J.-F. Le Campion

The PASTEL catalogue of stellar parameters

Aims. The PASTEL catalogue is an update of the [Fe/H] catalogue, published in 1997 and 2001. It is a bibliographical compilation of stellar atmospheric parameters providing (Teff ,l ogg ,[ Fe/H]) determinations obtained from the analysis of high resolution, high signal-to-noise spectra, carried out with model atmospheres. PASTEL also provides determinations of the one parameter Teff based on various methods. It is aimed in the future to provide also homogenized atmospheric parameters and elemental abundances, radial and rotational velocities. A web interface has been created to query the catalogue on elaborated criteria. PASTEL is also distributed through the CDS database and VizieR. Methods. To make it as complete as possible, the main journals have been surveyed, as well as the CDS database, to find relevant publications. The catalogue is regularly updated with new determinations found in the literature. Results. As of Febuary 2010, PASTEL includes 30151 determinations of either Teff or (Teff ,l ogg ,[ Fe/H]) for 16 649 different stars corresponding to 865 bibliographical references. Nearly 6000 stars have a determination of the three parameters (Teff ,l ogg ,[ Fe/H]) with a high quality spectroscopic metallicity.

An accurate distance to 2M1207Ab

Context. In April 2004, the first image was obtained of a planetary mass companion (now known as 2M1207 b) in orbit around a self-luminous object different from our own Sun (the young brown dwarf 2MASSW J1207334-393254, hereafter 2M1207 A). That 2M1207 b probably formed via fragmentation and gravitational collapse offered proof that such a mechanism can form bodies in the planetary mass regime. However, the predicted mass, luminosity, and radius of 2M1207 b depend on its age, distance, and other observables, such as effective temperature. Aims. To refine our knowledge of the physical properties of 2M1207 b and its nature, we accurately determined the distance to the 2M1207 A and b system by measuring of its trigonometric parallax at the milliarcsec level. Methods. With the ESO NTT/SUSI2 telescope, we began a campaign of photometric and astrometric observations in 2006 to measure the trigonometric parallax of 2M1207 A. Results. An accurate distance (52.4 ± 1.1 pc) to 2M1207A was measured. From distance and proper motions we derived spatial velocities that are fully compatible with TWA membership. Conclusions. With this new distance estimate, we discuss three scenarios regarding the nature of 2M1207 b: (1) a cool (1150 ± 150 K) companion of mass 4 ± 1 MJup, (2) a warmer (1600 ± 100 K) and heavier (8 ± 2 MJup) companion occulted by an edge-on circumsecondary disk, or (3) a hot protoplanet collision afterglow.

The high activity of 3C 454.3 in autumn 2007. Monitoring by the WEBT during the AGILE detection

The quasar-type blazar 3C 454.3 underwent a phase of high activity in summer and autumn 2007, which was intensively monitored in the radio-to-optical bands by the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope (WEBT). The gamma-ray satellite AGILE detected this source first in late July, and then in November-December 2007. In this letter we present the multifrequency data collected by the WEBT and collaborators during the second AGILE observing period, complemented by a few contemporaneous data from UVOT onboard the Swift satellite. The aim is to trace in detail the behaviour of the synchrotron emission from the blazar jet, and to investigate the contribution from the thermal emission component. Optical data from about twenty telescopes have been homogeneously calibrated and carefully assembled to construct an R-band light curve containing about 1340 data points in 42 days. This extremely well-sampled optical light curve allows us to follow the dramatic flux variability of the source in detail. In addition, we show radio-to-UV spectral energy distributions (SEDs) at different epochs, which represent different brightness levels. In the considered period, the source varied by 2.6 mag in a couple of weeks in the R band. Many episodes of fast (i.e. intranight) variability were observed, most notably on December 12, when a flux increase of about 1.1 mag in 1.5 hours was detected, followed by a steep decrease of about 1.2 mag in 1 hour. The contribution by the thermal component is difficult to assess, due to the uncertainties in the Galactic, and possibly also intrinsic, extinction in the UV band. However, polynomial fitting of radio-to-UV SEDs reveals an increasing spectral bending going towards fainter states, suggesting a UV excess likely due to the thermal emission from the accretion disc.

The correlated optical and radio variability of BL Lacertae. WEBT data analysis 1994-2005

Context: Since 1997, BL Lacertae has undergone a phase of high optical activity, with the occurrence of several prominent outbursts. Starting from 1999, the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope (WEBT) consortium has organized various multifrequency campaigns on this blazar, collecting tens of thousands of data points. One of the main issues in the study of this huge dataset has been the search for correlations between the optical and radio flux variations, and for possible periodicities in the light curves. The analysis of the data assembled during the first four campaigns (comprising also archival data to cover the period 1968-2003) revealed a fair optical-radio correlation in 1994-2003, with a delay of the hard radio events of ~100 days. Moreover, various statistical methods suggested the existence of a radio periodicity of ~8 years. Aims: In 2004 the WEBT started a new campaign to extend the dataset to the most recent observing seasons, in order to possibly confirm and better understand the previous results. Methods: In this campaign we have collected and assembled about 11 000 new optical observations from twenty telescopes, plus near-IR and radio data at various frequencies. Here, we perform a correlation analysis on the long-term R-band and radio light curves. Results: In general, we confirm the ~100-day delay of the hard radio events with respect to the optical ones, even if longer (~200-300 days) time lags are also found in particular periods. The radio quasi-periodicity is confirmed too, but the “period” seems to progressively lengthen from 7.4 to 9.3 years in the last three cycles. The optical and radio behaviour in the last forty years suggests a scenario where geometric effects play a major role. In particular, the alternation of enhanced and suppressed optical activity (accompanied by hard and soft radio events, respectively) can be explained in terms of an emitting plasma flowing along a rotating helical path in a curved jet. The radio-to-optical data presented in this paper are stored in the WEBT archive; for questions regarding their availability, please contact the WEBT President Massimo Villata.

MULTIWAVELENGTH OBSERVATIONS OF MARKARIAN 421 IN 2005-2006

Since 2005 September, the Whipple 10 m Gamma-ray Telescope has been operated primarily as a blazar monitor. The five northern hemisphere blazars that have already been detected at the Whipple Observatory, Markarian 421 (Mrk 421), H1426+428, Mrk 501, 1ES 1959+650, and 1ES 2344+514, are monitored routinely each night that they are visible. We report on the Mrk 421 observations taken from 2005 November to 2006 June in the gamma-ray, X-ray, optical, and radio bands. During this time, Mrk 421 was found to be variable at all wavelengths probed. Both the variability and the correlations among different energy regimes are studied in detail here. A tentative correlation, with large spread, was measured between the X-ray and gamma-ray bands, while no clear correlation was evident among the other energy bands. In addition to this, the well-sampled spectral energy distribution of Mrk 421 (1101+384) is presented for three different activity levels. The observations of the other blazar targets will be reported separately.

WEBT multiwavelength monitoring and XMM-Newton observations of BL Lacertae in 2007-2008 Unveiling different emission components

In 2007-2008 we carried out a new multiwavelength campaign of the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope (WEBT) on BL Lacertae, involving three pointings by the XMM-Newton satellite, to study its emission properties. The source was monitored in the optical-to-radio bands by 37 telescopes. The brightness level was relatively low. Some episodes of very fast variability were detected in the optical bands. The X-ray spectra are well fitted by a power law with photon index of about 2 and photoelectric absorption exceeding the Galactic value. However, when taking into account the presence of a molecular cloud on the line of sight, the data are best fitted by a double power law, implying a concave X-ray spectrum. The spectral energy distributions (SEDs) built with simultaneous radio-to-X-ray data at the epochs of the XMM-Newton observations suggest that the peak of the synchrotron emission lies in the near-IR band, and show a prominent UV excess, besides a slight soft-X-ray excess. A comparison with the SEDs corresponding to previous observations with X-ray satellites shows that the X-ray spectrum is extremely variable. We ascribe the UV excess to thermal emission from the accretion disc, and the other broad-band spectral features to the presence of two synchrotron components, with their related SSC emission. We fit the thermal emission with a black body law and the non-thermal components by means of a helical jet model. The fit indicates a disc temperature greater than 20000 K and a luminosity greater than 6 x 10^44 erg/s.

Astrometric suitability of optically-bright ICRF sources for the alignment with the future Gaia celestial reference frame

The ICRF, currently based on the position of 717 extragalactic radio sources observed by VLBI, is the fundamental celestial reference frame adopted by the IAU in 1997. Within the next 10 years, the European space astrometry mission Gaia, to be launched by 2011, will permit determination of the extragalactic reference frame directly in the visible for the first time. Aligning these two frames with the highest accuracy will therefore be very important in the future for ensuring consistency between the measured radio and optical positions. This paper is aimed at evaluating the current astrometric suitability of the individual ICRF radio sources which are considered appropriate for the alignment with the future Gaia frame. To this purpose, we cross-identified the ICRF and the optical catalog Veron-Cetty and Veron (2006), to identify the optically-bright ICRF sources that will be positioned with the highest accuracy with Gaia. Then we investigated the astrometric suitability of these sources by examining their VLBI brightness distribution. We identified 243 candidate ICRF sources for the alignment with the Gaia frame (with an optical counterpart brighter than the apparent magnitude 18), but only 70 of these (10% of the ICRF sources) are found to have the necessary high astrometric quality (i.e. a brightness distribution that is compact enough) for this link. Additionally, it was found that the QSOs that will have the most accurate positions in the Gaia frame tend to have less-accurate VLBI positions, most probably because of their physical structures. Altogether, this indicates that identifying other high-quality VLBI radio sources suitable for the alignment with the future Gaia frame is mandatory.

The Whole Earth Blazar Telescope Campaign on the Intermediate BL Lac Object 3C 66A in 2007-2008

Prompted by a high optical state in September 2007, the Whole Earth Blazar Telescope (WEBT) consortium organized an intensive optical, near-IR (JHK) and radio observing campaign on the intermediate BL Lac object 3C 66A throughout the fall and winter of 2007 -- 2008. The source remained in a high optical state throughout the observing period and exhibited several bright flares on time scales of ~ 10 days. This included an exceptional outburst around September 15 - 20, 2007, reaching a peak brightness at R ~ 13.4. Our campaign revealed microvariability with flux changes up to |dR/dt| ~ 0.02 mag/hr. Our observations do not reveal evidence for systematic spectral variability or spectral lags. We infer a value of the magnetic field in the emission region of B ~ 19 e_B^{2/7} \tau_h^{-6/7} D_1^{13/7} G. From the lack of systematic spectral variability, we can derive an upper limit on the Doppler factor, D 50, required for a one-zone SSC interpretation of some high-frequency-peaked BL Lac objects detected at TeV gamma-ray energies.

The PM2000 Bordeaux proper motion catalogue (

We present a proper motion catalogue of 2 670 974 stars, covering the declination zone +11◦ ≤ δ ≤ +18◦. Proper motions were derived from the comparison of the positional M2000 catalogue (systematic observations of the Bordeaux Carte du Ciel Zone with the meridian circle, completed in 2000) with positions derived from the reduction of 512 Carte du Ciel plates of the Bordeaux zone (scanned at the APM Cambridge), the AC2000.2 catalogue, the USNO−A2.0 catalogue and the unpublished Yellow Sky (YS3) USNO catalogue. The catalogue has a limiting magnitude VM = 16.2 (Bordeaux CCD meridian circle magnitude) and is complete down to VM = 15.4. Depending on magnitude, the positional precision at mean epoch ranges from 50 to 70 mas and the precision of proper motions varies from 1.5 mas/yr to 6 mas/yr. Meridian VM magnitudes are provided for all objects together with additional photometry from the 2MASS catalogue when available (99.5% of objects). Positions and proper motions are on the ICRS (International Celestial Reference System). Systematic offsets in 2MASS positions and in UCAC2 proper motions were revealed from comparisons with PM2000.Aims. We present a proper motion catalogue of 2 670 974 stars, covering the declination zone +11 +18 . Methods. Proper motions were derived from the comparison of the positional M2000 catalogue (systematic observations of the Bordeaux Carte du Ciel Zone with the meridian circle, completed in 2000) with positions derived from the reduction of 512 Carte du Ciel plates of the Bordeaux zone (scanned at the APM Cambridge), the AC2000.2 catalogue, the USNO‐A2.0 catalogue and the unpublished Yellow Sky (YS3) USNO catalogue. Results. The catalogue has a limiting magnitude VM = 16.2 (Bordeaux CCD meridian circle magnitude) and is complete down to VM = 15.4. Depending on magnitude, the positional precision at mean epoch ranges from 50 to 70 mas and the precision of proper motions varies from 1.5 mas/yr to 6 mas/yr. Meridian VM magnitudes are provided for all objects together with additional photometry from the 2MASS catalogue when available (99.5 % of objects). Positions and proper motions are on the ICRS (International Celestial Reference System). Conclusions. Systematic o sets in 2MASS positions and in UCAC2 proper motions were revealed from comparisons with PM2000.

\mathsf{+11\degr \leq \delta \leq +18\degr}

During four years, systematic observations have been conducted in drift scan mode with the Bordeaux automated meridian circle in the declination band