}, which are 10 to 12% lower than our findings. Comparisonswith other independent v sin i values tend to prove that those fromSlettebak et al. are underestimated. This effect is attributed to thepresence of binaries in the standard sample of Slettebak et al., and tothe model atmosphere they used. Based on observations made at theEuropean Southern Observatory (ESO), La Silla, Chile, in the frameworkof the Key Programme 5-004-43K. Table 4 is only available in electronicform at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.125.5)or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/381/105 Stellar Encounters with the β Pictoris Planetesimal SystemWe use data from the Hipparcos catalog and the Barbier-Brossat &Figon catalog of stellar radial velocities to test the hypothesis thatthe β Pic planetesimal disk was disrupted by a close stellarencounter. We trace the space motions of 21,497 stars and discover 18that have passed within 5 pc of β Pic in the past 1 Myr. βPic's closest encounter is with the K2 III star HIP 27628 (~0.6 pc), butdynamically the most important encounter is with the F7 V star HIP 23693(~0.9 pc). We calculate the velocity and eccentricity changes induced bythe 18 perturbations and conclude that they are dynamically significantif planetesimals exist in a β Pic Oort cloud. We provide afirst-order estimate for the evolutionary state of a β Pic Oortcloud and conclude that the primary role of these stellar perturbationswould be to help build a comet cloud rather than destroy a preexistingstructure. The stellar sample is ~20% complete and motivates future workto identify less common close interactions that would significantlymodify the observed circumstellar disk. For future radial velocitystudy, we identify six stars in the Hipparcos catalog that may haveapproached β Pic to within 0.1 pc and therefore remain as candidatedisk perturbers. Speckle Interferometry of New and Problem Hipparcos Binaries. II. Observations Obtained in 1998-1999 from McDonald ObservatoryThe Hipparcos satellite made measurements of over 9734 known doublestars, 3406 new double stars, and 11,687 unresolved but possible doublestars. The high angular resolution afforded by speckle interferometrymakes it an efficient means to confirm these systems from the ground,which were first discovered from space. Because of its coverage of adifferent region of angular separation-magnitude difference(ρ-Δm) space, speckle interferometry also holds promise toascertain the duplicity of the unresolved Hipparcos problem'' stars.Presented are observations of 116 new Hipparcos double stars and 469Hipparcos problem stars,'' as well as 238 measures of other doublestars and 246 other high-quality nondetections. Included in these areobservations of double stars listed in the Tycho-2 Catalogue andpossible grid stars for the Space Interferometry Mission. CCD Speckle Observations of Binary Stars from the Southern Hemisphere. III. Differential PhotometryTwo hundred seventy-two magnitude difference measures of 135 double starsystems are presented. The results are derived from speckle observationsusing the Bessel V and R passbands and a fast readout CCD camera.Observations were taken at two 60 cm telescopes, namely the Helen SawyerHogg Telescope, formerly at Las Campanas, Chile, and the Lowell-TololoTelescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, Chile. Thedata analysis method is presented and, in comparing the results to thoseof Hipparcos as well as to recent results using adaptive optics, we findvery good agreement. Overall, the measurement precision appears to bedependent on seeing and other factors but is generally in the range of0.10-0.15 mag for single observations under favorable observingconditions. In four cases, multiple observations in both V and R allowedfor the derivation of component V-R colors with uncertainties of 0.11mag or less. Spectral types are assigned and preliminary effectivetemperatures are estimated in these cases. Stellar encounters with the solar systemWe continue our search, based on Hipparcos data, for stars which haveencountered or will encounter the solar system(García-Sánchez et al. \cite{Garcia}). Hipparcos parallaxand proper motion data are combined with ground-based radial velocitymeasurements to obtain the trajectories of stars relative to the solarsystem. We have integrated all trajectories using three different modelsof the galactic potential: a local potential model, a global potentialmodel, and a perturbative potential model. The agreement between themodels is generally very good. The time period over which our search forclose passages is valid is about +/-10 Myr. Based on the Hipparcos data,we find a frequency of stellar encounters within one parsec of the Sunof 2.3 +/- 0.2 per Myr. However, we also find that the Hipparcos data isobservationally incomplete. By comparing the Hipparcos observations withthe stellar luminosity function for star systems within 50 pc of theSun, we estimate that only about one-fifth of the stars or star systemswere detected by Hipparcos. Correcting for this incompleteness, weobtain a value of 11.7 +/- 1.3 stellar encounters per Myr within one pcof the Sun. We examine the ability of two future missions, FAME andGAIA, to extend the search for past and future stellar encounters withthe Sun. Catalogue of Apparent Diameters and Absolute Radii of Stars (CADARS) - Third edition - Comments and statisticsThe Catalogue, available at the Centre de Données Stellaires deStrasbourg, consists of 13 573 records concerning the results obtainedfrom different methods for 7778 stars, reported in the literature. Thefollowing data are listed for each star: identifications, apparentmagnitude, spectral type, apparent diameter in arcsec, absolute radiusin solar units, method of determination, reference, remarks. Commentsand statistics obtained from CADARS are given. The Catalogue isavailable 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/qcar?J/A+A/367/521 Star Patterns on the Aztec Calendar Stone.Not Available CCD Speckle Observations of Binary Stars from the Southern Hemisphere. II. Measures from the Lowell-Tololo Telescope during 1999Speckle observations of 145 double stars and suspected double stars arepresented and discussed. On the basis of multiple observations, a totalof 280 position angle and separation measures are determined, as well as23 high-quality nondetections. All observations were taken with the(unintensified) Rochester Institute of Technology fast-readout CCDcamera mounted on the Lowell-Tololo 61 cm telescope at the Cerro TololoInter-American Observatory during 1999 October. We find that themeasures, when judged as a whole against ephemeris positions of binarieswith very well-known orbits, have root mean square deviations of1.8d+/-0.3d in position angle and 13+/-2 mas in separation. Elevendouble stars discovered by Hipparcos were also successfully observed,and the change in position angle and/or separation since the Hipparcosobservations was substantial in three cases. Two-colour photometry for 9473 components of close Hipparcos double and multiple starsUsing observations obtained with the Tycho instrument of the ESAHipparcos satellite, a two-colour photometry is produced for componentsof more than 7 000 Hipparcos double and multiple stars with angularseparations 0.1 to 2.5 arcsec. We publish 9473 components of 5173systems with separations above 0.3 arcsec. The majority of them did nothave Tycho photometry in the Hipparcos catalogue. The magnitudes arederived in the Tycho B_T and V_T passbands, similar to the Johnsonpassbands. Photometrically resolved components of the binaries withstatistically significant trigonometric parallaxes can be put on an HRdiagram, the majority of them for the first time. Based on observationsmade with the ESA Hipparcos satellite. A Second Catalog of Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2 Filter Photometry: Ultraviolet Photometry of 614 StarsUltraviolet photometry from the Wisconsin Experiment Package on theOrbiting Astronomical Observatory 2 (OAO 2) is presented for 614 stars.Previously unpublished magnitudes from 12 filter bandpasses withwavelengths ranging from 1330 to 4250 Å have been placed on thewhite dwarf model atmosphere absolute flux scale. The fluxes wereconverted to magnitudes using V=0 for F(V)=3.46x10^-9 ergs cm^-2 s^-1Å^-1, or m_lambda=-2.5logF_lambda-21.15. This second catalogeffectively doubles the amount of OAO 2 photometry available in theliterature and includes many objects too bright to be observed withmodern space observatories. Stellar Encounters with the Oort Cloud Based on HIPPARCOS DataWe have combined Hipparcos proper-motion and parallax data for nearbystars with ground-based radial velocity measurements to find stars thatmay have passed (or will pass) close enough to the Sun to perturb theOort cloud. Close stellar encounters could deflect large numbers ofcomets into the inner solar system, which would increase the impacthazard at Earth. We find that the rate of close approaches by starsystems (single or multiple stars) within a distance D (in parsecs) fromthe Sun is given by N= 3.5D^2.12 Myr^-1, less than the number predictedby a simple stellar dynamics model. However, this value is clearly alower limit because of observational incompleteness in the Hipparcosdata set. One star, Gliese 710, is estimated to have a closest approachof less than 0.4 pc 1.4 Myr in the future, and several stars come within1 pc during a +/-10 Myr interval. We have performed dynamicalsimulations that show that none of the passing stars perturb the Oortcloud sufficiently to create a substantial increase in the long-periodcomet flux at Earth's orbit. Binary Star Orbits from Speckle Interferometry. I. Improved Orbital Elements of 22 Visual SystemsImproved orbital elements for 22 binary systems are presented. For 12systems, masses are calculated using available trigonometric parallaxesand making certain assumptions regarding the mass ratio. For the other10 systems, provisional elements are provided that should providerelatively accurate ephemerides for the next decade. Radial velocities of HIPPARCOS southern B8-F2 type starsRadial velocities have been determined for a sample of B8-F2 type starsobserved by the Hipparcos satellite. Observations were obtained withinthe framework of an ESO key-program. Radial velocities have beenmeasured using a cross-correlation method, the templates being a grid ofsynthetic spectra. The obtained precision depends on effectivetemperature and projected rotational velocity of the star as well as ona possible asymmetry of the correlation peak generally due to secondarycomponents. New spectroscopic binaries have been detected from theseasymmetries and the variability of the measured radial velocity.Simulations of binary and triple systems have been performed. Forbinaries our results have been compared with Hipparcos binary data.Adding the variable radial velocities, the minimum binary fraction hasbeen found 60% for physical systems. Radial velocities have beendetermined for 581 B8-F2 stars, 159 being new. Taking into accountpublished radial velocities, 39% south A-type stars with V magnitudelower than 7.5 have a radial velocity. Based on observations obtained atthe European Southern Observatory (ESO, La Silla, Chile) and on datafrom the ESA Hipparcos astrometry satellite.}\fnmsep \thanks{Tables 7, 8and 9 are only available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftpto cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html Visual binary orbits and masses POST HIPPARCOSThe parallaxes from Hipparcos are an important ingredient to derive moreaccurate masses for known orbital binaries, but in order to exploit theparallaxes fully, the orbital elements have to be known to similarprecision. The present work gives improved orbital elements for some 205systems by combining the Hipparcos astrometry with existing ground-basedobservations. The new solutions avoid the linearity constraints andomissions in the Hipparcos Catalog by using the intermediate TransitData which can be combined with ground-based observations in arbitarilycomplex orbital models. The new orbital elements and parallaxes give newmass-sum values together with realistic total error-estimates. To getindividual masses at least for main-sequence systems, the mass-ratioshave been generally estimated from theoretical isochrones and observedmagnitude-differences. For some 25 short-period systems, however, trueastrometric mass-ratios have been determined through the observedorbital curvature in the 3-year Hipparcos observation interval. Thefinal result is an observed mass-luminosity relation' which falls closeto theoretical expectation, but with outliers' due to undetectedmultiplicity or to composition- and age-effects in the nonuniformnear-star sample. Based in part on observations collected with the ESAHipparcos astrometry satellite. Tables~ 1, 3, 4 and 6 are also availablein electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr~(130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html Once and Future Celestial KingsNot Available Mass determination of astrometric binaries with Hipparcos. II. Selection of candidates and resultsIn a previous paper (\cite{Mar97}) we have shown that for double starswith orbital periods smaller than about 25 years, it was possible todetermine from the Hipparcos data, the mass ratio B of the components orthe difference between the mass and intensity ratios, beta -B, providedthe orbital elements of the relative orbit are available. From anextensive literature search we have selected 145 potential systems, ofwhich 46 yielded eventually a satisfactory solution. For eight systemswith the largest separations, the peculiarities of the natural directionassociated to the Hipparcos observations, the 'hippacentre', have beenfully exploited to derive the mass ratio of the components without anyadditional assumption. For the remaining 38, the derivation of the massratio was possible only by taking the magnitude difference between thetwo components from other sources. The parallax determinedsimultaneously, is then used to produce the individual masses of thecomponents. The astrophysical relevance of the results is discussed andwhen possible (17 systems) the masses are compared to ground-basedvalues. The Angular Momentum of Main Sequence Stars and Its Relation to Stellar ActivityRotational velocities are reported for intermediate-mass main sequencestars it the field. The measurements are based on new, high S/N CCDspectra from the Coudé Feed Telescope of the Kitt Peak NationalObservatory. We analyze these rotation rates for a dependence on bothmass and age. We compare the average rotation speeds of the field starswith mean velocities for young stars in Orion, the Alpha Persei cluster,the Pleiades, and the Hyades. The average rotation speeds of stars moremassive than $\sim1.6$ \msun\experience little or no change during theevolutionary lifetimes of these stars on the zero age main sequence orwithin the main sequence band. Less massive stars in the range betwee n1.6\msun\ and 1.3\msun\ also show little decline in mean rotation ratewhile they are on the main sequence, and at most a factor of 2 decreasein velocity as they evolve off the main sequence. The {\it e}-foldingtime for the loss of angular momentum b y the latter group of stars isat least 1--2 billion years. This inferred characteristic time scale forspindown is far longer than the established rotational braking time forsolar-type stars with masses below $\sim1.3$ \msun. We conclude from acomparison of the trends in rotation with trends in chromospheric andcoronal activity that the overall decline in mean rotation speed alongthe main sequence, from $\sim2$ \msun\ down to $\sim1.3$ \msun, isimposed during the pre-main sequence phase of evolution, and that thispattern changes little thereafter while the star resides on the mainsequence. The magnetic activity implicated in the rotational spindown ofthe Sun and of similar stars during their main sequence lifetimes mus ttherefore play only a minor role in determining the rotation rates ofthe intermediate mass stars, either because a solar-like dynamo is weakor absent, or else the geometry of the magnetic field is appreciablyless effective in removing angular momentu m from these stars. (SECTION:Stars) Mass determination of astrometric binaries with Hipparcos. I. Theory and simulationThe analysis of the observations of double stars made by the ESAsatellite Hipparcos has involved a very specific processing to derivethe relevant astrometric parameters. This required to distinguishbetween several categories of double stars according to the separationand orbital motion. We show that for close pairs with orbital periodless than about 20 years, the concept of photocentric orbit of anastrometric binary needs to be generalized to benefit fully from theaccuracy of Hipparcos. We introduce a point more naturally associatedwith the Hipparcos observations, the hippacentre, whose orbital path isnot longer similar to the relative keplerian orbit of the components,unlike that of the photocentre. For systems with separation larger thanabout 0.3", it is possible to determine separately the mass and theintensity ratio of the components from the absolute path of thehippacentre on the sky. For smaller separations the scale of thephotocentric orbit is recovered as a limiting case. The scope of thispaper is to set forth the principles of the method and to explore itspossibilities and limitations from extensive simulations. Based onobservations made by the ESA Hipparcos satellite. Angular pointing and guidance for the Sydney University Stellar InterferometerThe Sydney University Stellar Interferometer (SUSI) uses siderostats(plane, alt-azimuth mounted mirrors) to reflect starlight into theinstrument. The analysis of the pointing and guidance of the siderostatsby traditional methods is not practical and vector algebra has been usedto develop the required algorithms. Real siderostats will not be idealand can be modelled by a set of parameters. The methods for determiningthe model parameters and for incorporating them into the guidance andpointing algorithms is described. Field rotation also affects theoperation of SUSI, and the field rotation angle and related quantitiesare also determined.
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