242 research outputs found
uvbyCa H beta CCD Photometry of Clusters. VII. The Intermediate-Age Anticenter Cluster Melotte 71
CCD photometry on the intermediate-band uvbyCa H beta system is presented for
the anticenter, intermediate-age open cluster, Melotte 71. Restricting the data
to probable single members of the cluster using the color-magnitude diagram and
the photometric indices alone generates a sample of 48 F dwarfs on the
unevolved main sequence. The average E(b-y) = 0.148 +/- 0.003 (s.e.m.) or
E(B-V) = 0.202 +/- 0.004 (s.e.m.), where the errors refer to internal errors
alone. With this reddening, [Fe/H] is derived from both m1 and hk, using H beta
and b-y as the temperature index, with excellent agreement among the four
approaches and a final weighted average of [Fe/H] = -0.17 +/- 0.02 (s.e.m.) for
the cluster, on a scale where the Hyades has [Fe/H] = +0.12. When adjusted for
the higher reddening estimate, the previous metallicity estimates from
Washington photometry and from spectroscopy are now in agreement with the
intermediate-band result. From comparisons to isochrones of appropriate
metallicity, the cluster age and distance are determined as 0.9 +/- 0.1 Gyr and
(m-M) = 12.2 +/- 0.1 or (m-M)_0 = 11.6 +/- 0.1. At this distance from the sun,
Mel 71 has a galactocentric distance of 10.0 kpc on a scale where the sun is
8.5 kpc from the galactic center. Based upon its age, distance, and elemental
abundances, Mel 71 appears to be a less populous analog to NGC 3960.Comment: Accepted for Astronomical Journal. 38 page latex file includes 11
figures and short version of data table. Full table will appear in online AJ
or may be requested from author
Caby Photometry of the Hyades: Comparisons to the Field Stars
Intermediate-band photometry of the Hyades cluster on the Caby system is
presented for dwarf stars ranging from spectral type A through late K. A mean
hk, b-y relation is constructed using only single stars without anomalous
atmospheres and compared to the field stars of the solar neighborhood. For the
F dwarfs, the Hyades relation defines an approximate LOWER bound in the
two-color diagram, consistent with an [Fe/H] between +0.10 and +0.15. These
index-color diagrams follow the common convention of presenting stars with
highest abundance at the bottom of the plot although the index values for the
metal-rich stars are numerically larger. For field F dwarfs in the range [Fe/H]
between +0.4 and -1.0, [Fe/H] = -5.6 delta-hk + 0.125, with no evidence for a
color dependence in the slope. For the G and K dwarfs, the Hyades mean relation
crosses the field star distribution in the two-color diagram, defining an
approximate UPPER bound for the local disk stars. Stars found above the Hyades
stars fall in at least one of three categories: [Fe/H] below -0.7, [Fe/H] above
that of the Hyades, or chromospherically active. It is concluded that, contrary
to the predictions of model atmospheres, the hk index for cool dwarfs at a
given color hits a maximum value for stars below solar composition and, with
increasing [Fe/H] above some critical value, declines. This trend is
consistent, however, with the predictions from synthetic indices based upon
much narrower Ca filters where the crossover is caused by the metallicity
sensitivity of b-y.Comment: 13 pages, 9 eps figures, 1 tex table, 1 ascii tabl
Recommended from our members
The impact of local sources and long-range transport on aerosol properties over the northeast U.S. region during INTEX-NA
We use data collected aboard the NASA DC-8 aircraft during the summer 2004, Intercontinental Transport and Chemical Evolution Experiment over North America (INTEX-NA) field campaign to examine the origin, composition, physical and optical properties of aerosols within air masses sampled over and downwind of the northeastern U.S. We note that aerosol concentrations within the region exhibited steep vertical gradients and significant variability in both time and space. An examination of air mass chemical signatures and backward trajectories indicates that transport from four, significantly different source regions contributed to the variability: the subtropical Atlantic Ocean (AO); the U.S. west coast and eastern Pacific (WCP); the U.S. east coast and Midwestern states (EC); and northwest Canada and Alaska (CA). AO air masses were typically confined to below 2 km altitude, exhibited low pollutant contents, contained enhanced levels of sea salt, and were typically observed when the Bermuda High strengthened. The most common air mass present in the upper troposphere, WCP air often contained weak dust and aged pollution enhances from convective input occurring over the central part of the continent. CA air exhibited enhancements in anthropogenic pollution tracers below 2 km and contained some black-carbon rich haze layers between 3 and 5 km that could be traced to forest fires burning in western Canada and Alaska. EC air was prevalent at lower elevations throughout the study area and exhibited enhanced scattering along with elevated levels of sulfate aerosols and combustion tracers. There is an overall balance between the observed cations and anions for all cases, except EC air mass below 4 km
A Comparison of the Chemical Evolutionary Histories of the Galactic Thin Disk and Thick Disk Stellar Populations
We have studied 23 long-lived G dwarfs that belong to the thin disk and thick
disk stellar populations. Abundances have been derived for 24 elements: O, Na,
Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Ti, Sc, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Sr, Y, Zr, Ba, La, Ce,
Nd, and Eu. We find that the behavior of [alpha/Fe] and [Eu/Fe] vs. [Fe/H] are
quite different for the two populations. As has long been known, the thin disk
O, Mg, Si, Ca, and Ti ratios are enhanced relative to iron at the lowest
metallicities, and decline toward solar values as [Fe/H] rises above -1.0. For
the thick disk, the decline in [alpha/Fe] and [Eu/Fe] does not begin at [Fe/H]
= -1.0, but at -0.4. Other elements share this behavior, including Sc, Co, and
Zn, suggesting that at least in the chemical enrichment history of the thick
disk, these elements were manufactured in similar-mass stars. Combining our
results for the oldest and longest-lived stars with prior work, we find clear
signs for an independent origin for the Galactic thick disk. (Abridged)Comment: 48 pages and 20 figures, accepted for publication in the Astronomical
Journa
vbyCaHbeta CCD Photometry of Clusters. VIII. The Super-Metal Rich, Old Open Cluster NGC 6791
CCD photometry on the intermediate-band vbyCaHbeta system is presented for
the metal-rich, old open cluster, NGC 6791. Preliminary analysis led to [Fe/H]
above +0.4 with an anomalously high reddening and an age below 5 Gyr. A revised
calibration between (b-y)_0 and [Fe/H] at a given temperature shows that the
traditional color-metallicity relations underestimate the color of the turnoff
stars at high metallicity. With the revised relation, the metallicity from hk
and the reddening for NGC 6791 become [Fe/H] = +0.45 +/- 0.04 and E(b-y) =
0.113 +/- 0.012 or E(B-V) = 0.155 +/- 0.016. Using the same technique,
reanalysis of the photometry for NGC 6253 produces [Fe/H] = +0.58 +/-0.04 and
E(b-y) = 0.120 +/- 0.018 or E(B-V) = 0.160 +/- 0.025. The errors quoted include
both the internal and external errors. For NGC 6791, the metallicity from m_1
is a factor of two below that from hk, a result that may be coupled to the
consistently low metal abundance from DDO photometry of the cluster and the
C-deficiency found from high dispersion spectroscopy. E(B-V) is the same value
predicted from Galactic reddening maps. With E(B-V) = 0.15 and [Fe/H] = +0.45,
the available isochrones predict an age of 7.0 +/- 1.0 Gyr and an apparent
modulus of (m-M) = 13.60 +/- 0.15, with the dominant source of the uncertainty
arising from inconsistencies among the isochrones. The reanalysis of NGC 6253
with the revised lower reddening confirms that on both the hk and m_1
metallicity scales, NGC 6253, while less than half the age of NGC 6791, remains
at least as metal-rich as NGC 6791, if not richer.Comment: Accepted for Astronomical Journal. 42 p. latex file includes 11
figures and 3 tables, one of which is a short version of a data table to
appear in online AJ in its entiret
vbyCaHbeta CCD Photometry of Clusters. VI. The Metal-Deficient Open Cluster NGC 2420
CCD photometry on the intermediate-band vbyCaHbeta system is presented for
the metal-deficient open cluster, NGC 2420. Restricting the data to probable
single members of the cluster using the CMD and the photometric indices alone
generates a sample of 106 stars at the cluster turnoff. The average E(b-y) =
0.03 +/- 0.003 (s.e.m.) or E(B-V) = 0.050 +/- 0.004 (s.e.m.), where the errors
refer to internal errors alone. With this reddening, [Fe/H] is derived from
both m1 and hk, using b-y and Hbeta as the temperature index. The agreement
among the four approaches is reasonable, leading to a final weighted average of
[Fe/H] = -0.37 +/- 0.05 (s.e.m.) for the cluster, on a scale where the Hyades
has [Fe/H] = +0.12. When combined with the abundances from DDO photometry and
from recalibrated low-resolution spectroscopy, the mean metallicity becomes
[Fe/H] = -0.32 +/- 0.03. It is also demonstrated that the average cluster
abundances based upon either DDO data or low-resolution spectroscopy are
consistently reliable to 0.05 dex or better, contrary to published attempts to
establish an open cluster metallicity scale using simplistic offset corrections
among different surveys.Comment: scheduled for Jan. 2006 AJ; 33 pages, latex, includes 7 figures and 2
table
A UBVI and uvbyCaHbeta Analysis of the Intermediate-Age Open Cluster, NGC 5822
NGC 5822 is a richly populated, moderately nearby, intermediate-age open
cluster covering an area larger than the full moon on the sky. A CCD survey of
the cluster on the UBVI and uvbyCaHbeta systems shows that the cluster is
superposed upon a heavily reddened field of background stars with E(B-V) > 0.35
mag, while the cluster has small and uniform reddening at E(b-y) = 0.075 +/-
0.008 mag or E(B-V) = 0.103 +/- 0.011 mag, based upon 48 and 61 probable A and
F dwarf single-star members, respectively. The errors quoted include both
internal photometric precision and external photometric uncertainties. The
metallicity derived from 61 probable single F-star members is [Fe/H] = -0.058
+/- 0.027 (sem) from m_1 and 0.010 +/- 0.020 (sem) from hk, for a weighted
average of [Fe/H] = -0.019 +/- 0.023, where the errors refer to the internal
errors from the photometry alone. With reddening and metallicity fixed, the
cluster age and apparent distance modulus are obtained through a comparison to
appropriate isochrones in both VI and BV, producing 0.9 +/- 0.1 Gyr and 9.85
+/- 0.15, respectively. The giant branch remains dominated by two distinct
clumps of stars, though the brighter clump seems a better match to the
core-He-burning phase while the fainter clump straddles the first-ascent red
giant branch. Four potential new clump members have been identified, equally
split between the two groups. Reanalysis of the UBV two-color data extending
well down the main sequence shows it to be optimally matched by reddening near
E(B-V) = 0.10 rather than the older value of 0.15, leading to [Fe/H] between
-0.16 and 0.00 from the ultraviolet excess of the unevolved dwarfs. The impact
of the lower reddening and younger age of the cluster on previous analyses of
the cluster is discussed.Comment: 20 figures and 5 tables (portions of data tables 3 and 5 only
Zeroing the Stellar Isochrone Scale: The Red Giant Clump Luminosity at Intermediate Metallicity
The color-magnitude diagrams of the open clusters NGC 2420 and NGC 2506 have
been investigated as intermediate links between the solar neighborhood and the
Magellanic Clouds. Two sets of theoretical isochrones which include convective
overshoot are zeroed to the sun at solar abundance and to the unevolved main
sequence dwarfs of the Hipparcos catalog at [Fe/H] = -0.4, requiring a
differential of 0.4 mag between the unevolved main sequences at a given color.
Adopting E(B-V) = 0.04 and [Fe/H] = -0.39 for NGC 2506 and 0.04 and -0.29 for
NGC 2420,the respective apparent moduli are 12.70 and 12.15, while the ages of
both clusters are approximately 1.9 +/- 0.2 or 2.2 +/- 0.2 Gyr, depending on
the choice of isochrones. From the composite giant branch of the two clusters,
the mean clump magnitudes in V and I are found to be 0.47 and -0.48
(-0.17,+0.14). Applying a metallicity correction to the M_I values, the cluster
sample of Udalski (1998) leads to (m-M)_0 = 18.42 (+0.17,--0.15) and 18.91
(+0.18,--0.16) for the LMC and SMC, respectively. A caveat to this discussion
and to the claim that clusters of the same abundance and age are identical is
the observation that the (V-I) colors of the red giants in NGC 2506 are
significantly redder at a given (B-V) than the giants in clusters of comparable
age and/or metallicity. If the CCD photometry for NGC 2506 is tied to the
standard system rather than using a general cluster relation between (B-V) and
(V-I), the M_I for the clump will decrease by 0.1 mag.Comment: 1 table, 12 figures. Replaced 20-jan-99 by version with all figures.
Accepted for April 1999 Astronomical Journa
uvbyCaHbeta CCD Photometry of Clusters. V. The Metal-Deficient Open Cluster NGC 2243
CCD photometry on the intermediate-band uvbyCaHbeta system is presented for
the metal-deficient open cluster, NGC 2243. Restricting the data to probable
single members of the cluster using the CMD and the photometric indices alone
generates a sample of 100 stars at the cluster turnoff. The average E(b-y) =
0.039 (0.003 s.e.m.) or E(B-V) = 0.055 (0.004 s.e.m.), where the errors refer
to internal errors alone. With this reddening, [Fe/H] is derived from both m_1
and hk, using b-y and Hbeta as the temperature index. The agreement among the
four approaches is excellent, leading to a final weighted average of [Fe/H] =
-0.57 (0.03 s.e.m.) for the cluster, on a scale where the Hyades has [Fe/H] =
+0.12. Using a combination of photometric and spectroscopic data, 27 probable
cluster members are identified and used to delineate the red giant branch and a
well-defined clump at V = 13.70, while eliminating the so-called second clump
at V = 14.1. Interpolation between isochrones of appropriate [Fe/H] leads to an
apparent modulus of (m-M) = 13.15 +/- 0.1 and an age of 3.8 +/- 0.2 Gyr. A
differential CMD comparison with Berkeley 29, a cluster with a galactocentric
distance almost twice that of NGC 2243, constrains Berkeley 29 to be at least
as young and as metal-rich as NGC 2243.Comment: 21 pg postscript, latex to preprint format, 15 eps figures, 2 tables.
Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal Feb. 200
CCD uvbyHbeta Photometry in Clusters: I. The Open Cluster Standard, IC 4651
CCD photometry of the intermediate-age open cluster, IC 4651, on the
uvbyHbeta system is presented and analyzed. By using a combination of the
information from the color-magnitude diagram (CMD) and the color-color
diagrams, a sample of 98 highly probable main sequence cluster members with
high photometric accuracy is isolated. From this sample, adopting the intrinsic
color relation of Olsen (1988), E(b-y) = 0.062 +/- 0.003 and [Fe/H] = +0.077
+/- 0.012, where the errors quoted are the standard errors of the mean and
refer to the internal errors alone. Use of the Nissen (1988) intrinsic color
relation produces E(b-y) = 0.071 and [Fe/H] = +0.115. Adopting the lower
reddening, a direct main-sequence fit to the Hyades with (m-M) = 3.33 leads to
(m-M) = 10.15, while isochrones with convective overshoot and zeroed to the
Hyades produce an age of 1.7 +/- 0.1 Gyr, with an excellent match to the
morphology of the turnoff. The higher reddening produces (m-M) = 10.3 and an
age lower by 0.1 Gyr. Comparison with the CMD of NGC 3680 shows that the two
clusters have virtually identical morphology which, in combination with their
similar compositions, produces identical ages. Coincidentally, the shifts in
the CMD necessary to superpose the two clusters require that the apparent
moduli of IC 4651 and NGC 3680 be the same, while E(b-y)(4651) = E(b-y)(3680) +
0.04.Comment: 28 pages and 3 tables, in latex, 11 postscript figures. Accepted for
Astronomical Journa
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