1,230 research outputs found
Isochrone fitting in the Gaia era
Context. Currently galactic exploration is being revolutionized by a flow of
new data: Gaia provides measurements of stellar distances and kinematics;
growing numbers of spectroscopic surveys provide values of stellar atmospheric
parameters and abundances of elements; and Kepler and K2 missions provide
asteroseismic information for an increasing number of stars. Aims. In this work
we aim to determine stellar distances and ages using Gaia and
spectrophotometric data in a consistent way. We estimate precisions of age and
distance determinations with Gaia end-of-mission and TGAS parallax precisions.
Methods. To this end we incorporated parallax and extinction data into the
isochrone fitting method used in the Unified tool to estimate Distances, Ages,
and Masses (UniDAM). We prepared datasets that allowed us to study the
improvement of distance and age estimates with the inclusion of TGAS and Gaia
end-of-mission parallax precisions in isochrone fitting. Results. Using TGAS
parallaxes in isochrone fitting we are able to reduce distance and age estimate
uncertainties for TGAS stars for distances up to 1 kpc by more than one third,
compared to results based only on spectrophotometric data. With Gaia
end-of-mission parallaxes in isochrone fitting we will be able to further
decrease our distance uncertainties by about a factor of 20 and age
uncertainties by a factor of two for stars up to 10 kpc away from the Sun.
Conclusions. We demonstrate that we will be able to improve our distance
estimates for about one third of stars in spectroscopic surveys and to decrease
log(age) uncertainties by about a factor of two for over 80% of stars as
compared to the uncertainties obtained without parallax priors using Gaia
end-of-mission parallaxes consistently with spectrophotometry in isochrone
fitting .Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures, 4 table
A Unified tool to estimate Distances, Ages and Masses (UniDAM) from spectrophotometric data
Galactic archaeology - the study of the formation and evolution of the Milky
Way by reconstructing its past from its current constituents - requires precise
and accurate knowledge of stellar parameters for as many stars as possible. To
achieve this a number of large spectroscopic surveys have been undertaken and
are still ongoing. So far consortia carrying out the different spectroscopic
surveys have used different tools to determine stellar parameters of stars from
their derived effective temperatures (Teff), surface gravities (log g) and
metallicities ([Fe/H]) possibly combined with photometric, astrometric,
interferometric or asteroseismic information. Here we aim to homogenise the
stellar characterisation by applying a unified tool to a large set of publicly
available spectrophotometric data. We use spectroscopic data from a variety of
large surveys combined with infra-red photometry from 2MASS and AllWISE and
compare these in a Bayesian manner with PARSEC isochrones to derive probability
density functions (PDFs) for stellar masses, ages and distances. We treat PDFs
of pre-helium-core burning, helium-core burning and post helium-core burning
solutions as well as different peaks in multi-modal PDFs (i.e. each unimodal
sub-PDF) of the different evolutionary phases separately. For over 2.5 million
stars we report mass, age and distance estimate for each evolutionary phase and
unimodal sub-PDF. We report Gaussian, skewed Gaussian, truncated Gaussian,
modified truncated exponential distribution or truncated Student's
t-distribution functions to represent each sub-PDF, allowing to reconstruct
detailed PDFs. Comparisons with stellar parameter estimates from the literature
show good agreement within uncertainties. We present UniDAM - the unified tool
applicable to spectrophotometric data of different surveys to obtain a
homogenised set of stellar parameters
Selection functions of large spectroscopic surveys
Context. Large spectroscopic surveys open the way to explore our Galaxy. In
order to use the data from these surveys to understand the Galactic stellar
population, we need to be sure that stars contained in a survey are a
representative subset of the underlying population. Without the selection
function taken into account, the results might reflect the properties of the
selection function rather than those of the underlying stellar population.
Aims. In this work, we introduce a method to estimate the selection function
for a given spectroscopic survey. We apply this method to a large sample of
public spectroscopic surveys. Methods. We apply a median division binning
algorithm to bin observed stars in the colour-magnitude space. This approach
produces lower uncertainties and lower biases of the selection function
estimate as compared to traditionally used 2D-histograms. We run a set of
simulations to verify the method and calibrate the one free parameter it
contains. These simulations allow us to test the precision and accuracy of the
method. Results. We produce and publish estimated values and uncertainties of
selection functions for a large sample of public spectroscopic surveys. We
publicly release the code used to produce the selection function estimates.
Conclusions. The effect of the selection function on distance modulus and
metallicity distributions of stars in surveys is important for surveys with
small and largely inhomogeneous spatial coverage. For surveys with contiguous
spatial coverage the effect of the selection function is almost negligible.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures, 1 tabl
First, Second and Third Massive Stars in Open Clusters
The goal of this paper is to study possibilities of using first, second and
third massive stars in open clusters to estimate total cluster mass and
membership. We built estimator functions with the use of numerical simulations
and analytical approximations and studied the precision and error distribution
of the obtained estimator functions. We found that the distribution of the mass
of first, second and third massive stars shows strong power-law tails at the
high-mass end, thus it is better to use median or mode values instead of
average ones.
We show that the third massive star is a much better estimator then the first
as it is more precise and less dependent on parameters such as maximum allowed
stellar mass.Comment: 24 pages, 5 figures, 5 tables, to appear in Ap
Periodic alternating -junction structures as realization of -Josephson junctions
We consider the properties of a periodic structure consisting of small
alternating 0- and pi- Josephson junctions. We show that depending on the
relation between the lengths of the individual junctions, this system can be
either in the homogeneous or in the phase-modulated state. The modulated phase
appears via a second order phase transition when the mismatch between the
lengths of the individual junctions exceeds the critical value. The screening
length diverges at the transition point. In the modulated state, the
equilibrium phase difference in the structure can take any value from -pi to pi
(phi-junction). The current-phase relation in this structure has very unusual
shape with two maxima. As a consequence, the field dependence of the critical
current in a small structure is very different from the standard Fraunhofer
dependence. The Josephson vortex in a long structure carries partial magnetic
flux, which is determined by the equilibrium phase.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figues, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Josephson junction between anisotropic superconductors
The sin-Gordon equation for Josephson junctions with arbitrary misaligned
anisotropic banks is derived. As an application, the problem of Josephson
vortices at twin planes of a YBCO-like material is considered. It is shown that
for an arbitrary orientation of these vortices relative to the crystal axes of
the banks, the junctions should experience a mechanical torque which is
evaluated. This torque and its angular dependence may, in principle, be
measured in small fields, since the flux penetration into twinned crystals
begins with nucleation of Josephson vortices at twin planes.Comment: 6 page
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