Spectroscopic follow-up of candidate runaway stars

ABSTRACT Runaway stars are characterized by higher space velocities than typical field stars. They are presumed to have been ejected from their birth places by one or more energetic mechanisms, including supernova explosions. Accurate radial velocities are essential for investigating their origin, by tracing back their Galactic orbits to look for close encounters in space and in time with neutron stars and young associations. While most studies of runaways have focused on OB stars, later-type stars have also been considered on occasion. Here, we report the results of a long-term high-resolution spectroscopic monitoring program with the goal of providing accurate radial velocities for 188 runaway candidates of spectral type A and later, proposed by Tetzlaff, Neuhäuser, and Hohle. We obtained multiple measurements over a period of about 13 yr to guard against the possibility that some may be members of binary or multiple systems, adding archival observations going back another 25 yr in some cases. We report new spectroscopic orbital solutions for more than three dozen systems. Many more are also found to be binaries based on available astrometric information. A small-scale study carried out here to trace back the paths of our targets together with those of four well-studied, optically visible neutron stars among the so-called Magnificent Seven, resulted in no credible encounters.