350 research outputs found
Galactic abundance gradients from Cepheids : On the iron abundance gradient around 10-12 kpc
Context: Classical Cepheids can be adopted to trace the chemical evolution of
the Galactic disk since their distances can be estimated with very high
accuracy. Aims: Homogeneous iron abundance measurements for 33 Galactic
Cepheids located in the outer disk together with accurate distance
determinations based on near-infrared photometry are adopted to constrain the
Galactic iron gradient beyond 10 kpc. Methods: Iron abundances were determined
using high resolution Cepheid spectra collected with three different
observational instruments: ESPaDOnS@CFHT, Narval@TBL and [email protected] ESO/MPG
telescope. Cepheid distances were estimated using near-infrared (J,H,K-band)
period-luminosity relations and data from SAAO and the 2MASS catalog. Results:
The least squares solution over the entire data set indicates that the iron
gradient in the Galactic disk presents a slope of -0.052+/-0.003 dex/kpc in the
5-17 kpc range. However, the change of the iron abundance across the disk seems
to be better described by a linear regime inside the solar circle and a
flattening of the gradient toward the outer disk (beyond 10 kpc). In the latter
region the iron gradient presents a shallower slope, i.e. -0.012+/-0.014
dex/kpc. In the outer disk (10-12 kpc) we also found that Cepheids present an
increase in the spread in iron abundance. Current evidence indicates that the
spread in metallicity depends on the Galactocentric longitude. Finally, current
data do not support the hypothesis of a discontinuity in the iron gradient at
Galactocentric distances of 10-12 kpc. Conclusions: The occurrence of a spread
in iron abundance as a function of the Galactocentric longitude indicates that
linear radial gradients should be cautiously treated to constrain the chemical
evolution across the disk.Comment: 5 tables, 8 figures, Accepted in A&
On the distance of the Magellanic Clouds using Cepheid NIR and optical-NIR Period Wesenheit Relations
We present the largest near-infrared (NIR) data sets, , ever collected
for classical Cepheids in the Magellanic Clouds (MCs). We selected fundamental
(FU) and first overtone (FO) pulsators, and found 4150 (2571 FU, 1579 FO)
Cepheids for Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) and 3042 (1840 FU, 1202 FO) for Large
Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Current sample is 2--3 times larger than any sample
used in previous investigations with NIR photometry. We also discuss optical
photometry from OGLE-III. NIR and optical--NIR Period-Wesenheit (PW)
relations are linear over the entire period range () and their slopes are, within the intrinsic dispersions, common between the
MCs. These are consistent with recent results from pulsation models and
observations suggesting that the PW relations are minimally affected by the
metal content. The new FU and FO PW relations were calibrated using a sample of
Galactic Cepheids with distances based on trigonometric parallaxes and Cepheid
pulsation models. By using FU Cepheids we found a true distance moduli of
mag (LMC) and
mag (SMC). These estimates
are the weighted mean over ten PW relations and the systematic errors account
for uncertainties in the zero-point and in the reddening law. We found similar
distances using FO Cepheids
( mag [LMC] and
mag [SMC]). These new MC
distances lead to the relative distance, mag (FU, ) and mag (FO, ),which agrees quite
well with previous estimates based on robust distance indicators.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figure
Geant4 studies of the CNAO facility system for hadrontherapy treatment of uveal melanomas
The Italian National Centre of Hadrontherapy for Cancer Treatment (CNAO -Centro Nazionale di Adroterapia Oncologica) in Pavia, Italy, has started the treatment of selected cancers with the first patients in late 2011. In the coming months at CNAO plans are to activate a new dedicated treatment line for irradiation of uveal melanomas using the available active beam scan. The beam characteristics and the experimental setup should be tuned in order to reach the necessary precision required for such treatments. Collaboration between CNAO foundation, University of Pavia and INFN has started in 2011 to study the feasibility of these specialised treatments by implementing a MC simulation of the transport beam line and comparing the obtained simulation results with measurements at CNAO. The goal is to optimise an eye-dedicated transport beam line and to find the best conditions for ocular melanoma irradiations. This paper describes the Geant4 toolkit simulation of the CNAO setup as well as a modelised human eye with a tumour inside. The Geant4 application could be also used to test possible treatment planning systems. Simulation results illustrate the possibility to adapt the CNAO standard transport beam line by optimising the position of the isocentre and the addition of some passive elements to better shape the beam for this dedicated study
A pulsational distance to Omega Centauri based on Near-Infrared Period-Luminosity relations of RR Lyrae stars
We present new Near-Infrared (J,K) magnitudes for 114 RR Lyrae stars in the
globular cluster Omega Cen (NGC 5139) which we combine with data from the
literature to construct a sample of 180 RR Lyrae stars with J and K mean
magnitudes on a common photometric system. This is presently the largest such
sample in any stellar system. We also present updated predictions for J,K-band
Period-Luminosity relations for both fundamental and first-overtone RR Lyrae
stars, based on synthetic horizontal branch models with metal abundance ranging
from Z=0.0001 to Z=0.004. By adopting for the Omega Cen variables with measured
metal abundances an alpha-element enhancement of a factor of 3 (about 0.5 dex)
with respect to iron we find a true distance modulus of 13.70 (with a random
error of 0.06 and a systematic error of 0.06), corresponding to a distance
d=5.5 Kpc (with both random and systematic errors equal to 0.03 Kpc). Our
estimate is in excellent agreement with the distance inferred for the eclipsing
binary OGLEGC-17, but differ significantly from the recent distance estimates
based on cluster dynamics and on high amplitude Delta Scuti stars.Comment: 24 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication on The Astrophysical
Journa
Star Counts in the Globular Cluster Omega Centauri. I. Bright Stellar Components
We present an extensive photometry on HB, RGB, and MSTO stars in Omega Cen.
The central regions of the cluster were covered with a mosaic of F435W, F625W,
and F658N-band data collected with ACS/HST. The outer reaches were covered with
a large set of U,B,V,I-band data collected with the [email protected] ESO/MPI telescope.
The final catalogue includes ~1.7 million stars. We identified ~3,200 likely HB
stars and ~12,500 stars brighter than the subgiant branch and fainter than the
RGB bumps. The HB morphology changes with the radial distance. The relative
number of extreme HB stars decreases from ~30% to ~21% when moving from the
center toward the outer regions of the cluster, while the fraction of less hot
HB stars increases from ~62% to ~72%. We performed a detailed comparison
between observed ratios of different stellar tracers and predictions based on
canonical evolutionary models with a primordial helium (Y=0.23) content and
metal abundances (Z=0.0002,0.001) that bracket the observed spread in
metallicity of Omega Cen stars. We found that the empirical star counts of HB
stars are on average larger (30%-40%) than predicted. Moreover, the rate of HB
stars is 43% larger than the MSTO rate. The discrepancy between the rate of HB
compared with the rate of RG and MSTO stars supports the evidence that we are
facing a true excess of HB stars. The same comparison was performed by assuming
a mix of stellar populations made with 70% of canonical stars and 30% of
He-enhanced stars. The discrepancy between theory and observations decreases by
a factor of two when compared with rates predicted by canonical He content
models, but still 15%-25% (Y=0.42) and 15%-20% (Y=0.33) higher than observed.
Furthermore, the ratio between HB and MSTO star counts are ~24% (Y=0.42) and
30% (Y=0.33) larger than predicted lifetime ratios.Comment: 54 pages, 17 figures,to be published in ApJ, see link at
http://stellari.wiki.zoho.co
Relative distances of Omega Centauri and 47 Tucanae
We present precise optical and near-infrared ground-based photometry of two
Globular Clusters (GCs): Omega Cen and 47 Tuc. These photometric catalogs are
unbiased in the Red Giant Branch (RGB) region close to the tip. We provide new
estimates of the RGB tip (TRGB) magnitudes--m_I(TRGB)=9.84+/-0.05, Omega Cen;
m_I(TRGB)=9.46+/-0.06, 47 Tuc--and use these to determine the relative
distances of the two GCs. We find that distance ratios based on different
calibrations of the TRGB, the RR Lyrae stars and kinematic distances agree with
each other within one sigma. Absolute TRGB and RR Lyrae distance moduli agree
within 0.10--0.15 mag, while absolute kinematic distance moduli are 0.2--0.3
mag smaller. Absolute distances to 47 Tuc based on the
Zero-Age-Horizontal-Branch and on the white dwarf fitting agree within 0.1 mag,
but they are 0.1--0.3 mag smaller than TRGB and RR Lyrae distances.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication by ApJ
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