Near-infrared Spectral Features in Single-aged Stellar Populations

Synthetic spectra for single-aged stellar populations of metallicities [M/H] = -0.5, 0.0 and +0.5, ages = 3 to 17 Gyrs, and initial mass function exponents x = 0.1 to 2.0 were built in the wavelength range 6000-10200 Angstrons. For such we have employed the grid of synthetic spectra described in Schiavon & Barbuy (1999), computed for the stellar parameters 2500 <= Teff <= 6000 K, -0.5 <= log g <= 5.0, [M/H] = -0.5, 0.0 and +0.5, and [alpha/Fe] = 0.0, together with the isochrones by Bertelli et al. (1994) and Baraffe et al. (1998). The behavior of the features NaI8190, CaII8662, TiO6600 and FeH9900 in the integrated spectra of single stellar populations were studied in terms of metallicity, initial mass function and age variations. The main conclusions are that the NaI doublet is an IMF-sensitive feature, which is however sensitive also to metallicity and age, whereas TiO, CaII and FeH are very sensitive to metallicity and essentially insensitive to IMF and age.Comment: 13 pages + 7 figures, ApJ accepte

The Near Infrared NaI Doublet Feature in M Stars

The NaI near-infrared doublet has been used to indicate the dwarf/giant population in composite systems, but its interpretation is still a contentious issue. In order to understand the behaviour of this controversial feature, we study the observed and synthetic spectra of cool stars. We conclude that the NaI infrared feature can be used as a dwarf/giant discriminator. We propose a modified definition of the NaI index by locating the red continuum at 8234 angstrons and by measuring the equivalent width in the range 8172-8197 angstrons, avoiding the region at lambda > 8197 angstrons, which contains VI, ZrI, FeI and TiO lines. We also study the dependence of this feature on stellar atmospheric parameters.Comment: 9 pages, (TeX file) + 7 Figures in Postscript format. Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

Observations of T Tauri Disks at Sub-AU Radii: Implications for Magnetospheric Accretion and Planet Formation

We determine inner disk sizes and temperatures for four solar-type (1-2 M$_{\odot}$) classical T Tauri stars (AS 207A, V2508 Oph, AS 205A, and PX Vul) using 2.2 $\mu$m observations from the Keck Interferometer. Nearly contemporaneous near-IR adaptive optics imaging photometry, optical photometry, and high-dispersion optical spectroscopy are used to distinguish contributions from the inner disks and central stars in the interferometric observations. In addition, the spectroscopic and photometric data provide estimates of stellar properties, mass accretion rates, and disk co-rotation radii. We model our interferometric and photometric data in the context of geometrically flat accretion disk models with inner holes, and flared disks with puffed-up inner walls. Models incorporating puffed-up inner disk walls generally provide better fits to the data, similar to previous results for higher-mass Herbig Ae stars. Our measured inner disk sizes are larger than disk truncation radii predicted by magnetospheric accretion models, with larger discrepancies for sources with higher mass accretion rates. We suggest that our measured sizes correspond to dust sublimation radii, and that optically-thin gaseous material may extend further inward to the magnetospheric truncation radii. Finally, our inner disk measurements constrain the location of terrestrial planet formation as well as potential mechanisms for halting giant planet migration.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ (May 1, 2005 issue

The Temperature Scale of Metal-Rich M Giants Based on TiO Bands: Population Synthesis in the Near Infrared

We have computed a grid of high resolution synthetic spectra for cool stars (2500<Teff<6000 K) in the wavelength range 6000 -- 10200A, by employing an updated line list of atomic and molecular lines, together with state-of-the-art model atmospheres. As a by-product, by fitting TiO bandheads in spectra of well-known M giants, we have derived the electronic oscillator strengths of the TiO gamma prime, delta, epsilon and phi systems. The derived oscillator strenghts for the gamma prime, epsilon and phi systems differ from the laboratory and ab initio values found in the literature, but are consistent with the model atmospheres and line lists employed, resulting in a good match to the observed spectra of M giants of known parameters. The behavior of TiO bands as a function of the stellar parameters Teff, log g and [Fe/H] is presented and the use of TiO spectral indices in stellar population studies is discussed.Comment: ApJ accepted, 27 pages + 11 figures, AASLatex v4.

Science Objectives and Early Results of the DEEP2 Redshift Survey

The DEIMOS spectrograph has now been installed on the Keck-II telescope and commissioning is nearly complete. The DEEP2 Redshift Survey, which will take approximately 120 nights at the Keck Observatory over a three year period and has been designed to utilize the power of DEIMOS, began in the summer of 2002. The multiplexing power and high efficiency of DEIMOS enables us to target 1000 faint galaxies per clear night. Our goal is to gather high-quality spectra of \~60,000 galaxies with z>0.75 in order to study the properties and large scale clustering of galaxies at z ~ 1. The survey will be executed at high spectral resolution, $R=\lambda/\Delta \lambda \approx 5000$, allowing us to work between the bright OH sky emission lines and to infer linewidths for many of the target galaxies (for several thousand objects, we will obtain rotation curves as well). The linewidth data will facilitate the execution of the classical redshift-volume cosmological test, which can provide a precision measurement of the equation of state of the Universe. This talk reviews the project, summarizes our science goals and presents some early DEIMOS data.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, talk presented at SPIE conference, Aug. 200