40 research outputs found
Reconstructing fossil sub-structures of the Galactic disk: clues from abundance patterns of old open clusters and moving groups
The long term goal of large-scale chemical tagging is to use stellar
elemental abundances as a tracer of dispersed substructures of the Galactic
disk. The identification of such lost stellar aggregates and the exploration of
their chemical properties will be key in understanding the formation and
evolution of the disk. Present day stellar structures such as open clusters and
moving groups are the ideal testing grounds for the viability of chemical
tagging, as they are believed to be the remnants of the original larger
starforming aggregates. Until recently, high accuracy elemental abundance
studies of open clusters and moving groups having been lacking in the
literature. In this paper we examine recent high resolution abundance studies
of open clusters to explore the various abundance trends and reasses the
prospects of large-scale chemical tagging.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Publications of the Astronomical
Society of Australi
The Gaia-ESO Survey: the chemical structure of the Galactic discs from the first internal data release
Most high-resolution spectroscopic studies of the Galactic discs were mostly
confined to objects in the solar vicinity. Here we aim at enlarging the volume
in which individual chemical abundances are used to characterise both discs,
using the first internal data release of the Gaia-ESO survey. We derive and
discuss the abundances of eight elements (Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Ti, Fe, Cr, Ni, and
Y). The trends of these elemental abundances with iron are very similar to
those in the solar neighbourhood. We find a natural division between alpha-rich
and alpha-poor stars, best seen in the bimodality of the [Mg/M] distributions
in bins of metallicity, which we attribute to thick- and thin-disc sequences,
respectively. With the possible exception of Al, the observed dispersion around
the trends is well described by the expected errors, leaving little room for
astrophysical dispersion. Using previously derived distances from Recio-Blanco
et al. (2014b), we further find that the thick-disc is more extended vertically
and is more centrally concentrated towards the inner Galaxy than the thin-disc,
which indicates a shorter scale-length. We derive the radial and vertical
gradients in metallicity, iron, four alpha-element abundances, and Al for the
two populations, taking into account the identified correlation between R_GC
and |Z|. Radial metallicity gradient is found in the thin disc. The positive
radial individual [alpha/M] gradients found are at variance from the gradients
observed in the RAVE survey. The thin disc also hosts a negative vertical
metallicity gradient, accompanied by positive individual [alpha/M] and [Al/M]
gradients. The thick-disc, presents no radial metallicity gradient, a shallower
vertical metallicity gradient than the thin-disc, an alpha-elements-to-iron
radial gradient in the opposite sense than that of the thin disc, and positive
vertical individual [alpha/M] and [Al/M] gradients.Comment: 24 pages, 10 figure
The Gaia-ESO Survey: Detailed Abundances in the Metal-poor Globular Cluster NGC 4372
We present the abundance analysis for a sample of 7 red giant branch stars in
the metal-poor globular cluster NGC 4372 based on UVES spectra acquired as part
of the Gaia-ESO Survey. This is the first extensive study of this cluster from
high resolution spectroscopy. We derive abundances of O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca,
Sc, Ti, Fe, Cr, Ni, Y, Ba, and La. We find a metallicity of [Fe/H] = -2.19
0.03 and find no evidence for a metallicity spread. This metallicity
makes NGC 4372 one of the most metal-poor galactic globular clusters. We also
find an {\alpha}-enhancement typical of halo globular clusters at this
metallicity. Significant spreads are observed in the abundances of light
elements. In particular we find a Na-O anti-correlation. Abundances of O are
relatively high compared with other globular clusters. This could indicate that
NGC 4372 was formed in an environment with high O for its metallicity. A Mg-Al
spread is also present which spans a range of more than 0.5 dex in Al
abundances. Na is correlated with Al and Mg abundances at a lower significance
level. This pattern suggests that the Mg-Al burning cycle is active. This
behavior can also be seen in giant stars of other massive, metal-poor clusters.
A relation between light and heavy s-process elements has been identified.Comment: 14 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in A&
The Gaia-ESO Survey: α-abundances of metal-poor stars
We performed a detailed study of the ratio of low-{\alpha} to high-{\alpha} stars in the Galactic halo as observed by the Gaia-ESO Survey. Using a sample of 381 metal-poor stars from the second internal data release, we found that the value of this ratio did not show evidence of systematic trends as a function of metallicity, surface gravity, Galactic latitude, Galactic longitude, height above the Galactic plane, and Galactocentric radius. We conclude that the {\alpha}-poor/{\alpha}-rich value of 0.28 0.08 suggests that in the inner halo, the larger portion of stars were formed in a high star formation rate environment, and about 15% of the metal-poor stars originated from much lower star formation rate environments
The Gaia-ESO Survey: {\alpha}-abundances of metal-poor stars
We performed a detailed study of the ratio of low-{\alpha} to high-{\alpha}
stars in the Galactic halo as observed by the Gaia-ESO Survey. Using a sample
of 381 metal-poor stars from the second internal data release, we found that
the value of this ratio did not show evidence of systematic trends as a
function of metallicity, surface gravity, Galactic latitude, Galactic
longitude, height above the Galactic plane, and Galactocentric radius. We
conclude that the {\alpha}-poor/{\alpha}-rich value of 0.28 0.08 suggests
that in the inner halo, the larger portion of stars were formed in a high star
formation rate environment, and about 15% of the metal-poor stars originated
from much lower star formation rate environments
Effects of rotation and thermohaline mixing in red giant stars
Thermohaline mixing has been recently identified as the probable dominating
process that governs the photospheric composition of low-mass bright giant
stars. Here we present the predictions of stellar models computed with the code
STAREVOL including this mechanism together with rotational mixing. We compare
our theoretical predictions with recent observations.Comment: Proc. of the workshop "Red Giants as Probes of the Structure and
Evolution of the Milky Way" (Roma, 15-17 Nov 2010), Astrophysics and Space
Science Proceedings, ISBN 978-3-642-18417-8 (eds. A. Miglio, J. Montalban, A.
Noels). Part of RedGiantsMilkyWay/2011/ proceedings available at
http://arxiv.org/html/1108.4406v
The Gaia-ESO survey: Matching chemodynamical simulations to observations of the Milky Way
The typical methodology for comparing simulated galaxies with observational
surveys is usually to apply a spatial selection to the simulation to mimic the
region of interest covered by a comparable observational survey sample. In this
work we compare this approach with a more sophisticated post-processing in
which the observational uncertainties and selection effects (photometric,
surface gravity and effective temperature) are taken into account. We compare a
`solar neighbourhood analogue' region in a model Milky Way-like galaxy
simulated with RAMSES-CH with fourth release Gaia-ESO survey data. We find that
a simple spatial cut alone is insufficient and that observational uncertainties
must be accounted for in the comparison. This is particularly true when the
scale of uncertainty is large compared to the dynamic range of the data, e.g.
in our comparison, the [Mg/Fe] distribution is affected much more than the more
accurately determined [Fe/H] distribution. Despite clear differences in the
underlying distributions of elemental abundances between simulation and
observation, incorporating scatter to our simulation results to mimic
observational uncertainty produces reasonable agreement. The quite complete
nature of the Gaia-ESO survey means that the selection function has minimal
impact on the distribution of observed age and metal abundances but this would
become increasingly more important for surveys with narrower selection
functions
The design and performance of the Gaia photometric system
The European Gaia astrometry mission is due for launch in 2011. Gaia will rely on the proven principles of the ESA Hipparcos mission to create an all-sky survey of about one billion stars throughout our Galaxy and beyond, by observing all objects down to 20 mag. Through its massive measurement of stellar distances, motions and multicolour photometry, it will provide fundamental data necessary for unravelling the structure, formation and evolution of the Galaxy. This paper presents the design and performance of the broad- and medium-band set of photometric filters adopted as the baseline for Gaia. The 19 selected passbands (extending from the UV to the far-red), the criteria and the methodology on which this choice has been based are discussed in detail. We analyse the photometric capabilities for characterizing the luminosity, temperature, gravity and chemical composition of stars. We also discuss the automatic determination of these physical parameters for the large number of observations involved, for objects located throughout the entire Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. Finally, the capability of the photometric system (PS) to deal with the main Gaia science case is outline
The Gaia -ESO Survey: Properties of newly discovered Li-rich giants
Aims. We report 20 new lithium-rich giants discovered within the Gaia-ESO Survey, including the first Li-rich giant with an evolutionary stage confirmed by CoRoT (Convection, Rotation and planetary Transits) data. We present a detailed overview of the properties of these 20 stars.
Methods. Atmospheric parameters and abundances were derived in model atmosphere analyses using medium-resolution GIRAFFE or high-resolution UVES (Ultraviolet and Visual Echelle Spectrograph) spectra. These results are part of the fifth internal data release of the Gaia-ESO Survey. The Li abundances were corrected for non-local thermodynamical equilibrium effects. Other stellar properties were investigated for additional peculiarities (the core of strong lines for signs of magnetic activity, infrared magnitudes, rotational velocities, chemical abundances, and Galactic velocities). We used Gaia DR2 parallaxes to estimate distances and luminosities.
Results. The giants have A(Li) > 2.2 dex. The majority of them (14 of 20 stars) are in the CoRoT fields. Four giants are located in the field of three open clusters, but are not members. Two giants were observed in fields towards the Galactic bulge, but likely lie in the inner disc. One of the bulge field giants is super Li-rich with A(Li) = 4.0 dex.
Conclusions. We identified one giant with infrared excess at 22 μm. Two other giants, with large v sin i, might be Li-rich because of planet engulfment. Another giant is found to be barium enhanced and thus could have accreted material from a former asymptotic giant branch companion. Otherwise, in addition to the Li enrichment, the evolutionary stages are the only other connection between these new Li-rich giants. The CoRoT data confirm that one Li-rich giant is at the core-He burning stage. The other giants are concentrated in close proximity to the red giant branch luminosity bump, the core-He burning stages, or the early-asymptotic giant branch. This is very clear from the Gaia-based luminosities of the Li-rich giants. This is also seen when the CoRoT Li-rich giants are compared to a larger sample of 2252 giants observed in the CoRoT fields by the Gaia-ESO Survey, which are distributed throughout the red giant branch in the Teff-log g diagram. These observations show that the evolutionary stage is a major factor for the Li enrichment in giants. Other processes, such as planet accretion, contribute at a smaller scale.</jats:p
The Gaia-ESO Survey: Age spread in the star forming region NGC 6530 from the HR diagram and gravity indicators
Context. In very young clusters, stellar age distribution is empirical proof of the duration of star cluster formation and thus it gives indications of the physical mechanisms involved in the star formation process. Determining the amount of interstellar extinction and the correct reddening law are crucial steps to derive fundamental stellar parameters and in particular accurate ages from the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. Aims. In this context, we seek to derive accurate stellar ages for NGC 6530, the young cluster associated with the Lagoon Nebula to infer the star formation history of this region. Methods. We used the Gaia-ESO survey observations of the Lagoon Nebula, together with photometric literature data and Gaia DR2 kinematics, to derive cluster membership and fundamental stellar parameters. Using spectroscopic effective temperatures, we analysed the reddening properties of all objects and derived accurate stellar ages for cluster members. Results. We identified 652 confirmed and 9 probable members. The reddening inferred for members and non-members allows us to distinguish foreground objects, mainly main-sequence stars, and background objects, mainly giants, and to trace the three-dimensional structure of the nebula. This classification is in agreement with the distances inferred from Gaia DR2 parallaxes for these objects. Finally, we derive stellar ages for 382 confirmed cluster members for which we obtained the individual reddening values. In addition, we find that the gravity-sensitive γ index distribution for the M-type stars is correlated with stellar age. Conclusions. For all members with Teff < 5500 K, the mean logarithmic age is 5.84 (units of years) with a dispersion of 0.36 dex. The age distribution of stars with accretion or discs, i.e. classical T Tauri stars with excess (CTTSe), is similar to that of stars without accretion and without discs, i.e. weak T Tauri stars with photospheric emission (WTTSp). We interpret this dispersion as evidence of a real age spread since the total uncertainties on age determinations, derived from Monte Carlo simulations, are significantly smaller than the observed spread. This conclusion is supported by evidence of the decrease of the gravity-sensitive γ index as a function of stellar ages. The presence of a small age spread is also supported by the spatial distribution and kinematics of old and young members. In particular, members with accretion or discs, formed in the last 1 Myr, show evidence of subclustering around the cluster centre, in the Hourglass Nebula and in the M8-E region, suggesting a possible triggering of star formation events by the O-type star ionization fronts.Includes STFC, FP7 and ERC