Spectroscopic properties of cool Ursa Major group members

Abstract

Context. Until now, most members of the Ursa Major (UMa) group of stars have been identified by means of kinematic criteria. However, in many cases kinematic criteria alone are insufficient to ascertain, whether an individual star is really a member of this group. Since photometric criteria are ineffective in the case of cool dwarf members, one must use spectroscopic criteria. Nevertheless, resulting membership criteria are inconclusive. Aims. We reanalyse spectroscopic properties of cool UMa group dwarfs. In particular, we study the distribution of iron abundance, the strength of the Li I absorption at 6708 Å and the Li abundance, and the infilling of the core of the Hα line. Methods. Twenty-five cool and northern bona-fide members are carefully selected from the literature. Homogeneously measured stellar parameters and iron abundances are given for all Sun-like stars selected, based on spectra of high resolution and high signalto-noise ratio. In addition, we measure the Li equivalent width and abundance as well as the relative intensity of the Hα core and the corresponding chromospheric flux. Results. The studied stars infer an average Ursa Major group iron abundance of -0.03 ±0.05 dex, which is higher by about 0.06 dex than determined elsewhere. The Li abundance derived of Ursa Major group dwarf stars is higher than in the Hyades at effective temperatures cooler than the Sun, but lower than in the younger Pleiades, a result which is independent of the exact value of the effective temperature adopted. The Sun-like and cooler dwarfs also display chromospheric infilling of the Hα core. We present spectroscopic criteria that may be used to exclude non-members. © 2009 ESO.