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A Keck HIRES Doppler Search for Planets Orbiting Metal-Poor Dwarfs. II. On the Frequency of Giant Planets in the Metal-Poor Regime
We present an analysis of three years of precision radial velocity (RV)measurements of 160 metal-poor stars observed with HIRES on the Keck 1telescope. We report on variability and long-term velocity trends foreach star in our sample. We identify several long-term, low-amplitude RVvariables worthy of followup with direct imaging techniques. We placelower limits on the detectable companion mass as a function of orbitalperiod. Our survey would have detected, with a 99.5% confidence level,over 95% of all companions on low-eccentricity orbits with velocitysemiamplitude K gsim 100 m s–1, orMp sin i gsim 3.0 M J(P/yr)(1/3), fororbital periods P lsim 3 yr. None of the stars in our sampleexhibits RV variations compatible with the presence of Jovian planetswith periods shorter than the survey duration. The resulting averagefrequency of gas giants orbiting metal-poor dwarfs with–2.0lsim[Fe/H]lsim–0.6 is fp < 0.67% (at the1σ confidence level). We examine the implications of this nullresult in the context of the observed correlation between the rate ofoccurrence of giant planets and the metallicity of their main-sequencesolar-type stellar hosts. By combining our data set with the Fischer& Valenti (2005) uniform sample, we confirm that the likelihood of astar to harbor a planet more massive than Jupiter within 2 AU is asteeply rising function of the host's metallicity. However, the data forstars with –1.0lsim[Fe/H]lsim0.0 are compatible, in a statisticalsense, with a constant occurrence rate fp sime 1%. Ourresults can usefully inform theoretical studies of the process ofgiant-planet formation across two orders of magnitude in metallicity.
| Beryllium abundances and star formation in the halo and in the thick disk
Context: Beryllium is a pure product of cosmic ray spallation. Thisimplies a relatively simple evolution in time of the beryllium abundanceand suggests its use as a time-like observable. Aims: Our goal is toderive abundances of Be in a sample of 90 stars, the largest sample ofhalo and thick disk stars analyzed to date. We study the evolution of Bein the early Galaxy and its dependence on kinematic and orbitalparameters, and investigate its use as a cosmochronometer. Abundances ofBe, Fe, and α-elements of 73 stars are employed to study theformation of the halo and the thick disk of the Galaxy. Methods:Beryllium abundances are determined from high-resolution, highsignal-to-noise UVES spectra with spectrum synthesis. Atmosphericparameters and abundances of α-elements are adopted from theliterature. Lithium abundances are used to eliminate mixed stars fromthe sample. The properties of halo and thick disk stars are investigatedin diagrams of log(Be/H) vs. [ α/H] , log(Be/H) vs. [Fe/H], and [α/Fe] vs. log(Be/H) and with orbital and kinematic parameters. Results: We present our observational results in various diagrams. (i)In a log(Be/H) vs. [Fe/H] diagram we find a marginal statisticaldetection of a real scatter, above what is expected from measurementerrors, with a larger scatter among halo stars. The detection of thescatter is further supported by the existence of pairs of stars withidentical atmospheric parameters and different Be abundances; (ii) in alog(Be/H) vs. [ α/Fe] diagram, the halo stars separate into twocomponents; one is consistent with predictions of evolutionary models,while the other has too high α and Be abundances and is chemicallyindistinguishable from thick disk stars. This suggests that the halo isnot a single uniform population where a clear age-metallicity relationcan be defined; (iii) In diagrams of R_min vs. [ α/Fe] andlog(Be/H), the thick disk stars show a possible decrease in [α/Fe] with R_min, whereas no dependence of Be with R_min is seen.This anticorrelation suggests that the star formation rate was lower inthe outer regions of the thick disk, pointing towards an inside-outformation. The lack of correlation for Be indicates that it isinsensitive to the local conditions of star formation.Based on observations made with ESO VLT, at Paranal Observatory, underprograms 076.B-0133 and 077.B-0507, and on data obtained from theESO/ST-ECF Science Archive Facility and the UVES Paranal ObservatoryProject 266.D-5655.Tables 1-3, 6 and Appendices A-C are only available in electronic format http://www.aanda.org
| Searching for the metal-weak thick disc in the solar neighbourhood
An abundance analysis is presented of 60 metal-poor stars drawn fromcatalogues of nearby stars provided by Arifyanto et al. and Schuster etal. In an attempt to isolate a sample of metal-weak thick disc stars, weapplied the kinematic criteria Vrot >=100kms-1,|ULSR| <= 140kms-1 (LSR -local standard of rest) and |WLSR| <= 100kms-1.14 stars satisfying these criteria and having [Fe/H] <= -1.0 areincluded in the sample of 60 stars. Eight of the 14 have [Fe/H] >=-1.3 and may be simply thick disc stars of slightly lower than average[Fe/H]. The other six have [Fe/H] from -1.3 to -2.3 and are eithermetal-weak thick disc stars or halo stars with kinematics mimickingthose of the thick disc. The sample of 60 stars is completed by eightthick disc stars, 20 stars of a hybrid nature (halo or thick disc stars)and 18 stars with kinematics distinctive of the halo.
| Spectroscopy of globular clusters in the low-luminosity spiral galaxy NGC 45
Context: Extragalactic globular clusters have been studied in ellipticalgalaxies and in a few luminous spiral galaxies, but little is knownabout globular clusters in low-luminosity spirals. Aims: Pastobservations with the ACS have shown that NGC 45 hosts a largepopulation of globular clusters (19), as well as several young starclusters. In this work we aim to confirm the bona fide globular clusterstatus for 8 of 19 globular cluster candidates and to derivemetallicities, ages, and velocities. Methods: VLT/FORS2 multislitspectroscopy in combination with the Lick/IDS system was used to derivevelocities and to constrain metallicities and [ α/Fe] elementratio of the globular clusters. Results: We confirm the 8 globularclusters as bona fide globular clusters. Their velocities indicate haloor bulge-like kinematics, with little or no overall rotation. Fromabsorption indices such as Hβ, Hγ, and Hδ and thecombined [MgFe]' index, we found that the globular clusters aremetal-poor [Z/H] ≤-0.33 dex and [ α/Fe] ≤ 0.0 element ratio.These results argue in favor of a population of globular clusters formedduring the assembling of the galaxy.Based on data collected at the Cerro Paranal, Chile run by the EuropeanSouthern Observatory (ESO) under programme ID 077.D-0403(A) and077.D-0403(B).Table 6 and Fig. 6 are only available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org
| Speckle interferometry of metal-poor stars in the solar neighborhood. II
The results of speckle interferometric observations of 115 metal-poorstars ([m/H] < ‑1) within 250 pc from the Sun and with propermotions µ ≳ 0.2″/yr, made with the 6-m telescope of theSpecial Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences,are reported. Close companions with separations ranging from0.034″ to 1″ were observed for 12 objects—G76-21,G59-1, G63-46, G135-16, G168-42, G141-47, G142-44, G190-10, G28-43,G217-8, G130-7, and G89-14—eight of them are astrometricallyresolved for the first time. The newly resolved systems include onetriple star—G190-10. If combined with spectroscopic and visualdata, our results imply a single:binary:triple:quadruple star ratio of147:64:9:1 for a sample of 221 primary components of halo and thick-diskstars.
| Probing Atlas model atmospheres at high spectral resolution. Stellar synthesis and reference template validation
Aims. The fast improvement of spectroscopic observations makes mandatorya strong effort on the theoretical side to better reproduce the spectralenergy distribution (SED) of stars at high spectral resolution. In thisregard, relying on the Kurucz Atlas/Synthe original codes we computedthe Bluered library, consisting of 832 synthetic SED of stars, thatcover a large parameter space at very high spectral resolution (R = 500000) along the 3500-7000 Å wavelength range. Methods: Blueredsynthetic spectra have been used to assess in finer detail the intrinsicreliability and the performance limits of the Atlas theoreticalframework. The continuum-normalized spectra of theSun, Arcturus, andVega, plus a selected list of 45 bright stars withhigh-quality SEDs from the Prugniel & Soubiran Elodie catalog, formour sample designed to probe the global properties of synthetic spectraacross the entire range of H-R parameters. Results: Atlas modelsdisplay a better fitting performance with increasing stellartemperature. High-resolution spectra of Vega, the Sun, and Arcturus havebeen reproduced at R=100 000, respectively, within a 0.7%, 4.5%, and8.8% relative scatter in residual flux. In all the three cases, theresidual flux distribution shows a significant asymmetry (skewnessparameter γ = -2.21, -0.98, -0.67, respectively), which neatlyconfirms an overall “excess” of theoretical line blanketing.For the Sun, this apparent discrepancy is alleviated, but not recovered,by a systematic decrease (-40%) of the line oscillator strengths, log(gf), especially referring to iron transitions. Definitely, a straight“astrophysical” determination of log (gf) for eachindividual atomic transition has to be devised to overcome the problem.By neglecting overblanketing effects in theoretical models when fittinghigh-resolution continuum-normalized spectra of real stars, we lead to asystematically warmer effective temperature (between +80 and +300 K forthe solar fit) and a slightly poorer metal content.
| Oxygen abundances in nearby stars. Clues to the formation and evolution of the Galactic disk
The abundances of iron and oxygen are homogeneously determined in asample of 523 nearby (d<150 pc) FGK disk and halo stars withmetallicities in the range -1.5<[Fe/H]<0.5. Iron abundances wereobtained from an LTE analysis of a large set of Fe I and Fe II lineswith reliable atomic data. Oxygen abundances were inferred from arestricted non-LTE analysis of the 777 nm O I triplet. We adopted theinfrared flux method temperature scale and surface gravities based onHipparcos trigonometric parallaxes. Within this framework, theionization balance of iron lines is not satisfied: the mean abundancesfrom the Fe I lines are systematically lower by 0.06 dex than those fromthe Fe II lines for dwarf stars of Teff>5500 K and[Fe/H]<0.0, and giant stars of all temperatures and metallicitiescovered by our sample. The discrepancy worsens for cooler and metal-richmain-sequence stars. We use the stellar kinematics to compute theprobabilities of our sample stars to be members of the thin disk, thickdisk, or halo of the Galaxy. We find that the majority of thekinematically-selected thick-disk stars show larger [O/Fe] ratioscompared to thin-disk stars while the rest show thin-disk abundances,which suggests that the latter are thin-disk members with unusual(hotter) kinematics. A close examination of this pattern for disk starswith ambiguous probabilities shows that an intermediate population withproperties between those of the thin and thick disks does not exist, atleast in the solar neighborhood. Excluding the stars with unusualkinematics, we find that thick-disk stars show slowly decreasing [O/Fe]ratios from about 0.5 to 0.4 in the -0.8<[Fe/H]<-0.3 range. Usinga simple model for the chemical evolution of the thick disk we show thatthis trend results directly from the metallicity dependence of the TypeII supernova yields. At [Fe/H]>-0.3, we find no obvious indication ofa sudden decrease (i.e., a "knee") in the [O/Fe] vs. [Fe/H] pattern ofthick-disk stars that would connect the thick and thin disk trends at ahigh metallicity. We conclude that Type Ia supernovae (SN Ia) did notcontribute significantly to the chemical enrichment of the thick disk.In the -0.8<[Fe/H]<+0.3 range, thin-disk stars show decreasing[O/Fe] ratios from about 0.4 to 0.0 that require a SN Ia contribution.The implications of these results for studies of the formation andevolution of the Galactic disk are discussed.Tables 4-6 are only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/465/271 Partially based onobservations obtained with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope, which is a jointproject of the University of Texas at Austin, the Pennsylvania StateUniversity, Stanford University, Ludwig-Maximilians-UniversitätMünchen, and Georg-August-Universität Göttingen; and datafrom the UVES Paranal Observatory Project (ESO DDT Program ID266.D-5655).
| Medium-resolution Isaac Newton Telescope library of empirical spectra - II. The stellar atmospheric parameters
We present a homogeneous set of stellar atmospheric parameters(Teff, logg, [Fe/H]) for MILES, a new spectral stellarlibrary covering the range λλ 3525-7500Å at2.3Å (FWHM) spectral resolution. The library consists of 985 starsspanning a large range in atmospheric parameters, from super-metal-rich,cool stars to hot, metal-poor stars. The spectral resolution, spectraltype coverage and number of stars represent a substantial improvementover previous libraries used in population synthesis models. Theatmospheric parameters that we present here are the result of aprevious, extensive compilation from the literature. In order toconstruct a homogeneous data set of atmospheric parameters we have takenthe sample of stars of Soubiran, Katz & Cayrel, which has very welldetermined fundamental parameters, as the standard reference system forour field stars, and have calibrated and bootstrapped the data fromother papers against it. The atmospheric parameters for our clusterstars have also been revised and updated according to recent metallicityscales, colour-temperature relations and improved set of isochrones.
| Bright Metal-poor Stars from the Hamburg/ESO Survey. I. Selection and Follow-up Observations from 329 Fields
We present a sample of 1777 bright (91.0) metal-poor([Fe/H]<-2.0) giants of 9%+/-2%, which is lower than previouslyreported. However, the frequency rises to similar (>20%) and highervalues with increasing distance from the Galactic plane. Although thenumbers of stars at low metallicity are falling rapidly at the lowestmetallicities, there is evidence that the fraction of carbon-enhancedmetal-poor stars is increasing rapidly as a function of decliningmetallicity. For ~60 objects, high-resolution data have already beenobtained; one of these, HE 1327-2326, is the new record holder for themost iron-deficient star known.
| Medium-resolution Isaac Newton Telescope library of empirical spectra
A new stellar library developed for stellar population synthesismodelling is presented. The library consists of 985 stars spanning alarge range in atmospheric parameters. The spectra were obtained at the2.5-m Isaac Newton Telescope and cover the range λλ3525-7500 Å at 2.3 Å (full width at half-maximum) spectralresolution. The spectral resolution, spectral-type coverage,flux-calibration accuracy and number of stars represent a substantialimprovement over previous libraries used in population-synthesis models.
| Lithium Isotopic Abundances in Metal-poor Halo Stars
Very high quality spectra of 24 metal-poor halo dwarfs and subgiantshave been acquired with ESO's VLT/UVES for the purpose of determining Liisotopic abundances. The derived one-dimensional, non-LTE 7Li abundances from the Li I 670.8 nm line reveal a pronounceddependence on metallicity but with negligible scatter around this trend.Very good agreement is found between the abundances from the Li I 670.8nm line and the Li I 610.4 nm line. The estimated primordial 7Li abundance is7Li/H=(1.1-1.5)×10-10, which is a factor of3-4 lower than predicted from standard big bang nucleosynthesis with thebaryon density inferred from the cosmic microwave background.Interestingly, 6Li is detected in 9 of our 24 stars at the>=2 σ significance level. Our observations suggest theexistence of a 6Li plateau at the level oflogε6Li~0.8 however, taking into accountpredictions for 6Li destruction during the pre-main-sequenceevolution tilts the plateau such that the 6Li abundancesapparently increase with metallicity. Our most noteworthy result is thedetection of 6Li in the very metal-poor star LP 815-43. Sucha high 6Li abundance during these early Galactic epochs isvery difficult to achieve by Galactic cosmic-ray spallation andα-fusion reactions. It is concluded that both Li isotopes have apre-Galactic origin. Possible 6Li production channels includeprotogalactic shocks and late-decaying or annihilating supersymmetricparticles during the era of big bang nucleosynthesis. The presence of6Li limits the possible degree of stellar 7Lidepletion and thus sharpens the discrepancy with standard big bangnucleosynthesis.Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory,Paranal, Chile (observing programs 65.L-0131, 68.D-0091, and273.D-5043).
| Elemental abundance survey of the Galactic thick disc
We have performed an abundance analysis for F- and G- dwarfs of theGalactic thick-disc component. A sample of 176 nearby (d<= 150pc)thick-disc candidate stars was chosen from the Hipparcos catalogue andsubjected to a high-resolution spectroscopic analysis. Using accurateradial velocities combined with the Hipparcos astrometry, kinematics (U,V and W) and Galactic orbital parameters were computed. We estimate theprobability for a star to belong to the thin disc, the thick disc or thehalo. With a probability P>= 70 per cent taken as certain membership,we assigned 95 stars to the thick disc, 13 to the thin disc, and 20 tothe halo. The remaining 48 stars in the sample cannot be assigned withreasonable certainty to one of the three components.Abundances of C, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni,Cu, Zn, Y, Ba, Ce, Nd and Eu have been obtained. The abundances for thethick-disc stars are compared with those for the thin-disc members fromReddy et al. The ratios of α-elements (O, Mg, Si, Ca and Ti) toiron for thick-disc stars show a clear enhancement compared to thin-discmembers in the range -0.3 < [Fe/H] < -1.2. There are also otherelements - Al, Sc, V, Co, and possibly Zn - which show enhanced ratiosto iron in the thick disc relative to the thin disc. The abundances ofNa, Cr, Mn, Ni and Cu (relative to Fe) are very similar for thin- andthick-disc stars. The dispersion in abundance ratios [X/Fe] at given[Fe/H] for thick-disc stars is consistent with the expected scatter dueto measurement errors, suggesting a lack of `cosmic' scatter.A few stars classified as members of the thick disc by our kinematiccriteria show thin-disc abundances. These stars, which appear older thanmost thin-disc stars, are also, on average, younger than the thick-discpopulation. They may have originated early in the thin-disc history, andbeen subsequently scattered to hotter orbits by collisions. The thickdisc may not include stars with [Fe/H] > -0.3. The observedcompositions of the thin and thick discs seem to be consistent with themodels of galaxy formation by hierarchical clustering in a Lambda colddark matter (ΛCDM) universe.
| Galactic model parameters for field giants separated from field dwarfs by their 2MASS and V apparent magnitudes
We present a method which separates field dwarfs and field giants bytheir 2MASS and V apparent magnitudes. This method is based onspectroscopically selected standards and is hence reliable. We appliedit to stars in two fields, SA 54 and SA 82, and we estimated a full setof Galactic model parameters for giants including their total localspace density. Our results are in agreement with the ones given in therecent literature.
| Pulkovo compilation of radial velocities for 35495 stars in a common system.
Not Available
| Chemical abundances of very metal-poor stars
High-resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio spectra of 32 verymetal-poor stars were obtained with the Coudé echellespectrograph mounted on the 2.16-m telescope at the NationalAstronomical Observatories (Xinglong, China). Equivalent widths of FeI,FeII, OI, NaI, MgI, AlI, SiI, SiII, KI, CaI, ScII, TiI, VI, CrI, MnI,NiI, CuI and BaII lines were measured. Stellar effective temperatureswere determined by colour indices. Stellar surface gravities werecalculated from Hipparcos parallaxes and stellar evolutionary tracks.Photospheric abundances of 16 elements were derived by localthermodynamical equilibrium analysis. Stellar space motions (U, V, W)and Galactic orbital parameters were calculated. Based on kinematics,sample stars were separated into dissipative collapse and accretioncomponents of halo population. The global kinematics of the twocomponents were analysed. Element abundances were discussed as functionsof metallicities. The results of oxygen and α-elements abundanceconfirmed the previous works. The [K/Fe] shows a gradual systematicincrease toward a lower metallicity, such as in the case ofα-elements. The [Ba/Fe] trend suggests that the s-processdominated Ba production at least for the metal-poor stars with[Fe/H]> -2.0.
| The lithium content of the Galactic Halo stars
Thanks to the accurate determination of the baryon density of theuniverse by the recent cosmic microwave background experiments, updatedpredictions of the standard model of Big Bang nucleosynthesis now yieldthe initial abundance of the primordial light elements withunprecedented precision. In the case of ^7Li, the CMB+SBBN value issignificantly higher than the generally reported abundances for Pop IIstars along the so-called Spite plateau. In view of the crucialimportance of this disagreement, which has cosmological, galactic andstellar implications, we decided to tackle the most critical issues ofthe problem by revisiting a large sample of literature Li data in halostars that we assembled following some strict selection criteria on thequality of the original analyses. In the first part of the paper wefocus on the systematic uncertainties affecting the determination of theLi abundances, one of our main goal being to look for the "highestobservational accuracy achievable" for one of the largest sets of Liabundances ever assembled. We explore in great detail the temperaturescale issue with a special emphasis on reddening. We derive four sets ofeffective temperatures by applying the same colour {T}_eff calibrationbut making four different assumptions about reddening and determine theLTE lithium values for each of them. We compute the NLTE corrections andapply them to the LTE lithium abundances. We then focus on our "best"(i.e. most consistent) set of temperatures in order to discuss theinferred mean Li value and dispersion in several {T}_eff and metallicityintervals. The resulting mean Li values along the plateau for [Fe/H]≤ 1.5 are A(Li)_NLTE = 2.214±0.093 and 2.224±0.075when the lowest effective temperature considered is taken equal to 5700K and 6000 K respectively. This is a factor of 2.48 to 2.81 (dependingon the adopted SBBN model and on the effective temperature range chosento delimit the plateau) lower than the CMB+SBBN determination. We findno evidence of intrinsic dispersion. Assuming the correctness of theCMB+SBBN prediction, we are then left with the conclusion that the Liabundance along the plateau is not the pristine one, but that halo starshave undergone surface depletion during their evolution. In the secondpart of the paper we further dissect our sample in search of newconstraints on Li depletion in halo stars. By means of the Hipparcosparallaxes, we derive the evolutionary status of each of our samplestars, and re-discuss our derived Li abundances. A very surprisingresult emerges for the first time from this examination. Namely, themean Li value as well as the dispersion appear to be lower (althoughfully compatible within the errors) for the dwarfs than for the turnoffand subgiant stars. For our most homogeneous dwarfs-only sample with[Fe/H] ≤ 1.5, the mean Li abundances are A(L)_NLTE = 2.177±0.071 and 2.215±0.074 when the lowest effective temperatureconsidered is taken equal to 5700 K and 6000 K respectively. This is afactor of 2.52 to 3.06 (depending on the selected range in {T}_eff forthe plateau and on the SBBN predictions we compare to) lower than theCMB+SBBN primordial value. Instead, for the post-main sequence stars thecorresponding values are 2.260±0.1 and 2.235±0.077, whichcorrespond to a depletion factor of 2.28 to 2.52. These results,together with the finding that all the stars with Li abnormalities(strong deficiency or high content) lie on or originate from the hotside of the plateau, lead us to suggest that the most massive of thehalo stars have had a slightly different Li history than their lessmassive contemporaries. In turn, this puts strong new constraints on thepossible depletion mechanisms and reinforces Li as a stellartomographer.
| Sulphur abundance in Galactic stars
We investigate sulphur abundance in 74 Galactic stars by using highresolution spectra obtained at ESO VLT and NTT telescopes. For the firsttime the abundances are derived, where possible, from three opticalmultiplets: Mult. 1, 6, and 8. By combining our own measurements withdata in the literature we assemble a sample of 253 stars in themetallicity range -3.2 [Fe/H] +0.5. Two important features,which could hardly be detected in smaller samples, are obvious from thislarge sample: 1) a sizeable scatter in [S/Fe] ratios around [Fe/H]-1; 2) at low metallicities we observe stars with [S/Fe] 0.4, aswell as stars with higher [S/Fe] ratios. The latter do not seem to bekinematically different from the former ones. Whether the latter findingstems from a distinct population of metal-poor stars or simply from anincreased scatter in sulphur abundances remains an open question.
| Abundance trends in kinematical groups of the Milky Way's disk
We have compiled a large catalogue of metallicities and abundance ratiosfrom the literature in order to investigate abundance trends of severalalpha and iron peak elements in the thin disk and the thick disk of theGalaxy. The catalogue includes 743 stars with abundances of Fe, O, Mg,Ca, Ti, Si, Na, Ni and Al in the metallicity range -1.30 < [Fe/H]< +0.50. We have checked that systematic differences betweenabundances measured in the different studies were lower than randomerrors before combining them. Accurate distances and proper motions fromHipparcos and radial velocities from several sources have been retreivedfor 639 stars and their velocities (U, V, W) and galactic orbits havebeen computed. Ages of 322 stars have been estimated with a Bayesianmethod of isochrone fitting. Two samples kinematically representative ofthe thin and thick disks have been selected, taking into account theHercules stream which is intermediate in kinematics, but with a probabledynamical origin. Our results show that the two disks are chemicallywell separated, they overlap greatly in metallicity and both showparallel decreasing alpha elements with increasing metallicity, in theinterval -0.80 < [Fe/H] < -0.30. The Mg enhancement with respectto Fe of the thick disk is measured to be 0.14 dex. An even largerenhancement is observed for Al. The thick disk is clearly older than thethin disk with tentative evidence of an AMR over 2-3 Gyr and a hiatus instar formation before the formation of the thin disk. We do not observea vertical gradient in the metallicity of the thick disk. The Herculesstream has properties similar to that of the thin disk, with a widerrange of metallicity. Metal-rich stars assigned to the thick disk andsuper-metal-rich stars assigned to the thin disk appear as outliers inall their properties.
| A Survey of Proper-Motion Stars. XVII. A Deficiency of Binary Stars on Retrograde Galactic Orbits and the Possibility that ω Centauri is Related to the Effect
We compare the frequency of field binary stars as a function of Galacticvelocity vectors and find a deficiency of such stars on stronglyretrograde orbits. Metal-poor stars moving on prograde Galactic orbitshave a binary frequency of 28%+/-3%, whereas the retrograde stars'binary frequency is only 10%+/-2% for V<=-300 km s-1. Nosuch binary deficiencies are seen for the U or W velocities, nor for[Fe/H]. Some mechanism exists that either disrupts binary systems orpreferentially adds single stars moving primarily on retrograde orbits.Theoretical analyses and critical evaluations of our observational dataappear to rule out preferential disruption of preexisting binary starsdue to such causes as tidal interactions with massive gravitationalperturbers, including giant molecular clouds, black holes, or theGalactic center.Dynamically evolved stellar ensembles, such as globular clusters,provide a possible source of single stars. Three lines of evidence ruleout this explanation. First, there is no mechanism to significantlyenhance dissolution of clusters moving on retrograde orbits. Second, astudy of globular clusters moving on prograde and retrograde orbits andwith perigalacticon distances such that they are unlikely to be affectedstrongly by central tidal effects shows that clusters moving on progradeGalactic orbits may be more evolved dynamically than clusters moving onretrograde orbits. Finally, we have undertaken a comprehensive searchfor star streams that might be discernible. Monte Carlo modelingsuggests that our sample may include one moving group, but it containsonly five stars. Although the Galactic orbit of this group passes nearthe Galactic center, it is not moving on a retrograde Galactic orbit andfalls short by a factor of at least 20 in supplying the necessary numberof single stars.There is one intriguing possibility to explain our results. A dissolveddwarf galaxy may have too large a velocity spread to be easily detectedin our sample using our technique. However, dwarf galaxies appear tooften show element-to-iron versus [Fe/H] abundance patterns that are notsimilar to the bulk of the stellar field and cluster halo stars. Weexplore the s-process elements Y and Ba. Eight stars in our sample havesuch elemental abundances already measured and also lie in the criticaldomain with -1.6<=[Fe/H]<=-1.0 and V<=-300 km s-1.The admittedly small samples appears to show a bimodal distribution in[Y/Fe], [Ba/Fe], and [α/Fe], where ``α'' represents anaverage abundance of Mg, Si, Ca, and Ti. This behavior is reminiscent ofthe difference in the abundances found between the globular clusterω Centauri and other globular clusters. It is also intriguing thatthe stars most similar to ω Cen in their chemical abundances showa relatively coherent set of kinematic properties, with a modestvelocity dispersion. The stars less like ω Cen define adynamically hot population. The binary frequency of the stars in ωCen does not appear to be enhanced, but detailed modeling of the radialvelocity data remains to be done.
| Stellar Chemical Signatures and Hierarchical Galaxy Formation
To compare the chemistries of stars in the Milky Way dwarf spheroidal(dSph) satellite galaxies with stars in the Galaxy, we have compiled alarge sample of Galactic stellar abundances from the literature. Whenkinematic information is available, we have assigned the stars tostandard Galactic components through Bayesian classification based onGaussian velocity ellipsoids. As found in previous studies, the[α/Fe] ratios of most stars in the dSph galaxies are generallylower than similar metallicity Galactic stars in this extended sample.Our kinematically selected stars confirm this for the Galactic halo,thin-disk, and thick-disk components. There is marginal overlap in thelow [α/Fe] ratios between dSph stars and Galactic halo stars onextreme retrograde orbits (V<-420 km s-1), but this is notsupported by other element ratios. Other element ratios compared in thispaper include r- and s-process abundances, where we find a significantoffset in the [Y/Fe] ratios, which results in a large overabundance in[Ba/Y] in most dSph stars compared with Galactic stars. Thus, thechemical signatures of most of the dSph stars are distinct from thestars in each of the kinematic components of the Galaxy. This resultrules out continuous merging of low-mass galaxies similar to these dSphsatellites during the formation of the Galaxy. However, we do not ruleout very early merging of low-mass dwarf galaxies, since up to one-halfof the most metal-poor stars ([Fe/H]<=-1.8) have chemistries that arein fair agreement with Galactic halo stars. We also do not rule outmerging with higher mass galaxies, although we note that the LMC and theremnants of the Sgr dwarf galaxy are also chemically distinct from themajority of the Galactic halo stars. Formation of the Galaxy's thickdisk by heating of an old thin disk during a merger is also not ruledout; however, the Galaxy's thick disk itself cannot be comprised of theremnants from a low-mass (dSph) dwarf galaxy, nor of a high-mass dwarfgalaxy like the LMC or Sgr, because of differences in chemistry.The new and independent environments offered by the dSph galaxies alsoallow us to examine fundamental assumptions related to thenucleosynthesis of the elements. The metal-poor stars ([Fe/H]<=-1.8)in the dSph galaxies appear to have lower [Ca/Fe] and [Ti/Fe] than[Mg/Fe] ratios, unlike similar metallicity stars in the Galaxy.Predictions from the α-process (α-rich freeze-out) would beconsistent with this result if there have been a lack of hypernovae indSph galaxies. The α-process could also be responsible for thevery low Y abundances in the metal-poor stars in dSph's; since [La/Eu](and possibly [Ba/Eu]) are consistent with pure r-process results, thelow [Y/Eu] suggests a separate r-process site for this light(first-peak) r-process element. We also discuss SNe II rates and yieldsas other alternatives, however. In stars with higher metallicities([Fe/H]>=-1.8), contributions from the s-process are expected; [(Y,La, and Ba)/Eu] all rise as expected, and yet [Ba/Y] is still muchhigher in the dSph stars than similar metallicity Galactic stars. Thisresult is consistent with s-process contributions from lower metallicityAGB stars in dSph galaxies, and is in good agreement with the slowerchemical evolution expected in the low-mass dSph galaxies relative tothe Galaxy, such that the build-up of metals occurs over much longertimescales. Future investigations of nucleosynthetic constraints (aswell as galaxy formation and evolution) will require an examination ofmany stars within individual dwarf galaxies.Finally, the Na-Ni trend reported in 1997 by Nissen & Schuster isconfirmed in Galactic halo stars, but we discuss this in terms of thegeneral nucleosynthesis of neutron-rich elements. We do not confirm thatthe Na-Ni trend is related to the accretion of dSph galaxies in theGalactic halo.
| The distance to NGC 5904 (M 5) via the subdwarf main sequence fitting method
We present a determination of the distance modulus of the globularcluster NGC 5904 (M 5), obtained by means of the subdwarf main-sequencefitting on the (V,V-I) color-magnitude diagram. The subdwarf sample hasbeen selected from the HIPPARCOS catalog in a metallicity rangehomogeneous with the cluster ([Fe/H] ≃ -1.1). Both the cluster andthe subdwarfs have been observed with the sametelescope+instrument+filters setup (namely, ESO-NTT equipped with theSUSI2 camera), in order to preserve homogeneity and reduce systematicuncertainties. A set of archival HST data has then been used to obtain adeep and precise ridge line. These have been accurately calibrated inthe ground photometric system by using the NTT data and used to fit thecluster distance modulus. By adopting the most commonly accepted valuesfor the reddening, E(B-V) = 0.035 and 0.03, we obtain respectivelyμ0 = 14.44 ± 0.09 ± 0.07 andμ0 = 14.41 ± 0.09 ± 0.07, in agreement withrecent determinations.Based on data collected at ESO-La Silla, Chile, (GTO 63.L-0717) and fromHST archival data (GO 8310).
| The Indo-US Library of Coudé Feed Stellar Spectra
We have obtained spectra for 1273 stars using the 0.9 m coudéfeed telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. This telescope feedsthe coudé spectrograph of the 2.1 m telescope. The spectra havebeen obtained with the no. 5 camera of the coudé spectrograph anda Loral 3K×1K CCD. Two gratings have been used to provide spectralcoverage from 3460 to 9464 Å, at a resolution of ~1 Å FWHMand at an original dispersion of 0.44 Å pixel-1. For885 stars we have complete spectra over the entire 3460 to 9464 Åwavelength region (neglecting small gaps of less than 50 Å), andpartial spectral coverage for the remaining stars. The 1273 stars havebeen selected to provide broad coverage of the atmospheric parametersTeff, logg, and [Fe/H], as well as spectral type. The goal ofthe project is to provide a comprehensive library of stellar spectra foruse in the automated classification of stellar and galaxy spectra and ingalaxy population synthesis. In this paper we discuss thecharacteristics of the spectral library, viz., details of theobservations, data reduction procedures, and selection of stars. We alsopresent a few illustrations of the quality and information available inthe spectra. The first version of the complete spectral library is nowpublicly available from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory(NOAO) via ftp and http.
| The Globular Cluster Systems of the Sculptor Group
We use CTIO 4 m Mosaic II images taken with the Washington CM and HarrisR filters to identify candidate globular clusters in the six majorgalaxies of the Sculptor group: NGC 45, 55, 247, 254, 300, and 7793.From follow-up spectroscopy with Hydra-CTIO, we find 19 new globularclusters in NGC 55, 247, 253, and 300, bringing the total number ofknown Sculptor group globular clusters to 36. The newly discoveredclusters have spectroscopic ages consistent with those of old Milky Wayglobular clusters, and the majority are metal-poor. Their luminosityfunction closely resembles that of the Milky Way's globular clusters;their metallicity distribution is somewhat more metal-rich, but this maybe the result of our color selection of candidates. The mean[α/Fe] ratio in the clusters is -0.2+/-0.3, which is lower thanthe Milky Way average. The specific frequencies SN aresimilar to those of other late-type galaxies. However, if we calculatethe specific frequency using the K-band total magnitudes of the hostgalaxies, we find values that are more than a factor of 2 higher. Thekinematics of the globular cluster systems are consistent with rotationwith the H I disk in each of the four galaxies; however, only in NGC 253is this result based on more than seven objects. We suggest that theSculptor group galaxies add to evidence indicating that many of thefirst-generation globular clusters formed in disks, not halos.
| A CCD imaging search for wide metal-poor binaries
We explored the regions within a radius of 25 arcsec around 473 nearby,low-metallicity G- to M-type stars using (VR)I optical filters andsmall-aperture telescopes. About 10% of the sample was searched up toangular separations of 90 arcsec. We applied photometric and astrometrictechniques to detect true physical companions to the targets. The greatmajority of the sample stars was drawn from the Carney-Latham surveys;their metallicities range from roughly solar to [Fe/H] = -3.5 dex. OurI-band photometric survey detected objects that are between 0 and 5 magfainter (completeness) than the target stars; the maximum dynamicalrange of our exploration is 9 mag. We also investigated the literature,and inspected images from the Digitized Sky Surveys to complete oursearch. By combining photometric and proper motion measurements, weretrieved 29 previously known companions, and identified 13 new propermotion companions. Near-infrared 2MASS photometry is provided for thegreat majority of them. Low-resolution optical spectroscopy (386-1000nm) was obtained for eight of the new companion stars. Thesespectroscopic data confirm them as cool, late-type, metal-depleteddwarfs, with spectral classes from esdK7 to sdM3. After comparison withlow-metallicity evolutionary models, we estimate the masses of theproper motion companion stars to be in the range 0.5-0.1Mȯ. They are moving around their primary stars atprojected separations between 32 and 57 000 AU. These orbitalsizes are very similar to those of solar-metallicity stars of the samespectral types. Our results indicate that about 15% of the metal-poorstars have stellar companions in wide orbits, which is in agreement withthe binary fraction observed among main sequence G- to M-type stars andT Tauri stars.Based on observations made with the IAC80 telescope operated on theisland of Tenerife by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias inthe Spanish Observatorio del Teide; also based on observations made withthe 2.2 m telescope of the German-Spanish Calar Alto Observatory(Almería, Spain), the William Herschel Telescope (WHT) operatedon the island of La Palma by the Isaac Newton Group in the SpanishObservatorio del Roque de los Muchachos (ORM) of the Instituto deAstrofísica de Canarias; and the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo(TNG) at the ORM.The complete Table 1 is only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/419/167
| Lithium abundances of the local thin disc stars
Lithium abundances are presented for a sample of 181 nearby F and Gdwarfs with accurate Hipparcos parallaxes. The stars are on circularorbits about the Galactic centre and, hence, are identified as belongingto the thin disc. This sample is combined with two published surveys toprovide a catalogue of lithium abundances, metallicities ([Fe/H]),masses, and ages for 451 F-G dwarfs, almost all belonging to the thindisc. The lithium abundances are compared and contrasted with publishedlithium abundances for F and G stars in local open clusters. The fieldstars span a larger range in [Fe/H] than the clusters for which [Fe/H]~=0.0 +/- 0.2. The initial (i.e. interstellar) lithium abundance of thesolar neighbourhood, as derived from stars for which astration oflithium is believed to be unimportant, is traced from logɛ(Li) =2.2 at [Fe/H]=-1 to logɛ(Li) = 3.2 at +0.1. This form for theevolution is dependent on the assumption that astration of lithium isnegligible for the stars defining the relation. An argument is advancedthat this latter assumption may not be entirely correct, and, theevolution of lithium with [Fe/H] may be flatter than previouslysupposed. A sharp Hyades-like Li dip is not seen among the field starsand appears to be replaced by a large spread among lithium abundances ofstars more massive than the lower mass limit of the dip. Astration oflithium by stars of masses too low to participate in the Li dip isdiscussed. These stars show little to no spread in lithium abundance ata given [Fe/H] and mass.
| Empirically Constrained Color-Temperature Relations. II. uvby
A new grid of theoretical color indices for the Strömgren uvbyphotometric system has been derived from MARCS model atmospheres and SSGsynthetic spectra for cool dwarf and giant stars having-3.0<=[Fe/H]<=+0.5 and 3000<=Teff<=8000 K. Atwarmer temperatures (i.e., 8000-2.0. To overcome thisproblem, the theoretical indices at intermediate and high metallicitieshave been corrected using a set of color calibrations based on fieldstars having well-determined distances from Hipparcos, accurateTeff estimates from the infrared flux method, andspectroscopic [Fe/H] values. In contrast with Paper I, star clustersplayed only a minor role in this analysis in that they provided asupplementary constraint on the color corrections for cool dwarf starswith Teff<=5500 K. They were mainly used to test thecolor-Teff relations and, encouragingly, isochrones thatemploy the transformations derived in this study are able to reproducethe observed CMDs (involving u-v, v-b, and b-y colors) for a number ofopen and globular clusters (including M67, the Hyades, and 47 Tuc)rather well. Moreover, our interpretations of such data are verysimilar, if not identical, with those given in Paper I from aconsideration of BV(RI)C observations for the sameclusters-which provides a compelling argument in support of thecolor-Teff relations that are reported in both studies. Inthe present investigation, we have also analyzed the observedStrömgren photometry for the classic Population II subdwarfs,compared our ``final'' (b-y)-Teff relationship with thosederived empirically in a number of recent studies and examined in somedetail the dependence of the m1 index on [Fe/H].Based, in part, on observations made with the Nordic Optical Telescope,operated jointly on the island of La Palma by Denmark, Finland, Iceland,Norway, and Sweden, in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de losMuchachos of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias.Based, in part, on observations obtained with the Danish 1.54 mtelescope at the European Southern Observatory, La Silla, Chile.
| Lithium Abundance of Metal-poor Stars
High-resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio spectra have been obtainedfor 32 metal-poor stars. The equivalent widths of Li λ6708Åwere measured and the lithium abundances were derived. The averagelithium abundance of 21 stars on the lithium plateau is 2.33±0.02dex. The Lithium plateau exhibits a marginal trend along metallicity,dA(Li)/d[Fe/H] = 0.12±0.06, and no clear trend with the effectivetemperature. The trend indicates that the abundance of lithium plateaumay not be primordial and that a part of the lithium was produced inGalactic Chemical Evolution (GCE).
| Abundances for metal-poor stars with accurate parallaxes. I. Basic data
We present element-to-element abundance ratios measured from highdispersion spectra for 150 field subdwarfs and early subgiants withaccurate Hipparcos parallaxes (errors <20%). For 50 stars new spectrawere obtained with the UVES on Kueyen (VLT UT2), the McDonald 2.7 mtelescope, and SARG at TNG. Additionally, literature equivalent widthswere taken from the works by Nissen & Schuster, Fulbright, andProchaska et al. to complement our data. The whole sample includes boththick disk and halo stars (and a few thin disk stars); most stars havemetallicities in the range -2<[Fe/H]<-0.6. We found our data, thatof Nissen & Schuster, and that of Prochaska to be of comparablequality; results from Fulbright scatter a bit more, but they are stillof very good quality and are extremely useful due to the large size ofhis sample. The results of the present analysis will be used inforthcoming papers to discuss the chemical properties of thedissipational collapse and accretion components of our Galaxy.Based in part on data collected at the European Southern Observatory,Chile, at the MacDonald Observatory, Texas, USA, and at the TelescopioNazionale Galileo, Canary Island, INAF,Italy-Spain.}\fnmsep\thanks{Table 1 is only available in electronic format the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) orvia\resizebox{8.8cm}{2.2mm}htpp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/404/187}
| Sodium Abundances in Stellar Atmospheres with Differing Metallicities
The non-LTE sodium abundances of 100 stars with metallicities-3<[Fe/H]<0.3 are determined using high-dispersion spectra withhigh signal-to-noise ratios. The sodium abundances [Na/Fe] obtained areclose to the solar abundance and display a smaller scatter than valuespublished previously. Giants (logg<3.8) with [Fe/H]<-1 do notdisplay overabundances of sodium, and their sodium abundances do notshow an anticorrelation with the oxygen abundance, in contrast toglobular-cluster giants. They likewise do not show sodium-abundancevariations with motion along the giant branch. No appreciable decreasein the sodium abundance was detected for dwarfs (logg>3.8) withmetallicities -2<[Fe/H]<-1. The observed relation between [Na/Fe]and [Fe/H] is in satisfactory agreement with the theoreticalcomputations of Samland, which take into account the metallicitydependence of the sodium yield and a number of other factors affectingthe distribution of elements in the Galaxy during the course of itsevolution.
| Oxygen line formation in late-F through early-K disk/halo stars. Infrared O I triplet and [O I] lines
In order to investigate the formation of O I 7771-5 and [O I] 6300/6363lines, extensive non-LTE calculations for neutral atomic oxygen werecarried out for wide ranges of model atmosphere parameters, which areapplicable to early-K through late-F halo/disk stars of variousevolutionary stages.The formation of the triplet O I lines was found to be well described bythe classical two-level-atom scattering model, and the non-LTEcorrection is practically determined by the parameters of theline-transition itself without any significant relevance to the detailsof the oxygen atomic model. This simplifies the problem in the sensethat the non-LTE abundance correction is essentially determined only bythe line-strength (Wlambda ), if the atmospheric parametersof Teff, log g, and xi are given, without any explicitdependence of the metallicity; thus allowing a useful analytical formulawith tabulated numerical coefficients. On the other hand, ourcalculations lead to the robust conclusion that LTE is totally valid forthe forbidden [O I] lines.An extensive reanalysis of published equivalent-width data of O I 7771-5and [O I] 6300/6363 taken from various literature resulted in theconclusion that, while a reasonable consistency of O I and [O I]abundances was observed for disk stars (-1 <~ [Fe/H] <~ 0), theexistence of a systematic abundance discrepancy was confirmed between OI and [O I] lines in conspicuously metal-poor halo stars (-3 <~[Fe/H] <~ -1) without being removed by our non-LTE corrections, i.e.,the former being larger by ~ 0.3 dex at -3 <~ [Fe/H] <~ -2.An inspection of the parameter-dependence of this discordance indicatesthat the extent of the discrepancy tends to be comparatively lessenedfor higher Teff/log g stars, suggesting the preference ofdwarf (or subgiant) stars for studying the oxygen abundances ofmetal-poor stars.Tables 2, 5, and 7 are only available in electronic form, at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/402/343 and Table\ref{tab3} is only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org
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Datos observacionales y astrométricos
| Constelación: | Ballena |
| Ascensión Recta: | 00h38m31.95s |
| Declinación: | -08°18'33.4" |
| Magnitud Aparente: | 9.214 |
| Movimiento Propio en Ascensión Recta: | 20.5 |
| Movimiento Propio en Declinación: | -545.6 |
| B-T magnitude: | 9.792 |
| V-T magnitude: | 9.262 |
Catálogos y designaciones:
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