M. Krockenberger

Ubvri light curves of 44 type ia supernovae

We present UBVRI photometry of 44 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) observed from 1997 to 2001 as part of a continuing monitoring campaign at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. The data set comprises 2190 observations and is the largest homogeneously observed and reduced sample of SNe Ia to date, nearly doubling the number of well-observed, nearby SNe Ia with published multicolor CCD light curves. The large sample of U-band photometry is a unique addition, with important connections to SNe Ia observed at high redshift. The decline rate of SN Ia U-band light curves correlates well with the decline rate in other bands, as does the U - B color at maximum light. However, the U-band peak magnitudes show an increased dispersion relative to other bands even after accounting for extinction and decline rate, amounting to an additional ~40% intrinsic scatter compared to the B band.

A Planet Orbiting the Star ρ Coronae Borealis

We report the discovery of near-sinusoidal radial velocity variations of the G0V star ρ CrB, with period 39.6 days and amplitude 67 m s-1. These variations are consistent with the existence of an orbital companion in a circular orbit. Adopting a mass of 1.0 M☉ for the primary, the companion has minimum mass about 1.1 Jupiter masses and orbital radius about 0.23 AU. Such an orbital radius is too large for tidal circularization of an initially eccentric orbit during the lifetime of the star, and hence we suggest that the low eccentricity is primordial, as would be expected for a planet formed in a dissipative circumstellar disk.

DIRECT Distances to Nearby Galaxies Using Detached Eclipsing Binaries and Cepheids. I. Variables in the Field M31B

We have undertaken a long-term project, DIRECT, to obtain the direct distances to two important galaxies in the cosmological distance ladder—M31 and M33—using detached eclipsing binaries (DEBs) and Cepheids. While rare and difficult to detect, DEBs provide us with the potential to determine these distances with an accuracy better than 5%. The extensive photometry obtained in order to detect DEBs provides us with good light curves for the Cepheid variables. These are essential to the parallel project to derive direct Baade-Wesselink distances to Cepheids in M31 and M33. For both Cepheids and eclipsing binaries, the distance estimates will be free of any intermediate steps. As a first step in the DIRECT project, between 1996 September and 1997 January we obtained 36 full nights on the Michigan-Dartmouth-MIT Observatory 1.3 m telescope and 45 full/partial nights on the F. L. Whipple Observatory 1.2 m telescope to search for DEBs and new Cepheids in the M31 and M33 galaxies. In this paper, first in a series, we present the catalog of variable stars, most of them newly detected, found in the field M31B [(α, δ) = (1120, 4159), J2000.0]. We have found 85 variable stars: 12 eclipsing binaries, 38 Cepheids, and 35 other periodic, possible long-period or nonperiodic variables. The catalog of variables, as well as their photometry and finding charts, is available via anonymous ftp and the World Wide Web.

DIRECT Distances to Nearby Galaxies Using Detached Eclipsing Binaries and Cepheids. II. Variables in the Field M31A

We have undertaken a long-term project, DIRECT, to obtain the direct distances to two important galaxies in the cosmological distance ladder—M31 and M33—using detached eclipsing binaries (DEBs) and Cepheids. While rare and difficult to detect, DEBs provide us with the potential to determine these distances with an accuracy better than 5%. The extensive photometry obtained in order to detect DEBs provides us with good light curves for the Cepheid variables. These are essential to the parallel project to derive direct Baade-Wesselink distances to Cepheids in M31 and M33. For both Cepheids and eclipsing binaries, the distance estimates will be free of any intermediate steps. As a first step in the DIRECT project, between 1996 September and 1997 January we obtained 36 full nights on the Michigan-Dartmouth-MIT Observatory 1.3 m telescope and 45 full/partial nights on the F. L. Whipple Observatory 1.2 m telescope to search for DEBs and new Cepheids in the M31 and M33 galaxies. In this paper, second in a series, we present the catalog of variable stars, most of them newly detected, found in the field M31A [(α, δ) = (1134, 4173), J2000.0]. We have found 75 variable stars: 15 eclipsing binaries, 43 Cepheids, and 17 other periodic, possible long-period or nonperiodic variables. The catalog of variables, as well as their photometry and finding charts, is available via anonymous ftp and the World Wide Web. The CCD frames are available upon request.

DIRECT Distances to Nearby Galaxies Using Detached Eclipsing Binaries and Cepheids. VI. Variables in the Central Part of M33

The DIRECT project aims to determine direct distances to two important galaxies in the cosmological distance ladder—M31 and M33—using detached eclipsing binaries (DEBs) and Cepheids. We present the results of the first large-scale CCD-based search for variables in M33. We have observed two fields located in the central region of M33 for a total of 95 nights on the F. L. Whipple Observatory 1.2 m telescope and 36 nights on the Michigan-Dartmouth-MIT 1.3 m telescope. We have found a total of 544 variables, including 251 Cepheids and 47 eclipsing binaries. The catalog of variables is available on-line, along with finding charts and BVI light curve data (consisting of 8.2 × 104 individual measurements). The complete set of CCD frames is available upon request.

DIRECT Distances to Nearby Galaxies Using Detached Eclipsing Binaries and Cepheids. III. Variables in the Field M31C

We undertook a long-term project, DIRECT, to obtain the direct distances to two important galaxies in the cosmological distance ladder—M31 and M33—using detached eclipsing binaries (DEBs) and Cepheids. While rare and difficult to detect, DEBs provide us with the potential to determine these distances with an accuracy better than 5%. The extensive photometry obtained in order to detect DEBs provides us with good light curves for the Cepheid variables. These are essential to the parallel project to derive direct Baade-Wesselink distances to Cepheids in M31 and M33. For both Cepheids and eclipsing binaries, the distance estimates will be free of any intermediate steps. As a first step in the DIRECT project, between 1996 September and 1997 October we obtained 95 full/partial nights on the F. L. Whipple Observatory 1.2 m telescope and 36 full nights on the Michigan-Dartmouth-MIT 1.3 m telescope to search for DEBs and new Cepheids in the M31 and M33 galaxies. In this third paper in the series, we present the catalog of variable stars, most of them newly detected, found in the field M31C [(α, δ) = (1110, 4142), J2000.0]. We have found 115 variable stars: 12 eclipsing binaries, 35 Cepheids, and 68 other periodic, possible long-period or nonperiodic variables. The catalog of variables, as well as their photometry and finding charts, is available via anonymous ftp and the World Wide Web. The complete set of the CCD frames is available upon request.

Radii and Distances of Cepheids. I. Method and Measurement Errors

We develop a formulation of the Baade-Wesselink method which uses the Fourier coefficients of the observables. We derive an explicit, analytic expression to determine the mean radius from each Fourier order. The simplicity of this method allows us to derive the uncertainty in the mean radius due to measurement errors. Using simulations and a recent data set we demonstrate that the precision of the radius measurement with optical magnitudes is in most cases limited by the accuracy of the measurement of the phase difference between the light and the color index curve. In this case it is advantageous to determine the inverse radius, because it has normal errors.

The DIRECT Project: Catalogs of Stellar Objects in Nearby Galaxies. I. The Central Part of M33

The DIRECT project aims to determine direct distances to two important galaxies in the cosmological distance ladder—M31 and M33—using detached eclipsing binaries (DEBs) and Cepheids. The search for these variables requires time-series photometry of large areas of the target galaxies and yields magnitudes and positions for tens of thousands of stellar objects, which may be of use to the astronomical community at large. During the first phase of the project, between 1996 September and 1997 October, we were awarded 95 nights on the F. L. Whipple Observatory 1.2 m telescope and 36 nights on the Michigan-Dartmouth-MIT 1.3 m telescope to search for DEBs and Cepheids in the M31 and M33 galaxies. This paper, the first in our series of stellar catalogs, lists the positions, three-color photometry, and variability indices of 57,581 stars with 14.4 < V < 23.6 in the central part of M33. The catalog is available from our FTP site.

DIRECT Distances to Nearby Galaxies Using Detached Eclipsing Binaries and Cepheids. IV. Variables in the Field M31D

We undertook a long term project, DIRECT, to obtain the direct distances to two important galaxies in the cosmological distance ladder -- M31 and M33 -- using detached eclipsing binaries (DEBs) and Cepheids. While rare and difficult to detect, DEBs provide us with the potential to determine these distances with an accuracy better than 5%. The extensive photometry obtained in order to detect DEBs provides us with good light curves for the Cepheid variables. These are essential to the parallel project to derive direct Baade-Wesselink distances to Cepheids in M31 and M33. For both Cepheids and eclipsing binaries, the distance estimates will be free of any intermediate steps. As a first step in the DIRECT project, between September 1996 and October 1997 we obtained 95 full/partial nights on the F. L. Whipple Observatory 1.2 m telescope and 36 full nights on the Michigan-Dartmouth-MIT 1.3 m telescope to search for DEBs and new Cepheids in the M31 and M33 galaxies. In this paper, fourth in the series, we present the catalog of variable stars, most of them newly detected, found in the field M31D

Discovery of Diffuse X-Ray Emission in 47 Tucanae

[(\alpha,\delta)= (11.\arcdeg03, 41.\arcdeg27), J2000.0]