469 research outputs found
MyGIsFOS: an automated code for parameter determination and detailed abundance analysis in cool stars
The current and planned high-resolution, high-multiplexity stellar
spectroscopic surveys, as well as the swelling amount of under-utilized data
present in public archives have led to an increasing number of efforts to
automate the crucial but slow process to retrieve stellar parameters and
chemical abundances from spectra. We present MyGIsFOS, a code designed to
derive atmospheric parameters and detailed stellar abundances from medium -
high resolution spectra of cool (FGK) stars. We describe the general structure
and workings of the code, present analyses of a number of well studied stars
representative of the parameter space MyGIsFOS is designed to cover, and
examples of the exploitation of MyGIsFOS very fast analysis to assess
uncertainties through Montecarlo tests. MyGIsFOS aims to reproduce a
``traditional'' manual analysis by fitting spectral features for different
elements against a precomputed grid of synthetic spectra. Fe I and Fe II lines
can be employed to determine temperature, gravity, microturbulence, and
metallicity by iteratively minimizing the dependence of Fe I abundance from
line lower energy and equivalent width, and imposing Fe I - Fe II ionization
equilibrium. Once parameters are retrieved, detailed chemical abundances are
measured from lines of other elements. MyGIsFOS replicates closely the results
obtained in similar analyses on a set of well known stars. It is also quite
fast, performing a full parameter determination and detailed abundance analysis
in about two minutes per star on a mainstream desktop computer. Currently, its
preferred field of application are high-resolution and/or large spectral
coverage data (e.g UVES, X-Shooter, HARPS, Sophie).Comment: 15 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication by A&
Time Domain Explorations With Digital Sky Surveys
One of the new frontiers of astronomical research is the exploration of time
variability on the sky at different wavelengths and flux levels. We have
carried out a pilot project using DPOSS data to study strong variables and
transients, and are now extending it to the new Palomar-QUEST synoptic sky
survey. We report on our early findings and outline the methodology to be
implemented in preparation for a real-time transient detection pipeline. In
addition to large numbers of known types of highly variable sources (e.g., SNe,
CVs, OVV QSOs, etc.), we expect to find numerous transients whose nature may be
established by a rapid follow-up. Whereas we will make all detected variables
publicly available through the web, we anticipate that email alerts would be
issued in the real time for a subset of events deemed to be the most
interesting. This real-time process entails many challenges, in an effort to
maintain a high completeness while keeping the contamination low. We will
utilize distributed Grid services developed by the GRIST project, and implement
a variety of advanced statistical and machine learning techniques.Comment: 5 pages, 2 postscript figures, uses adassconf.sty. To be published
in: "ADASS XIV (2004)", Eds. Patrick Shopbell, Matthew Britton and Rick
Ebert, ASP Conference Serie
Spectroscopy of QUEST RR Lyrae Variables: the new Virgo Stellar Stream
Eighteen RR Lyrae variables (RRLs) that lie in the "12\fh 4 clump"
identified by the QUEST survey have been observed spectroscopically to measure
their radial velocities and metal abundances. Ten blue horizontal branch (BHB)
stars identified by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) were added to this
sample. Six of the 9 stars in the densest region of the clump have a mean
radial velocity in the galactic rest frame () of 99.8 and
= 17.3 , which is slightly smaller than the average error of
the measurements. The whole sample contains 8 RRLs and 5 BHB stars that have
values of suggesting membership in this stream. For 7 of these
RRLs, the measurements of [Fe/H], which have an internal precision of 0.08 dex,
yield and = 0.40. These values suggest that
the stream is a tidally disrupted dwarf spheroidal galaxy of low luminosity.
Photometry from the database of the SDSS indicates that this stream covers at
least 106 deg of the sky in the constellation Virgo. The name Virgo Stellar
Stream is suggested.Comment: Replaced with revised version accepted for publication in ApJ Letters
13 pages 4 figure
Stellar over-densities in the halo: the extent of the Virgo over-density
We map the three dimensional extent of the Virgo Over-density by combining
distance information from RR Lyrae variables and projected spatial information
from SEKBO (Keller et al. 2008) and Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) DR6
photometry. The Virgo Over-density is seen to comprise two filaments 14.5 x 3
degrees and 10 x 3 degrees and a circular structure 3 degrees in diameter.
Together the three features span 38 degrees of right ascension and declinations
of +2 to -15 degrees. RR Lyrae variables place the two filamentary features at
heliocentric distances of 20 and 17 kpc respectively, with projected dimensions
of 5 x 1 kpc and 3 x 1 kpc.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, MNRAS accepte
Discovery of a thin stellar stream in the SLAMS survey
We report the discovery of a thin stellar stream - which we name the Jet
stream - crossing the constellations of Hydra and Pyxis. The discovery was made
in data from the SLAMS survey, which comprises deep and imaging for a
square degree region above the Galactic disc performed by the CTIO Blanco
+ DECam. SLAMS photometric catalogues will be made publicly available. The
stream is approximately 0.18 degrees wide and 10 degrees long, though it is
truncated by the survey footprint. Its colour-magnitude diagram is consistent
with an old, metal-poor stellar population at a heliocentric distance of
approximately 29 kpc. We corroborate this measurement by identifying a
spatially coincident overdensity of likely blue horizontal branch stars at the
same distance. There is no obvious candidate for a surviving stream progenitor.Comment: MNRAS accepted versio
Management of Low-Grade Glioma
The optimal management of patients with low-grade glioma (LGG) is controversial. The controversy largely stems from the lack of well-designed clinical trials with adequate follow-up to account for the relatively long progression-free survival and overall survival of patients with LGG. Nonetheless, the literature increasingly suggests that expectant management is no longer optimal. Rather, there is mounting evidence supporting active management including consideration of surgical resection, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, molecular and histopathologic characterization, and use of modern imaging techniques for monitoring and prognostication. In particular, there is growing evidence favoring extensive surgical resection and increasing interest in the role of chemotherapy (especially temozolomide) in the management of these tumors. In this review, we critically analyze emerging trends in the literature with respect to management of LGG, with particular emphasis on reports published during the past year
The Chemistry of the Trailing arm of the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy
We present abundances of C, O, Ti, and Fe for eleven M-giant stars in the
trailing tidal arm of the Sagittarius dwarf (Sgr). The abundances were derived
by comparing synthetic spectra with high-resolution infrared spectra obtained
with the Phoenix spectrograph on the Gemini South telescope. The targeted stars
are drawn from two regions of the Sgr trailing arm separated by 66 degrees (5
stars) and 132 degrees (6 stars) from the main body of Sgr. The trailing arm
provides a more direct diagnostic of the chemical evolution of Sgr compared to
the extensively phase-mixed leading arm.
Within our restricted sample of ~2-3 Gyr old stars, we find that the stream
material exhibits a significant metallicity gradient of -(2.4\pm0.3)x10^{-3}
dex / degree (-(9.4\pm1.1)x10^{-4} dex / kpc) away from the main body of Sgr.
The tidal disruption of Sgr is a relatively recently event. We therefore
interpret the presence of a metallicity gradient in the debris as indicative of
a similar gradient in the progenitor. The fact that such a metallicity gradient
survived for almost a Hubble time indicates that the efficiency of radial
mixing was very low in the Sgr progenitor.
No significant gradient is seen to exist in the [alpha/Fe] abundance ratio
along the trailing arm. Our results may be accounted for by a radial decrease
in star formation efficiency and/or radial increase in the efficiency of
galactic wind-driven metal loss in the chemical evolution of the Sgr
progenitor. The [Ti/Fe] and [O/Fe] abundance ratios observed within the stream
are distinct from those of the Galactic halo. We conclude that the fraction of
the intermediate to metal-rich halo population contributed by the recent
dissolution (<3 Gyr) of Sgr-like dwarf galaxies can not be substantial.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures, ApJ accepte
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