On the mass estimation for FGK stars: comparison of several methods

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2014

Authors

Pinheiro, FJG (Author) Other; Fernandes, JM (Author) Other; Cunha, MS (Author) Other; Monteiro, MJPFG (Author) FCUP; Santos, NC (Author) FCUP; Sousa, SG (Author) Other; Marques, JP (Author) Other; Fang, JJ (Author) Other; Mortier, A (Author) Other; Sousa, J (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Vol. 445

Pages: 2223-2231

ISSN: 0035-8711

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 7 Citations

Scopus - 6 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Natural sciences > Physical sciences

CORDIS: Physical sciences > Astronomy

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00A-2S0

DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stu1812

Abstract (EN): Stellar evolutionary models simulate well binary stars when individual stellar mass and system metallicity are known. The mass can be derived directly from observations only in the case of multiple stellar systems, mainly binaries. Yet, the number of such stars for which accurate stellar masses are available is rather small. The main goal of this project is to provide realistic mass estimates for a homogeneous sample of about a thousand FGK single stars, using four different methods and techniques. We present the masses inferred according to each one of these methods as well as a final mass estimate consisting in the median of the four mass estimates. The procedures evaluated here include the use of stellar evolutionary models, mass-luminosity relation and surface gravity spectroscopic observations. By combining the results obtained with different methods, we determine the best mass value for each individual star, as well as the associated error budget. Our results confirm the expected consistency between the different mass estimation methods. None the less, for masses above 1.2 M-circle dot, the spectroscopic surface gravities seem to overestimate the mass. This result may be a consequence of the spectroscopic surface gravities used in this analysis. Nevertheless, this problem is minimized by the fact that we have several approaches available for deriving stellar masses. Moreover, we suggest an empirical procedure to overcome this issue.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific