1,080 research outputs found
Galactic Globular Clusters as a test for Very Low-Mass stellar models
We make use of the Next Generation model atmospheres by Allard et al. (1997)
and Hauschildt, Allard & Baron (1999) to compute theoretical models for low and
very low-mass stars for selected metallicities in the range Z= 0.0002 to 0.002.
On this basis, we present theoretical predictions covering the sequence of
H-burning stars as observed in galactic globulars from the faint end of the
Main Sequence up to, and beyond, the cluster Turn Off. The role played by the
new model atmospheres is discussed, showing that present models appear in
excellent agreement with models by Baraffe et al. (1997) as computed on quite
similar physical basis. One finds that the theoretical mass-luminosity
relations based on this updated set of models, are in good agreement with the
empirical data provided by Henry & McCarthy (1993). Comparison with HST
observation discloses that the location in the Color-Magnitude diagram of the
lower Main Sequence in galactic globular clusters appears again in good
agreement with the predicted sensitive dependence of these sequences on the
cluster metallicity.Comment: accepted for pubblication on MNRA
Time-Series BVI Photometry for the Globular Cluster NGC 6981 (M72)
We present new BVI photometry of the globular cluster NGC 6981 (M72), based
mostly on ground-based CCD archive images. We present a new color-magnitude
diagram (CMD) that reaches almost four magnitudes below the turn-off level. We
performed new derivations of metallicity and morphological parameters of the
evolved sequences, in good agreement with previous authors, obtaining a value
of [Fe/H] ~ -1.50 in the new UVES scale. We also identify the cluster's blue
straggler population. Comparing the radial distribution of these stars with the
red giant branch population, we find that the blue stragglers are more
centrally concentrated, as found in previous studies of blue stragglers in
globular clusters. Taking advantage of the large field of view covered by our
study, we analyzed the surface density profile of the cluster, finding
extratidal main sequence stars out to r ~ 14.1 arcmin or about twice the tidal
radius. We speculate that this may be due to tidal disruption in the course of
M72's orbit, in which case tidal tails associated with the cluster may exist.
We also take a fresh look at the variable stars in the cluster, recovering all
previous known variables, including three SX Phoenicis stars, and adding three
previously unknown RR Lyrae (1 c-type and 2 ab-type) to the total census.
Finally, comparing our CMD with unpublished data for M3 (NGC 5272), a cluster
with similar metallicity and horizontal branch morphology, we found that both
objects are essentially coeval.Comment: Accepted for publication in A
Reinforcing the link between the double red clump and the X-shaped bulge of the Milky Way
The finding of a double red clump in the luminosity function of the Milky Way bulge has been interpreted as evidence for an X-shaped structure. Recently, an alternative explanation has been suggested, where the double red clump is an effect of multiple stellar populations in a classical spheroid. In this Letter we provide an observational assessment of this scenario and show that it is not consistent with the behaviour of the red clump across different lines of sight, particularly at high distances from the Galactic plane. Instead, we confirm that the shape of the red clump magnitude distribution closely follows the distance distribution expected for an X-shaped bulge at critical Galactic latitudes. We also emphasize some key observational properties of the bulge red clump that should not be neglected in the search for alternative scenarios
Photometry of the Globular Cluster NGC 5466: Red Giants and Blue Stragglers
We present wide-field BVI photometry for about 11,500 stars in the
low-metallicity cluster NGC 5466. We have detected the red giant branch bump
for the first time, although it is at least 0.2 mag fainter than expected
relative to the turnoff. The number of red giants (relative to main sequence
turnoff stars) is in excellent agreement with stellar models from the
Yonsei-Yale and Teramo groups, and slightly high compared to Victoria-Regina
models. This adds to evidence that an abnormally large ratio of red giant to
main-sequence stars is not correlated with cluster metallicity. We discuss
theoretical predictions from different research groups and find that the
inclusion or exclusion of helium diffusion and strong limit Coulomb
interactions may be partly responsible.
We also examine indicators of dynamical history: the mass function exponent
and the blue straggler frequency. NGC 5466 has a very shallow mass function,
consistent with large mass loss and recently-discovered tidal tails. The blue
straggler sample is significantly more centrally concentrated than the HB or
RGB stars. We see no evidence of an upturn in the blue straggler frequency at
large distances from the center. Dynamical friction timescales indicate that
the stragglers should be more concentrated if the cluster's present density
structure has existed for most of its history. NGC 5466 also has an unusually
low central density compared to clusters of similar luminosity. In spite of
this, the specific frequency of blue stragglers that puts it right on the
frequency -- cluster M_V relation observed for other clusters.Comment: 51 pages, 21 figures, 1 electronic table, accepted to Ap
The VVV Survey RR Lyrae Population in the Galactic Center Region
IndexaciĂłn: Scopus.We gratefully acknowledge the use of data from the ESO Public Survey program ID 179.B-2002 taken with the VISTA telescope, and data products from the Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit (CASU). Support for the authors is provided by the BASAL Center for Astrophysics and Associated Technologies (CATA) through grant PFB-06, and the Ministry for the Economy, Development, and Tourism, Programa Iniciativa Cientifica Milenio through grant IC120009, awarded to the Millennium Institute of Astrophysics (MAS). D.M. and M.Z. acknowledge support from FONDECYT Regular grants No. 1170121, and 1150345, respectively. P.H. acknowledges financial support from FONDECYT regular grant 1170305. F.G. acknowledge support from CONICYT-PCHA Doctorado Nacional 2017-21171485 and Proyecto Fondecyt Regular 1150345. J.A.-G. acknowledges support by FONDECYT Iniciacion 11150916. D.M. is also grateful for the hospitality of the Vatican Observatory. This research made use of Astropy, a community-developed core Python package for astronomy; Scikit-learn, NumPy, and matplotlib, a Python library for publication-quality graphics; and Aladin Sky Atlas, developed at CDS, Strasbourg Observatory, France, and TOPCAT.Deep near-IR images from the VISTA Variables in the V a L ctea (VVV) Survey were used to search for RR Lyrae stars within 100 arcmin from the Galactic Center. A large sample of 960 RR Lyrae of type ab (RRab) stars were discovered. A catalog is presented featuring the positions, magnitudes, colors, periods, and amplitudes for the sample, in addition to estimated reddenings, distances, and metallicities, and measured individual relative proper motions. We use the reddening-corrected Wesenheit magnitudes, defined as WKs Ks 0.428 J Ks = - ( - ), in order to isolate bona fide RRL belonging to the Galaxy Center, finding that 30 RRab are foreground/background objects. We measure a range of extinctions from AKs 0.19 = to 1.75 mag for the RRab in this region, finding that large extinction is the main cause of the sample incompleteness. The mean period is P =0.5446±0.0025 days, yielding a mean metallicity of [Fe/H] =-1.30±0.01 (Ï = 0.33) dex for the RRab sample in the Galactic Center region. The median distance for the sample is D =8.05±0.02 kpc. We measure the RRab surface density using the less reddened region sampled here, finding a density of 1000 RRab/sq deg at a projected Galactocentric distance RG =1.6 deg. Under simple assumptions, this implies a large total mass (M>109Me) for the old and metal-poor population contained inside RG. We also measure accurate relative proper motions, from which we derive tangential velocity dispersions of ÏVl =125.0 and ÏVb =124.1 km s-1 along the Galactic longitude and latitude coordinates, respectively. The fact that these quantities are similar indicate that the bulk rotation of the RRab population is negligible, and implies that this population is supported by velocity dispersion. In summary, there are two main conclusions of this study. First, the population as a whole is no different from the outer bulge RRab, predominantly a metal-poor component that is shifted with respect to the Oosterhoff type I population defined by the globular clusters in the halo. Second, the RRab sample, as representative of the old and metal-poor stellar population in the region, has high velocity dispersions and zero rotation, suggesting a formation via dissipational collapse. ©2018. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aacf9
Proper motions in the VVV Survey: Results for more than 15 million stars across NGC 6544
Context: In the last six years, the VVV survey mapped 562 sq. deg. across the
bulge and southern disk of the Galaxy. However, a detailed study of these
regions, which includes globular clusters (GCs) and thousands of open
clusters is by no means an easy challenge. High differential reddening and
severe crowding along the line of sight makes highly hamper to reliably
distinguish stars belonging to different populations and/or systems. Aims: The
aim of this study is to separate stars that likely belong to the Galactic GC
NGC 6544 from its surrounding field by means of proper motion (PM) techniques.
Methods: This work was based upon a new astrometric reduction method optimized
for images of the VVV survey. Results: Photometry over the six years baseline
of the survey allowed us to obtain a mean precision of mas/yr, in
each PM coordinate, for stars with Ks < 15 mag. In the area studied here,
cluster stars separate very well from field stars, down to the main sequence
turnoff and below, allowing us to derive for the first time the absolute PM of
NGC 6544. Isochrone fitting on the clean and differential reddening corrected
cluster color magnitude diagram yields an age of 11-13 Gyr, and
metallicity [Fe/H] = -1.5 dex, in agreement with previous studies restricted to
the cluster core. We were able to derive the cluster orbit assuming an
axisymmetric model of the Galaxy and conclude that NGC 6544 is likely a halo
GC. We have not detected tidal tail signatures associated to the cluster, but a
remarkable elongation in the galactic center direction has been found. The
precision achieved in the PM determination also allows us to separate bulge
stars from foreground disk stars, enabling the kinematical selection of bona
fide bulge stars across the whole survey area. Our results show that VVV data
is perfectly suitable for this kind of analysis.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figures, accepted in A&
Chemical composition of stellar populations in Omega Centauri
We derive abundances of Fe, Na, O, and s-elements from GIRAFFE@VLT spectra
for more than 200 red giant stars in the Milky Way satellite Omega Centauri.
Our preliminary results are that: (i) we confirm that Omega Centauri exibiths
large star-to-star metallicity variations ( 1.4 dex); (ii) the
metallicity distribution reveals the presence of at least five stellar
populations with different [Fe/H]; (iii) a clear Na-O anticorrelation is
clearly observed for the metal-poor and metal-intermediate populations while
apparently the anticorrelation disappears for the most metal-rich populations.
Interestingly the Na level grows with iron.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures. To appear in the proceedings of IAU Symp. 268
"Light elements in the Universe" (C. Charbonnel, M. Tosi, F. Primas, C.
Chiappini, eds., Cambridge Univ. Press
Galactic Bulge Population II Cepheids in the VVV Survey: Period-Luminosity Relations and a Distance to the Galactic Center
We present the near-infrared observations of population II Cepheids in the
Galactic bulge from VVV survey. We identify 340 population II Cepheids in the
Galactic bulge from VVV survey based on their match with OGLE-III Catalogue.
The single-epoch and multi-epoch observations complement the
accurate periods and optical mean-magnitudes from OGLE. The sample
consisting of BL Herculis and W Virginis subtypes is used to derive
period-luminosity relations after correcting mean-magnitudes for the
extinction. Our -band period-luminosity relation, , is consistent with published work
for BL Herculis and W Virginis variables in the Large Magellanic Cloud. We
present a combined OGLE-III and VVV catalogue with periods, classification,
mean magnitudes and extinction for 264 Galactic bulge population II Cepheids
having good-quality -band light curves. The absolute magnitudes for
population II Cepheids and RR Lyraes calibrated using Gaia and Hubble Space
Telescope parallaxes, together with calibrated magnitudes for Large Magellanic
Cloud population II Cepheids, are used to obtain a distance to the Galactic
center, , which
changes by with different extinction laws. While noting the
limitation of small number statistics, we find that the present sample of
population II Cepheids in the Galactic bulge shows a nearly spheroidal spatial
distribution, similar to metal-poor RR Lyrae variables. We do not find evidence
of the inclined bar as traced by the metal-rich red-clump stars. The number
density for population II Cepheids is more limited as compared to abundant RR
Lyraes but they are bright and exhibit a wide range in period that provides a
robust period-luminosity relation for an accurate estimate of the distance to
the Galactic center.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, Accepted for publication in A&
Millimagnitude Photometry for Transiting Extrasolar Planetary Candidates. V. Follow-up of 30 OGLE Transits. New Candidates
We used VLT/VIMOS images in the V band to obtain light curves of extrasolar
planetary transits OGLE-TR-111 and OGLE-TR-113, and candidate planetary
transits: OGLE-TR-82, OGLE-TR-86, OGLE-TR-91, OGLE-TR-106, OGLE-TR-109,
OGLE-TR-110, OGLE-TR-159, OGLE-TR-167, OGLE-TR-170, OGLE-TR-171. Using
difference imaging photometry, we were able to achieve millimagnitude errors in
the individual data points. We present the analysis of the data and the light
curves, by measuring transit amplitudes and ephemerides, and by calculating
geometrical parameters for some of the systems. We observed 9 OGLE objects at
the predicted transit moments. Two other transits were shifted in time by a few
hours. For another seven objects we expected to observe transits during the
VIMOS run, but they were not detected. The stars OGLE-TR-111 and OGLE-TR-113
are probably the only OGLE objects in the observed sample to host planets, with
the other objects being very likely eclipsing binaries or multiple systems. In
this paper we also report on four new transiting candidates which we have found
in the data.Comment: 11 pages, 17 figures, accepted for publication in A&
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