34 research outputs found
Detailed Abundances for a Large Sample of Giant Stars in the Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae (NGC 104)
47 Tuc is an ideal target to study chemical evolution and GC formation in
massive more metal-rich GCs since is the closest, massive GC. We present
chemical abundances for O, Na, Al, Si, Ca, Ti, Fe, Ni, La, and Eu in 164 red
giant branch (RGB) stars in the massive globular cluster 47 Tuc using spectra
obtained with both the Hydra multi-fiber spectrograph at the Blanco 4-m
telescope and the FLAMES multi-object spectrograph at the Very Large Telescope.
We find an average [Fe/H]=--0.790.09 dex, consistent with literature
values, as well as over-abundances of alpha-elements
([\alpha/\mbox{Fe}]\sim0.3 dex). The n-capture process elements indicate that
47 Tuc is r-process dominated ([Eu/La]=+0.24), and the light elements O, Na,
and Al exhibit star-to-star variations. The Na-O anti-correlation, a signature
typically seen in Galactic globular clusters, is present in 47 Tuc, and extends
to include a small number of stars with [O/Fe] \,--0.5. Additionally, the
[O/Na] ratios of our sample reveal that the cluster stars can be separated into
three distinct populations. A KS-test demonstrates that the O-poor/Na-rich
stars are more centrally concentrated than the O-rich/Na-poor stars. The
observed number and radial distribution of 47 Tuc's stellar populations, as
distinguished by their light element composition, agrees closely with the
results obtained from photometric data. We do not find evidence supporting a
strong Na-Al correlation in 47 Tuc, which is consistent with current models of
AGB nucleosynthesis yields.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa
HST Observations of Heavy Elements in Metal-Poor Galactic Halo Stars
We present new abundance determinations of neutron-capture elements Ge, Zr,
Os, Ir, and Pt in a sample of 11 metal-poor (-3.1 <= [Fe/H] <= -1.6) Galactic
halo giant stars, based on Hubble Space Telescope UV and Keck I optical
high-resolution spectroscopy. The stellar sample is dominated by r-process-rich
stars such as the well-studied CS 22892-052 and bd+173248, but also includes
the r-process-poor, bright giant HD 122563. Our results demonstrate that
abundances of the 3rd r-process peak elements Os, Ir and Pt in these metal-poor
halo stars are very well-correlated among themselves, and with the abundances
of the canonical r-process element Eu (determined in other studies), thus
arguing for a common origin or site for r-process nucleosynthesis of heavier
(Z>56) elements. However, the large (and correlated) scatters of
[Eu,Os,Ir,Pt/Fe] suggests that the heaviest neutron-capture r-process elements
are not formed in all supernovae. In contrast, the Ge abundances of all program
stars track their Fe abundances, very well. An explosive process on iron-peak
nuclei (e.g., the alpha-rich freeze-out in supernovae), rather than neutron
capture, appears to have been the dominant synthesis mechanism for this element
at low metallicities -- Ge abundances seem completely uncorrelated with Eu.Comment: 35 pages, 5 tables, 7 figures; To appear in the Astrophysical Journa
The Rise of the s-Process in the Galaxy
From newly-obtained high-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio spectra the
abundances of the elements La and Eu have been determined over the stellar
metallicity range -3<[Fe/H]<+0.3 in 159 giant and dwarf stars. Lanthanum is
predominantly made by the s-process in the solar system, while Eu owes most of
its solar system abundance to the r-process. The changing ratio of these
elements in stars over a wide metallicity range traces the changing
contributions of these two processes to the Galactic abundance mix. Large
s-process abundances can be the result of mass transfer from very evolved
stars, so to identify these cases, we also report carbon abundances in our
metal-poor stars. Results indicate that the s-process may be active as early as
[Fe/H]=-2.6, alalthough we also find that some stars as metal-rich as [Fe/H]=-1
show no strong indication of s-process enrichment. There is a significant
spread in the level of s-process enrichment even at solar metallicity.Comment: 64 pages, 15 figures; ApJ 2004 in pres
A Comparison of Copper Abundances in Globular Cluster and Halo Field Giant Stars
We derive [Cu/Fe] for 117 giant stars in ten globular clusters (M3, M4, M5,
M10, M13, M15, M71, NGC 7006, NCG 288, and NGC 362) and find that globular
cluster Cu abundances appear to follow [Cu/Fe] trends found in the field. This
result is interesting in light of recent work which indicates that the globular
cluster Omega Centauri shows no trend in [Cu/Fe] with [Fe/H] over the abundance
range -2.0 <[Fe/H]< -0.8. Of particular interest are the two clusters M4 and
M5. While at a similar metallicity ([Fe/H] ~- 1.2), they differ greatly in some
elemental abundances: M4 is largely overabundant in Si, Ba, and La compared to
M5. We find that it is also overabundant in Cu with respect to M5, though this
overabundance is in accord with [Cu/Fe] ratios found in the field.Comment: 39 pages, 7 figures, to appear in April 2003 A
Fe and Al Abundances for 180 Red Giants in the Globular Cluster Omega Centauri (NGC 5139)
We present radial velocities, Fe, and Al abundances for 180 red giant branch
(RGB) stars in the Galactic globular cluster Omega Centauri ( Cen). The
majority of our data lie in the range 11.0V13.5, which covers the RGB
from about 1 mag. above the horizontal branch to the RGB tip. The selection
procedures are biased towards preferentially observing the more metal--poor and
luminous stars of Cen. Abundances were determined using equivalent
width measurements and spectrum synthesis analyses of moderate resolution
spectra (R13,000) obtained with the Blanco 4m telescope and Hydra
multifiber spectrograph. Our results are in agreement with previous studies as
we find at least four different metallicity populations with [Fe/H]=--1.75,
--1.45, --1.05, and --0.75, with a full range of --2.20\la[Fe/H]\la--0.70.
[Al/Fe] ratios exhibit large star--to--star scatter for all populations, with
the more than 1.0 dex range of [Al/Fe] decreasing for stars more metal--rich
than [Fe/H]--1.4. The minimum [Al/Fe] abundance observed for all
metallicity populations is [Al/Fe]+0.15. The maximum abundance of log
(Al) is reached for stars with [Fe/H]--1.4 and does not
increase further with stellar metallicity. We interpret these results as
evidence for type II SNe providing the minimum [Al/Fe] ratio and a mass
spectrum of intermediate mass asymptotic giant branch stars causing the
majority of the [Al/Fe] scatter. These results seem to fit in the adopted
scheme that star formation occurred in Cen over 1 Gyr.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, 77 pages, 17 figures, 7 Table
The Eighth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Data from SDSS-III
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) started a new phase in August 2008, with
new instrumentation and new surveys focused on Galactic structure and chemical
evolution, measurements of the baryon oscillation feature in the clustering of
galaxies and the quasar Ly alpha forest, and a radial velocity search for
planets around ~8000 stars. This paper describes the first data release of
SDSS-III (and the eighth counting from the beginning of the SDSS). The release
includes five-band imaging of roughly 5200 deg^2 in the Southern Galactic Cap,
bringing the total footprint of the SDSS imaging to 14,555 deg^2, or over a
third of the Celestial Sphere. All the imaging data have been reprocessed with
an improved sky-subtraction algorithm and a final, self-consistent photometric
recalibration and flat-field determination. This release also includes all data
from the second phase of the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and
Evolution (SEGUE-2), consisting of spectroscopy of approximately 118,000 stars
at both high and low Galactic latitudes. All the more than half a million
stellar spectra obtained with the SDSS spectrograph have been reprocessed
through an improved stellar parameters pipeline, which has better determination
of metallicity for high metallicity stars.Comment: Astrophysical Journal Supplements, in press (minor updates from
submitted version
The Ninth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III) presents the first spectroscopic
data from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). This ninth data
release (DR9) of the SDSS project includes 535,995 new galaxy spectra (median
z=0.52), 102,100 new quasar spectra (median z=2.32), and 90,897 new stellar
spectra, along with the data presented in previous data releases. These spectra
were obtained with the new BOSS spectrograph and were taken between 2009
December and 2011 July. In addition, the stellar parameters pipeline, which
determines radial velocities, surface temperatures, surface gravities, and
metallicities of stars, has been updated and refined with improvements in
temperature estimates for stars with T_eff<5000 K and in metallicity estimates
for stars with [Fe/H]>-0.5. DR9 includes new stellar parameters for all stars
presented in DR8, including stars from SDSS-I and II, as well as those observed
as part of the SDSS-III Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and
Exploration-2 (SEGUE-2).
The astrometry error introduced in the DR8 imaging catalogs has been
corrected in the DR9 data products. The next data release for SDSS-III will be
in Summer 2013, which will present the first data from the Apache Point
Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) along with another year of
data from BOSS, followed by the final SDSS-III data release in December 2014.Comment: 9 figures; 2 tables. Submitted to ApJS. DR9 is available at
http://www.sdss3.org/dr
Erratum: “The eighth data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: first data from SDSS-III” (2011, ApJS, 193, 29)
Section 3.5 of Aihara et al. (2011) described various sources of systematic error in the astrometry of the imaging data of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). In addition to these sources of error, there is an additional and more serious error, which introduces a large systematic shift in the astrometry over a large area around the north celestial pole. The region has irregular boundaries but in places extends as far south as declination δ ≈ 41◦. The sense of the shift is that the positions of all sources in the affected area are offset by roughly 250 mas in a northwest direction. We have updated the SDSS online documentation to reflect these errors, and to provide detailed quality information for each SDSS field
SDSS-III: Massive Spectroscopic Surveys of the Distant Universe, the Milky Way Galaxy, and Extra-Solar Planetary Systems
Building on the legacy of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-I and II),
SDSS-III is a program of four spectroscopic surveys on three scientific themes:
dark energy and cosmological parameters, the history and structure of the Milky
Way, and the population of giant planets around other stars. In keeping with
SDSS tradition, SDSS-III will provide regular public releases of all its data,
beginning with SDSS DR8 (which occurred in Jan 2011). This paper presents an
overview of the four SDSS-III surveys. BOSS will measure redshifts of 1.5
million massive galaxies and Lya forest spectra of 150,000 quasars, using the
BAO feature of large scale structure to obtain percent-level determinations of
the distance scale and Hubble expansion rate at z<0.7 and at z~2.5. SEGUE-2,
which is now completed, measured medium-resolution (R=1800) optical spectra of
118,000 stars in a variety of target categories, probing chemical evolution,
stellar kinematics and substructure, and the mass profile of the dark matter
halo from the solar neighborhood to distances of 100 kpc. APOGEE will obtain
high-resolution (R~30,000), high signal-to-noise (S/N>100 per resolution
element), H-band (1.51-1.70 micron) spectra of 10^5 evolved, late-type stars,
measuring separate abundances for ~15 elements per star and creating the first
high-precision spectroscopic survey of all Galactic stellar populations (bulge,
bar, disks, halo) with a uniform set of stellar tracers and spectral
diagnostics. MARVELS will monitor radial velocities of more than 8000 FGK stars
with the sensitivity and cadence (10-40 m/s, ~24 visits per star) needed to
detect giant planets with periods up to two years, providing an unprecedented
data set for understanding the formation and dynamical evolution of giant
planet systems. (Abridged)Comment: Revised to version published in The Astronomical Journa