AAS 201st Meeting, January, 2003
Session 24. Planetary Systems I
Oral, Monday, January 6, 2003, 10:00-11:30am, 606-607

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[24.01] The Distibution of Stellar Characteristics among Stars Harboring Radial Velocity Companions.

C. Laws (Dept. of Astronomy, University of Washington), G. Gonzalez (Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, Iowa State University)

The results of new high-resolution spectroscopic analyses of 30 stars hosting planets and/or brown dwarfs are combined with data from previous studies of stars hosting radial velocity companions to present values of [Fe/H] for a cohort of 77. From this set we define several subsamples and relationships which we use to compare the physical characteristics of stars-with-planets (SWPs) to control groups with similarly measured and well-constrained stellar parameters. We find the distribution of their [Fe/H] values continues the trend, uncovered in previous studies, that they have a higher mean value than otherwise similar nearby stars. We also offer preliminary findings which suggest a significant correlation between the incidence of radial velocity companions and the mass of the parent stars. This early glimpse of the mass function of SWPs represents a critical constraint to both models of planetary system evoluion as well as to the distrinbution of planetary systems in our galaxy. This work was supported by a grant from the National Astrobiology Institute.


The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: laws@astro.washington.edu

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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 34, #4
© 2002. The American Astronomical Soceity.