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Line Broadening in Field Metal-Poor Red Giant and Red Horizontal Branch Stars
We report 349 radial velocities for 45 metal-poor field red giant branch(RGB) and red horizontal branch (RHB) stars, with time coverage rangingfrom 1 to 21 years. We have identified one new spectroscopic binary, HD4306, and one possible such system, HD 184711. We also provide 57 radialvelocities for 11 of the 91 stars reported in our previous work. All butone of the 11 stars had been found to have variable radial velocities.New velocities for the long-period spectroscopic binaries BD-1 2582 andHD 108317 have extended the time coverage to 21.7 and 12.5 years,respectively, but in neither case have we yet completed a full orbitalperiod. As was found in the previous study, radial velocity "jitter" ispresent in many of the most luminous stars. Excluding stars showingspectroscopic binary orbital motion, all 7 of the red giants withestimated MV values more luminous than -2.0 display jitter,as well as 3 of the 14 stars with -2.0 < MV <= -1.4. Wehave also measured the line broadening in all the new spectra, usingsynthetic spectra as templates. Comparison with results fromhigh-resolution and higher signal-to-noise (S/N) spectra employed byother workers shows good agreement down to line-broadening levels of 3km s-1, well below our instrumental resolution of 8.5 kms-1. As the previous work demonstrated, the majority of themost luminous red giants show significant line broadening, as do many ofthe red horizontal branch stars, and we briefly discuss possible causes.The line broadening appears related to velocity jitter, in that bothappear primarily among the highest luminosity red giants.
| Strömgren Photometry of Galactic Globular Clusters. I. New Calibrations of the Metallicity Index
We present a new calibration of the Strömgren metallicity indexm1 using red giant (RG) stars in four globular clusters (GCs:M92, M13, NGC 1851, 47 Tuc) with metallicity ranging from -2.2 to -0.7,marginally affected by reddening [E(B-V)<=0.04] and with accurate(u,v,b,y) photometry. The main difference between the newmetallicity-index-color (MIC) relations and similar relations availablein the literature is that we have adopted the u-y and v-y colors insteadof b-y. These colors present a stronger sensitivity to effectivetemperature, and the MIC relations show a linear slope. The differencebetween photometric estimates and spectroscopic measurements for RGs inM71, NGC 288, NGC 362, NGC 6397, and NGC 6752 is 0.04+/-0.03 dex(σ=0.11 dex). We also apply the new MIC relations to 85 field RGswith metallicity ranging from -2.4 to -0.5 and accurate reddeningestimates. We find that the difference between photometric estimates andspectroscopic measurements is -0.14+/-0.01 dex (σ=0.17 dex). Wealso provide two sets of MIC relations based on evolutionary models thathave been transformed into the observational plane by adopting eithersemiempirical or theoretical color-temperature relations. We apply thesemiempirical relations to the nine GCs and find that the differencebetween photometric and spectroscopic metallicities is 0.04+/-0.03 dex(σ=0.10 dex). A similar agreement is found for the sample of fieldRGs, with a difference of -0.09+/-0.03 dex (with σ=0.19 dex). Thedifference between metallicity estimates based on theoretical relationsand spectroscopic measurements is -0.11+/-0.03 dex (σ=0.14 dex)for the nine GCs and -0.24+/-0.03 dex (σ=0.15 dex) for the fieldRGs. Current evidence indicates that new MIC relations providemetallicities with an intrinsic accuracy better than 0.2 dex.Based in part on observations collected with the 1.54 m Danish Telescopeoperated at ESO (La Silla, Chile) and with the Nordic Optical Telescope(NOT) operated at La Palma (Spain).
| Hubble Space Telescope Observations of Chromospheres in Metal-Deficient Field Giants
Hubble Space Telescope high-resolution spectra of metal-deficient fieldgiants more than double the stars in previous studies, span ~3 mag onthe red giant branch, and sample an abundance range [Fe/H] = -1 to -3.These stars, in spite of their age and low metallicity, possesschromospheric fluxes of Mg II (λ2800) that are within a factor of4 of Population I stars, and they give signs of a dependence on themetal abundance at the lowest metallicities. The Mg II k line widthsdepend on luminosity and correlate with metallicity. Line profileasymmetries reveal outflows that occur at lower luminosities(MV = -0.8) than detected in Ca K and Hα lines inmetal-poor giants, suggesting mass outflow occurs over a larger span ofthe red giant branch than previously thought and confirming that the MgII lines are good wind diagnostics. These results do not support amagnetically dominated chromosphere, but they appear more consistentwith some sort of hydrodynamic or acoustic heating of the outeratmospheres.
| 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.
| A catalog of rotational and radial velocities for evolved stars. IV. Metal-poor stars^
Aims.The present paper describes the first results of an observationalprogram intended to refine and extend the existing v sin i measurementsof metal-poor stars, with an emphasis on field evolved stars.Methods: .The survey was carried out with the FEROS and CORALIEspectrometers. For the v sin i measurements, obtained from spectralsynthesis, we estimate an uncertainty of about 2.0 km s-1. Results: .Precise rotational velocities v sin i are presented for alarge sample of 100 metal-poor stars, most of them evolving off themain-sequence. For the large majority of the stars composing the presentsample, rotational velocities have been measured for the first time.
| Carbon-enhanced Metal-poor Stars: Osmium and Iridium Abundances in the Neutron-Capture-enhanced Subgiants CS 31062-050 and LP 625-44
We have investigated the abundances of heavy neutron-capture elements,including osmium (Os) and iridium (Ir), in the two carbon-enhancedmetal-poor (CEMP) subgiants CS 31062-050 and LP 625-44. CS 31062-050 isknown to be a so-called CEMP-r/s star, which exhibits large excesses ofs-process elements such as barium (Ba) and lead (Pb), as well as asignificant enhancement of europium (Eu) that cannot be explained byconventional s-process production in asymptotic giant branch starmodels. Our analysis of the high-resolution spectrum for this object hasdetermined, for the first time, the abundances of Ir and Os, elements inthe third peak of the r-process nucleosynthesis. They also exhibitsignificant excesses relative to the predictions of standard s-processcalculations. These two elements are not detected in a similar qualityspectrum of LP 625-44 the derived upper limits on their abundances arelower than the abundances in CS 31062-050. We compare the observedabundance patterns of neutron-capture elements, including Os and Ir, inthese two stars with recent model calculations of the s-process, and wediscuss possible interpretations.Based on data collected at the Subaru Telescope, which is operated bythe National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.
| 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.
| 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
| Estimation of Carbon Abundances in Metal-Poor Stars. I. Application to the Strong G-Band Stars of Beers, Preston, and Shectman
We develop and test a method for the estimation of metallicities([Fe/H]) and carbon abundance ratios ([C/Fe]) for carbon-enhancedmetal-poor (CEMP) stars based on the application of artificial neuralnetworks, regressions, and synthesis models to medium-resolution (1-2Å) spectra and J-K colors. We calibrate this method by comparisonwith metallicities and carbon abundance determinations for 118 starswith available high-resolution analyses reported in the recentliterature. The neural network and regression approaches make use of apreviously defined set of line-strength indices quantifying the strengthof the Ca II K line and the CH G band, in conjunction with J-K colorsfrom the Two Micron All Sky Survey Point Source Catalog. The use ofnear-IR colors, as opposed to broadband B-V colors, is required becauseof the potentially large affect of strong molecular carbon bands onbluer color indices. We also explore the practicality of obtainingestimates of carbon abundances for metal-poor stars from the spectralinformation alone, i.e., without the additional information provided byphotometry, as many future samples of CEMP stars may lack such data. Wefind that although photometric information is required for theestimation of [Fe/H], it provides little improvement in our derivedestimates of [C/Fe], and hence, estimates of carbon-to-iron ratios basedsolely on line indices appear sufficiently accurate for most purposes.Although we find that the spectral synthesis approach yields the mostaccurate estimates of [C/Fe], in particular for the stars with thestrongest molecular bands, it is only marginally better than is obtainedfrom the line index approaches. Using these methods we are able toreproduce the previously measured [Fe/H] and [C/Fe] determinations withan accuracy of ~0.25 dex for stars in the metallicity interval-5.5<=[Fe/H]<=-1.0 and with 0.2<=(J-K)0<=0.8. Athigher metallicity, the Ca II K line begins to saturate, especially forthe cool stars in our program, and hence, this approach is not useful insome cases. As a first application, we estimate the abundances of [Fe/H]and [C/Fe] for the 56 stars identified as possibly carbon-rich, relativeto stars of similar metal abundance, in the sample of ``strong G-band''stars discussed by Beers, Preston, and Shectman.
| Supernova Neutrino Effects on r-Process Nucleosynthesis in Black Hole Formation
Very massive stars with mass >=8 Msolar culminate theirevolution by supernova explosions, which are presumed to be the mostviable candidates for the astrophysical sites of r-processnucleosynthesis. If the models for the supernova r-process are correct,then the results of nucleosynthesis could also put a significantconstraint on the remnants of supernova explosions, i.e., a neutron staror black hole. In the case of very massive core collapse for aprogenitor mass 20-40 Msolar, a remnant stellar black hole isthought to be formed. Intense neutrino flux from the neutronized coreand the neutrinosphere might suddenly cease during the Kelvin-Helmholtzcooling phase because of the black hole formation. It is important andinteresting to explore the observable consequences of such a neutrinoflux truncation. It has recently been argued in the literature that eventhe neutrino mass can be determined from the time delay of the deformedneutrino energy spectrum after the cessation of neutrino ejection(neutrino cutoff effect). Here we study the expected theoreticalresponse of the r-process nucleosynthesis to the neutrino cutoff effectin order to look for another independent signature of this phenomenon.We found a sensitive response of the r-process yield if the neutrinocutoff occurs after the critical time when the expanding materials inthe neutrino-driven wind drop out of nuclear statistical equilibrium(NSE). The r-process nucleosynthesis yields drastically change if thecutoff occurs during the r-process, having maximal effect on the changein abundance of 232Th and 235,238U. There is alarge probability of finding this effect in elemental abundances ofr-process-enhanced metal-deficient halo stars whose chemical compositionis presumed to be affected by Population III supernovae in the earlyGalaxy. Using this result, connected with future detection of the timevariation of the SN neutrino spectrum, we are able to identify when theblack hole formation occurs in the course of SN collapse.
| Hubble Space Telescope 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 HubbleSpace Telescope UV and Keck I optical high-resolution spectroscopy. Thestellar sample is dominated by r-process-rich stars such as thewell-studied CS 22892-052 and BD +17°3248 but also includes ther-process-poor, bright giant HD 122563. Our results demonstrate thatabundances of the third r-process peak elements Os, Ir, and Pt in thesemetal-poor halo stars are very well correlated among themselves and withthe abundances of the canonical r-process element Eu (determined inother studies), thus arguing for a common origin or site for r-processnucleosynthesis of heavier (Z>56) elements. However, the large (andcorrelated) scatters of [Eu, Os, Ir, Pt/Fe] suggest that the heaviestneutron-capture r-process elements are not formed in all supernovae. Incontrast, the Ge abundances of all program stars track their Feabundances, very well. An explosive process on iron peak nuclei (e.g.,the α-rich freezeout in supernovae), rather than neutron capture,appears to have been the dominant synthesis mechanism for this elementat low metallicities: Ge abundances seem completely uncorrelated withEu. The correlation (with very small scatter) of Ge and Fe abundancessuggests that Ge must have been produced rather commonly in stars, evenat early times in the Galaxy, over a wide range of metallicity. The Zrabundances show much the same behavior as Ge with (perhaps) somewhatmore scatter, suggesting some variations in abundance with respect toFe. The Zr abundances also do not vary cleanly with Eu abundances,indicating a synthesis origin different than that of heavierneutron-capture elements. Detailed abundance distributions for CS22892-052 and BD +17°3248, combining the new elementaldeterminations for Os-Pt and recently published Nd and Ho measurements,show excellent agreement with the solar system r-process curve from theelements Ba to Pb. The lighter n-capture elements, including Ge, ingeneral fall below the same solar system r-process curve that matchesthe heavier elements.
| 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.
| Spectroscopic Studies of Extremely Metal-Poor Stars with the Subaru High Dispersion Spectrograph. I. Observational Data
We have obtained high-resolution (R~=50,000 or 90,000), high-quality(S/N>~100) spectra of 22 very metal-poor stars ([Fe/H]<~-2.5) withthe High Dispersion Spectrograph fabricated for the 8.2 m SubaruTelescope. The spectra cover the wavelength range from 3500 to 5100Å equivalent widths are measured for isolated lines of numerouselemental species, including the α-elements, the iron-peakelements, and the light and heavy neutron-capture elements. Errors inthe measurements and comparisons with previous studies are discussed.These data will be used to perform detailed abundance analyses in thefollowing papers of this series. Radial velocities are also reported andare compared with previous studies. At least one moderatelyr-process-enhanced metal-poor star, HD 186478, exhibits evidence of asmall-amplitude radial velocity variation, confirming the binary statusnoted previously. During the course of this initial program, we havediscovered a new moderately r-process-enhanced, very metal-poor star, CS30306-132 ([Fe/H]=-2.4 [Eu/Fe]=+0.85), which is discussed in detail inthe companion paper.Based on data collected at Subaru Telescope, which is operated by theNational Astronomical Observatory of Japan.
| Spectroscopic Studies of Extremely Metal-Poor Stars with the Subaru High Dispersion Spectrograph. II. The r-Process Elements, Including Thorium
We have obtained high-resolution, high signal-to-noise near-UV-bluespectra of 22 very metal-poor stars ([Fe/H]<-2.5) with the SubaruHigh Dispersion Spectrograph and measured the abundances of elementsfrom C to Th. The metallicity range of the observed stars is-3.2<[Fe/H]<-2.4. As found by previous studies, the star-to-starscatter in the measured abundances of neutron-capture elements in thesestars is very large, much greater than could be assigned toobservational errors, in comparison with the relatively small scatter inthe α- and iron-peak elements. In spite of the large scatter inthe ratios of the neutron-capture elements relative to iron, theabundance patterns of heavy neutron-capture elements (56<=Z<~72)are quite similar within our sample stars. The Ba/Eu ratios in the 11very metal-poor stars in our sample in which both elements have beendetected are nearly equal to that of the solar system r-processcomponent. Moreover, the abundance patterns of the heavy neutron-captureelements (56<=Z<=70) in seven objects with clear enhancements ofthe neutron-capture elements are similar to that of the solar systemr-process component. These results prove that heavy neutron-captureelements in these objects are primarily synthesized by the r-process. Incontrast, the abundance ratios of the light neutron-capture elements(38<=Z<=46) relative to the heavier ones (56<=Z<=70) exhibita large dispersion. Our inspection of the correlation between Sr and Baabundances in very metal-poor stars reveals that the dispersion of theSr abundances clearly decreases with increasing Ba abundance. This trendis naturally explained by hypothesizing the existence of two processes,one that produces Sr without Ba and another that produces Sr and Ba insimilar proportions. This result should provide a strong constraint onthe origin of the light neutron-capture elements at low metallicity. Wehave identified a new highly r-process element enhanced, metal-poorstar, CS 22183-031, a giant with [Fe/H]=-2.93 and [Eu/Fe]=+1.2. We alsoidentified a new, moderately r-process-enhanced, metal-poor star, CS30306-132, a giant with [Fe/H]=-2.42 and [Eu/Fe]=+0.85. The abundanceratio of the radioactive element Th (Z=90) relative to the stablerare-earth elements (e.g., Eu) in very metal-poor stars has been used asa cosmochronometer by a number of previous authors. Thorium is detectedin seven stars in our sample, including four objects for which thedetection of Th has already been reported. New detections of thoriumhave been made for the stars HD 6268, HD 110184, and CS 30306-132. TheTh/Eu abundance ratios [log(Th/Eu)], are distributed over the range-0.10 to -0.59, with typical errors of 0.10 to 0.15 dex. In particular,the ratios in two stars, CS 31082-001 and CS 30306-132, aresignificantly higher than the ratio in the well-studied object CS22892-052 and those of other moderately r-process-enhanced metal-poorstars previously reported. Since these very metal-poor stars arebelieved to be formed in the early Galaxy, this result suggests that theabundance ratios between Th and stable rare-earth elements such as Eu,both of which are presumably produced by r-process nucleosynthesis, mayexhibit real star-to-star scatter, with implications for (1) theastrophysical sites of the r-process, and (2) the use of Th/Eu as acosmochronometer.Based on data collected at the Subaru Telescope, which is operated bythe National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.
| r-Process abundance universality and actinide cosmochronology
We review recent observational and theoretical results concerning thepresence of actinide nuclei on the surfaces of old halo stars and theiruse as an age determinant. We present model calculations which show thatthe observed universality of abundances for 56=75 and possibly Z<56 aswell. This introduces an uncertainty into the use of the Th/Euchronometer as a means to estimate the ages of the metal deficientstars. We do find, however, that the U/Th ratio is a robust chronometer.This is because the initial production ratio of U to Th is almostindependent of the astrophysical nucleosynthesis environment. Thelargest remaining uncertainties in the U/Th initial production ratio aredue to the input nuclear physics models.
| Oxygen Abundances in Metal-poor Stars
We present oxygen abundances derived from both the permitted andforbidden oxygen lines for 55 subgiants and giants with [Fe/H] valuesbetween -2.7 and solar with the goal of understanding the discrepancy inthe derived abundances. A first attempt, using Teff valuesfrom photometric calibrations and surface gravities from luminositiesobtained agreement between the indicators for turn-off stars, but thedisagreement was large for evolved stars. We find that the difference inthe oxygen abundances derived from the permitted and forbidden lines ismost strongly affected by Teff, and we derive a newTeff scale based on forcing the two sets of lines to give thesame oxygen abundances. These new parameters, however, do not agree withother observables, such as theoretical isochrones or Balmer-line profilebased Teff determinations. Our analysis finds thatone-dimensional, LTE analyses (with published non-LTE corrections forthe permitted lines) cannot fully resolve the disagreement in the twoindicators without adopting a temperature scale that is incompatiblewith other temperature indicators. We also find no evidence ofcircumstellar emission in the forbidden lines, removing such emission asa possible cause for the discrepancy.
| Europium Isotope Ratios in s-Process Element-enhanced Metal-poor Stars: A New Probe of the 151Sm Branching
We report on the first measurement of the Eu isotope fractions(151Eu and 153Eu) in s-process element-enhancedmetal-poor stars. We use these ratios to investigate the151Sm branching of s-process nucleosynthesis. The measurementwas made by detailed study of Eu II lines that are significantlyaffected by hyperfine splitting and isotope shifts in spectra of thecarbon-rich very metal poor stars LP 625-44 and CS 31062-050, observedwith the Subaru Telescope High Dispersion Spectrograph. The151Eu fractions[fr(151Eu)=151Eu/(151Eu+153Eu)]derived for LP 625-44 and CS 31062-050 are 0.60 and 0.55, respectively,with uncertainties of about +/-0.05. These values are higher than foundin solar system material but agree well with the predictions of recents-process models. We derive new constraints on the temperature andneutron density during the s-process based on calculations of pulseds-process models for the 151Eu fraction.Based on data collected at the Subaru Telescope, which is operated bythe National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.
| STELIB: A library of stellar spectra at R ~ 2000
We present STELIB, a new spectroscopic stellar library, available athttp://webast.ast.obs-mip.fr/stelib. STELIB consists of an homogeneouslibrary of 249 stellar spectra in the visible range (3200 to 9500Å), with an intermediate spectral resolution (la 3 Å) andsampling (1 Å). This library includes stars of various spectraltypes and luminosity classes, spanning a relatively wide range inmetallicity. The spectral resolution, wavelength and spectral typecoverage of this library represents a substantial improvement overprevious libraries used in population synthesis models. The overallabsolute photometric uncertainty is 3%.Based on observations collected with the Jacobus Kaptein Telescope,(owned and operated jointly by the Particle Physics and AstronomyResearch Council of the UK, The Nederlandse Organisatie voorWetenschappelijk Onderzoek of The Netherlands and the Instituto deAstrofísica de Canarias of Spain and located in the SpanishObservatorio del Roque de Los Muchachos on La Palma which is operated bythe Instituto de AstrofÃsica de Canarias), the 2.3 mtelescope of the Australian National University at Siding Spring,Australia, and the VLT-UT1 Antu Telescope (ESO).Tables \ref{cat1} to \ref{cat6} and \ref{antab1} to A.7 are onlyavailable in electronic form at http://www.edpsciences.org. The StellarLibrary STELIB library is also available at the CDS, via anonymous ftpto cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/402/433
| 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
| Keck NIRSPEC Infrared OH Lines: Oxygen Abundances in Metal-poor Stars down to [Fe/H] = -2.9
Infrared OH lines at 1.5-1.7 μm in the H band were obtained with theNIRSPEC high-resolution spectrograph at the 10 m Keck Telescope for asample of seven metal-poor stars. Detailed analyses have been carriedout, based on optical high-resolution data obtained with the Fiber-fedExtended Range Optical Spectrograph at ESO. Stellar parameters werederived by adopting infrared flux method effective temperatures,trigonometric and/or evolutionary gravities, and metallicities from FeII lines. We obtain that the sample stars with metallicities[Fe/H]<-2.2 show a mean oxygen abundance [O/Fe]~0.54 for a solaroxygen abundance of ɛ(O)=8.87, or [O/Fe]~0.64 ifɛ(O)=8.77 is assumed. Observations carried out with the KeckTelescope within the Gemini-Keck agreement, and at the European SouthernObservatory.
| Three-dimensional Spectral Classification of Low-Metallicity Stars Using Artificial Neural Networks
We explore the application of artificial neural networks (ANNs) for theestimation of atmospheric parameters (Teff, logg, and [Fe/H])for Galactic F- and G-type stars. The ANNs are fed withmedium-resolution (Δλ~1-2 Å) non-flux-calibratedspectroscopic observations. From a sample of 279 stars with previoushigh-resolution determinations of metallicity and a set of (external)estimates of temperature and surface gravity, our ANNs are able topredict Teff with an accuracy ofσ(Teff)=135-150 K over the range4250<=Teff<=6500 K, logg with an accuracy ofσ(logg)=0.25-0.30 dex over the range 1.0<=logg<=5.0 dex, and[Fe/H] with an accuracy σ([Fe/H])=0.15-0.20 dex over the range-4.0<=[Fe/H]<=0.3. Such accuracies are competitive with theresults obtained by fine analysis of high-resolution spectra. It isnoteworthy that the ANNs are able to obtain these results withoutconsideration of photometric information for these stars. We have alsoexplored the impact of the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) on the behaviorof ANNs and conclude that, when analyzed with ANNs trained on spectra ofcommensurate S/N, it is possible to extract physical parameter estimatesof similar accuracy with stellar spectra having S/N as low as 13. Takentogether, these results indicate that the ANN approach should be ofprimary importance for use in present and future large-scalespectroscopic surveys.
| Neutron-Capture Elements in the Early Galaxy: Insights from a Large Sample of Metal-poor Giants
New abundances for neutron-capture (n-capture) elements in a largesample of metal-poor giants from the Bond survey are presented. Thespectra were acquired with the KPNO 4 m echelle and coudé feedspectrographs, and have been analyzed using LTE fine-analysis techniqueswith both line analysis and spectral synthesis. Abundances of eightn-capture elements (Sr, Y, Zr, Ba, La, Nd, Eu, and Dy) in 43 stars havebeen derived from blue (λλ4070-4710, R~20,000, S/Nratio~100-200) echelle spectra and red (λλ6100-6180,R~22,000, S/N ratio~100-200) coudé spectra, and the abundance ofBa only has been derived from the red spectra for an additional 27stars. Overall, the abundances show clear evidence for a largestar-to-star dispersion in the heavy element-to-iron ratios. Thiscondition must have arisen from individual nucleosynthetic events inrapidly evolving halo progenitors that injected newly manufacturedn-capture elements into an inhomogeneous early Galactic halointerstellar medium. The new data also confirm that at metallicities[Fe/H]<~-2.4, the abundance pattern of the heavy (Z>=56) n-captureelements in most giants is well-matched to a scaled solar systemr-process nucleosynthesis pattern. The onset of the main r-process canbe seen at [Fe/H]~-2.9 this onset is consistent with the suggestion thatlow mass Type II supernovae are responsible for the r-process.Contributions from the s-process can first be seen in some stars withmetallicities as low as [Fe/H]~-2.75 and are present in most stars withmetallicities [Fe/H]>-2.3. The appearance of s-process contributionsas metallicity increases presumably reflects the longer stellarevolutionary timescale of the (low-mass) s-process nucleosynthesissites. The lighter n-capture elements (Sr-Y-Zr) are enhanced relative tothe heavier r-process element abundances. Their production cannot beattributed solely to any combination of the solar system r- and mains-processes, but requires a mixture of material from the r-process andfrom an additional n-capture process that can operate at early Galactictime. This additional process could be the weak s-process in massive(~25 Msolar) stars, or perhaps a second r-process site, i.e.,different from the site that produces the heavier (Z>=56) n-captureelements.
| Kinematics of Metal-poor Stars in the Galaxy. II. Proper Motions for a Large Nonkinematically Selected Sample
We present a revised catalog of 2106 Galactic stars, selected withoutkinematic bias and with available radial velocities, distance estimates,and metal abundances in the range -4.0<=[Fe/H]<=0.0. This updateof the 1995 Beers & Sommer-Larsen catalog includes newly derivedhomogeneous photometric distance estimates, revised radial velocitiesfor a number of stars with recently obtained high-resolution spectra,and refined metallicities for stars originally identified in the HKobjective-prism survey (which account for nearly half of the catalog)based on a recent recalibration. A subset of 1258 stars in this cataloghave available proper motions based on measurements obtained with theHipparcos astrometry satellite or taken from the updated AstrographicCatalogue (second epoch positions from either the Hubble Space TelescopeGuide Star Catalog or the Tycho Catalogue), the Yale/San Juan SouthernProper Motion Catalog 2.0, and the Lick Northern Proper Motion Catalog.Our present catalog includes 388 RR Lyrae variables (182 of which arenewly added), 38 variables of other types, and 1680 nonvariables, withdistances in the range 0.1 to 40 kpc.
| Estimation of Stellar Metal Abundance. II. A Recalibration of the Ca II K Technique, and the Autocorrelation Function Method
We have recalibrated a method for the estimation of stellar metalabundance, parameterized as [Fe/H], based on medium-resolution (1-2Å) optical spectra (the majority of which cover the wavelengthrange 3700-4500 Å). The equivalent width of the Ca II K line (3933Å) as a function of [Fe/H] and broadband B-V color, as predictedfrom spectrum synthesis and model atmosphere calculations, is comparedwith observations of 551 stars with high-resolution abundances availablefrom the literature (a sevenfold increase in the number of calibrationstars that were previously available). A second method, based on theFourier autocorrelation function technique first described by Ratnatunga& Freeman, is used to provide an independent estimate of [Fe/H], ascalibrated by comparison with 405 standard-star abundances.Metallicities based on a combination of the two techniques for dwarfsand giants in the color range 0.30<=(B-V)_0<=1.2 exhibit anexternal 1 sigma scatter of approximately 0.10-0.20 dex over theabundance range -4.0<=[Fe/H]<=0.5. Particular attention has beengiven to the determination of abundance estimates at the metal-rich endof the calibration, where our previous attempt suffered from aconsiderable zero-point offset. Radial velocities, accurate toapproximately 10 km s^-1, are reported for all 551 calibration stars.
| IRAS Detections of Metal-poor Red Giants
A number of relatively bright metal-poor red giants from the HD and BDcatalogs are found to have been detected by the IRAS satellite. Data forthese stars have been retrieved from the IRAS Point Source Catalog (PSC)and/or the Faint Source Catalog (FSC). The majority of metal-poor giantsin these samples fall along relatively well-defined sequences in plotsof V-[12] versus B-V and V-I; for these stars, the 12 μm fluxdetected is presumed to arise from the photosphere. Only a subset ofstars detected at 12 μm were detected at 25 μm these are displayedin a plot of [12]-[25] versus V-[12]. There are a small number of giantsthat exhibit notable 12 and/or 25 μm excesses relative to the meansequences defined by the bulk of the sample. Those stars with the mostunambiguous evidence for infrared excesses are variable stars, eitherlong-period or semiregular variables or RV Tauri stars. As such, thosestars exhibiting infrared excesses in the metal-poor giant sample arelikely in the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) or post-AGB phase ofevolution. There is no clear evidence for nonvariable first-ascent redgiants having been detected among the infrared-excess stars. In fact,some metal-poor red giants known to exhibit outflows in theirchromospheres do not show infrared excesses. A Population II starascending the red giant branch for the first time appears to have toolow a mass-loss rate to be recognizable as an infrared-excess star inthe IRAS PSC or FSC.
| Ca II H and K Photometry on the UVBY System. III. The Metallicity Calibration for the Red Giants
New photometry on the uvby Ca system is presented for over 300 stars.When combined with previous data, the sample is used to calibrate themetallicity dependence of the hk index for cooler, evolved stars. Themetallicity scale is based upon the standardized merger of spectroscopicabundances from 38 studies since 1983, providing an overlap of 122evolved stars with the photometric catalog. The hk index producesreliable abundances for stars in the [Fe/H] range from -0.8 to -3.4,losing sensitivity among cooler stars due to saturation effects athigher [Fe/H], as expected.
| On the Use of [Na/Fe] and [alpha/Fe] Ratios and Hipparcos-based (U, V, W) Velocities as Age Indicators among Low-Metallicity Halo Field Giants
We have examined the [Na/Fe] and [Mg/Fe] ratios in a sample of 68 fieldhalo giants with -3 <~ [Fe/H] <~ -1. We recalculated the Galactic(U, V, W) velocity components for these stars, using Hipparcos propermotions and a new Hipparcos-based distance scale. We used these data tosee how the abundance ratios may relate to kinematical substructure inthe Galactic halo. To isolate a set of true halo stars, we eliminatedmetal-weak thick-disk stars, about 10% of our sample. The field halogiants show the expected correlation of Na and Mg abundances, so we canuse Na as a surrogate for Mg and the alpha-elements. The most metal-poorstars show a wider dispersion of [Na/Fe] ratios than do the lessmetal-poor stars; the difference is most striking for stars onretrograde galactic orbits. Some 20% of our retrograde giants and 13% ofall our halo giants have [Na/Fe] <= -0.35 and may be significantlyyounger than the oldest halo objects. Halo giants considered ``young''by this Na abundance criterion show a preference for retrograde orbits.Giants in some globular clusters (e.g., M13) do not exhibit the Mgversus Na correlation found among halo field giants. Instead, they havevery large [Na/Fe] ratios and widely scattered [Mg/Fe] ratios, probablyinduced by deep mixing, which field halo giants apparently do notexperience.
| Hubble Space Telescope Observations of Chromospheric Emission from the Population II Red Giant HD 216143
Spectra of the Hα and Ca ii K line of Population II red giantsexhibit evidence for chromospheric mass outflows only among starsbrighter than M_V = -1.7. In order to determine whether this phenomenonis indicative of a true physical onset in mass outflow, spectra of the2800 Å Mg ii lines of the metal-poor halo red giant HD 216143 havebeen obtained with the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph on theHubble Space Telescope. This star has shown no Hα emission whenobserved on two separate occasions and has an absolute magnitude of M_V= -1.5, placing it below the intrinsic brightness level at whichHα emission is seen among other Population II giants. In addition,a high-resolution Ca ii K line spectrum shows no significant K_3velocity shift. Thus the Hα and Ca ii K lines show no evidence ofchromospheric outflow. Nonetheless, HD 216143 exhibits clear Mg ii h andk emission profiles. These profiles are asymmetric in the sense expectedfor mass outflow from the chromosphere. The combined surface flux ofthese two emission lines is similar to fluxes of other Population II redgiants for which the Mg ii lines have been observed. The central k_3absorption feature is blueshifted with respect to the midpoint of the kemission profile by ~20 km s^-1. The h_3 feature shows a smallerblueshift, evidence possibly for an accelerated outflow in the outeratmosphere of HD 216143. It appears that outflows set in among halo redgiants at brightnesses comparable to or fainter than M_V = -1.5. Halogiants fainter than this tend to show no Hα emission and nosignificant velocity shifts in the K_3 central absorption component ofthe Ca ii K line. It seems that the search for the onset of massoutflows from such stars is best conducted using the Mg ii line. Basedon observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained atthe Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by theAssociation of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASAcontract NAS 5-26555.
| Barium Abundances in Extremely Metal-poor Stars
New, improved, barium abundances for 33 extremely metal-poor halo starsfrom the 1995 sample of McWilliam et al. have been computed. The mean[Ba/Eu] ratio for stars with [Fe/H] <= -2.4 is -0.69 +/- 0.06 dex,consistent with pure r-process nucleosynthesis within the measurementuncertainties. Although the [Sr/Fe] and [Ba/Fe] abundance ratios span arange of 2.6 dex, the mean values are approximately constant with[Fe/H]. This is consistent with a model of chemical evolution in whichthe parent clouds were enriched by small numbers of supernova events. Inthis model, the decreasing heavy-element dispersion with increasing[Fe/H] is simply due to the averaging of element yields from manysupernovae at higher [Fe/H]; however, it is necessary to increase thenumber of extremely metal-poor stars known in order to confirm thispicture. In addition to the random Sr component from the r-process, the[Sr/Ba] ratios indicate that there is a second, also random, source ofSr from an as yet unidentified nucleosynthesis site.
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Sculptor |
| Right ascension: | 01h03m18.17s |
| Declination: | -27°52'50.0" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 8.111 |
| Distance: | 515.464 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | -28.1 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -35.5 |
| B-T magnitude: | 9.111 |
| V-T magnitude: | 8.194 |
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INHABITED SKY
