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# Spectroscopy of SN 1987A at 0.9–2.4 𝜇m: Days 1348-3158

## 1 Introduction

The exceptionally close proximity of the type IIpec supernova SN 1987A in the Large Magellanic Cloud has provided a unique opportunity to observe a core-collapse supernova with all the resources of modern observational astronomy and over a very long period of time. Near-infrared (near-IR) spectroscopy has played a vital role in the determination of the physical conditions in the debris and the investigation of the element synthesis, providing a valuable complement to optical spectra. In particular, in the nebular phase (when the lines are mostly optically thin) the line profiles produced in the high velocity, homologous expansion have enabled us to examine the ejecta abundances and their spatial distribution. During the first few years, all the major southern observatories obtained near-IR spectra of SN 1987A. Observations at the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) covering the first 3 years post-explosion were described in Meikle et al. (1989, 1993) (hereinafter Papers I, II).

In this paper we describe spectra obtained at the AAT for a further 8 epochs from 1990 November 2 (day 1348 = 3.7 years) to 1995 October 17 (day 3158 = 8.6 years). Epochs are with respect to the explosion date 1987 February 23. Our day 1348 spectrum was the last observation of SN 1987A obtained with the near-IR spectrometer FIGS (Bailey et al. 1988. Also see Papers I & II). All the subsequent spectra were obtained with the more sensitive spectrograph, IRIS (Allen et al. 1993), which allowed the acquisition of high resolution near-IR spectra to a later phase than was achieved at any other observatory. Preliminary reports of these data have been given in Fassia (1999) and Meikle (2001). The only other post-3 year IR spectra reported are those of Bautista et al. (1995) which reached day 1445, but at a lower resolution than those described here. In a future paper (Fassia et al., in preparation) we shall present $`HK`$-band spectra of SN 1987A taken with the MPE imaging spectrograph, 3D (Weitzel et al. 1996), at the AAT on 1997 Dec 16 (day 3949 = 10.8 years) and 1998 Dec 1 (day 4299 = 11.8 years). We also note that the earliest Hubble Space Telescope (HST) NICMOS spectrum of SN 1987A was taken on 1998 June 15 (day 4130 = 11.3 years), but has not yet been published.

## 2 Observations

The observations are summarised in Table 1. Some of the data presented here were obtained in runs of several days. In the text and diagrams these runs will usually be identified by the epoch of the first day of each. For further details of the FIGS spectrometer, used to obtain the day 1348 spectrum, see Bailey et al. (1988) and Papers I & II. The IRIS spectrograph was based on a $`128\times 128`$ pixel HgCdTe array. All the IRIS observations were taken at f/36, yielding a plate scale of 0.79 arcsec/pixel. Spectra were acquired in the echelle mode for epochs 1469–2112 days and in the $`H`$-grism mode for the subsequent epochs. In the echelle mode, 4 orders of cross-dispersed spectra were provided, covering 0.9–1.5 $`\mu `$m ($`IJ`$ band) and 1.4–2.4 $`\mu `$m ($`HK`$ band). The slit was usually oriented at a P.A. of 90 deg. i.e. east-west. The slit length was 13 arcsec (16 pixels) while in the dispersion direction, 2 pixels corresponded to a spectral resolution of about 375 ($`\lambda /\mathrm{\Delta }\lambda `$) (equivalent to $``$800 km/s). However, the actual resolution was generally poorer than this (see below). To enable sky-subtraction, the telescope was nodded along the slit by 5–8 arcsec (6–10 pixels). To improve the flux measurement precision of both the ejecta and the bright ring, the slit width for the $`IJ`$ observations was set at 5.8 arcsec. Similarly, the 1348 d FIGS spectrum was obtained with a 5.9 arcsec aperture. Thus, the resolution of the (point-source) ejecta spectra was effectively determined by the seeing. For the CSM spectra, the finite extent of the bright ring ($`1.66\times 1.21`$ arcsec, Plait et al. 1995) would have produced a slightly lower resolution. The $`IJ`$ echelle resolutions listed in Table 1, column 4, were obtained directly from the FWHM of the He I 1.083 $`\mu `$m line. They were typically 200–400 ($`\lambda /\mathrm{\Delta }\lambda `$). As already mentioned, the resolution of the ejecta spectra was probably slightly higher. For the $`HK`$ observations, we were unable to use the 5.8 arcsec slit since it produced severe degradation of the S/N. We therefore used a slit width of 1.4 arcsec in this band. The $`HK`$ resolution was obtained from the FWHM of the He I 2.058 $`\mu `$m CSM line. Owing to the declining flux, after day 2112, spectra were taken using the lower resolution $`H`$-grism mode. This covered 1.2–2.1 $`\mu `$m in a single order. The slit was usually oriented at a P.A. of 135 deg. in order to maximise the spatial separation of the spectra of the supernova and Stars 2 and 3 (see below). The slit length was 24 arcsec (30 pixels), while in the dispersion direction a 1.6 arcsec (2 pixel) wide slit was used, yielding a spectral resolution of 120 ($`\lambda /\mathrm{\Delta }\lambda `$) (equivalent to $``$2,500 km/s). The nod throw was 10–15 arcsec.

The day 1348 FIGS spectrum was reduced using FIGARO (Shortridge 1995). Final fluxing was by comparison with contemporary broad-band photometry obtained with the AAT IR photometer IRPS (cf. procedure described in Paper II), using the A7 dwarf BS 2015 as the local standard. However, by this epoch, the narrow He I 1.083 $`\mu `$m line from the bright ring had an intensity of about 20% of the flux within the $`J`$-photometry wavelength window. Moreover it lay right at the blue edge of the $`J`$-band filter, making it difficult to judge the effect of the bright ring on the $`J`$-magnitude. (The spatial coverage of IRPS included the ring). Therefore, taking into account other uncertainties, we judge the uncertainty in the fluxing to be of order $`\pm `$25%. The wavelength scale was calibrated using the narrow He I 1.083 $`\mu `$m and Pa$`\beta `$ lines, adopting a redshift of +289 km/s (Crotts & Heathcote 1991).

The IRIS data were also reduced using FIGARO. After bias-subtraction and flat-field correction the image-pair obtained at the two nod positions were subtracted to remove sky line emission. For the echelle-mode data, different echelle orders were then traced and corrected for echelle distortion. The positive and negative spectra were extracted from the resulting frames using simple extraction. We extracted over 4–6 pixel rows (3.2–4.8 arcsec), depending on the seeing. This is discussed further below. Cosmic rays and residual sky-lines were identified and removed by comparing repeat observations of spectra obtained at different times during the night. Wavelength calibration was by means of argon and xenon arc lamps and the night-sky emission lines present in the supernova spectra. The wavelength uncertainty in the echelle spectra ranges from $`\pm `$0.0014 $`\mu `$m in the $`IJ`$-band spectra to $`\pm `$0.0025 $`\mu `$m in the $`HK`$-band spectra. The wavelength uncertainty in the grism spectra is $`\pm `$0.009 $`\mu `$m. To correct for the atmospheric and instrumental transmission functions and to flux-calibrate the spectra, we used the G dwarf spectrophotometric standard BS 1294 (Allen & Cragg 1983). The adopted magnitudes were J=+5.20, H=+4.90, K=+4.84. (For the grism spectrum on day 3158, we used the A4 giant HD 19904, adopting H=+6.66). The spectral orders of the echelle spectra were then merged to form single spectra. The final fluxing of the spectra is now described.

Accurate flux calibration of the spectra was difficult and became increasingly so with time. This was due to the combined effects of the declining SN flux, variable seeing, variable atmospheric transmission for both supernova and standard (the airmass was inevitably quite high viz. 1.4–1.8), pointing errors of up to $``$2 arcsec and, for the echelle spectra, the small number of detector pixels (16) along the slit in a given order. Flux measurement under poor seeing conditions was a particular problem for the narrow slit spectra due to the greater (but uncertain) vignetting effects. However, the most difficult problem of all in the flux calibration procedure was contamination by light from the nearby Star 3, and even from the slightly more distant Star 2. To make matters worse, Star 3 is a variable Be star. Around day 1500 the IR fluxes from Stars 2 and 3 were about $`\times `$1.4 and $`\times `$0.85, respectively, of the SN flux, rising to about $`\times `$4 and $`\times `$1.5 by day 2112 (Walborn et al. 1993, Suntzeff private communication. See also Turner et al. (1996)). Star 2 lies at 2.9 arcsec from the SN, at PA = $`311^{}`$ while Star 3 lies at 1.6 arcsec distance at PA = $`117^{}`$ (Walker & Suntzeff 1990). Thus, for the typical E-W slit orientation used for echelle spectra, the distances of Stars 2 and 3 from SN 1987A, along the slit, were only $``$2.2 and $``$1.5 arcsec respectively. (We note that even at our latest epoch, the intrinsic diameter of the ejecta source was probably less than 0.1 arcsec (Jakobsen et al. 1994), and so was effectively a point source whose observed extent was entirely determined by the seeing.) Thus, under typical seeing conditions, the Star 3 spectrum was spatially blended with the spectra of both the ejecta and bright ring of SN 1987A, while under poor seeing conditions even Star 2 could significantly contaminate the SN light. The grism spectra of days 2952 and 3158 were taken with a slit PA of 135 yielding slightly larger displacements of the stars along the slit. However, the much reduced flux from the supernova by these epochs meant that contamination of the SN light by the nearby stars was still a problem. The contamination from both stars took the form of a continuum of uncertain flux, together with possible narrow H and He emission lines from Star 3 (Walborn et al. 1993).

Assessment and removal of the contaminating light presented a difficult challenge. Even with the wide slit, variations in the seeing conditions and/or telescope pointing precision could make the degree of contamination within the slit difficult to estimate. (A further complicating factor was that Star 3 itself could vary by up to a magnitude over a period of 800 days. However, the IR light curves of the star provided by (Walborn et al. 1993) meant that this variation could, in principle, be taken into account.) As already described, we extracted the spectra from 4–6 pixel rows (3.2–4.8 arcsec). Thus all the extracted spectra contained contamination from Star 3 and sometimes Star 2.

We first consider the removal of the continuum contamination from the ejecta spectra. We investigated several methods using ground-based observations. However, internal consistency in the results eluded us, probably due to uncertainties in the variable factors already described. Therefore, we decided that the best solution was to make use of the high spatial resolution optical spectra provided by the HST. To determine the extent of the continuum contamination, we inspected the relatively uncontaminated optical HST spectra of the SN 1987A ejecta obtained on days 1862, 2210 (Wang et al. 1996) and 2875 (Chugai et al. 1997 (C97)). The red end (6000–8000 Å) of these spectra exhibits a weak, roughly flat continuum of $`12\times 10^{17}`$ erg sec-1Å-1. C97 and DeKool, Li & McCray (1998) (dKLM98) suggest that this is actually a quasi-continuum produced by the down-conversion of UV photons following absorption/emission by metals. We therefore assumed that the ejecta continuum in the near-IR bands should also be roughly flat. However, in the reduced IR spectra (before correction for stellar contamination), the continuum was observed to rise towards shorter wavelengths and so we attributed the rising portion to contamination from Stars 2 & 3. To remove the contamination, we first modelled the shape of the stellar continuum by fitting a blackbody of the appropriate temperature to the Star 3 infrared photometry of Walborn et al. (1993). Since Stars 2 & 3 are of a similar stellar type (B2) the model continuum was used to represent the combined effects of contamination from both stars. However, Star 3 was the dominant or even sole contaminator in all cases. We then scaled the model continuum and subtracted it from the reduced spectrum to try to produce a flat continuum. For most of the wavelength range covered, it was found that roughly flat continua could indeed be formed in this way. However, within the $``$1.4 $`\mu `$m–$``$1.7 $`\mu `$m range a relatively abrupt decline, or “step” in the continuum persisted. We believe this step to be due to a real physical decline in the quasi-continuum of the ejecta, and is not due to the fact that the $`IJ`$, $`HK`$ spectra were taken at different times and with different instrument settings. Our reasons are, firstly, the $`IJ`$ spectra covered wavelengths up to 1.5 $`\mu `$m and the beginning of the “step” is clearly present in these data alone. Secondly, the step can be seen in the spectra taken at the AAT (Paper II) and at CTIO (Elias et al. 1991) at $``$1000 days, and in the day 1445 spectrum of Bautista et al. (1995).

To finally flux-calibrate the de-contaminated spectra we proceeded as follows. First we edited out the narrow lines, producing observed “pure-ejecta” spectra, $`S_{obs.}(\lambda )`$. For the low-resolution grism spectra, this could only be done very approximately. However, the CSM line contribution to the flux in the wavelength region covered by the grism (1.2–2.1 $`\mu `$m) was probably small. This can be deduced by considering the CSM line fluxes (Table 3) at earlier epochs (days 1469–2112) when these lines were more clearly resolved. Comparison with contemporary pure-ejecta $`JHK`$ band magnitudes obtained at CTIO (Suntzeff private communication) or with the empirical spectral model matches (Figs. 3–5) (see below) indicates that the CSM contribution was probably less than 20% of the total during this earlier phase, and showed little sign of increasing with time. We believe it is highly unlikely that a sudden rapid increase in the CSM contribution occurred by day $``$3000.

We then scaled the individual $`JHK`$ regions of the spectra to match the contemporary CTIO photometry. To find the scaling factors, we determined the true ejecta spectrum, $`S(\lambda )`$, using the relation

$$mag=2.5\mathrm{log}S(\lambda )T(\lambda )𝑑\lambda +ZP,$$
(1)
where $`mag`$ is the ejecta magnitude provided by Suntzeff, and $`T(\lambda )`$ is the filter transmission function. $`ZP`$ is the magnitude zero point given by $`ZP=2.5\mathrm{log}S_{Vega}(\lambda )T(\lambda )𝑑\lambda `$ where $`S_{Vega}(\lambda )`$ is the flux of Vega derived from the Kurucz stellar atmosphere models (Kurucz 1993) using $`T_{eff}`$ = 9,400 K and log $`g`$ = 3.9. Adopting 0.0 as the $`JHK`$ magnitude of Vega (Elias et al. 1982), $`S(\lambda )`$ was determined for each band and epoch. The scaling factor, $`\varphi `$, was then obtained from $`S(\lambda )=\varphi \times S_{obs.}(\lambda )`$.

To check the flux calibration procedure described above, we carried out the following test. The day 1734 $`IJ`$ spectra were acquired under photometric conditions with good seeing, in a wide (5.8 arcsec) slit. Therefore it was reasonable to assume that the whole of the SN 1987A light and an uncertain amount of the Star 3 light were blended within the slit, and that the flux calibration via the spectrophotometric standard was reliable. We then edited out all the circumstellar lines from the reduced, standard-fluxed spectrum, yielding an unvignetted ejecta spectrum, but still blended an unknown (vignetted) fraction of the Star 3 continuum. We then scaled and subtracted a blackbody representation of Star 3, with the scaling adjusted so that, when multiplied by the CTIO filter function, the resulting SN 1987A ejecta spectrum matched the CTIO photometry. We found that the flux of the ejecta spectrum produced in this way differed from that obtained by the “flat-continuum” procedure by less than 5%. We concluded that the “flat-continuum” procedure was reliable, and so we applied the method to all the spectra. The factors by which the continuum-flattened spectra had to be scaled to match the photometry ranged from $`\times `$0.3 to $`\times `$2.3, indicating the severity of the effects discussed above. Including uncertainties in the Star 3 subtraction, we estimate the final absolute fluxing of the ejecta spectra to be accurate to better than $`\pm `$40%. The final spectra are shown in Figures 1–7.

We now turn briefly to the final fluxing of the CSM lines. We first consider the CSM spectra obtained in the higher resolution echelle mode. While uncertainties in the continuum was not a problem here, it was important to consider the effect of the extent of the ring ($``$1.2 arcsec in the dispersion direction). The echelle $`IJ`$ spectra were obtained with a wide slit (5.8 arcsec). In addition, all spectra were extracted from a region of $`>`$3.2 arcsec. It is likely, therefore, that any vignetting of the CSM flux was small. Possible narrow line contamination from the Be Star 3 was checked by inspection of unpublished NICMOS observations of this star taken on day 4130 (P. Challis & P. Garnavich, private communication). This showed that the contribution to the narrow He I 1.083 $`\mu `$m line was less than 12%. We concluded that narrow line contamination was negligible. Thus, the errors in the $`IJ`$ CSM line fluxes would be mostly of the same origin as those present in the post-flattened ejecta spectra (e.g. variable extinction). Consequently we corrected the $`IJ`$ CSM line fluxes using the same scaling factors, $`\varphi `$, as for the ejecta spectra. We judge the precision in the final $`IJ`$ CSM spectra to be better than $`\pm `$40%. Owing to S/N problems (see above), the echelle $`HK`$ spectra were obtained with a narrow slit (1.4 arcsec). Together with the effect of the typical 1.0–1.5 arcsec seeing, and pointing errors, this meant that quite significant vignetting of the CSM light probably occurred in the $`HK`$ observations. We judge that as much as half the CSM light could have been “lost” in this way. Thus, while we also applied the $`\varphi `$ scaling factor to the $`HK`$ CSM spectra, the effects of vignetting means that the $`HK`$ CSM fluxes are very uncertain. For the last two epochs (days 2952 and 3158), not only was a narrow (1.6 arcsec) slit used, but the low resolution of the grism produced strong blending of the CSM and ejecta spectra. Consequently, no attempt has been made to extract CSM line fluxes for these last two epochs.

## 3 Overview of the spectra

The spectra (Figs. 1–7) comprise broad resolved emission lines from the ejecta and narrow unresolved emission lines from the circumstellar ring, superimposed on a continuum. The continuum is roughly flat within most wavelength bands, but fades over the range 1.4–1.7 $`\mu `$m by a factor of $``$10 on day 1533, and $``$2–4 on days 1734, 1822 and 2122. As already indicated, we attribute the continuum to a blend of weak lines produced by the down-conversion of UV photons following absorption/emission by metals.

### 3.1 Line identification and measurement

While it was straightforward to identify and measure the strongest or most isolated lines (e.g. the He I 1.083 $`\mu `$m CSM line), most of the features comprised blends of lines from the ejecta and CSM and/or from different species. Therefore, in order to identify and measure the component lines, we proceeded as follows. Preliminary ejecta line identification was performed by selecting plausible candidate species from the line identifications of Paper II and from the theoretical predictions of dKLM98 and Kozma & Fransson (1998a,b) (KF98a,b). Likewise, we used the work of Lundqvist & Sonneborn (2001) to provide suggestions for the CSM line identifications. Then, in order to confirm the line identifications and to measure the intensities, widths and wavelength shifts, we matched an empirical spectral model to the data. In this model, the continuum was represented by applying a smoothed spline fit to regions of the observed spectra which were clear of discrete emission features. Emission features were then superimposed on this continuum. These were selected using the aforementioned identification sources. Their profiles were represented using Gaussian profiles with the peak value as one of the free parameters.

For the CSM lines, we assumed that the lines were redshifted by +289 km/s (Heathcote et al. 1991), and that their widths were defined by the prevailing spectral resolution. This resolution was measured from the strong He I 1.083 $`\mu `$m CSM line for the $`IJ`$ spectra, and the He I 2.058 $`\mu `$m CSM line for the $`HK`$ spectra (cf. Section 2). Within the \[Fe II\] multiplets (see below), the relative line intensities were derived by assuming that the population distribution within the upper term was determined by the Boltzmann distribution at 3000 K. While the CSM temperature was probably somewhat higher than this, it would have a negligible effect on the distribution within the small energy range of a term. For the \[S III\] CSM lines, direct measurement of the line intensities was judged to be more reliable than use of the model matches.

The empirical model ejecta line intensities, wavelength positions and widths were all allowed to vary under certain constraints. For a particular species (e.g. \[Fe II\]), individual linewidths and wavelength shifts were always set to be the same in velocity space. For the \[Si I\] and \[S I\] multiplets (see below), the components of each multiplet had the same upper level and so the intensity ratios of a given multiplet were found simply from the A-values and statistical weights alone. Given the uncertainty in the excitation conditions, determination of some of the intensity ratios within the \[Fe I\] and \[Fe II\] multiplets was less straightforward since some lines arose from different upper levels. In practice, to estimate the intensities of the other components we simply used the same multiplet ratios as for the CSM, adopting T=3000 K. While this may have produced inappropriate relative intensities for some lines, it is likely that most of the weaker lines made only a minor contribution to the spectrum. We also note that for the most significant line ratio viz. $`I_{1.257\mu m}`$/$`I_{1.644\mu m}`$, the components (which are actually members of different multiplets) arose from the same upper level, and so could be estimated from the A-values and statistical weights alone. Matching was guided primarily by the absolute intensity of the dominant component in a given multiplet. For each observed spectrum, the spectral model was varied until a visually satisfactory match to the observed spectrum was achieved.

The model matches for epochs 1469 to 2112 are shown in Figures 2–5. Also shown (dotted lines) are the individual lines that make up each blend. It can be seen that some of the spectral features comprise quite complicated blends of ejecta and CSM lines. Details of the line parameters for the ejecta and CSM are given in Tables 2 and 3 respectively. In Table 2, Column 3 gives the displacement (in velocity space) of the line peak with respect to the wavelength of the identified line in the SN 1987A rest frame (redshift = +289 km/s). Column 4 gives the linewidths (FWHM), again in terms of equivalent velocity. The precision in the absolute intensities of the well-matched lines approaches that of the spectral fluxing precision (Section 2), with even higher accuracy for relative intensities within a single-band spectrum. However, in many cases the matching is more approximate with consequently poorer line intensity accuracy. This tends to be an increasing problem at later epochs. To assess the precision of a line intensity given in Table 1 or 2, the reader is advised to examine the quality of the model matches in the spectral plots (Figs. 2–5). Model matches were carried out only up to day 2112. The spectra for days 2952 and 3158 were judged to be of too low resolution and S/N to provide useful constraints on the model parameters. We therefore simply present these spectra, in Figure 6, compared with the final echelle spectrum taken on day 2112.

### 3.2 The ejecta lines

For the epochs covered by the echelle spectra (days 1469–2112), the most prominent ejecta emission features included H I (Pa$`\beta `$, Pa$`\gamma `$, Br$`\gamma `$), He I 1.08, 2.06 $`\mu `$m, Na I 1.14, 2.21, 2.34 $`\mu `$m, \[Si I\] 1.61, 1.65 $`\mu `$m, \[Fe I\] 1.44, 1.98 $`\mu `$m and \[Fe II\] 1.26, 1.64, 2.05 $`\mu `$m. \[S I\] 1.08, 1.13 $`\mu `$m may also be present, but strong blending with other lines renders this identification less positive. There were also regions of emission for which we were unable to find plausible identifications. These were at 0.92–0.95, 1.03–1.05, 1.17–1.21 and 2.24–2.32 $`\mu `$m. The 1.03–1.05 $`\mu `$m feature may be caused partly by \[N I\] 1.04 $`\mu `$m. However, the width and shape of the feature indicates that there must be contributions from other species. The 1.17–1.21 $`\mu `$m feature is particularly interesting in that it has persisted from as early as day 112 (Paper I). In Papers I and II we attributed this feature to a blend of allowed lines of Mg I, Si I and K I. However, its relatively unchanging shape between days 112 and 1822 prompts us to question if it really is a blend of different species. We also note that the 2.24–2.32 $`\mu `$m emission lies in the same wavelength region as an unidentified feature discussed in Paper II.

### 3.3 The CSM lines

The principal CSM features were due to H I (Pa$`\beta `$, Pa$`\gamma `$, Br$`\gamma `$), He I 1.08, 2.06 $`\mu `$m, \[S III\] 0.91, 0.95 $`\mu `$m and \[Fe II\] 1.26, 1.646, 2.05 $`\mu `$m. Of particular note is the very strong He I 1.083 $`\mu `$m line which contributes $``$20% of the total (ejecta+CSM) $`IJ`$ band flux on day 1469 and 13-11% on days 1734-2112 (Figure 7). We believe that \[S III\] 0.907, 0.953 $`\mu `$m lines have never before been reported in a supernova spectrum. Their presence in the spectra of days 1469 and 1734 is particularly convincing. The lines are less apparent in the day 1822 and 2112 spectra due to the fading flux and the poorer observing conditions at these epochs. We have also included narrow line profiles for the \[Fe I\] 1.443, 1.98 $`\mu `$m (and the other lines of these multiplets). This line was not anticipated in the work of Lundqvist & Sonneborn (2001). However, the observed line profile shape on day 1533 in these wavelength regions led us to suspect that CSM \[Fe I\] emission may be making a small contribution to these features. At later epochs, the presence of \[Fe I\] emission from the CSM is much less convincing. Finally, we note the presence of an unidentified narrow feature at a wavelength of 1.485 $`\mu `$m (after blueshifting by 289 km/s) on days 1533 and 1734.

## 4 Discussion

### 4.1 The Physical Framework

The CSM spectra will be discussed elsewhere. Here we confine our discussion to the ejecta spectra. The framework for this section is based upon theoretical descriptions of the physical conditions in the ejecta and line strength predictions at very late times provided by Kozma & Fransson (1992), Fransson & Kozma (1993), Fransson, Houck & Kozma (1996) (FHK96), C97, dKLM98, and KF98a,b. While dKLM98 evolve their model to only 1200 days (i.e. 150 days prior to the beginning of our observations) their results are still relevant to the earlier part of the era considered here. KF98a follow the temperature and ionisation evolution of their model to 2000 days, covering a significant portion of our era, but their line emission calculations (KF98b) stop at 1200 days. C97 consider the much later epoch of day 2875, which is near the end of our era.

During the era of the observations described here, the SN 1987A ejecta spectrum is produced in a rather exotic manner. The energy source of the nebula is the radioactive decay of a number of species created in the explosion (Woosley, Pinto & Hartmann 1989; Timmes et al. (1996)). These include 56Co, 57Co, 60Co, 44Ti and 22Na. All emit $`\gamma `$-rays. In addition, 56Co, 44Ti and 22Na emit energetic positrons and 60Co emits energetic electrons. By day 1348, the most significant energy sources were 57Co and 44Ti, contributing about one half and one quarter respectively of the deposited energy (Li, McCray & Sunyaev 1993; Timmes et al. 1996). Around day 1565, the dominant source of deposited energy became 44Ti and by about day 2000 more than half the deposited 44Ti energy was in the form of positrons. It is generally assumed that positrons are deposited “on the spot”. Consequently, given the $`60`$ year lifetime of 44Ti, this means that once positron deposition is dominant, the rate of energy deposition approaches a constant value of $`1.3\times 10^{36}`$ erg/s per $`10^4`$ M of synthesised 44Ti (Woosley et al. 1989).

In order to reproduce the observed spectra and evolution of SN 1987A at late times, C97, dKLM98 and KF98a,b begin with model nebulae having a number of zones of differing chemical composition. These zones are arranged so as to reflect the strong, deep macroscopic mixing in SN 1987A for which there is a great deal of evidence (e.g. Arnett 1988, Pinto & Woosley 1988, Shigeyama, Nomoto & Hashimoto 1988, Woosley 1988, Haas et al. 1990, Spyromilio, Meikle & Allen 1990, Fassia & Meikle 1999). Light elements (H, He) are mixed down to low velocities, and iron group elements are mixed up to high velocities. C97, dKLM98 and KF98a,b introduce this mixing in different ways. However, they all invoke a macroscopically mixed “core” lying within $``$2000 km/s. (dKLM98 refer to the inwardly mixed H/He zones as the “inner envelope”.) The core thus contains zones that are H-rich, He-rich, intermediate-element-rich, and iron-group-rich, with the nebula being bathed in the radioactive decay energy. The core is generally of mass 4–6 M. In addition, C97 and KF98a,b include an outer H-envelope of mass 10 M extending out to a velocity of 6000–7000 km/s.

In general, the fraction of the radioactive decay energy that does not directly escape from the nebula is injected into the nebular material via Coulomb interaction with the positrons and Compton-scattered electrons. The energy of the resulting non-thermal high energy electrons then goes towards excitation, ionisation and heating of the nebula (KF98a). Three effects play important roles in the evolution of the temperature and ionisation at the very late times considered here. These are the ionisation/thermal “freeze-out” effect, adiabatic cooling, and the “IR-catastrophe”. The first two are important in the H/He envelope, while the third plays an important role in the metal-rich core.

#### 4.1.1 Freeze-out

The ionisation freeze-out effect was suggested originally by Clayton et al. (1992) and by Fransson & Kozma (1993). These authors pointed out that as the SN evolves, there will eventually come a time when the recombination timescale exceeds the radioactive or expansion timescale, so that the rate of change in the level of ionisation slows significantly. Once this phase is reached, the bolometric luminosity exceeds that of the instantaneous radioactive decay deposition, since some of the luminosity results from recombination following ionisation at a significantly earlier epoch. In the model of KF98a,b the ionisation freeze-out phase begins at 800–900 days in most zones, but has a more pronounced effect on the luminosity in the H/He envelope. However, in their “inner-envelope” model, dKLM98 find that the freeze-out does not occur until much later than this. Instead, they identify a “thermal freeze-out” where the radiative cooling timescale exceeds that of the expansion timescale. In their model, this occurs before the ionisation freeze-out but, as with ionisation freeze-out, results in a luminosity exceeding that of the instantaneous radioactive decay deposition. There is general agreement that by day 1200, the ejecta are predominantly neutral, but with a fraction of singly-ionised species resulting from the ionisation freeze-out and/or direct ionisation by non-thermal electrons. During 1350–2000 days the electron fraction is $`10^3`$ in the H-envelope, rising to 0.1 in the Fe-He zone (KF98a). At 3425 days, Lundqvist et al. (2001) calculate that the fraction of iron that is singly-ionised, is in the range 0.2–0.4.

#### 4.1.2 Adiabatic cooling

The adiabatic cooling becomes significant when the radiative cooling timescale becomes longer than the expansion timescale. For pure adiabatic cooling, T$`t^2`$. Owing to their lower density and metallicity, adiabatic cooling is already dominant as early as $``$250 days in the H-envelope and $``$800 days in the He-envelope (KF98a). For the H/He zones within the core, the higher densities mean that adiabatic cooling begins to dominate at 800-1000 days. While fine-structure line cooling (cf. IR catastrophe below) becomes the dominant radiative cooling mechanism in these zones, it never supersedes adiabatic cooling. Nevertheless, fine-structure line cooling may be significant in these regions (C97). KF98a find that the H-envelope temperature lies in the range 400-1000 K on day 1350, falling to a range of 150–300 K by day 2000. The temperatures of the H/He zones within the core fall from $``$900 K to $``$300 K over the same period. The day 2000 KF98a value compares well with the $``$300 K derived from the Balmer continuum by Wang et al. (1996) for about the same time. The model of C97 yields $``$130 K for the H-envelope at 2875 days, compared with 350$`\pm `$100 K derived from the Balmer continuum at that time.

#### 4.1.3 The IR catastrophe

Once the nebular heating/cooling rate drops below a certain level, cooling via low-lying fine-structure transitions dramatically overtakes optical and near-IR transitions as the dominant radiative cooling mechanism. Consequently the stabilising temperature falls abruptly from $``$2000 K to a few $`\times 100`$ K, and the bulk of the nebula’s luminosity shifts to far-IR emission. This effect is known as the “IR Catastrophe”, and was predicted by Axelrod (1980) in his pioneering work on type Ia spectral models. Fransson & Chevalier (1989) predicted that it could also occur in core-collapse SNe such as SN 1987A. The first direct evidence for this phenomenon occurring in SN 1987A was obtained through the detailed study of the evolution of the near-IR/optical \[Fe II\] lines during the second year (Spyromilio & Graham 1992).

In the dense, metal-rich zones, fine-structure radiative cooling dominates for a considerable time. \[Fe II\] 26 $`\mu `$m emission is particularly important. Fine-structure cooling is most pronounced in the Fe-rich zones (KF98a), where it commences at $``$500 days at 2700 K. According to KF98a, by the beginning of our observations (1348 days) the temperature in the Fe-He zone had fallen to $`150`$ K, where it remained until 2000 days, after which adiabatic cooling became important. The IR catastrophe is also important for the intermediate mass element zones, where the temperature at 1350 days is 200–400 K, falling to 100–200 K by day 2000 (KF98). Both FK98b and dKLM98 find that, owing to the IR-catastrophe, \[Fe II\] 0.72, 1.26, 1.53, 1.64 $`\mu `$m lines originating from the newly-synthesised iron in the core should have vanished by $``$600 days. However, detectable flux in these lines persists beyond this epoch. FK98b and dKLM98 attribute this to thermally-excited emission from primordial iron in the H-He envelope where the temperature remains above $``$2000 K until after day 1000. However, as indicated above, by 1350 days, the temperature in the H-He zone is below 1000 K and so thermally excited emission from these lines should be undetectable.

### 4.2 Near-IR ejecta lines at very late times

We can use the observed near-IR spectra to examine the physical scenario described above. The evolution of the intensities of the principal ejecta lines is illustrated in Figure 8.

#### 4.2.1 Hydrogen Lines: Pa$`\beta `$, Pa$`\gamma `$, Br$`\gamma `$

The intensity and evolution of the H-lines in the adiabatic cooling phase is calculated by dKLM98 and KF98b up to 1200 days. For epochs $`>2`$ years, non-thermal ionisation from the ground state by Compton-scattered electrons dominates photoionisation from excited states (C97, KF98b). Non-thermal excitations are also important at epochs beyond 1000 days (KF98b). dKLM98 find that by day 800 the line ratios should be Case B. FK98b reach a similar conclusion, but with the transition to Case B in the core being a little later, at about 1000 days, being complete by day 1200. Thus, during our era, the H-spectrum is predicted to consist of a mixture of a low-temperature Case B H-recombination spectrum together with a contribution from direct non-thermal excitation (see KF98b for details). Line light curves are given by dKLM98 and KF98b for the near-IR lines Pa$`\alpha `$,$`\beta `$, Br$`\alpha `$,$`\beta `$,$`\gamma `$,$`15`$. dKLM98 find that, for the well-observed near-IR H-lines Pa$`\beta `$ and Br$`\gamma `$, their models makes satisfactory predictions to 1200 days. This is in spite of their non-inclusion of the envelope with its delayed recombination effects. The KF98b model light curve for Br$`\gamma `$, which includes delayed recombination effects in the envelope, is also in good agreement with the observations. Their model indicates that, by day 1200, the H-envelope is responsible for $``$70% of the Br$`\gamma `$ flux, and that this fraction is growing. Both Fransson et al. (1996) and dKLM98 point out that derivation of total H-mass from the H-lines is difficult and subject to large uncertainties. Fransson et al. (1996) and KF98b make use of the line profiles in order to find the most appropriate model (and hence the mass of H). (In a sense, C97 also make use of the observed velocity distribution in determining the H-mass).

We examined the ejecta H-line fluxes to see if they yield the predicted low-temperature Case B ratios. These were first de-reddened assuming $`A_V=0.6`$ (Blanco et al. 1987). We find that the observed, de-reddened intensity ratio $`I_{Pa\gamma }/I_{Pa\beta }=0.450.6`$ for days 1469, 1734, 1822. Martin (1988) predicts a value of $``$0.5 for a temperature of 200–1000 K. Given the uncertainty in the relative line intensities, we judge that the observed ratios are consistent with the predicted values. The uncertainties in the model matching are too large to make a useful judgement about the ratio on epoch day 2112. Martin (1988) also predicts $`I_{Br\gamma }/I_{Pa\beta }`$=0.195. This is in fair agreement with the observed, de-reddened ratio of 0.18 on day 1469. Apparently poorer agreement is obtained on subsequent days. However, this is probably again due to model matching uncertainties, especially in the $`K`$-window. We conclude that, at least up to $``$1800 days, the observed H-spectra are consistent with the scenario of non-thermal ionisation/excitation within an environment dominated by adiabatic cooling.

#### 4.2.2 Helium Lines: He I 1.083, 2.058 $`\mu `$m

As for hydrogen, theoretical considerations indicate that post-1000 day He-lines evolve in an environment where the temperature is dominated by adiabatic cooling, and the lines are driven by (a) non-thermal direct excitation, and (b) recombination following non-thermal ionisation. dKLM98 and KF98b point out that the 2.058 $`\mu `$m line is uncontaminated by other ejecta species throughout the observations, and also find that it is optically thin in all regions after 700 days. Moreover, after $``$700 days, the 2.058 $`\mu `$m line intensity is relatively insensitive to assumptions made about the He I 584 Å continuum destruction probability (KF98b). These considerations lead dKLM98 & KF98b to suggest that the post-600 day He I 2.058 $`\mu `$m line can provide the best measure of the total helium mass. However, consideration of our spectra leads us to a more pessimistic view of the usefulness of the 2.058 $`\mu `$m line in this situation. By day 1533, it was quite faint. To make matters worse it is blended with comparably-strong CSM flux in this line. Moreover, He I 2.058 $`\mu `$m lies in a bad part of the atmospheric window. Consequently there is large uncertainty in the He I 2.058 $`\mu `$m line flux. dKLM98 show that their model 2.058 $`\mu `$m light curve provides a good match to the observations up to 1100 days. The KF98b light curve match is somewhat poorer, with a flux overproduction of about 40% between days 800 & 1100. The 2.058 $`\mu `$m light curves of both dKLM98 and KF98b stop at 1200 days, but suggest a gradual slowing down. For the later epochs described here, to within the uncertainties, the observed fluxes fall on a plausible extrapolation of the dKLM98 model light curve, but continues to fall below that of the (extrapolated) KF98b light curve.

dKLM98 & KF98b agree that the He I 1.083 $`\mu `$m line is more difficult to use for the determination of helium abundance. It is more temperature sensitive, and is optically thick for much longer than is the case for He I 2.058 $`\mu `$m. Indeed, KF98b find the 1.083 $`\mu `$m line to be optically thick in the He I region even beyond 2000 days. However, high optical depth in the inner zones may not be too important since, after 1200 days, the 1.083 $`\mu `$m emission from the H-zone is predicted to dominate (and was already optically thin at 700 days). KF98b also point out that there may be contamination due to \[S I\] 1.082 $`\mu `$m. Our empirical model matches also indicate that \[S I\] 1.082 $`\mu `$m emission may be present. However, this line is part of a multiplet, with another component lying at 1.13 $`\mu `$m and having about 0.3 of the intensity. Examination of this part of the spectrum (in spite of it being in a bad part of the atmospheric window) indicates that \[S I\] 1.082 $`\mu `$m makes, at most, a relatively minor contribution to the 1.08 $`\mu `$m ejecta emission (see Fig. 3). We find that the observed fluxes of the He I 1.083 $`\mu `$m line fall on plausible extrapolations of both the dKLM98 and KF98b model light curves.

#### 4.2.3 Forbidden lines of neutral species: \[Si I\], \[S I\] \[Fe I\]

The low temperature (T$`<`$400 K) of the electron gas in the macroscopically-mixed core during the period of our observations implies that thermally-excited near-IR ejecta lines of \[Si I\], \[S I\] & \[Fe I\] should have faded below detectability. Yet, the \[Si I\] and \[Fe I\] lines are quite clearly present during this very late phase. (Strong blending makes the presence of the \[S I\] lines more ambiguous.) In particular, the \[Si I\] 1.645 $`\mu `$m and \[Fe I\] 1.443 $`\mu `$m lines are visible to beyond day 2000. The persistence of these lines provides valuable support for the proposition that, by this era, these lines are produced either by recombination or through direct excitation by non-thermal electrons.

The \[Si I\] 1.6 $`\mu `$m multiplet is of particular interest here. FHK96 point out that for this species, recombination to the neutral state does not produce any significant line emission in the optical or near-IR region. Consequently, the \[Si I\] 1.6 $`\mu `$m emission must be due entirely to direct excitation by non-thermal electrons. An interesting consequence of this is that the line luminosity will follow the instantaneous energy input, and will be independent of the ejecta temperature. At very late times this is dominated by the 100% absorption of 44Ti decay positrons. Thus, if the 44Ti scenario is correct, the luminosity in these lines should converge to a near-constant value. In Figure 8 we see that the \[Si I\] 1.645 $`\mu `$m line fades by about a factor of 3 between days 1734/1822 and 2112. During this period, the radioactive energy deposition is dominated by 44Ti and would fade by a factor of about 1.5. Thus, to within the uncertainty in the line intensities, the evolution of \[Si I\] 1.645 $`\mu `$m is consistent with the radioactive decay and energy deposition being dominated by 44Ti decay at these late times. We note that FHK96 also show that lines which are driven purely by non-thermal excitation, such as the \[Si I\] 1.6 $`\mu `$m multiplet, have the potential to provide reliable, temperature-insensitive mass estimates, provided the line profile and the bolometric luminosity is also known.

C97 suggest that, by day 2875, virtually the entire positron luminosity of the 44Ti is deposited in the Fe/Si-rich clumps. While cooling is mostly by ground-term fine-structure lines, about 10% (1035 erg/s) is via the UV-optical-NIR lines of neutral species. About 20% (of the $`10^{35}`$ erg/s) is emitted as identified UV lines of Fe I and Si I with a further $``$70% being down-converted to numerous allowed and forbidden optical/NIR metal lines, forming a quasi-continuum. Of the remaining $`10^{34}`$ erg/s, a substantial fraction flows into the \[Si I\] 1.6 $`\mu `$m and \[Fe I\] 1.44 $`\mu `$m near-IR multiplets. This appears to be supported by our low-resolution spectra (Figure 6) taken on days 2952 and 3158 where the \[Fe I\] 1.443 $`\mu `$m and possibly the \[Si I\] 1.645 $`\mu `$m features are still detected. The luminosity in just the \[Fe I\] 1.443 $`\mu `$m line on day 2952 is about $`0.7\times 10^{34}`$ erg/s.

#### 4.2.4 Forbidden Lines of singly-ionised iron

As with the neutral forbidden lines, the low temperature of the ejecta during the era considered here means that there would have been negligible thermal excitation of the \[Fe II\] 1.26, 1.64 $`\mu `$m multiplets. This includes the excitation of primordial iron in the H-envelope since, as mentioned above, even there it is expected that the temperature would be less than 1000 K by day 1350 (KF98a). This suggests, therefore, that the persistence of the \[Fe II\] lines must be due to recombination or direct excitation by non-thermal electrons. However, we note that C97 state that near-IR \[Fe II\] lines produced by radiative cascade are expected to be weak since the major radiative cascade to the ground level goes through optical forbidden lines and FIR lines of the ground term. Detailed modelling is required to test if this is in conflict with our detection of these lines.

### 4.3 Velocity behaviour in the ejecta lines

The FWHM velocities of the more prominent ejecta lines are listed in Table 2, Col. 4. The He I lines apparently exhibit the largest width, at $``$5000 km/s (FWHM). However, the uncertainty in this measurement is large due to strong blending of the He I ejecta lines with CSM lines and/or other species. The H I lines and the \[Fe I\], \[Fe II\] lines show widths of 4000–4500 km/s, while the \[Si I\] lines have widths closer to 3000 km/s. Even this latter value is higher than the $``$2000 km/s invoked for the macroscopically mixed core. Of particular interest is the fact that the \[Fe I\] and \[Fe II\] lines exhibit higher velocity widths than the \[Si I\] lines. We argued above that the persistence of the forbidden iron line emission during the era studied here must be driven by delayed recombination following freeze-out or through direct excitation by non-thermal electrons. Consequently, the high velocities in these lines imply that these processes must be occurring well out into the H/He envelope. Detailed modelling will be required to determine how much each process contributes to the line emission. If we favour the latter scenario, it immediately suggests that upward mixing was even greater than has been assumed hitherto. We note that velocities of at least $``$3000 km/s were observed in the \[Fe II\] lines as early as the end of year 1 (Paper I and Spyromilio et al. 1990, Haas et al. 1990). Moreover, Fassia & Meikle (1999) showed that the presence of the He I 1.083 $`\mu `$m line on days 76–135 implied that upward mixing of 56Ni in the ejecta of SN 1987A had extended to velocities as high as 3000–4000 km/s. Upward mixing of 56Ni to even higher velocities (over 5000 km/s) has been recently deduced by Mitchell et al. (2001) on the basis of the high strength of the Balmer lines a few days after explosion. Such high 56Ni velocities may be evidence of neutrino-instability-driven acceleration of radioactive nickel just after the core-bounce (e.g. Herant, Benz & Colgate 1992). Alternatively, these results may favour the jet-like explosion models of Nagataki (2000), in which the high velocity \[Fe II\] line profiles are well reproduced.

Another remarkable characteristic of these late-time spectra is the presence and persistence of blueshifts (with respect to the supernova rest frame) in the ejecta lines (Table 2, Col. 3), with values of typically –200 km/s to –800 km/s. Such shifts first appeared around day 600 (Paper II) and were attributed to the formation of dust, blocking out the red (far-side) wing of the line. With the persistence of the blueshifts to as late as day 2000 we conclude that very dense dust concentrations must have formed in the ejecta. However it is possible that asymmetry in the excitation conditions may also be contributing to the effect.

## 5 Summary

We have presented near-IR spectra of SN 1987A covering the period 3.7 and 8.6 years post-explosion. This is the first time that IR spectra of a supernova has been obtained to such late epochs. We have described the measures taken to remove contamination from the nearby Stars 2 and 3. The resulting spectra comprise emission from both the ejecta and the bright circumstellar ring. The contributions from these two sources were separated out using an empirical spectral model. The CSM emission lines comprise recombination lines of H I and He I, and forbidden lines of \[S III\] and \[Fe II\]. The allowed ejecta spectra include lines of H I, He I, Na I, \[Si I\], \[Fe I\], \[Fe II\] and possibly \[S I\]. We are unable to confirm the presence of weak \[Co I\] and \[Co II\] lines as suggested by Bautista et al. (1995) on day 1445.

The intensity ratios and widths of the H I ejecta lines are consistent with the predicted low-temperature Case B recombination spectrum arising from non-thermal ionisation/excitation in an extended, adiabatically cooled H-envelope. Owing to difficulties with low signal-to-noise and CSM-ejecta blending, the He I 2.058 $`\mu `$m ejecta line is probably of less value than pure ejecta theory would suggest.

Perhaps the most interesting result is the slow decline in the ejecta forbidden lines. This is particularly important for the \[Si I\] lines, since it supports the scenario that pure non-thermal excitation was taking place, driven increasingly predominantly by the decay of 44Ti. The data presented here offers the prospect of improved abundance measurements of silicon in the ejecta.

The FWHM of the ejecta lines provide evidence that the extensive mixing has occurred, with heavy elements reaching layers with velocities as high as $``$3000-4500 km/s. The iron velocities were particularly high, and may provide support for the neutrino-instability fast-nickel scenario, or for a jet-like explosion. The blueshifts of the ejecta lines that had appeared around day 600 (Paper II) continued to be present. This probably indicates that dense concentrations of dust persisted in the ejecta even as late as day 2000. However, asymmetry in the excitation conditions may also contribute to the observed blueshifts.

The spectra presented here are unique. It is likely to be many years before such late-time near-IR observations are obtained for another supernova. Moreover, with the increasing interaction of the ejecta with the circumstellar ring, these near-IR spectra are probably the last from the “pristine ejecta” of SN 1987A that can be obtained.

## 6 Acknowledgements

We dedicate this paper to the memory of the late David Allen. He played a central role in the near-IR study of SN 1987A. He made particularly vital contributions to the work described here, both as project scientist for IRIS, and by carrying out most of the observations. He is sorely missed.

We thank Mike Burton, Stuart Lumsden, Raylee Stathakis and Chris Tinney for carrying out some of the observations, and the staff of the AAO for their support. We also thank Nick Suntzeff, Peter Challis and Peter Garnavich for the use of their unpublished data, and Emma Bowers, Robert Cumming and Gian Varani for assistance with the data reduction. This work is supported through PPARC Grant No. PPA/G/S/1997/00266.


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# Primordial Galaxy Formation and IGM Reionization

## 1. Introduction

The application of the Gunn-Peterson test to QSOs absorption spectra suggests that the Intergalactic Medium (IGM) is completely reionized by $`z6`$. Several authors claim that the known population of quasars and galaxies provides $`10`$ times fewer ionizing photons than are necessary to keep the observed IGM ionization level; thus, additional sources of ionizing photons are required at high redshift, the most promising being early galaxies and quasars. Recent observational evidences suggest the existence of an early population of pregalactic stellar objects which could have contributed to the reionization and metal enrichment of the IGM. In the following section, I will review the processes that regulate the formation and the evolution of such galaxies.

## 2. Primordial Galaxy Formation and Feedback Effects

Once the gas has virialized into the potential well of preexisting dark matter haloes, additional cooling is required in order for the gas to further collapse and form stars. Objects with virial temperatures $`T_{vir}>10^4`$ K rely on hydrogen Ly$`\alpha `$ line cooling for their formation, while the main coolant for objects with $`T_{vir}<10^4`$ K (PopIII objects) is molecular hydrogen, a key species for galaxy formation in the early universe. H2 is a very fragile molecule, as it is easily dissociated by photons with energy in the range 11.26-13.6 eV. Thus, the existence of an UV flux below the Lyman limit, capable of dissociating H2 in collapsing structures can strongly influence the formation of PopIII objects. Ciardi et al. (2000) have derived the minimum mass that a forming galaxy requires to be able to shield against an external incident dissociating flux: they found that the mass is in the range $`10^5M_{}<M<10^9M_{}`$, depending on the intensity of the incident flux and the formation redshift.

Once an object has collapsed, the first episode of star formation can strongly influence the subsequent star formation process via the effects of mass and energy deposition due to massive stars. These processes may induce different phenomena, such as a heating and a loss of the interstellar gas, or a dissociation of H2 molecules in star forming regions. As a consequence, the star formation rate decreases, more or less dramatically depending on the mass of the object.

## 3. IGM Reionization

Ciardi et al. (2000) have studied the interplay between the primordial galaxy formation process and the IGM reionization. In their analysis the authors have included a self-consistent treatment of the feedback effects that regulate the formation and the evolution of galaxies, as explained in the previous section. One of the output of their model is the redshift evolution of the HII filling factor, $`f_{HII}`$ (Fig. 1). At $`z>15`$ the main contribution to $`f_{HII}`$ comes from small mass objects ($`M10^7M_{}`$), while at lower redshift, when the formation and evolution of such objects is suppressed by feedback effects, the main contribution comes from galaxies of $`M>10^9M_{}`$. Thus, the contribution of small mass objects to the ionizing photon budget is negligible. These galaxies are nevertheless important as sinks of radiation on small scales.

To improve on the mentioned study, the assumption of constant IGM density should be released and a realistic density distribution adopted. In this case, the main complication would be to properly follow the propagation of ionizing photons into the IGM. To this aim, Ciardi et al. (2001) have developed the code CRASH, a Monte Carlo approach to the radiative transfer of ionizing photons produced by a source with known emission properties through a given density field.

Using CRASH, we simulate the reionization process in a box of 30 Mpc comoving (Stöhr et al.; Ciardi, Stöhr & White in prep.). This choice of the box dimension allows us to study a region large enough to be representative of the universe and at the same time to resolve objects with masses $`10^9M_{}`$, the ones responsible for the main ionizing photon production (see Fig. 1). The box is obtained from a combination of a high-resolution $`\mathrm{\Lambda }`$CDM N-body simulation (Yoshida, Sheth & Diaferio 2001) and a semi-analitycal model of galaxy formation (Springel et al. 2001). In Fig. 2 the ionized regions produced by the simulation are shown, at $`z13`$ (left panel) and $`z10`$ (right panel), when the volume averaged ionization fraction is 0.1% and 4% respectively.

The reionization process critically depends on the choice of the source emission properties. Here, we have adopted a Larson IMF and a spectrum typical of PopIII stars; these assumptions give an upper limit to the ionizing photon production. More critical is the choice of the escape fraction of ionizing photons, $`f_{esc}`$, for which we have adopted the indicative value of 20%. As $`f_{esc}`$ is a highly uncertain parameter, Ciardi, Bianchi & Ferrara (2001) have tried to constrain it for a Milky Way type galaxy via 3D numerical simulations, using the code CRASH to follow the photon propagation. They have compared results for a smooth Gaussian density distribution and an inhomogeneous, fractal one, with realistic assumptions for the ionizing stellar sources based on available data in the solar neighborhood. In Fig. 3, the evolution of $`f_{esc}`$ as a function of the total ionization rate, $`\dot{𝒩}_\gamma `$, is shown in the case of a Gaussian (filled triangles) and a fractal (open circles) density distribution. Values in the range $`2\%<f_{esc}<50\%`$ are found depending on $`\dot{𝒩}_\gamma `$ and the density field, confirming the high uncertainty of $`f_{esc}`$.

## 4. Conclusions

To properly describe the IGM reionization process, the following ingredients are needed: i) a reliable model for structure formation, including a self-consistent treatment of feedback effects and the best possible balance between large volume and high resolution of the simulation; ii) an accurate treatment of the radiative transfer of ionizing photons; iii) a better constraint on the parameters involved in the calculation, such as the source emission properties and the escape fraction.

### Acknowledgments.

I would like to thank all my collaborators in the projects.

## References

Ciardi, B., Bianchi, S. & Ferrara, A. 2001, MNRAS, in press

Ciardi, B., Ferrara, A., Governato, F. & Jenkins, A. 2000, MNRAS, 314, 611

Ciardi, B., Ferrara, A., Marri, S. & Raimondo, G. 2001, MNRAS, 324, 381

Springel, V. et al. 2001, MNRAS, 328, 726

Yoshida, N., Sheth, R. K. & Diaferio, A. 2001, MNRAS, 328, 669


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# Low Frequency Transport Measurements in GdSr2RuCu2O8

## I Introduction

The interplay of magnetism and superconductivity is a fundamental problem in condensed-matter physics and it has been studied experimentally and theoretically for almost four decades. These two cooperative phenomena are mutually antagonists. Indeed, the superconductivity is associated with the pairing of electrons states related to time reversal while in the magnetic states the time-reversal symmetry is lost and therefore there is a strong competition with superconductivitymaple . However, Schlabitz et al.schlabitz  showed that surprisingly magnetism and superconductivity could coexist in the heavy fermion compound URu2Si2. Other heavy fermion superconductors have also been shown to exhibit magnetic moments in their superconducting phase review . All these compounds contain rare-earth or actinide ions with very localized 4f or 5f orbitals, strongly interacting with the conduction band electrons. This is in contrast to the Chevrel phases where magnetism and superconductivity coexist because the magnetic moments responsible for magnetism are only very weakly coupled with the electrons that form the condensate fisher .

Nevertheless, there are been a number of recent studies reporting the coexistence of superconductivity and magnetic order in R1.4Ce0.6Sr2RuCu2O10-δ felner1  and RSr2RuCu2O8 tallon ; tallon2 ; williams  where R=Gd, Eu. These latter compounds were originally synthesized by Bauernfeind et al. bauer  and Felner and co-workers felner . Most recent reports have focused on GdSr2RuCu2O8, which has a unit cell similar to that of the YBa2Cu3O7 high temperature cuprate, where there are two CuO2 layers and one RuO2 layer with the CuO2 and RuO2 layers being separated by insulating layers. Magnetization and muon spin rotation studies tallon2  have shown that there exists a magnetic ordering transition at temperature much greater than the superconducting transition temperature. Some studies have been interpreted in terms of ferromagnetic order arising from the Ru moment in the RuO2 layers. This idea has generated considerable interest because ferromagnetic order and superconductivity are mutually competing processes and could only coexist via some accommodation of the respective order parameters by a spatial modulationchu  or via the formation of a spontaneous vortex phase vortex . However, powder neutron diffraction study neutron  has shown that while there is a small ferromagnetic component, the low-field magnetic order is predominantly antiferromagnetic. These contrasting reports cast some doubt about the magnetic nature of this compound and at the present the situation has not been completely clarified. The aim of this paper is to give a contribution to this discussion. Indeed, we have found that transport measurements performed on GdSr2RuCu2O8 sample are in agreement with predictions of a simple phenomenological model where ferromagnetism and superconductivity coexist. From the experimental results a Curie temperature $`T_{cM}`$=133K and a superconducting critical temperature $`T_{cS}`$=18K, with an onset temperature $`T_{cO}`$=33K, have been inferred.

The paper is organized as follows. In Section II the sample preparation is discussed. A phenomenological model for expected current-voltage curves is then given in Section III. Experimental results are presented and discussed in connection with the theoretical prediction of the proposed model in Section IV. Some conclusions are finally given in the last Section.

## II Sample preparation and characterization

Precursors powders have been synthesized starting from the pure binary oxide and carbonate powders, Gd2O3, SrCO3, CuO, and RuO2, mixed together in the proper amount and solid state reacted. The mixed powder was calcinated in air at 960 C for 10 h. Annealing in flowing pure nitrogen at 1000 C during 10 h was performed to reduce the formation of undesired phases such as SrRuO3 bauer .

Additional two steps of annealing of 10 h in pure flowing argon at 1020 C also contributed to suppress the SrRuO3 phase. Subsequently, the powders were oxygenated. Seven oxygenation cycles of a mean duration of 10 h, were performed at 1060 C in flowing pure oxygen. These fully oxygenated powders were pressed in pellets by means of an hydrostatic press. Five 10 h cycles in pure oxygen flux, at temperatures of 1050 C, 1055 C, 1060 C, 1065 C, and 1070 C, with intermediate grinding and mixing, have been performed on the pellets. Then, a last 90 h long cycle at 1070 C and a refining one of 10 h at 1065 C assured the complete oxygenation of the pellets. The crystal structure of the GdSr2RuCu2O8 pellets was analyzed by X-ray powder diffraction method. The data were collected with a Philips PW-1700 powder diffractometer using Ni-filtered Cu K$`\alpha `$ radiation. The X-ray spectrum of a typical fully oxygenated pellet is shown in Fig. 1. The scan pattern confirms that the sample is GdSr2RuCu2O8 single phased.

## III Expected ac current-voltage curves

If a magnetic phase is present in the GdSr2RuCu2O8, an hysteretic current-voltage ($`IV`$) curve should be expected when the current is swept with a frequency $`\omega `$.

In transport measurements, the four contact wire connection sketched in Fig. 2(a) is typically used. Here, the forcing current $`I(t)`$ generates a magnetic field H$`(t)`$=H\[$`I(t)`$\] with an associated magnetic induction B$`(t)`$=B\[H$`(t)`$\]. To the first order, the magnetic field depends linearly on the forcing current, $`H(t)I(t),`$ so that $`B(t)=B[I(t)]`$ is too. From Maxwell equations, we expect a voltage drop contribution due to the temporal derivative of the magnetic flux linked to the voltage wires. However, such a contribution is quite relevant only if the magnetic induction field is quite high, i.e., if magnetic phases are involved. The GdSr2RuCu2O8 can be phenomenologically seen as a series connection of superconducting and magnetic phases. Hence, we expect the measured total voltage to be the sum of a superconducting contribution $`V_S`$ and a magnetic contribution $`V_M`$ \[see Fig. 2(b)\]:

$$\begin{array}{c}V=V_S+V_M\hfill \\ V_M=\frac{d\mathrm{\Phi }[B]}{dt}\frac{dB(t)}{dt}=\frac{dB[I(t)]}{dt}\hfill \end{array}$$

where we assumed that the relevant inductive voltage is essentially due to the magnetic component. Some qualitative predictions of the $`IV_M`$ characteristic are possible from an analysis of the expected $`B[I(t)]`$.

Generally, B is a nonlinear function of H  when a material is in a magnetic phase. In the following we are concerned with low magnetic field (forcing current) amplitudes. In such a case, a linear relationship between B and H can be assumed for the paramagnetic phase. Due to the vanishingly small net magnetization, for an antiferromagnetic phase an approximatively linear $`B(H)`$ relation could be again inferred, while a nonlinear relation should be expected for a strongly ordered phase as the ferromagnetic one. The last case can be qualitatively discussed as follows. At a given low amplitude magnetic field, a linear relation between B and H \[see Fig. 3(a)\] can be expected for temperatures above the ferromagnetic transition temperature $`T_{cM}`$ (i.e., when the material is in the paramagnetic phase) while a strongly nonlinear relation between B and H should be expected for temperatures below $`T_{cM}`$ (i.e., when the material is in the ferromagnetic phase). Due to the very low magnetic fields we can generate with the normally used forcing currents (of the order of some mA) we can assume that the saturation field will never reached when the material is in the ferromagnetic phase. In other words, for the used currents only the virgin curve of the hysteresis loop will be normally swept, so that a single-valued functional form $`B(t)=B[I(t)]`$ similar to the one shown in Fig. 3(a) can be expected to approximately describe the material in the ferromagnetic phase. In such a limit, for a sinusoidal forcing current of amplitude $`I_0`$ and pulsation $`\omega `$ the $`IV_M`$ curves shown in Fig. 3(b) should be observed for the ferromagnetic phase. Moreover, the distorted ellipse typical of the ferromagnetic phase (at $`T<T_{cM}`$) should become a pure ellipse in the paramagnetic phase (at $`T>T_{cM}`$), as shown in Fig. 3(c).

Referring to the superconducting phase, the standard ac $`IV_S`$ curves schematically plotted in Fig. 3(d) are expected for temperatures below or above the superconducting transition temperature $`T_{cS}`$. For $`T<T_{cS}`$ is $`V_S=0`$ for amplitude of the forcing current lower than a critical current value $`I_c,`$ while a truly resistive curve is observed for $`T>T_{cS}`$

As stated above, the measured voltage of GdSr2RuCu2O8 pellet is $`V=V_M+V_S`$. Hence, from information in Figs. 3(c) and (d), the expected ac $`IV`$ curves should look similar to the ones we plotted in Fig. 4 for three relevant temperatures.

We should remark that, if observed, the peculiar outward cusp-like distortion of the $`IV`$ curve around $`I=0`$ is a signature of a ferromagnetic order originating from the strong nonlinear increase of the magnetic susceptibility below the Curie temperature. Conversely, for an antiferromagnetic order, a smoother distortion of the $`IV`$ curve should be expected, and the area of the ellipse of the paramagnetic phase should decrease for temperatures below the Neel temperature due to the decrease of the magnetic susceptibility of the antiferromagnetic phase when the temperature is lowered.

## IV Transport measurements and discussion

Measurements of $`IV`$ curves were performed on a slice of GdSr2RuCu2O8 using the four contact technique shown in Fig. 2(a). The sizes of the slice were L=5 mm, W=2 mm, and d=0.7 mm. A sinusoidal forcing current ranging from 4 mA to 6 mA and frequency values of 10, 20 and 40 Hz were used. In order to reduce external electromagnetic interference, measurements were performed in a shielded room. The sample was also enclosed in a cryoperm shield to minimize external spurious magnetic field.

In Fig. 5(a), $`IV`$ curves recorded at three different temperatures are shown. At first sight, the curves are in qualitative agreement with the calculated ones \[see Fig. 4\], resulting from the phenomenological model reported in the previous Section. The $`IV`$ curves show an hysteretic behavior at each temperature measured. Below a certain temperature, an outward cusp-like distortion of the elliptical shape at T=256 K is evident in the curves. Moreover, the loop area always increases when temperature is lowered. As stated in the previous section this means that a ferromagnetic phase is involved in the material.

Figure 5(b) shows that the loop area increases with the frequency of the current sweep, as expected for an inductive (magnetic) contribution $`V_MdB/dt`$ to the total voltage drop. By comparison of Fig. 5(b) and Fig. 3(b), a voltage contribution from a ferromagnetic phase is achieved. In the previous section, we have assumed that the electrical response of the material can be described as the series connection of a normal (superconducting/resistive) phase and a magnetic (ferromagnetic/paramagnetic) phase. When the material is a.c. supplied, the resistive (normal) component gives a reversible voltage signal, whereas the inductive (magnetic) one gives rise to an irreversible response accounting for the hysteretic shape of the voltage-current curves in the $`IV`$ plane. In order to study separately the resistive and the inductive components of the measured $`IV`$ curves, the reversible ($`V_S`$) and the irreversible ($`V_M`$) voltage were extracted in each curve. The reversible component in the total voltage signal, was calculated by using the simple formula

$$V_S(I)=\frac{V_{up}(I)+V_{dw}(I)}{2}$$
(1)
where $`V_{up}`$ and $`V_{dw}`$ are respectively the voltage values measured during the increasing and the decreasing branch of the sinusoidal forcing current. Then, the irreversible component was extracted according to

$$V_M(I)=V(I)V_S(I)$$
(2)
The irreversible part extracted from the total signal measured is shown in Fig. 6(a). Again, a qualitative agreement with the computed curves \[see Fig. 3(b)\] is recognized. For temperatures ranging from 4.2 K up to about 70 K, the loop area diminishes very slowly. Then the area decreases quickly and smoothly changes shape becoming elliptical around $`T_{cM}`$=133 K. From analysis of the previous Section we identify $`T_{cM}`$=133 K as the Curie transition temperature of the magnetic phase in the sample. In Fig. 6(b) the reversible curves, ascribed to the resistive share in the total voltage signal, are shown for different temperatures. The typical non linear $`IV`$ for a superconductor ($`V_S=0`$ for $`Ic<I<Ic`$) can be recognized for temperatures below $`T_{cS}`$=18 K while linear behavior is recovered above this temperature.

From data of the reversible curve, we extracted the resistance as a function of the temperature shown in Fig. 7. The temperature $`T_{cS}`$, corresponding to a full superconducting phase in the sample ($`V_S=0`$) and the onset temperature $`T_{cO}`$ were estimated 18 K and 33 K, respectively. In our measurements the non-linear behavior in reversible $`IV`$ curves, can be recognized up to 18 K. Increasing the temperature from TcS up to TcO the reversible $`IV`$ curves are linear with a quite fast increase of the resistivity. Above $`T_{cO}`$, the measured resistance get lower and for $`T_{cM}`$=133 K the resistance shows a peak. For temperatures above the magnetic transition temperature the resistance diminishes again.

Two main results can be drawn from the data above presented.

Firstly, we find a clear evidence of changes near 130K of irreversible and reversible components of the $`IV`$ curves and therefore we infer that they could be ascribed to a ferromagnetic/paramagnetic-like transition. This speculation agrees well with the results reported in literature that find a magnetic ordering temperature at around 130K tallon . The appearance of a spontaneous magnetic moment below this temperature at a very low field suggests that the transition at TcM must have a significant ferromagnetic component. The experimental results also suggest that the ferromagnetic component persists to the lowest measured temperature attained in the experiments and does not appear to weaken when the superconductivity comes in at TcO=33K. The existence of a ferromagnetic component in the superconducting state of this sample suggested by the low frequency data here presented, is also supported by magnetic measurements performed on the same sample and reported elsewhere eucas . Moreover, because no impurity lines were detected in the X-ray diffraction pattern within the experimental resolution we may argue that no extra phases are responsible for ferromagnetism implying that this ordering is due to an intrinsic phase and in this respect we could infer that the coexistence of superconductivity and ferromagnetism is realized within a microscopic scale. This hypothesis is corroborated by magneto-optical-imaging measurements where ferromagnetism and superconductivity are directly observed to coexist in the same space within the experimental resolutionchu2 .

Second, we speculate briefly on the significance of the phenomenological model previously introduced. Within our model, we assume that the measured total voltage is the sum of two contributions: one coming from the superconducting channel and the other due to the ferromagnetic ordering. Although the crudeness of the assumptions, we have been able to reproduce fairly the shape of the $`IV`$ curves and more importantly we clearly identify the superconducting contribution only when the ferromagnetic one is subtracted. This contribution is of the standard form for a generic superconductor and this in turn further supports the correctness of our assumptions.

## V Conclusion

In conclusion, we performed measurements on GdSr2RuCu2O8 ruthenate-cuprate with the aim to address the question of the nature of the magnetic order in the superconducting phase and trying to improve the understanding of the physics of ruthenate-cuprate materials. We used a relatively inexplored approach, based on the analysis of low frequency electrical transport measurements. The observed current-voltage curves have been found in quite good qualitative agreement with the predictions of a phenomenological model accounting for coexistence of both magnetic and superconducting phases in the sample. Our experimental results suggest that GdSr2RuCu2O8 is paramagnetic above $`T_{cM}`$=133 K, ferromagnetic between $`T_{cS}`$=18 K and $`T_{cM}`$=133 K, and both ferromagnetic and superconducting below $`T_{cS}`$=18 K.

## VI Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the contribution of D. Sisti in the sample preparation.


text:
# The Solar Neighborhood VI: New Southern Nearby Stars Identified by Optical Spectroscopy

## 1 Introduction

The nearest stars have received renewed scrutiny because of their importance to fundamental astrophysics (e.g., stellar atmospheres, the mass content of the Galaxy) and because of their potential for harboring planetary systems and life (e.g., the NASA Origins and Astrobiology initiatives). The smallest stars, the M dwarfs, account for at least 70% of all stars in the solar neighborhood and make up nearly half of the Galaxy’s total stellar mass (Henry et al. 1997; hereafter H97). Their slightly lesser cousins, the brown dwarfs, may lurk in comparable numbers. Yet, many of the nearest red, brown, and white dwarfs remain unrecognized because of their low luminosities. H97 estimate that more than 30% of stellar systems within 10 pc of the Sun are currently missing from compendia of nearby stars.

The number of “missing” stars within 25 pc of the Sun is estimated to be twice the fraction missing within 10 pc. The NASA/NSF NStars Project is a new effort to foster research on all stars within 25 pc, with special emphasis on the development of a comprehensive NStars Database. All systems with trigonometric parallaxes greater than or equal to 0$`\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{^{\prime \prime }}{\text{.}}`$04000 from The Yale Catalog of Stellar Parallaxes (YPC, van Altena et al. 1995) and The Hipparcos Catalogue (HIP, ESA 1997) have been included in the Database. The weighted means of the YPC and HIP parallaxes have been determined, including the combination of all trigonometric parallax values for stellar systems in which widely separated components have had separate parallax measurements. Table 1 lists the numbers of known and predicted stellar systems within 25 pc, and their distributions within equal regions of the sky, obtained from the NStars Database as of 01 July 2001. The predicted number of 1375 systems in each region is based on the assumptions that (1) the density of stellar systems within 5 pc (0.084 systems pc-3) extends to 25 pc, and (2) the distribution of the systems is isotropic. Table 1 clearly shows that more stars are missing in the southern sky than in the northern sky — we predict that more than two-thirds of the systems are undiscovered in the south. Furthermore, new systems within 5 pc are still being found (H97), so the total number predicted within 25 pc is a lower limit.

In a concerted effort to discover and characterize the nearest stars, the RECONS (Research Consortium on Nearby Stars) team has been conducting astrometric, photometric, spectroscopic, and multiplicity surveys of known and candidate stars within 10 pc (for more information about RECONS, see H97). In this paper, the sixth in The Solar Neighborhood series, we present optical spectra of 34 known or suspected nearby southern red and white dwarfs, including 10 known members of the RECONS sample and 16 stars for which no spectral types have been previously published. We report spectral types for all the stars in our sample using a method that will define the spectral types used in the NStars Database. We supplement the spectral data with VRI photometry for five stars. Our analysis has revealed two new stars that are probably closer than the 10 pc RECONS horizon, and four others that are probably closer than the 25 pc NStars horizon.

## 2 Sample

The 34 stars for which we obtained optical spectra are grouped into four categories:

1. 12 stars that lie within, or close to, the 10 pc RECONS horizon for which no broadband spectra are published. These stars have well known distances, so they are good standards for calibrating spectroscopic parallaxes.
2. 14 recently discovered stars having high proper motions. Because nearer stars appear to move faster than more distant ones, high proper motion is a good indicator of stars in the solar neighborhood. Between 1989 and 1997, Wroblewski and collaborators identified 2055 new stars lying south of $`5^{}`$ declination with proper motions, $`\mu `$ $``$ 0$`\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{^{\prime \prime }}{\text{.}}`$15 yr-1 (Wroblewski & Torres 1997, and references therein). In February 1998, we observed 12 of the 52 stars from this collection that have $`\mu 0`$$`\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{^{\prime \prime }}{\text{.}}`$50 yr-1. We also observed two high-proper-motion stars selected from the Calan-ESO survey of Ruiz and collaborators (Ruiz et al. 1993). Between our observing run and the end of 2000, Wroblewski and collaborators identified an additional 293 new stars with $`\mu 0`$$`\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{^{\prime \prime }}{\text{.}}`$15 yr-1, only one of which has $`\mu 0`$$`\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{^{\prime \prime }}{\text{.}}`$50 yr-1 (Wroblewski & Costa 1999).
3. 4 stars whose Hipparcos parallaxes have suspiciously high errors. Nine targets in eight systems were reported by the Hipparcos mission to have parallaxes larger than 0$`\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{^{\prime \prime }}{\text{.}}`$100 with errors larger than 0$`\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{^{\prime \prime }}{\text{.}}`$020 (i.e., 14–56% errors – enormous for Hipparcos). In every case, the targets are near bright stars that corrupted the parallax measurements. In two cases, HIP 114110 and HIP 114176, there is no star at all. In February 1998, we observed two of the remaining seven targets, HIP 15689 and HIP 20698, as well as two of the neighboring bright stars.
4. 4 stars for which available photometry implies a distance less than 25 pc. These stars come from an extensive list of possible nearby stars maintained by the first author.

## 3 Observations

A total of 34 targets were observed during nights of UT 08 and 09 February 1998 using the Blanco 4m telescope at Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory (CTIO). The R-C Spectrograph with a Loral 3K $`\times `$ 1K CCD was used with grating #181 at tilt 58.77, order blocking filter OG-515, and a gain setting of 4 ($`2.07e^{}`$ ADU-1). The wavelength coverage was 5500–10000 Å, with a resolution of 6 Å. This broad spectral range includes the TiO absorption bands characteristic of red dwarfs, the H$`\alpha `$ emission line used to measure activity, and the K I, Na I, and Ca II absorption features used to discriminate dwarfs from giants.

Bias frames and dome flats were taken at the beginning of each night. A HeAr arc lamp spectrum was recorded after each target spectrum to permit accurate dispersion correction throughout the night. Observations were conducted through clouds for four hours on 08 February 1998, and for eight hours through increasing clouds on 09 February 1998. Several of the program stars were observed on both nights, thereby allowing confirmation of the spectral types.

Photometric observations were carried out in the $`V_J`$, $`R_C`$, $`I_C`$ bands for five stars at the CTIO 0.9m telescope during our NOAO Surveys Program, CTIOPI (CTIO Parallax Investigation), on the nights of UT 27 November to 01 December 1999. Standards from Landolt (1992) and Bessell (1990) were observed for the purpose of deriving extinction coefficients and transformation equations for each night.

## 4 Data Reduction

### 4.1 Photometry Reduction

Reduction of the photometric data was done using the Image Reduction and Analysis Facility (IRAF). Bias subtraction and flatfielding of the VRI frames were accomplished using the ccdred package, and instrumental magnitudes were obtained using the apphot package. The photcal package was then used to perform fits to the extinction and transformation equations, and to transform the magnitudes to the standard Cousins system. An aperture of 3″ was used to extract counts for the program stars, and aperture corrections used to match the methodology of Landolt (1992). Errors in the final photometry are estimated to be 0.03 mag.

### 4.2 Extraction of Spectra

The long-slit spectra were reduced and extracted using IRAF. Bias levels were removed by subtracting a median bias frame scaled to match the overscan signal of each image. The images were flattened by dividing by a normalized, median dome flat from which the spectral response of the illuminating quartz lamp had been removed. After the removal of night-sky emission lines, the target spectra were distortion-corrected and wavelength-calibrated using the consecutively recorded HeAr arc spectra. One dimensional spectra were extracted from summed apertures of 10 to 14 pixels width centered on the spectra. Correction for atmospheric extinction was performed using the default IRAF extinction tables for CTIO, but telluric features (which can be seen in the white dwarf spectra of Figure 2) were not removed. Finally, the extracted spectra were flux calibrated using a recorded spectrum of the spectrophotometric standard star GJ 440 and the appropriate IRAF flux table.

### 4.3 Assignment of Spectral Types

We have developed a software program, called ALLSTAR, that matches a target spectrum to one from a database of 106 standard spectra of K and M dwarfs previously published by RECONS (see Table 2). When expanded to include the complete range of spectral types, ALLSTAR will likely become the standard algorithm for assigning spectral types in the NStars Database.

For each target and standard spectrum, ALLSTAR interpolates flux values at 1 Å intervals between 6500 and 9000 Å, regardless of the original spectral resolution. The spectra are normalized at 7500 Å, a wavelength which lies in a region that is relatively free of opacity sources in red dwarfs (and most stars). To account for possible spurious normalization of the target spectrum caused by noisy data, an array of 21 spectra is created by multiplying the normalized spectrum by integral percentages between 90% and 110%. These 21 spectra are subtracted from each of the standard spectra over the entire 6500–9000 Å range, and the rms deviation of each difference spectrum is then computed. Pixels offset by more than 2$`\sigma `$ from the rms deviation are set to zero. Trial and error has shown that this threshold effectively rejects unwanted pixels associated with variable telluric absorption features or detector defects. If more than 20% of the difference spectrum is rejected, then the standard spectrum from which it was derived is removed from further consideration. After rejecting the deviant pixels, ALLSTAR sums the elements of each difference spectrum and sorts the sums for all matches in ascending order. These ordered sums provide a rating system in which the standard spectrum generating the smallest sum is the best match to the target spectrum.

The technique embodied in ALLSTAR differs from that used in previous RECONS efforts (Kirkpatrick, Henry, & McCarthy 1991) in four ways: (1) ALLSTAR interpolates fluxes every 1 Å rather than every 3 Å, (2) the target spectra are compared with the standard spectra over the entire 6500–9000 Å range, rather than over pre-assigned chunks of the spectra, (3) rejection of varying telluric features and detector defects is carried out in a rigorous, well-defined fashion, and (4) spectral typing is based on a single, best match to a standard spectrum rather than a relative ranking of all spectra from bluest to reddest. For 100 of our 106 standard stars, ALLSTAR returns the same spectral types previously reported by RECONS and listed in Table 2. For the remaining six, ALLSTAR produces spectral types within 0.5 subtype (the published uncertainty) of those previously reported. These 0.5 subtype discrepancies are attributable to subtle differences in the reduction techniques, and are not significant. Therefore, we have not altered the previously published types.

In Table 2, “J” has been appended to some of the previously published spectral types to denote those stars whose spectra represent the combined light of multiple components. The “J” (for joint) designation was not previously used for GJ 22 AC, GJ 352 AB, GJ 570 BC, G 203-047 AB, GJ 791.2 AB, GJ 829 AB, GJ 896 AC, and GJ 896 BD because, for many of these systems, close companions have been discovered since their spectral types were first published. We anticipate that other changes in spectral type will occur once spectra obtained at infrared wavelengths are combined with existing optical spectra.

## 5 Results and Discussion

Table 3 contains astrometric, photometric, and spectroscopic information for the 34 stars in our sample. The photometry is given on the Johnson ($`UBV`$) and Cousins ($`RI`$) systems. The photometry from Weis (1996) has been converted to the Cousins system using the relations of Bessell & Weis (1987). Previously reported spectral types for many of the stars come from Reid et al. (1995) and Hawley et al. (1996), who used narrower-band spectra ($`6200`$–7400 Å) than ours to determine the spectral types of over 2000 known and candidate nearby stars. Our observations differ from theirs in that ours cover more than three times the spectral range and result in somewhat more robust spectral types. Also listed are distances to stars with trigonometric parallaxes from Hipparcos (denoted by H) or from a weighted mean of YPC and Hipparcos measurements (denoted YH).

Using the $`M_V`$–spectral type relation of Henry et al. (1994) for red dwarfs (ST is spectral type),

MV = 0.101 (ST)2 $`+`$ 0.596 (ST) $`+`$ 8.96 (1)

we have estimated distances (last column of Table 3) to stars for which we have obtained new spectra and that have $`V_J`$ photometry. Comparison of the true and predicted distances for the stars with known trigonometric parallaxes shows that the errors on the distance estimates are substantial, which is typical of distances estimated spectroscopically. However, only for GJ 190 and GJ 433 do the trigonometric and spectroscopic distances differ by more than a factor of two. GJ 433 is a known close binary system (Bernstein 1997; confirmed by C. Leinert, personal communication), and we are suspicious that GJ 190 may also be a close binary system.

We find that eleven of the candidate nearby stars identified by Wroblewski and Torres (WT stars) are red dwarfs of types M0.0V to M5.5V. The twelfth WT star is a newly identified nearby white dwarf. The two Calan-ESO stars are also red dwarfs. As expected, the Hipparcos stars with large parallax errors are giants and, therefore, not members of the solar neighborhood. The four stars in the photometrically selected sample yield the highest proportion of nearby stars – GJ 1123 and GJ 1128 are likely to be within 10 pc, while GJ 1129 lies just beyond 10 pc. (We lack the accurate $`V_J`$ photometry required to estimate the distance to LHS 1957.) Many of the targets with estimated distances within 25 pc are being observed in our southern parallax program, CTIOPI. Those stars likely to be within the 10 pc RECONS horizon receive the highest priority.

The spectra of the most interesting stars in our sample are shown in Figures 1 and 2. Several noteworthy stars are discussed here, in alphabetical order.

ESO 440-064 (spectral type M5.5V) is one of the two latest stars observed. It exhibits a prominent H$`\alpha `$ emission feature. This star and ESO 440-139, which is estimated to lie at 20 pc, were revealed during the Calan-ESO effort of Ruiz and collaborators (Ruiz et al. 1993) to reveal new proper motion stars in the southern sky.

GJ 432 B is a 15th magnitude companion $`17^{\prime \prime }`$ from a 6th magnitude K0 dwarf. Observing difficulty precludes much information for this star. Its spectrum is similar to our white dwarf spectrophotometric standard, GJ 440. We cannot determine with our spectral coverage whether the star has type DC or DQ, but it is not type “m” as reported by Gliese & Jahreiss (1991).

GJ 1123, GJ 1128, GJ 1129 and WT 84 are four stars with estimated distances within 15 pc. All are being observed as high-priority CTIOPI targets because they may lie within the RECONS horizon of 10 pc. WT 84 (spectral type M5.5V) is one of the two latest stars observed and exhibits a prominent H$`\alpha `$ emission feature.

GJ 2036 A and B have enormous H$`\alpha `$ emission features.

HIP 14555 (= LTT 1479 = GJ 1054A) was observed instead of the intended target, HIP 14559, which lies 28″ to the east. The Hipparcos parallax of HIP 14559 ($`V_J=11.72`$), 0$`\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{^{\prime \prime }}{\text{.}}`$11473 $`\pm `$ 0$`\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{^{\prime \prime }}{\text{.}}`$03398, has a large error because of the proximity of HIP 14555 ($`V_J=10.21`$). HIP 14555 has spectral type M1.0V and a prominent H$`\alpha `$ emission feature. Using our new spectral type and the $`V_J`$ magnitude from Hipparcos, we estimate a distance to HIP 14555 of 12.9 pc, which is $`5\sigma `$ less than the distance obtained from the Hipparcos parallax of 0$`\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{^{\prime \prime }}{\text{.}}`$05238 $`\pm `$ 0$`\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{^{\prime \prime }}{\text{.}}`$00503. The fainter star found 64″ to the southwest is LTT 1477 (= GJ 1054B), which has common proper motion with HIP 14555.

HIP 15689 ($`V_J=12.16`$) lies 24″ southwest of HIP 15690 ($`V_J=8.83`$). The Hipparcos parallax of 0$`\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{^{\prime \prime }}{\text{.}}`$22745 $`\pm `$ 0$`\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{^{\prime \prime }}{\text{.}}`$06179 for HIP 15689 has a large error because of the proximity of HIP 15690. Our spectrum of HIP 15689 lacks a K I feature, has a weak Na I feature, and has a strong Ca II triplet. These features clearly indicate that the star is a giant or supergiant. It is therefore not a nearby star.

HIP 20968 ($`V_J=11.42`$) lies 21″ northeast of HIP 20965 ($`V_J=7.73`$). The Hipparcos parallax of 0$`\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{^{\prime \prime }}{\text{.}}`$12070 $`\pm `$ 0$`\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{^{\prime \prime }}{\text{.}}`$05647 for HIP 20968 has a large error because of the proximity of HIP 20965 (parallax 0$`\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{^{\prime \prime }}{\text{.}}`$00218 $`\pm `$ 0$`\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{^{\prime \prime }}{\text{.}}`$00189). Our spectra indicate that both stars are giants or supergiants. HIP 20968 is therefore not a nearby star. HIP 20965’s spectrum shows the CN band at 7900 Å.

WT 248 (M3.0V) is estimated to lie at a distance of 37 pc, despite its large proper motion (1$`\genfrac{}{}{0pt}{}{^{\prime \prime }}{\text{.}}`$197 yr-1). Its spectrum does not show the obvious CaH band around 6900 Å that is characteristic of subdwarfs, as might be expected for such a high velocity star.

WT 1759 is a newly identified nearby white dwarf. Its spectrum is virtually identical to that of our spectroscopic standard, GJ 440, which is a DQ6 white dwarf with a temperature of $``$8500 K (Bergeron et al. 2001). With our spectral coverage, we cannot determine if the star has type DC or DQ. Assuming that WT 1759 has the same absolute magnitude as GJ 440, we estimate that the distance to WT 1759 is 28 pc.

## 6 Concluding Remarks

The recent identifications of candidate nearby stars from the proper motion studies of Wroblewski et al., Ruiz et al., and others, and from photometric sky surveys such as DENIS, 2MASS and SDSS, suggest that many nearby stars remain undiscovered. In essence, this paper represents a small step in fingerprinting some suspected nearby stars via spectroscopy. We have established a method for consistent spectral typing that will provide definitive types both for the RECONS effort (horizon 10 pc) and the more extensive NASA/NSF NStars Project (horizon 25 pc). Using this method, we report the first spectral types on a standard system for 16 nearby star candidates. We also provide updated spectral types for 18 other stars using broader spectral coverage than was previously available.

This work will allow us to improve the luminosities, colors, and temperatures for the ubiquitous red dwarfs, as well as broaden the database used to investigate the luminosity function, mass function, kinematics, and multiplicity of stars in the solar neighborhood. The nearest objects, such as GJ 1123 and GJ 1128 from this study, will be prime targets of upcoming NASA missions like SIRTF, SIM, and TPF, as well as being additions to the target lists of SETI efforts like Project Phoenix.

TJH and TCB thank the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland for providing the facilities and resources necessary to conduct this research during the Summer Student Programs of 1996 and 1997. TJH and LMW thank the NStars Project for current support, and are grateful for the dedicated work of Dana Backman, Jerry Blackwell, and Takeshi Okimura who have made the NStars Database a reality. We also would like to thank members of the CTIOPI team, specifically Phil Ianna, Ricky Patterson, and John Subasavage, for their work on the CTIOPI photometry. More information on nearby star work can be found at the RECONS (http://www.chara.gsu.edu/RECONS) and NStars (http://nstars.arc.nasa.gov) websites.