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Halo Star Streams in the Solar Neighborhood
We have assembled a sample of halo stars in the solar neighborhood tolook for halo substructure in velocity and angular momentum space. Oursample (231 stars) includes red giants, RR Lyrae variable stars, and redhorizontal branch stars within 2.5 kpc of the Sun with [Fe/H] less than-1.0. It was chosen to include stars with accurate distances, spacevelocities, and metallicities, as well as well-quantified errors. Withour data set, we confirm the existence of the streams found by Helmi andcoworkers, which we refer to as the H99 streams. These streams have adouble-peaked velocity distribution in the z-direction (out of theGalactic plane). We use the results of modeling of the H99 streams byHelmi and collaborators to test how one might use vz velocityinformation and radial velocity information to detect kinematicsubstructure in the halo. We find that detecting the H99 streams withradial velocities alone would require a large sample (e.g.,approximately 150 stars within 2 kpc of the Sun and within 20° ofthe Galactic poles). In addition, we use the velocity distribution ofthe H99 streams to estimate their age. From our model of the progenitorof the H99 streams, we determine that it was accreted between 6 and 9Gyr ago. The H99 streams have [α/Fe] abundances similar to otherhalo stars in the solar neighborhood, suggesting that the gas thatformed these stars were enriched mostly by Type II supernovae. We havealso discovered in angular momentum space two other possiblesubstructures, which we refer to as the retrograde and progradeoutliers. The retrograde outliers are likely to be halo substructure,but the prograde outliers are most likely part of the smooth halo. Theretrograde outliers have significant structure in the vφdirection and show a range of [α/Fe], with two having low[α/Fe] for their [Fe/H]. The fraction of substructure stars in oursample is between 5% and 7%. The methods presented in this paper can beused to exploit the kinematic information present in future largedatabases like RAVE, SDSS-II/SEGUE, and Gaia.
| The Michigan/MIKE Fiber System Survey of Stellar Radial Velocities in Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies: Acquisition and Reduction of Data
We introduce a stellar velocity survey of dwarf spheroidal galaxies,undertaken using the Michigan/MIKE Fiber System (MMFS) at theMagellan/Clay 6.5 m telescope at Las Campanas Observatory. As of 2006November we have used MMFS to collect 6415 high-resolution(R=20,000-25,000) spectra from 5180 stars in four dwarf spheroidalgalaxies: Carina, Fornax, Sculptor, and Sextans. Spectra sample therange 5140-5180 Å, which includes the prominent magnesium tripletabsorption feature. We measure radial velocity (RV) to a medianprecision of 2.0 km s-1 for stars as faint as V~20.5. Fromthe spectra we also are able to measure the strength of iron andmagnesium absorption features using spectral indices that correlate witheffective temperature, surface gravity, and chemical abundance.Measurement of line strength allows us to identify interlopingforeground stars independently of velocity and to examine themetallicity distribution among dSph members. Here we present detaileddescriptions of MMFS, our target selection and spectroscopicobservations, the data reduction procedure, and error analysis. Wecompare our RV results to previously published measurements forindividual stars. In some cases we find evidence for a mild,velocity-dependent offset between the RVs that we measure using themagnesium triplet and previously published RV measurements derived fromthe infrared calcium triplet. In companion papers we will present thecomplete data sets and kinematic analyses of these new observations.This paper includes data obtained with the 6.5 m Magellan Telescopeslocated at Las Campanas Observatory, Chile.
| Bright globular clusters in NGC 5128: the missing link between young massive clusters and evolved massive objects
Context: Globular clusters are the simplest stellar systems in whichstructural parameters are found to correlate with their masses andluminosities. Aims: To investigate whether the brightest globularclusters in the giant elliptical galaxies are similar to the lessluminous globular clusters like those found in Local Group galaxies, westudy the velocity dispersion and structural parameter correlations of asample of bright globular clusters in the nearest giant ellipticalgalaxy NGC 5128 (Centaurus A). Methods: The UVES echelle spectrographon the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) was used to obtain high-resolutionspectra of 23 bright globular clusters in NGC 5128, and 10 clusters wereobserved with EMMI in echelle mode with the ESO New TechnologyTelescope. The two datasets have 5 clusters in common, while one clusterobserved with UVES had too low a signal-to-noise ratio. Hence the totalnumber of clusters analysed in this work is 27, more than doubling thepreviously known sample. Their spectra were cross-correlated withtemplate spectra to measure the central velocity dispersion for eachtarget. The structural parameters were either taken from the existingliterature, or in cases where this was not available, we derived themfrom our VLT FORS1 images taken under excellent seeing conditions, usingthe ISHAPE software. The velocity dispersion and structural parametermeasurements were used to obtain masses and mass-to-luminosity ratios(M/L_V) for 22 clusters. Results: The masses of the clusters in oursample range from M_vir = 10^5-107 Mȯ, andthe average M/LV is 3 ± 1. The three globular clustersharbouring X-ray point sources are the second, third, and sixth mostmassive in our sample. The most massive cluster, HCH99-18, is also thebrightest and the largest. It has a mass (M_vir =1.4×107 Mȯ) that is an order ofmagnitude higher than the most massive clusters in the Local Group and ahigh M/LV ratio (4.7 ± 1.2). We briefly discusspossible formation scenarios for this object. Conclusions: Thecorrelations of structural parameters, velocity dispersion, masses, andM/LV for the bright globular clusters in NGC 5128 extend theproperties established for the most massive Local Group clusters towardsthose characteristic of dwarf elliptical nuclei and ultra-compact dwarfgalaxies (UCDs). The detection of the mass-radius and themass-M/LV relations for the globular clusters with masseshigher than ~ 2 × 106 Mȯ provides themissing link between “normal” old globular clusters, youngmassive clusters, and evolved objects like UCDs.Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory,Paranal, Chile, within the Observing Programmes 63.N-0229 and069.D-0169.
| A catalog of rotational and radial velocities for evolved stars. IV. Metal-poor stars^
Aims.The present paper describes the first results of an observationalprogram intended to refine and extend the existing v sin i measurementsof metal-poor stars, with an emphasis on field evolved stars.Methods: .The survey was carried out with the FEROS and CORALIEspectrometers. For the v sin i measurements, obtained from spectralsynthesis, we estimate an uncertainty of about 2.0 km s-1. Results: .Precise rotational velocities v sin i are presented for alarge sample of 100 metal-poor stars, most of them evolving off themain-sequence. For the large majority of the stars composing the presentsample, rotational velocities have been measured for the first time.
| Galactic model parameters for field giants separated from field dwarfs by their 2MASS and V apparent magnitudes
We present a method which separates field dwarfs and field giants bytheir 2MASS and V apparent magnitudes. This method is based onspectroscopically selected standards and is hence reliable. We appliedit to stars in two fields, SA 54 and SA 82, and we estimated a full setof Galactic model parameters for giants including their total localspace density. Our results are in agreement with the ones given in therecent literature.
| Pulkovo compilation of radial velocities for 35495 stars in a common system.
Not Available
| Estimation of Carbon Abundances in Metal-Poor Stars. I. Application to the Strong G-Band Stars of Beers, Preston, and Shectman
We develop and test a method for the estimation of metallicities([Fe/H]) and carbon abundance ratios ([C/Fe]) for carbon-enhancedmetal-poor (CEMP) stars based on the application of artificial neuralnetworks, regressions, and synthesis models to medium-resolution (1-2Å) spectra and J-K colors. We calibrate this method by comparisonwith metallicities and carbon abundance determinations for 118 starswith available high-resolution analyses reported in the recentliterature. The neural network and regression approaches make use of apreviously defined set of line-strength indices quantifying the strengthof the Ca II K line and the CH G band, in conjunction with J-K colorsfrom the Two Micron All Sky Survey Point Source Catalog. The use ofnear-IR colors, as opposed to broadband B-V colors, is required becauseof the potentially large affect of strong molecular carbon bands onbluer color indices. We also explore the practicality of obtainingestimates of carbon abundances for metal-poor stars from the spectralinformation alone, i.e., without the additional information provided byphotometry, as many future samples of CEMP stars may lack such data. Wefind that although photometric information is required for theestimation of [Fe/H], it provides little improvement in our derivedestimates of [C/Fe], and hence, estimates of carbon-to-iron ratios basedsolely on line indices appear sufficiently accurate for most purposes.Although we find that the spectral synthesis approach yields the mostaccurate estimates of [C/Fe], in particular for the stars with thestrongest molecular bands, it is only marginally better than is obtainedfrom the line index approaches. Using these methods we are able toreproduce the previously measured [Fe/H] and [C/Fe] determinations withan accuracy of ~0.25 dex for stars in the metallicity interval-5.5<=[Fe/H]<=-1.0 and with 0.2<=(J-K)0<=0.8. Athigher metallicity, the Ca II K line begins to saturate, especially forthe cool stars in our program, and hence, this approach is not useful insome cases. As a first application, we estimate the abundances of [Fe/H]and [C/Fe] for the 56 stars identified as possibly carbon-rich, relativeto stars of similar metal abundance, in the sample of ``strong G-band''stars discussed by Beers, Preston, and Shectman.
| Stellar Chemical Signatures and Hierarchical Galaxy Formation
To compare the chemistries of stars in the Milky Way dwarf spheroidal(dSph) satellite galaxies with stars in the Galaxy, we have compiled alarge sample of Galactic stellar abundances from the literature. Whenkinematic information is available, we have assigned the stars tostandard Galactic components through Bayesian classification based onGaussian velocity ellipsoids. As found in previous studies, the[α/Fe] ratios of most stars in the dSph galaxies are generallylower than similar metallicity Galactic stars in this extended sample.Our kinematically selected stars confirm this for the Galactic halo,thin-disk, and thick-disk components. There is marginal overlap in thelow [α/Fe] ratios between dSph stars and Galactic halo stars onextreme retrograde orbits (V<-420 km s-1), but this is notsupported by other element ratios. Other element ratios compared in thispaper include r- and s-process abundances, where we find a significantoffset in the [Y/Fe] ratios, which results in a large overabundance in[Ba/Y] in most dSph stars compared with Galactic stars. Thus, thechemical signatures of most of the dSph stars are distinct from thestars in each of the kinematic components of the Galaxy. This resultrules out continuous merging of low-mass galaxies similar to these dSphsatellites during the formation of the Galaxy. However, we do not ruleout very early merging of low-mass dwarf galaxies, since up to one-halfof the most metal-poor stars ([Fe/H]<=-1.8) have chemistries that arein fair agreement with Galactic halo stars. We also do not rule outmerging with higher mass galaxies, although we note that the LMC and theremnants of the Sgr dwarf galaxy are also chemically distinct from themajority of the Galactic halo stars. Formation of the Galaxy's thickdisk by heating of an old thin disk during a merger is also not ruledout; however, the Galaxy's thick disk itself cannot be comprised of theremnants from a low-mass (dSph) dwarf galaxy, nor of a high-mass dwarfgalaxy like the LMC or Sgr, because of differences in chemistry.The new and independent environments offered by the dSph galaxies alsoallow us to examine fundamental assumptions related to thenucleosynthesis of the elements. The metal-poor stars ([Fe/H]<=-1.8)in the dSph galaxies appear to have lower [Ca/Fe] and [Ti/Fe] than[Mg/Fe] ratios, unlike similar metallicity stars in the Galaxy.Predictions from the α-process (α-rich freeze-out) would beconsistent with this result if there have been a lack of hypernovae indSph galaxies. The α-process could also be responsible for thevery low Y abundances in the metal-poor stars in dSph's; since [La/Eu](and possibly [Ba/Eu]) are consistent with pure r-process results, thelow [Y/Eu] suggests a separate r-process site for this light(first-peak) r-process element. We also discuss SNe II rates and yieldsas other alternatives, however. In stars with higher metallicities([Fe/H]>=-1.8), contributions from the s-process are expected; [(Y,La, and Ba)/Eu] all rise as expected, and yet [Ba/Y] is still muchhigher in the dSph stars than similar metallicity Galactic stars. Thisresult is consistent with s-process contributions from lower metallicityAGB stars in dSph galaxies, and is in good agreement with the slowerchemical evolution expected in the low-mass dSph galaxies relative tothe Galaxy, such that the build-up of metals occurs over much longertimescales. Future investigations of nucleosynthetic constraints (aswell as galaxy formation and evolution) will require an examination ofmany stars within individual dwarf galaxies.Finally, the Na-Ni trend reported in 1997 by Nissen & Schuster isconfirmed in Galactic halo stars, but we discuss this in terms of thegeneral nucleosynthesis of neutron-rich elements. We do not confirm thatthe Na-Ni trend is related to the accretion of dSph galaxies in theGalactic halo.
| Empirically Constrained Color-Temperature Relations. II. uvby
A new grid of theoretical color indices for the Strömgren uvbyphotometric system has been derived from MARCS model atmospheres and SSGsynthetic spectra for cool dwarf and giant stars having-3.0<=[Fe/H]<=+0.5 and 3000<=Teff<=8000 K. Atwarmer temperatures (i.e., 8000-2.0. To overcome thisproblem, the theoretical indices at intermediate and high metallicitieshave been corrected using a set of color calibrations based on fieldstars having well-determined distances from Hipparcos, accurateTeff estimates from the infrared flux method, andspectroscopic [Fe/H] values. In contrast with Paper I, star clustersplayed only a minor role in this analysis in that they provided asupplementary constraint on the color corrections for cool dwarf starswith Teff<=5500 K. They were mainly used to test thecolor-Teff relations and, encouragingly, isochrones thatemploy the transformations derived in this study are able to reproducethe observed CMDs (involving u-v, v-b, and b-y colors) for a number ofopen and globular clusters (including M67, the Hyades, and 47 Tuc)rather well. Moreover, our interpretations of such data are verysimilar, if not identical, with those given in Paper I from aconsideration of BV(RI)C observations for the sameclusters-which provides a compelling argument in support of thecolor-Teff relations that are reported in both studies. Inthe present investigation, we have also analyzed the observedStrömgren photometry for the classic Population II subdwarfs,compared our ``final'' (b-y)-Teff relationship with thosederived empirically in a number of recent studies and examined in somedetail the dependence of the m1 index on [Fe/H].Based, in part, on observations made with the Nordic Optical Telescope,operated jointly on the island of La Palma by Denmark, Finland, Iceland,Norway, and Sweden, in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de losMuchachos of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias.Based, in part, on observations obtained with the Danish 1.54 mtelescope at the European Southern Observatory, La Silla, Chile.
| Spectroscopic Binaries, Velocity Jitter, and Rotation in Field Metal-poor Red Giant and Red Horizontal-Branch Stars
We summarize 2007 radial velocity measurements of 91 metal-poor fieldred giants. Excluding binary systems with orbital solutions, ourcoverage averages 13.7 yr per star, with a maximum of 18.0 yr. We reportfour significant findings. (1) Sixteen stars are found to bespectroscopic binaries, and we present orbital solutions for 14 of them.The spectroscopic binary frequency of the metal-poor red giants, with[Fe/H]<=-1.4, for periods less than 6000 days, is 16%+/-4%, which isnot significantly different from that of comparable-metallicity fielddwarfs, 17%+/-2%. The two CH stars in our program, BD -1°2582 and HD135148, are both spectroscopic binaries. (2) Velocity jitter is presentamong about 40% of the giants with MV<=-1.4. The twobest-observed cases, HD 3008 and BD +22°2411, showpseudoperiodicities of 172 and 186 days, longer than any knownlong-period variable in metal-poor globular clusters. Photometricvariability seen in HD 3008 and three other stars showing velocityjitter hints that starspots are the cause. However, the phasing of thevelocity data with the photometry data from Hipparcos is not consistentwith a simple starspot model for HD 3008. We argue against orbitalmotion effects and radial pulsation, so rotational modulation remainsthe best explanation. The implied rotational velocities for HD 3008 andBD +22°2411, both with MV<=-1.4 and R~50Rsolar, exceed 12 km s-1. (3) Including HD 3008and BD +22°2411, we have found signs of significant excess linebroadening in eight of the 17 red giants with MV<=-1.4,which we interpret as rotation. In three cases, BD +30°2034, CD-37°14010, and HD 218732, the rotation is probably induced by tidallocking between axial rotation and the observed orbital motion with astellar companion. But this cannot explain the other five stars in oursample that display signs of significant rotation. This high frequencyof elevated rotational velocities does not appear to be caused bystellar mass transfer or mergers: there are too few main-sequencebinaries with short enough periods. We also note that the lack of anynoticeable increase in mean rotation at the magnitude level of the redgiant branch luminosity function ``bump'' argues against the rapidrotation's being caused by the transport of internal angular momentum tothe surface. Capture of a planetary-mass companion as a red giantexpands in radius could explain the high rotational velocities. (4) Wealso find significant rotation in at least six of the roughly 15 (40%)red horizontal-branch stars in our survey. It is likely that theenhanced rotation seen among a significant fraction of both blue and redhorizontal-branch stars arose when these stars were luminous red giants.Rapid rotation alone therefore appears insufficient cause to populatethe blue side of the horizontal branch. While the largest projectedrotational velocities seen among field blue and red horizontal-branchstars are consistent with their different sizes, neither are consistentwith the large values we find for the largest red giants. This suggeststhat some form of angular momentum loss (and possibly mass loss) hasbeen at work. Also puzzling is the apparent absence of rotation seen infield RR Lyrae variables. Angular momentum transfer and conservation inevolved metal-poor field stars thus pose many interesting questions forthe evolution of low-mass stars.
| Three-dimensional Spectral Classification of Low-Metallicity Stars Using Artificial Neural Networks
We explore the application of artificial neural networks (ANNs) for theestimation of atmospheric parameters (Teff, logg, and [Fe/H])for Galactic F- and G-type stars. The ANNs are fed withmedium-resolution (Δλ~1-2 Å) non-flux-calibratedspectroscopic observations. From a sample of 279 stars with previoushigh-resolution determinations of metallicity and a set of (external)estimates of temperature and surface gravity, our ANNs are able topredict Teff with an accuracy ofσ(Teff)=135-150 K over the range4250<=Teff<=6500 K, logg with an accuracy ofσ(logg)=0.25-0.30 dex over the range 1.0<=logg<=5.0 dex, and[Fe/H] with an accuracy σ([Fe/H])=0.15-0.20 dex over the range-4.0<=[Fe/H]<=0.3. Such accuracies are competitive with theresults obtained by fine analysis of high-resolution spectra. It isnoteworthy that the ANNs are able to obtain these results withoutconsideration of photometric information for these stars. We have alsoexplored the impact of the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) on the behaviorof ANNs and conclude that, when analyzed with ANNs trained on spectra ofcommensurate S/N, it is possible to extract physical parameter estimatesof similar accuracy with stellar spectra having S/N as low as 13. Takentogether, these results indicate that the ANN approach should be ofprimary importance for use in present and future large-scalespectroscopic surveys.
| Neutron-Capture Elements in the Early Galaxy: Insights from a Large Sample of Metal-poor Giants
New abundances for neutron-capture (n-capture) elements in a largesample of metal-poor giants from the Bond survey are presented. Thespectra were acquired with the KPNO 4 m echelle and coudé feedspectrographs, and have been analyzed using LTE fine-analysis techniqueswith both line analysis and spectral synthesis. Abundances of eightn-capture elements (Sr, Y, Zr, Ba, La, Nd, Eu, and Dy) in 43 stars havebeen derived from blue (λλ4070-4710, R~20,000, S/Nratio~100-200) echelle spectra and red (λλ6100-6180,R~22,000, S/N ratio~100-200) coudé spectra, and the abundance ofBa only has been derived from the red spectra for an additional 27stars. Overall, the abundances show clear evidence for a largestar-to-star dispersion in the heavy element-to-iron ratios. Thiscondition must have arisen from individual nucleosynthetic events inrapidly evolving halo progenitors that injected newly manufacturedn-capture elements into an inhomogeneous early Galactic halointerstellar medium. The new data also confirm that at metallicities[Fe/H]<~-2.4, the abundance pattern of the heavy (Z>=56) n-captureelements in most giants is well-matched to a scaled solar systemr-process nucleosynthesis pattern. The onset of the main r-process canbe seen at [Fe/H]~-2.9 this onset is consistent with the suggestion thatlow mass Type II supernovae are responsible for the r-process.Contributions from the s-process can first be seen in some stars withmetallicities as low as [Fe/H]~-2.75 and are present in most stars withmetallicities [Fe/H]>-2.3. The appearance of s-process contributionsas metallicity increases presumably reflects the longer stellarevolutionary timescale of the (low-mass) s-process nucleosynthesissites. The lighter n-capture elements (Sr-Y-Zr) are enhanced relative tothe heavier r-process element abundances. Their production cannot beattributed solely to any combination of the solar system r- and mains-processes, but requires a mixture of material from the r-process andfrom an additional n-capture process that can operate at early Galactictime. This additional process could be the weak s-process in massive(~25 Msolar) stars, or perhaps a second r-process site, i.e.,different from the site that produces the heavier (Z>=56) n-captureelements.
| Galactic [O/Fe] and [C/Fe] Ratios: The Influence of New Stellar Parameters
We consider the effects of recent NLTE gravities and Fe abundances onstellar [O/Fe] and [C/Fe] ratios. The NLTE parameters greatly reduce oreliminate the well-known discrepancy between CH- and C I-based Cabundances in metal-poor stars and previously seen trends ofatomic-based [C/Fe] and [O/Fe] with Teff. With the NLTEparameters, the metal-poor molecular-based [C/Fe] ratio maintains itsincrease with declining [Fe/H] this may also be demonstrated by therevised atomic-based ratios. [O/Fe] values derived from OH and O Ifeatures are considerably reduced and typically show improved agreementbut are 0.1-0.2 dex larger than those exhibited by the Lick-Texassyndicate's recent [O I]-based giant determinations. The revised [O/Fe]ratios still show an increase down to at least [Fe/H]~-2 we suggest thatrecent field giant data show an increase with similar slope. Evenadopting uniform NLTE parameters, study-to-study abundance differencescan be significant; moreover, different NLTE studies yield differinggravities and Fe abundances even after taking Teffdifferences into account. Comparison of metal-poor giant gravities andcluster abundances with isochrones, trigonometric gravities, andnear-turnoff cluster abundances yields conflicting indications aboutwhether the evolved gravities might be underestimated as suggested formetal-poor dwarfs. Regardless, we argue that even extreme gravityrevisions do not affect the [O/Fe]-[Fe/H] relation derived from theextant results. Combining what we believe the most reliable giant anddwarf data considered here, we find[O/Fe]=-0.184(+/-0.022)×[Fe/H]+0.019 with an rms scatter of only0.13 dex; there is no indication of a break or slope change atintermediate [Fe/H]. The gentle slope is in very reasonable agreementwith some chemical evolution models employing yields with small mass andmetallicity dependences. Finally, two notes are made concerning Naabundance-spatial position and element-to-element correlations in M13giants.
| Kinematics of Metal-poor Stars in the Galaxy. II. Proper Motions for a Large Nonkinematically Selected Sample
We present a revised catalog of 2106 Galactic stars, selected withoutkinematic bias and with available radial velocities, distance estimates,and metal abundances in the range -4.0<=[Fe/H]<=0.0. This updateof the 1995 Beers & Sommer-Larsen catalog includes newly derivedhomogeneous photometric distance estimates, revised radial velocitiesfor a number of stars with recently obtained high-resolution spectra,and refined metallicities for stars originally identified in the HKobjective-prism survey (which account for nearly half of the catalog)based on a recent recalibration. A subset of 1258 stars in this cataloghave available proper motions based on measurements obtained with theHipparcos astrometry satellite or taken from the updated AstrographicCatalogue (second epoch positions from either the Hubble Space TelescopeGuide Star Catalog or the Tycho Catalogue), the Yale/San Juan SouthernProper Motion Catalog 2.0, and the Lick Northern Proper Motion Catalog.Our present catalog includes 388 RR Lyrae variables (182 of which arenewly added), 38 variables of other types, and 1680 nonvariables, withdistances in the range 0.1 to 40 kpc.
| Mixing along the red giant branch in metal-poor field stars
We have determined Li, C, N, O, Na, and Fe abundances, and12C/13C isotopic ratios for a sample of 62 fieldmetal-poor stars in the metallicity range -2<=[Fe/H]<= -1. Starswere selected in order to have accurate luminosity estimates from theliterature, so that evolutionary phases could be clearly determined foreach star. We further enlarged this dataset by adding 43 more starshaving accurate abundances for some of these elements and similarly welldefined luminosities from the literature. This large sample was used toshow that (small mass) lower-RGB stars (i.e. stars brighter than thefirst dredge-up luminosity and fainter than that of the RGB bump) haveabundances of light elements in agreement with predictions fromclassical evolutionary models: only marginal changes occur for CNOelements, while dilution within the convective envelope causes thesurface Li abundance to decrease by a factor of ~ 20. A second, distinctmixing episode occurs in most (perhaps all) small mass metal-poor starsjust after the RGB bump, when the molecular weight barrier left by themaximum inward penetration of the convective shell is canceled by theoutward expansion of the H-burning shell, in agreement with recenttheoretical predictions. In field stars, this second mixing episode onlyreaches regions of incomplete CNO burning: it causes a depletion of thesurface 12C abundance by about a factor of 2.5, and acorresponding increase in the N abundance by about a factor of 4. The12C/13C is lowered to about 6 to 10 (close to butdistinctly higher than the equilibrium value of 3.5), while practicallyall remaining Li is burnt. However an O-Na anti-correlation such astypically observed amongst globular cluster stars, is not present infield stars. None of the 29 field stars more evolved than the RGB bump(including 8 RHB stars) shows any sign of an O depletion or Naenhancement. This means that the second mixing episode is not deepenough to reach regions were ON-burning occurs in field stars. Based inpart on observations made at the ESO La Silla ObservatoryTables 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 are available in electronic form only at the CDSvia anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr(130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| The effective temperature scale of giant stars (F0-K5). I. The effective temperature determination by means of the IRFM
We have applied the InfraRed Flux Method (IRFM) to a sample ofapproximately 500 giant stars in order to derive their effectivetemperatures with an internal mean accuracy of about 1.5% and a maximumuncertainty in the zero point of the order of 0.9%. For the applicationof the IRFM, we have used a homogeneous grid of theoretical modelatmosphere flux distributions developed by \cite[Kurucz (1993)]{K93}.The atmospheric parameters of the stars roughly cover the ranges: 3500 K<= T_eff <= 8000 K; -3.0 <= [Fe/H] <= +0.5; 0.5 <= log(g) <= 3.5. The monochromatic infrared fluxes at the continuum arebased on recent photometry with errors that satisfy the accuracyrequirements of the work. We have derived the bolometric correction ofgiant stars by using a new calibration which takes the effect ofmetallicity into account. Direct spectroscopic determinations ofmetallicity have been adopted where available, although estimates basedon photometric calibrations have been considered for some stars lackingspectroscopic ones. The adopted infrared absolute flux calibration,based on direct optical measurements of stellar angular diameters, putsthe effective temperatures determined in this work in the same scale asthose obtained by direct methods. We have derived up to fourtemperatures, TJ, TH, TK and T_{L'},for each star using the monochromatic fluxes at different infraredwavelengths in the photometric bands J, H, K and L'. They show goodconsistency over 4000 K, and there is no appreciable trend withwavelength, metallicity and/or temperature. We provide a detaileddescription of the steps followed for the application of the IRFM, aswell as the sources of error and their effect on final temperatures. Wealso provide a comparison of the results with previous work.
| Estimation of Stellar Metal Abundance. II. A Recalibration of the Ca II K Technique, and the Autocorrelation Function Method
We have recalibrated a method for the estimation of stellar metalabundance, parameterized as [Fe/H], based on medium-resolution (1-2Å) optical spectra (the majority of which cover the wavelengthrange 3700-4500 Å). The equivalent width of the Ca II K line (3933Å) as a function of [Fe/H] and broadband B-V color, as predictedfrom spectrum synthesis and model atmosphere calculations, is comparedwith observations of 551 stars with high-resolution abundances availablefrom the literature (a sevenfold increase in the number of calibrationstars that were previously available). A second method, based on theFourier autocorrelation function technique first described by Ratnatunga& Freeman, is used to provide an independent estimate of [Fe/H], ascalibrated by comparison with 405 standard-star abundances.Metallicities based on a combination of the two techniques for dwarfsand giants in the color range 0.30<=(B-V)_0<=1.2 exhibit anexternal 1 sigma scatter of approximately 0.10-0.20 dex over theabundance range -4.0<=[Fe/H]<=0.5. Particular attention has beengiven to the determination of abundance estimates at the metal-rich endof the calibration, where our previous attempt suffered from aconsiderable zero-point offset. Radial velocities, accurate toapproximately 10 km s^-1, are reported for all 551 calibration stars.
| Ca II H and K Photometry on the UVBY System. III. The Metallicity Calibration for the Red Giants
New photometry on the uvby Ca system is presented for over 300 stars.When combined with previous data, the sample is used to calibrate themetallicity dependence of the hk index for cooler, evolved stars. Themetallicity scale is based upon the standardized merger of spectroscopicabundances from 38 studies since 1983, providing an overlap of 122evolved stars with the photometric catalog. The hk index producesreliable abundances for stars in the [Fe/H] range from -0.8 to -3.4,losing sensitivity among cooler stars due to saturation effects athigher [Fe/H], as expected.
| On the Use of [Na/Fe] and [alpha/Fe] Ratios and Hipparcos-based (U, V, W) Velocities as Age Indicators among Low-Metallicity Halo Field Giants
We have examined the [Na/Fe] and [Mg/Fe] ratios in a sample of 68 fieldhalo giants with -3 <~ [Fe/H] <~ -1. We recalculated the Galactic(U, V, W) velocity components for these stars, using Hipparcos propermotions and a new Hipparcos-based distance scale. We used these data tosee how the abundance ratios may relate to kinematical substructure inthe Galactic halo. To isolate a set of true halo stars, we eliminatedmetal-weak thick-disk stars, about 10% of our sample. The field halogiants show the expected correlation of Na and Mg abundances, so we canuse Na as a surrogate for Mg and the alpha-elements. The most metal-poorstars show a wider dispersion of [Na/Fe] ratios than do the lessmetal-poor stars; the difference is most striking for stars onretrograde galactic orbits. Some 20% of our retrograde giants and 13% ofall our halo giants have [Na/Fe] <= -0.35 and may be significantlyyounger than the oldest halo objects. Halo giants considered ``young''by this Na abundance criterion show a preference for retrograde orbits.Giants in some globular clusters (e.g., M13) do not exhibit the Mgversus Na correlation found among halo field giants. Instead, they havevery large [Na/Fe] ratios and widely scattered [Mg/Fe] ratios, probablyinduced by deep mixing, which field halo giants apparently do notexperience.
| Broad-band JHK(L') photometry of a sample of giants with 0.5 > [Fe/H] > -3
We present the results of a three-year campaign of broad-band photometryin the near-infrared J, H, K and L' bands for a sample of approximately250 giant stars carried out at the Observatorio del Teide (Tenerife,Spain). Transformations of the Telescopio Carlos Sanchez systeminto/from several currently used infrared systems are extended to theredward part of the colour axis. The linearity of our photometric systemin the range -3 mag [Fe/H] >-3. Data of comparable quality previouslypublished have been added to the sample in order to increase thereliability of the relations to be obtained. We also provide mean IRcolours for giant stars according to spectral type.ables 1, 2 and 3 are only available in electronic form via the CDS(anonymous ftp 130.79.128.5 or http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| Kinematics and Metallicity of Stars in the Solar Region
Several samples of nearby stars with the most accurate astrometric andphotometric parameters are searched for clues to their evolutionaryhistory. The main samples are (1) the main-sequence stars with b - ybetween 0.29 and 0.59 mag (F3 to K1) in the Yale parallax catalog, (2) agroup of high-velocity subgiants studied spectroscopically by Ryan &Lambert, and (3) high-velocity main-sequence stars in the extensiveinvestigation by Norris, Bessel, & Pickles. The major conclusionsare as follows: (1) The oldest stars (halo), t >= 10-12 Gyr, haveV-velocities (in the direction of Galactic rotation and referred to theSun) in the range from about -50 to -800 km s^-1 and have aheavy-element abundance [Fe/H] of less than about -0.8 dex. The agerange of these objects depends on our knowledge of globular clusterages, but if age is correlated with V-velocity, the youngest may be M22and M28 (V ~ -50 km s^-1) and the oldest NGC 3201 (V ~ -500 km s^-1) andassorted field stars. (2) The old disk population covers the large agerange from about 2 Gyr (Hyades, NGC 752) to 10 or 12 Gyr (Arcturusgroup, 47 Tuc), but the lag (V) velocity is restricted to less thanabout 120 km s^-1 and [Fe/H] >= -0.8 or -0.9 dex. The [Fe/H] ~ -0.8dex division between halo and old disk, near t ~ 10-12 Gyr, is marked bya change in the character of the CN index (C_m) and of the blanketingparameter K of the DDO photometry. (3) The young disk population, t <2 Gyr, is confined exclusively to a well-defined area of the (U, V)velocity plane. The age separating young and old disk stars is also thatseparating giant evolution of the Hyades (near main-sequence luminosity)and M67 (degenerate helium cores and a large luminosity rise) kinds. Thetwo disk populations are also separated by such indexes as the g-indexof Geveva photometry. There appears to be no obvious need to invokeexogeneous influences to understand the motion and heavy-elementabundance distributions of the best-observed stars near the Sun.Individual stars of special interest include the parallax star HD 55575,which may be an equal-component binary, and the high-velocity star HD220127, with a well-determined space velocity near 1000 km s^-1.
| Early evolution of the Galactic halo revealed from Hipparcos observations of metal-poor stars
The kinematics of 122 red giant and 124 RR Lyrae stars in the solarneighborhood are studied using accurate measurements of their propermotions obtained by the Hipparcos astrometry satellite, combined withtheir published photometric distances, metal abundances, and radialvelocities. A majority of these sample stars have metal abundances of(Fe/H) = -1 or less and thus represent the old stellar populations inthe Galaxy. The halo component, with (Fe/H) = -1.6 or less, ischaracterized by a lack of systemic rotation and a radially elongatedvelocity ellipsoid. About 16 percent of such metal-poor stars have loworbital eccentricities, and we see no evidence of a correlation between(Fe/H) and e. Based on the model for the e-distribution of orbits, weshow that this fraction of low-e stars for (Fe/H) = -1.6 or less isexplained by the halo component alone, without introducing the extradisk component claimed by recent workers. This is also supported by theabsence of a significant change in the e-distribution with height fromthe Galactic plane. In the intermediate-metallicity range, we find thatstars with disklike kinematics have only modest effects on thedistributions of rotational velocities and e for the sample at absolutevalue of z less than 1 kpc. This disk component appears to constituteonly 10 percent for (Fe/H) between -1.6 and -1 and 20 percent for (Fe/H)between -1.4 and -1.
| Core velocity dispersions for 25 Galactic and 10 old Magellanic globular clusters.
We present, for 25 Galactic and 10 old Magellanic globular clusters,projected velocity dispersion (σ_p_) measurements obtained byapplying a cross-correlation technique to integrated-light spectra. Inorder to understand and estimate the statistical errors of thesemeasurements due to small numbers of bright stars dominating theintegrated light, we provide an extensive discussion based on detailednumerical simulations. These errors are smaller if the integration areais larger and/or the cluster concentration higher. The simulations showthat measurements are reliable when the integrated light within theintegration area is brighter than a given magnitude. The statisticalerrors on the σ_p_ measurements of Magellanic globular clustersare small because of a physically large integration area, whereas theycan be important for measurements carried out over small central areasin Galactic clusters. The present observational results are used tooutline a few characteristics of the globular cluster fundamental plane.In this respect, the old Magellanic globular clusters appear similar tothe Galactic clusters.
| Internal dynamics of globular clusters
Galactic globular clusters, which are ancient building blocks of ourGalaxy, represent a very interesting family of stellar systems in whichsome fundamental dynamical processes have taken place on time scalesshorter than the age of the universe. In contrast with galaxies, theseclusters represent unique laboratories for learning about two-bodyrelaxation, mass segregation from equipartition of energy, stellarcollisions, stellar mergers, and core collapse. In the present review,we summarize the tremendous developments, as much theoretical asobservational, that have taken place during the last two decades, andwhich have led to a quantum jump in our understanding of these beautifuldynamical systems.
| Sodium Abundances in Field Metal-Poor Stars
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1996AJ....111.1689P&db_key=AST
| Ca II H and K Filter Photometry on the UVBY System. II. The Catalog of Observations
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1995AJ....109.2828T&db_key=AST
| Kinematics of metal-poor stars in the galaxy
We discuss the kinematic properties of a sample of 1936 Galactic stars,selected without kinematic bias, and with abundances (Fe/H) is less thanor equal to -0.6. The stars selected for this study all have measuredradial velocities, and the majority have abundances determined fromspectroscopic or narrow-/intermediate-band photometric techniques. Incontrast to previous examinations of the kinematics of the metal-poorstars in the Galaxy, our sample contains large numbers of stars that arelocated at distances in excess of 1 kpc from the Galactic plane. Thus, amuch clearer picture of the nature of the metal-deficient populations inthe Galaxy can now be drawn.
| An Abundance Calibration for DDO Photometry of Population-II G and K Giants
Abstract image available at:http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1994MNRAS.268..733C&db_key=AST
| Reddening estimation for halo red giants using UVBY photometry
Updated uvby observations for a larger sample of metal-deficient redgiants are presented and combined with a select sample of data from theliterature transformed to a common system. Using the reddening maps ofBurstein & Heiles (1982), new absolute magnitudes, distances,metallicities, and reddenings are derived for each star. Themetallicities are determined with a revised calibration of them1, (b-y) diagram based upon comparison to a complilation ofrecent spectrsoscopic abundances transformed to a common system. Thephotometric abundances agree very well with the spectroscopic; thedispersion among the residuals for 58 giants is +/- 0.16 dex. Thedereddened indices are used to show that for red giants with (Fe/H) lessthan -1.5, there is a well-defined relation in the c0,(b-y)0 diagram which exhibits only a weak dependence uponmetallicity. Use of the standard relations allows one to obtainreddening estimates for normal halo field giants and globular clustersin the appropriate metallicity range.
| Spectroscopy of the CA II K line of metal-poor field red giants. I - Southern Hemisphere observations
Spectra of the Ca II K line have been obtained for a sample of fieldmetal-poor red giants. Strong chromospheric emission is found to bequite common among such giants of absolute magnitude brighter than M(v)about -0.3. The behavior of the violet/red asymmetry of the emissionline profile shows no significant difference with that observed amongPopulation I red giants, suggesting that the onset of material outflowis independent of metallicity. The Ca II emission is observed amonggiants more than one magnitude fainter than those which exhibit emissionin the wings of the H-alpha line. One possible interpretation of thisresult is that the transient phenomenon associated with the variableH-alpha emission does not become established until a Population II giantattains luminosities considerably greater than those at whichwell-developed chromospheres are achieved.
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Dades d'Observació i Astrometria
| Constel·lació: | Hydra |
| Ascensió Recta: | 10h47m29.01s |
| Declinació: | -25°26'14.6" |
| Magnitud Aparent: | 9.289 |
| Moviment propi RA: | -19.9 |
| Moviment propi Dec: | -48.2 |
| B-T magnitude: | 10.357 |
| V-T magnitude: | 9.378 |
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