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| Paper: |
Radial-Velocity Standard Stars |
| Volume: |
185, Precise Stellar Radial Velocities, IAU Colloquium 170 |
| Page: |
354 |
| Authors: |
Stefanik, R. P.; Latham, D. W.; Torres, G. |
| Abstract: |
More than forty years ago the first list of radial-velocity standard stars was proposed. Almost immediately it was known that this list of stars included velocity variables and that the velocities were not on an absolute or even common velocity system. An observational campaign involving several observatories was initiated under IAU Commission 30 to establish a new set of late-type radial-velocity standard stars with individual mean velocities and an absolute zero point of the velocity system good to better than 100 m/s. The campaign has lasted more than 15 years with many thousands of individual radial-velocity observations being made. Some of the problems that have emerged are the complications due to low amplitude variables resulting from orbiting companions and intrinsic pulsations among the giant stars, as well as color dependence and long term stability of the individual observatory velocity systems. On the positive side, a new set of standard velocity stars is slowly emerging (at least to the velocity level of 100 m/s) as well as the discovery of several candidates for low mass companions. We review the results of this effort and the problems that have emerged. These provide important lessons as we move towards a new level of standard star velocities with precisions an order of magnitude smaller. |
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