239 research outputs found
Faint emission lines in the Galactic H II regions M16, M20 and NGC 3603
We present deep echelle spectrophotometry of the Galactic {\hii} regions M16,
M20 and NGC 3603. The data have been taken with the Very Large Telescope
Ultraviolet-Visual Echelle Spectrograph in the 3100 to 10400 \AA range. We have
detected more than 200 emission lines in each region. Physical conditions have
been derived using different continuum and line intensity ratios. We have
derived He, C and O abundances from pure recombination
lines as well as abundances from collisionally excited lines for a large number
of ions of different elements. We have obtained consistent estimations of the
temperature fluctuation parameter, {\ts}, using different methods. We also
report the detection of deuterium Balmer lines up to D (M16) and to
D (M20) in the blue wings of the hydrogen lines, which excitation
mechanism seems to be continuum fluorescence. The temperature fluctuations
paradigm agree with the results obtained from optical CELs and the more
uncertain ones from far IR fine structure CELs in NGC 3603, although, more
observations covering the same volume of the nebula are necessary to obtain
solid conclusions.Comment: 22 pages, 13 Tables, 7 Figures. Accepted for publication by MNRA
Gaia-ESO Survey: Gas dynamics in the Carina nebula through optical emission lines
Aims. We present observations from the Gaia-ESO Survey in the lines of Hα, [N II], [S II], and He I of nebular emission in the central part of the Carina nebula. Methods. We investigate the properties of the two already known kinematic components (approaching and receding), which account for the bulk of emission. Moreover, we investigate the features of the much less known low-intensity high-velocity (absolute RV >50 km s) gas emission. Results. We show that gas giving rise to Hα and He I emission is dynamically well correlated with but not identical to gas seen through forbidden-line emission. Gas temperatures are derived from line-width ratios, and densities from [S II] doublet ratios. The spatial variation of N ionization is also studied, and found to differ between the approaching and receding components. The main result is that the bulk of the emission lines in the central part of Carina arise from several distinct shell-like expanding regions, the most evident found around η Car, the Trumpler 14 core, and the star WR25. These >shells> are non-spherical and show distortions probably caused by collisions with other shells or colder, higher-density gas. Some of them are also partially obscured by foreground dust lanes, while very little dust is found in their interior. Preferential directions, parallel to the dark dust lanes, are found in the shell geometries and physical properties, probably related to strong density gradients in the studied region. We also find evidence that the ionizing flux emerging from η Car and the surrounding Homunculus nebula varies with polar angle. The high-velocity components in the wings of Hα are found to arise from expanding dust reflecting the η Car spectrum. © ESO, 2016.This work was partly supported by the European Union FP7 programme through ERC grant number 320360 and by the Leverhulme Trust through grant RPG-2012-541Peer Reviewe
The Gaia-ESO Survey: pre-main-sequence stars in the young open cluster NGC 3293
Delgado, Antonio J. et. al.The young open cluster NGC3293 is included in the observing program of the Gaia-ESO survey (GES). The radial velocity values provided have been used to assign cluster membership probabilities by means of a single-variable parametric analysis. These membership probabilities are compared to the results of the photometric membership assignment of NGC3293, based on UBVRI photometry. The agreement of the photometric and kinematic member samples amounts to 65 per cent, and could increase to 70 per cent as suggested by the analysis of the differences between both samples. A number of photometric PMS candidate members of spectral type F are found, which are confirmed by the results from VPHAS photometry and SED fitting for the stars in common with VPHAS and GES data sets. Excesses at mid- and near-infrared wavelengths, and signs of H alpha emission, are investigated for them. Marginal presence of H alpha emission or infilling is detected for the candidate members. Several of them exhibit moderate signs of U excess and weak excesses at mid-IR wavelengths. We suggest that these features originate from accretion discs in their last stages of evolution.This work was partly supported by the European Union FP7 programme through ERC grant number 320360 and by the Leverhulme Trust through grant RPG-2012-541. We acknowledge the support from INAF and Ministero dell' Istruzione, dell' Universita' e della Ricerca (MIUR) in the form of the grant 'Premiale VLT 2012'. The results presented here benefit from discussions held during the Gaia-ESO workshops and conferences supported by the ESF (European Science Foundation) through the GREAT Research Network Programme. AJD, LS, EJA and MTC acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, through grant AYA2013-40611-P. JLY acknowledges support from FCT (SFRH/BSAB/1423/2014 and UID/FIS/04434/2013). TM acknowledges financial support from Belspo for contract PRODEX GAIA-DPAC.Peer reviewe
The Gaia-ESO Survey: dynamics of ionized and neutral gas in the Lagoon nebula (M8)
We present a spectroscopic study of the dynamics of the ionized and neutral
gas throughout the Lagoon nebula (M8), using VLT/FLAMES data from the Gaia-ESO
Survey. We explore the connections between the nebular gas and the stellar
population of the associated star cluster NGC6530. We characterize through
spectral fitting emission lines of H-alpha, [N II] and [S II] doublets, [O
III], and absorption lines of sodium D doublet, using data from the
FLAMES/Giraffe and UVES spectrographs, on more than 1000 sightlines towards the
entire face of the Lagoon nebula. Gas temperatures are derived from line-width
comparisons, densities from the [S II] doublet ratio, and ionization parameter
from H-alpha/[N II] ratio. Although doubly-peaked emission profiles are rarely
found, line asymmetries often imply multiple velocity components along the line
of sight. This is especially true for the sodium absorption, and for the [O
III] lines. Spatial maps for density and ionization are derived, and compared
to other known properties of the nebula and of its massive stars 9 Sgr,
Herschel 36 and HD 165052 which are confirmed to provide most of the ionizing
flux. The detailed velocity fields across the nebula show several expanding
shells, related to the cluster NGC6530, the O stars 9 Sgr and Herschel 36, and
the massive protostar M8East-IR. The origins of kinematical expansion and
ionization of the NGC6530 shell appear to be different. We are able to put
constrains on the line-of-sight (relative or absolute) distances between some
of these objects and the molecular cloud. The large obscuring band running
through the middle of the nebula is being compressed by both sides, which might
explain its enhanced density. We also find an unexplained large-scale velocity
gradient across the entire nebula. At larger distances, the transition from
ionized to neutral gas is studied using the sodium lines.Comment: 26 pages, 31 figures, accepted on Astronomy and Astrophysics journa
Testing the chemical tagging technique with open clusters
Context. Stars are born together from giant molecular clouds and, if we
assume that the priors were chemically homogeneous and well-mixed, we expect
them to share the same chemical composition. Most of the stellar aggregates are
disrupted while orbiting the Galaxy and most of the dynamic information is
lost, thus the only possibility of reconstructing the stellar formation history
is to analyze the chemical abundances that we observe today.
Aims. The chemical tagging technique aims to recover disrupted stellar
clusters based merely on their chemical composition. We evaluate the viability
of this technique to recover co-natal stars that are no longer gravitationally
bound.
Methods. Open clusters are co-natal aggregates that have managed to survive
together. We compiled stellar spectra from 31 old and intermediate-age open
clusters, homogeneously derived atmospheric parameters, and 17 abundance
species, and applied machine learning algorithms to group the stars based on
their chemical composition. This approach allows us to evaluate the viability
and efficiency of the chemical tagging technique.
Results. We found that stars at different evolutionary stages have distinct
chemical patterns that may be due to NLTE effects, atomic diffusion, mixing,
and biases. When separating stars into dwarfs and giants, we observed that a
few open clusters show distinct chemical signatures while the majority show a
high degree of overlap. This limits the recovery of co-natal aggregates by
applying the chemical tagging technique. Nevertheless, there is room for
improvement if more elements are included and models are improved.Comment: accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Corrected
typo
The Gaia-ESO Survey: Tracing interstellar extinction
Large spectroscopic surveys have enabled in the recent years the computation
of three-dimensional interstellar extinction maps thanks to accurate stellar
atmospheric parameters and line-of-sight distances. Such maps are complementary
to 3D maps extracted from photometry, allowing a more thorough study of the
dust properties. Our goal is to use the high-resolution spectroscopic survey
Gaia-ESO in order to obtain with a good distance resolution the interstellar
extinction and its dependency as a function of the environment and the
Galactocentric position. We use the stellar atmospheric parameters of more than
5000 stars, obtained from the Gaia-ESO survey second internal data release, and
combine them with optical (SDSS) and near-infrared (VISTA) photometry as well
as different sets of theoretical stellar isochrones, in order to calculate
line-of-sight extinction and distances. The extinction coefficients are then
compared with the literature to discuss their dependancy on the stellar
parameters and position in the Galaxy. Within the errors of our method, our
work does not show that there is any dependence of the interstellar extinction
coefficient on the atmospheric parameters of the stars. We do not find any
evidence of the variation of E(J-H)/E(J-K) with the angle from the Galactic
centre nor with Galactocentric distance. This suggests that we are dealing with
a uniform extinction law in the SDSS ugriz bands and the near-IR JHKs bands.
Therefore, extinction maps using mean colour-excesses and assuming a constant
extinction coefficient can be used without introducing any systematic errors.Comment: 13 pages, 14 figures, 1 Appendix accepted for publication in
Astronomy&Astrophysic
The Gaia-ESO Survey: a quiescent Milky Way with no significant dark/stellar accreted disc
According to our current cosmological model, galaxies like the Milky Way are
expected to experience many mergers over their lifetimes. The most massive of
the merging galaxies will be dragged towards the disc-plane, depositing stars
and dark matter into an accreted disc structure. In this work, we utilize the
chemo-dynamical template developed in Ruchti et al. to hunt for accreted stars.
We apply the template to a sample of 4,675 stars in the third internal data
release from the Gaia-ESO Spectroscopic Survey. We find a significant component
of accreted halo stars, but find no evidence of an accreted disc component.
This suggests that the Milky Way has had a rather quiescent merger history
since its disc formed some 8-10 billion years ago and therefore possesses no
significant dark matter disc.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
- …