34 research outputs found
Stellar mass and age determinations - I. Grids of stellar models from Z=0.006 to 0.04 and M=0.5 to 3.5 Msun
We present dense grids of stellar models suitable for comparison with
observable quantities measured with great precision, such as those derived from
binary systems or planet-hosting stars. We computed new Geneva models without
rotation at metallicities Z=0.006, 0.01, 0.014, 0.02, 0.03 and 0.04 (i.e.
[Fe/H] from -0.33 to +0.54) and with mass in small steps from 0.5 to 3.5 Msun.
Great care was taken in the procedure for interpolating between tracks in order
to compute isochrones. Several properties of our grids are presented as a
function of stellar mass and metallicity. Those include surface properties in
the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, internal properties including mean stellar
density, sizes of the convective cores, and global asteroseismic properties. We
checked our interpolation procedure and compared interpolated tracks with
computed tracks. The deviations are less than 1% in radius and effective
temperatures for most of the cases considered. We also checked that the present
isochrones provide nice fits to four couples of observed detached binaries and
to the observed sequences of the open clusters NGC 3532 and M67. Including
atomic diffusion in our models with M<1.1 Msun leads to variations in the
surface abundances that should be taken into account when comparing with
observational data of stars with measured metallicities. For that purpose,
iso-Zsurf lines are computed. These can be requested for download from a
dedicated web page together with tracks at masses and metallicities within the
limits covered by the grids. The validity of the relations linking Z and FeH is
also re-assessed in light of the surface abundance variations in low-mass
stars.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
The Luminosity Function of M3
We present a high precision, large sample luminosity function (LF) for the
Galactic globular cluster M3. With a combination of ground based and Hubble
Space Telescope data we cover the entire radial extent of the cluster. The
observed LF is well fit by canonical standard stellar models from the red giant
branch (RGB) tip to below the main sequence turnoff point. Specifically,
neither the RGB LF-bump nor subgiant branch LF indicate any breakdown in the
standard models. On the main sequence we find evidence for a flat initial mass
function and for mass segregation due to the dynamical evolution of the
cluster.Comment: 18 pages, 13 figures. ApJ, in pres
On the Delta V_HB_bump parameter in Globular Clusters
We present new empirical estimates of the Delta V_HB_bump parameter for 15
Galactic globular clusters (GGCs) using accurate and homogeneous ground-based
optical data. Together with similar evaluations available in the literature, we
ended up with a sample of 62 GGCs covering a very broad range in metal content
(-2.16<=[M/H]<=-0.58 dex). Adopting the homogeneous metallicity scale provided
either by Kraft & Ivans (2004) or by Carretta et al. (2009), we found that the
observed Delta V_HB_bump parameters are larger than predicted. In the
metal-poor regime ([M/H]<=-1.7, -1.6 dex) 40% of GCs show discrepancies of
2sigma (~0.40 mag) or more. Evolutionary models that account either for alpha-
and CNO-enhancement or for helium enhancement do not alleviate the discrepancy
between theory and observations. The outcome is the same if we use the new
Solar heavy-element mixture. The comparison between alpha- and CNO-enhanced
evolutionary models and observations in the Carretta et al. metallicity scale
also indicates that observed Delta V_HB_bump parameters, in the metal-rich
regime ([M/H]=>0), might be systematically smaller than predicted
C and N abundances of MS and SGB stars in NGC 1851
We present the first chemical analysis of stars on the double subgiant branch
(SGB) of the globular cluster NGC 1851. We obtained 48 Magellan IMACS spectra
of subgiants and fainter stars covering the spectral region between
3650-6750\AA, to derive C and N abundances from the spectral features at
4300\AA (G-band) and at ~ 3883\AA (CN). We added to our sample ~ 45 unvevolved
stars previously observed with FORS2 at the VLT. These two datasets were
homogeneously reduced and analyzed. We derived abundances of C and N for a
total of 64 stars and found considerable star-to-star variations in both [C/H]
and [N/H] at all luminosities extending to the red giant branch (RGB) base
(V~18.9). These abundances appear to be strongly anticorrelated, as would be
expected from the CN-cycle enrichment, but we did not detect any bimodality in
the C or N content. We used HST and ground-based photometry to select two
groups of faint- and bright-SGB stars from the visual and Str\"omgren
color-magnitude diagrams. Significant variations in the carbon and nitrogen
abundances are present among stars of each group, which indicates that each SGB
hosts multiple subgenerations of stars. Bright- and faint-SGB stars differ in
the total C+N content, where the fainter SGB have about 2.5 times the C+N
content of the brighter ones. Coupling our results with literature photometric
data and abundance determinations from high-resolution studies, we identify the
fainter SGB with the red-RGB population, which also should be richer on average
in Ba and other s-process elements, as well as in Na and N, when compared to
brighter SGB and the blue-RGB population.Comment: 17 pages, 3 tables, 16 figures; typos corrected, added checks on
temperature scale; A&A accepted (in press
Search for the decay in the momentum region
We have searched for the decay in the kinematic
region with pion momentum below the peak. One event was
observed, consistent with the background estimate of . This
implies an upper limit on
(90% C.L.), consistent with the recently measured branching ratio of
, obtained using the standard model
spectrum and the kinematic region above the peak. The
same data were used to search for , where is a weakly
interacting neutral particle or system of particles with .Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Integrated Spectroscopy of Bulge Globular Clusters and Fields. II. Implications for stellar population models and elliptical galaxies
Synthetic Lick indices (e.g. Mg_2, Fe, etc.) of Simple Stellar Population
(SSP) models are calibrated for the first time up to solar metallicity with a
sample of Milky Way globular clusters (GCs) which includes the metal rich GCs
of the Galactic bulge. This metallicity range is relevant to elliptical
galaxies. It is shown that the Bulge GCs and integrated light follow the same
correlation between Mg and Fe indices of elliptical galaxies, showing weaker Fe
indices at given Mg indices with respect to models that assume solar-scaled
abundances. This similarity is the robust empirical evidence for enhanced
alpha/Fe ratios in the stellar populations of elliptical galaxies, since the
globular clusters are independently known to be alpha-enhanced. The uniqueness
of this alpha-overabundance solution is checked by exploring the whole range of
model ingredients. We argue that the standard models reproduce the Mg-Fe
correlation at low metallicities because the stellar templates used in the
synthesis are the alpha-enhanced stars of the galactic Halo. These same models,
however, fail to recover the Mg-Fe pattern of Bulge clusters and ellipticals at
high metallicities because the high-metallicity templates are disk stars, which
are not alpha-enhanced. The new SSP models by Thomas, Maraston & Bender (2002)
which incorporate the dependence on alpha/Fe reproduce the Mg and Fe indices of
GCs at all metallicities, with alpha/Fe=+0.3, which is in agreement with
spectroscopic abundance determinations. The Balmer indices (Hbeta, Hdelta,
Hgamma) are very well calibrated, provided the Horizontal Branch morphology is
taken into account. In particular, we reproduce the Balmer lines of NGC 6388
and NGC 6441, which are metal-rich GCs with a tail of warm Horizontal Branch
stars. {Abridged}Comment: 19 pages, 13 figures, Astronomy and Astrophysics in press. Only minor
changes after the referee repor