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Chromospheres in Metal-Poor Stars Evidenced from the He I 10830Å Line
Based on the near-IR spectra of 33 late-type stars in a wide metallicityrange (mainly dwarfs and partly giants) obtained with IRCS+AO188 of theSubaru Telescope, we confirmed that the He I 10830 Å line is seenin absorption in almost all moderately to extremely metal-poor stars ofthick disk and halo population (from [Fe/H] ˜ -0.5 down to [Fe/H]˜ -3.7), the strength of which is almost constant irrespective ofthe metallicity. This is evidence that chromospheric activity at a basallevel persists, even for such old stars, despite that their rotationsare considered to be slowed down and incapable of sustaining a dynamo,suggesting that some kind of chromospheric heating mechanism independentof rotation/magnetism (e.g., acoustic heating) may take place.
| Exploring the [S/Fe] Behavior of Metal-Poor Stars with the Si 1.046?m Lines
In an attempt of clarifying the [S/Fe] behavior with the run of [Fe/H]in the metal-poor regime, which has been a matter of debate, anextensive non-LTE analysis of near-IR Si triplet lines (multiplet 3) at1.046 ?m was carried out for 33 selected halo/disk stars over a widemetallicity range of [Fe/H] ˜ -3.7 to ˜ +0.3, based onspectral data collected with IRCS+AO188 of the Subaru Telescope. Wefound evidence of a considerably large [S/Fe] ratio, amounting to˜ +0.7-0.8 dex at very low metallicity of [Fe/H] ˜ -3, whichmakes marked contrast with other ?-elements (Mg, Si, Ca, Ti)flatly showing a moderately supersolar [?/Fe] of ˜0.3 dex.Meanwhile, a locally-flat tendency of [S/Fe] at ˜+0.3 is seen at-2.5 ? [Fe/H]? -1.5. These results may suggest that the natureof [S/Fe] in metal-poor halo stars is not as simple as has been argued(i.e., neither being globally flat independent of [Fe/H] normonotonically increasing with a decrease in [Fe/H]), but rathercomplicated with a local plateau around [Fe/H] ˜ -2, followed by adiscontinuous jump between the narrow interval of -3 ? [Fe/H]? -2.5.
| Probing the Galactic thick disc vertical properties and interfaces
Aims: This work investigates the properties (metallicity andkinematics) and interfaces of the Galactic thick disc as a function ofheight above the Galactic plane. The main aim is to study the thick discin a place where it is the main component of the sample. Methods:We take advantage of former astrometric work in two fields of severalsquare degrees in which accurate proper motions were measured down toV-magnitudes of 18.5 in two directions, one near the north galactic poleand the other at a galactic latitude of 46° and galactic longitudenear 0°. Spectroscopic observations have been acquired in these twofields for a total of about 400 stars down to magnitude 18.0, atspectral resolutions of 3.5 to 6.25 Å. The spectra have beenanalysed with the code ETOILE, comparing the target stellar spectra witha grid of 1400 reference stellar spectra. This comparison allowed us toderive the parameters effective temperature, gravity, [Fe/H] andabsolute magnitude for each target star. Results: The MetallicityDistribution Function (MDF) of the thin-thick-disc-halo system isderived for several height intervals between 0 and 5 kpc above theGalactic plane. The MDFs show a decrease of the ratio of the thin tothick disc stars between the first and second kilo-parsec. This isconsistent with the classical modelling of the vertical density profileof the disc with 2 populations with different scale heights. A verticalmetallicity gradient, ?[Fe/H]/?z = -0.068 ± 0.009 dexkpc-1, is observed in the thick disc. It is discussed interms of scenarios of formation of the thick disc.Based on observations obtained at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope(CFHT) which is operated by the National Research Council of Canada, theInstitut National des Sciences de l'Univers of the Centre National de laRecherche Scientifique of France, and the University of Hawaii and atthe T193cm telescope, Observatoire de Haute-Provence, France.Full TablesA.1-A.3, B.1-B.3 are only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/525/A90
| Coudé-feed stellar spectral library - atmospheric parameters
Context. Empirical libraries of stellar spectra play an important rolein different fields. For example, they are used as reference for theautomatic determination of atmospheric parameters, or for buildingsynthetic stellar populations to study galaxies. The CFLIB(Coudé-feed library, Indo-US) database is at present one of themost complete libraries, in terms of its coverage of the atmosphericparameters space (T{eff}, log g and [Fe/H]) and wavelengthcoverage 3460-9464 Å at a resolution of 1 Å FWHM. Althoughthe atmospheric parameters of most of the stars were determined fromdetailed analyses of high-resolution spectra, for nearly 300 of the 1273stars of the library at least one of the three parameters is missing.For the others, the measurements, compiled from the literature, areinhomogeneous. Aims: In this paper, we re-determine theatmospheric parameters, directly using the CFLIB spectra, and comparethem to the previous studies. Methods: We use the ULySS programto derive the atmospheric parameters, using the ELODIE library as areference. Results: Based on comparisons with several previousstudies we conclude that our determinations are unbiased. For the 958 F,G, and K type stars the precision on T{eff}, log g, and[Fe/H] is respectively 43 K, 0.13 dex and 0.05 dex. For the 53 M starsthey are 82 K, 0.22 dex and 0.28 dex. And for the 260 OBA type stars therelative precision on T{eff} is 5.1%, and on log g, and[Fe/H] the precision is respectively 0.19 dex and 0.16 dex. Theseparameters will be used to re-calibrate the CFLIB fluxes and to producesynthetic spectra of stellar populations.Tables 2 and 3 are only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/525/A71
| Multi-element Abundance Measurements from Medium-resolution Spectra. II. Catalog of Stars in Milky Way Dwarf Satellite Galaxies
We present a catalog of Fe, Mg, Si, Ca, and Ti abundances for 2961 starsin eight dwarf satellite galaxies of the Milky Way (MW): Sculptor,Fornax, Leo I, Sextans, Leo II, Canes Venatici I, Ursa Minor, and Draco.For the purposes of validating our measurements, we also observed 445red giants in MW globular clusters and 21 field red giants in the MWhalo. The measurements are based on Keck/DEIMOS medium-resolutionspectroscopy (MRS) combined with spectral synthesis. We estimateuncertainties in [Fe/H] by quantifying the dispersion of [Fe/H]measurements in a sample of stars in monometallic globular clusters(GCs). We estimate uncertainties in Mg, Si, Ca, and Ti abundances bycomparing to high-resolution spectroscopic abundances of the same stars.For this purpose, a sample of 132 stars with published high-resolutionspectroscopy in GCs, the MW halo field, and dwarf galaxies has beenobserved with MRS. The standard deviations of the differences in [Fe/H]and lang[?/Fe]rang (the average of [Mg/Fe], [Si/Fe], [Ca/Fe], and[Ti/Fe]) between the two samples is 0.15 and 0.16, respectively. Thiscatalog represents the largest sample of multi-element abundances indwarf galaxies to date. The next papers in this series draw conclusionson the chemical evolution, gas dynamics, and star formation historiesfrom the catalog presented here. The wide range of dwarf galaxyluminosity reveals the dependence of dwarf galaxy chemical evolution ongalaxy stellar mass.Data herein were obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which isoperated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute ofTechnology, the University of California, and NASA. The Observatory wasmade possible by the generous financial support of the W. M. KeckFoundation.
| Extremely metal-poor stars in classical dwarf spheroidal galaxies: Fornax, Sculptor, and Sextans
We present the results of a dedicated search for extremely metal-poorstars in the Fornax, Sculptor, and Sextans dSphs. Five stars wereselected from two earlier VLT/Giraffe and HET/HRS surveys andsubsequently followed up at high spectroscopic resolution with VLT/UVES.All of them turned out to have [Fe/H] ? -3 and three stars are below[Fe/H] ~ -3.5. This constitutes the first evidence that the classicaldSphs Fornax and Sextans join Sculptor in containing extremelymetal-poor stars and suggests that all of the classical dSphs containextremely metal-poor stars. One giant in Sculptor at [Fe/H] = -3.96± 0.06 is the most metal-poor star ever observed in an externalgalaxy. We carried out a detailed analysis of the chemical abundances ofthe ?, iron peak, and the heavy elements, and we performed acomparison with the Milky Way halo and the ultra faint dwarf stellarpopulations. Carbon, barium, and strontium show distinct featurescharacterized by the early stages of galaxy formation and can constrainthe origin of their nucleosynthesis.Tables 6 and 7 are only available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org
| A Non-local Thermodynamic Equilibrium Analysis of Boron Abundances in Metal-poor Stars
The non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) line formation of neutralboron in the atmospheres of cool stars are investigated. Our resultsconfirm that NLTE effects for the B I resonance lines, which are due toa combination of overionization and optical pumping effects, are mostimportant for hot, metal-poor, and low-gravity stars; however, theamplitude of departures from local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) foundby this work is smaller than that of previous studies. In addition, ourcalculation shows that the line formation of B I will get closer to LTEif the strength of collisions with neutral hydrogen increases, which iscontrary to the result of previous studies. The NLTE line formationresults are applied to the determination of boron abundances for asample of 16 metal-poor stars with the method of spectrum synthesis ofthe B I 2497 Å resonance lines using the archived HST/GHRSspectra. Beryllium and oxygen abundances are also determined for thesestars with the published equivalent widths of the Be II 3131 Åresonance and O I 7774 Å triplet lines, respectively. Theabundances of the nine stars which are not depleted in Be or B showthat, no matter what the strength of collisions with neutral hydrogenmay be, both Be and B increase with O quasilinearly in the logarithmicplane, which confirms the conclusions that Be and B are mainly producedby the primary process in the early Galaxy. The most noteworthy resultof this work is that B increases with Fe or O at a very similar speedas, or a bit faster than, Be does, which is in accord with thetheoretical models. The B/Be ratios remain almost constant over themetallicity range investigated here. Our average B/Be ratio falls in theinterval [13 ± 4, 17 ± 4], which is consistent with thepredictions of the spallation process. The contribution of B from the?-process may be required if the 11B/10Bisotopic ratios in metal-poor stars are the same as the meteoric value.An accurate measurement of the 11B/10B ratios inmetal-poor stars is crucial to understanding the production history ofboron.Based on observations made with ESO telescopes and NASA/ESA Hubble SpaceTelescope obtained from the ESO/ST-ECF Science Archive Facility; basedon spectral data retrieved from the ELODIE archive at Observatoire deHaute-Provence (OHP).
| A new stellar library in the region of the CO index at 2.3 μm. New index definition and empirical fitting functions
Context: The analysis of unresolved stellar populations demandsevolutionary synthesis models with realistic physical ingredients andextended wavelength coverage. Aims: We quantitatively describe thefirst CO bandhead at 2.3 μm to allow stellar population models toprovide improved predictions in this wavelength range. Methods: Weobserved a new stellar library with a better coverage of the stellaratmospheric parameter space than in earlier works. We performed adetailed analysis of the robustness of previous CO index definitionswith spectral resolution, wavelength calibration, signal-to-noise ratio,and flux calibration. Results: We define a new line-strength index forthe first CO bandhead at 2.3 μm, D_CO, better suited for stellarpopulation studies than previous index definitions. We derive empiricalfitting functions for the CO feature as a function of the stellarparameters (T_eff, log g and [Fe/H]), showing a detailed quantitativemetallicity dependence.
| Detailed Abundances for 28 Metal-poor Stars: Stellar Relics in the Milky Way
We present the results of an abundance analysis for a sample of starswith -4<[Fe/H]<-2. The data were obtained with the HIRESspectrograph at Keck Observatory. The set includes 28 stars, witheffective temperature ranging from 4800 to 6600 K. For 13 stars with[Fe/H]<-2.6, including nine with [Fe/H]<-3.0 and one with[Fe/H]=-4.0, these are the first reported detailed abundances. For themost metal-poor star in our sample, CS 30336-049, we measure anabundance pattern that is very similar to stars in the range[Fe/H]~-3.5, including a normal C+N abundance. We also find that it hasvery low but measurable Sr and Ba, indicating some neutron-captureactivity even at this low of a metallicity. We explore this issuefurther by examining other very neutron capture-deficient stars and findthat, at the lowest levels, [Ba/Sr] exhibits the ratio of the mainr-process. We also report on a new r-process-enhanced star, CS31078-018. This star has [Fe/H]=-2.85, [Eu/Fe]=1.23, and [Ba/Eu]=-0.51.CS 31078-018 exhibits an ``actinide boost,'' i.e., much higher [Th/Eu]than expected and at a similar level to CS 31082-001. Our spectra allowus to further constrain the abundance scatter at low metallicities,which we then use to fit to the zero-metallicity Type II supernovayields of Heger & Woosley (2008). We find that supernovae withprogenitor masses between 10 and 20 Msolar provide the bestmatches to our abundances.The data presented herein were obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory,which is operated as a scientific partnership among the CaliforniaInstitute of Technology, the University of California, and the NationalAeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possibleby the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation.This publication makes use of data products from the Two Micron All SkySurvey, which is a joint project of the University of Massachusetts andthe Infrared Processing and Analysis Center/California Institute ofTechnology, funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administrationand the National Science Foundation.
| Automated classification of ELODIE stellar spectral library using probabilistic artificial neural networks
A Probabilistic Neural Network model has been used for automatedclassification of ELODIE stellar spectral library consisting of about2000 spectra into 158 known spectro-luminosity classes. The full spectrawith 561 flux bins and a PCA reduced set of 57, 26 and 16 componentshave been used for the training and test sessions. The results show aspectral type classification accuracy of 3.2 sub-spectral type andluminosity class accuracy of 2.7 for the full spectra and an accuracy of3.1 and 2.6 respectively with the PCA set. This technique will be usefulfor future upcoming large databases and their rapid classification.
| Cosmic Ray Production of Beryllium and Boron at High Redshift
Recently, new observations of 6Li in Population II stars ofthe Galactic halo have shown a surprisingly high abundance of thisisotope, about a thousand times higher than its predicted primordialvalue. In previous papers, a cosmological model for thecosmic-ray-induced production of this isotope in the intergalacticmedium (IGM) has been developed to explain the observed abundance at lowmetallicity. In this paper, given this constraint on the 6Li,we calculate the nonthermal evolution with redshift of D, Be, and B inthe IGM. In addition to cosmological cosmic ray interactions in the IGM,we include additional processes driven by supernova explosions: neutrinospallation and a low-energy component in the structures ejected byoutflows to the IGM. We take into account CNO CRs impinging on theintergalactic gas. Although subdominant in the Galactic disk, thisprocess is shown to produce the bulk of Be and B in the IGM, due to thedifferential metal enrichment between structures (where CRs originate)and the IGM. We also consider the resulting extragalactic gamma-raybackground, which we find to be well below existing data. Thecomputation is performed in the framework of hierarchical structureformation, considering several star formation histories, includingPopulation III stars. We find that D production is negligible and that apotentially detectable Be and B plateau is produced by these processesat the time of the formation of the Galaxy (z~3).
| Carbon and Strontium Abundances of Metal-poor Stars
We present carbon and strontium abundances for 100 metal-poor starsmeasured from R~7000 spectra obtained with the Echellette Spectrographand Imager at the Keck Observatory. Using spectral synthesis of theG-band region, we have derived carbon abundances for stars ranging from[Fe/H]=-1.3 to [Fe/H]=-3.8. The formal errors are ~0.2 dex in [C/Fe].The strontium abundance in these stars was measured using spectralsynthesis of the resonance line at 4215 Å. Using these twoabundance measurements along with the barium abundances from ourprevious study of these stars, we show that it is possible to identifyneutron-capture-rich stars with our spectra. We find, as in otherstudies, a large scatter in [C/Fe] below [Fe/H]=-2. Of the stars with[Fe/H]<-2, 9%+/-4% can be classified as carbon-rich metal-poor stars.The Sr and Ba abundances show that three of the carbon-rich stars areneutron-capture-rich, while two have normal barium and strontium. Thisfraction of carbon enhanced stars is consistent with other studies thatinclude this metallicity range.The data presented herein were obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory,which is operated as a scientific partnership among the CaliforniaInstitute of Technology, the University of California, and the NationalAeronautics and Space Administration. The observatory was made possibleby the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation.
| Speckle interferometry of metal-poor stars in the solar neighborhood. I
We report the results of speckle-interferometric observations of 109high proper-motion metalpoor stars made with the 6-m telescope of theSpecial Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Weresolve eight objects—G102-20, G191-55, BD+19° 1185A, G89-14,G87-45, G87-47, G111-38, and G114-25—into individual componentsand we are the first to astrometrically resolve seven of these stars.New resolved systems included two triple (G111-38, G87-47) and onequadruple (G89-14) star. The ratio ofsingle-to-binary-to-triple-to-quadruple systems among the stars of oursample is equal to 71:28:6:1.
| 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.
| Pulkovo compilation of radial velocities for 35495 stars in a common system.
Not Available
| 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.
| Oxygen abundances in metal-poor subgiants as determined from [O I], O I and OH lines
The debate on the oxygen abundances of metal-poor stars has its originin contradictory results obtained using different abundance indicators.To achieve a better understanding of the problem we have acquired highquality spectra with the Ultraviolet and Visual Echelle Spectrograph atVLT, with a signal-to-noise of the order of 100 in the near ultravioletand 500 in the optical and near infrared wavelength range. Threedifferent oxygen abundance indicators, OH ultraviolet lines around 310.0nm, the [O i] line at 630.03 nm and the O i lines at 777.1-5 nm wereobserved in the spectra of 13 metal-poor subgiants with-3.0≤[Fe/H]≤-1.5. Oxygen abundances were obtained from theanalysis of these indicators which was carried out assuming localthermodynamic equilibrium and plane-parallel model atmospheres.Abundances derived from O i were corrected for departures from localthermodynamic equilibrium. Stellar parameters were computed usingT_eff-vs.-color calibrations based on the infrared flux method andBalmer line profiles, Hipparcos parallaxes and Fe II lines. [O/Fe]values derived from the forbidden line at 630.03 nm are consistent withan oxygen/iron ratio that varies linearly with [Fe/H] as[O/Fe]=-0.09(±0.08)[Fe/H]+0.36(±0.15). Values based on theO i triplet are on average 0.19±0.22 dex(s.d.) higher than thevalues based on the forbidden line while the agreement between OHultraviolet lines and the forbidden line is much better with a meandifference of the order of -0.09±0.25 dex(s.d.). In general, ourresults follow the same trend as previously published results with theexception of the ones based on OH ultraviolet lines. In that case ourresults lie below the values which gave rise to the oxygen abundancedebate for metal-poor stars.
| 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.
| uvby-β photometry of high-velocity and metal-poor stars. XI. Ages of halo and old disk stars
New uvby-β data are provided for 442 high-velocity and metal-poorstars; 90 of these stars have been observed previously by us, and 352are new. When combined with our previous two photometric catalogues, thedata base is now made up of 1533 high-velocity and metal-poor stars, allwith uvby-β photometry and complete kinematic data, such as propermotions and radial velocities taken from the literature. Hipparcos, plusa new photometric calibration for Mv also based on theHipparcos parallaxes, provide distances for nearly all of these stars;our previous photometric calibrations give values for E(b-y) and [Fe/H].The [Fe/H], V(rot) diagram allows us to separate these stars intodifferent Galactic stellar population groups, such as old-thin-disk,thick-disk, and halo. The X histogram, where X is our stellar-populationdiscriminator combining V(rot) and [Fe/H], and contour plots for the[Fe/H], V(rot) diagram both indicate two probable components to thethick disk. These population groups and Galactic components are studiedin the (b-y)0, Mv diagram, compared to theisochrones of Bergbusch & VandenBerg (2001, ApJ, 556, 322), toderive stellar ages. The two thick-disk groups have the meancharacteristics: ([Fe/H], V(rot), Age, σW') ≈ (-0.7dex, 120 km s-1, 12.5 Gyr, 62.0 km s-1), and≈(-0.4, 160, 10.0, 45.8). The seven most metal-poor halo groups,-2.31 ≤ [Fe/H] ≤ -1.31, show a mean age of 13.0 ± 0.2(mean error) Gyr, giving a mean difference from the WMAP results for theage of the Universe of 0.7 ± 0.3 Gyr. These results for the agesand components of the thick disk and for the age of the Galactic halofield stars are discussed in terms of various models and ideas for theformation of galaxies and their stellar populations.
| 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.
| A Catalog of Northern Stars with Annual Proper Motions Larger than 0.15" (LSPM-NORTH Catalog)
The LSPM catalog is a comprehensive list of 61,977 stars north of theJ2000 celestial equator that have proper motions larger than 0.15"yr-1 (local-background-stars frame). The catalog has beengenerated primarily as a result of our systematic search for high propermotion stars in the Digitized Sky Surveys using our SUPERBLINK software.At brighter magnitudes, the catalog incorporates stars and data from theTycho-2 Catalogue and also, to a lesser extent, from the All-SkyCompiled Catalogue of 2.5 million stars. The LSPM catalog considerablyexpands over the old Luyten (Luyten Half-Second [LHS] and New LuytenTwo-Tenths [NLTT]) catalogs, superseding them for northern declinations.Positions are given with an accuracy of <~100 mas at the 2000.0epoch, and absolute proper motions are given with an accuracy of ~8 masyr-1. Corrections to the local-background-stars propermotions have been calculated, and absolute proper motions in theextragalactic frame are given. Whenever available, we also give opticalBT and VT magnitudes (from Tycho-2, ASCC-2.5),photographic BJ, RF, and IN magnitudes(from USNO-B1 catalog), and infrared J, H, and Ks magnitudes(from 2MASS). We also provide an estimated V magnitude and V-J color fornearly all catalog entries, useful for initial classification of thestars. The catalog is estimated to be over 99% complete at high Galacticlatitudes (|b|>15deg) and over 90% complete at lowGalactic latitudes (|b|>15deg), down to a magnitudeV=19.0, and has a limiting magnitude V=21.0. All the northern starslisted in the LHS and NLTT catalogs have been reidentified, and theirpositions, proper motions, and magnitudes reevaluated. The catalog alsolists a large number of completely new objects, which promise to expandvery significantly the census of red dwarfs, subdwarfs, and white dwarfsin the vicinity of the Sun.Based on data mining of the Digitized Sky Surveys (DSSs), developed andoperated by the Catalogs and Surveys Branch of the Space TelescopeScience Institute (STScI), Baltimore.Developed with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), aspart of the NASA/NSF NStars program.
| Abundances of Extremely Metal-poor Star Candidates
We present chemical abundances for 110 stars identified inobjective-prism surveys as candidates for being very metal-poor. Theabundances are derived from high-S/N, intermediate-resolution spectraobtained with the Keck Observatory Echellette Spectrograph and Imager(ESI). An additional 25 stars with well-determined abundances rangingfrom [Fe/H]=-1.5 to -3.2 were observed and the results used to helpcalibrate our analysis and determine the accuracy of our abundancedeterminations. Abundances for the program stars were measured for Fe,Mg, Ca, Ti, Cr, and Ba with an accuracy of approximately 0.3 dex.Fifty-three of the stars in our sample have [Fe/H]<=-2, 22 have[Fe/H]<=-2.5, and 13 have [Fe/H]<=-2.9. Surprisingly,approximately one-third of the sample is relatively metal-rich, with[Fe/H]>-1.5. In addition to identifying a number of extremelymetal-poor stars, this study also shows that moderate-resolution spectraobtained with the Keck ESI yield relatively accurate abundances forstars as faint as V=14 with modest exposure time (~20 minutes). Thiscapability will prove useful if the so-far elusive stars at [Fe/H]<-4turn out to be mostly fainter than V=15.The data presented herein were obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory,which is operated as a scientific partnership among the CaliforniaInstitute of Technology, the University of California, and the NationalAeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possibleby the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation.
| 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.
| Cu and Zn in the early Galaxy
We present Cu and Zn abundances for 38 FGK stars, mostly dwarfs,spanning a metallicity range between solar and [Fe/H] = -3. Theabundances were obtained using Kurucz's local thermal equilibrium (LTE)model atmospheres and the near-UV lines of Cu I 3273.95 Å and Zn I3302.58 Å observed at high spectral resolution. The trend of[Cu/Fe] versus [Fe/H] is almost solar for [Fe/H] > -1 and thendecreases to a plateau <[Cu/Fe]> = -0.98 at [Fe/H] < -2.5,whereas the [Zn/Fe] trend is essentially solar for [Fe/H] > -2 andthen slightly increases at lower metallicities to an average value of<[Zn/Fe]> = +0.18. We compare our results with previous work onthese elements, and briefly discuss them in terms of nucleosynthesisprocesses. Predictions of halo chemical evolution fairly reproduce thetrends, especially the [Cu/Fe] plateau at very low metallicities, but toa lesser extent the higher [Zn/Fe] ratios at low metallicities,indicating possibly missing yields.
| Galactic evolution of nitrogen
We present detailed spectroscopic analysis of nitrogen abundances in 31unevolved metal-poor stars analysed by spectral synthesis of the near-UVNH band at 3360 Å observed at high resolution with varioustelescopes. We found that [N/Fe] scales with that of iron in themetallicity range -3.1 <[Fe/H]<0 with the slope 0.01±0.02.Furthermore, we derive uniform and accurate (N/O) ratios using oxygenabundances from near-UV OH lines obtained in our previous studies. Wefind that a primary component of nitrogen is required to explain theobservations. The NH lines are discovered in the VLT/UVES spectra of thevery metal-poor subdwarfs G64-12 and LP815-43 indicating that thesestars are N rich. The results are compared with theoretical models andobservations of extragalactic H II regions and Damped Lyα systems.This is the first direct comparison of the (N/O) ratios in these objectswith those in Galactic stars.
| 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.
| Boron Benchmarks for the Galactic Disk
Sixteen Population I solar-type dwarfs have been selected to ascertainthe baseline B abundance in the Galactic disk for a range of a factor of4 in metallicity: from [Fe/H] of -0.5 to +0.1. All the stars selectedare undepleted in Be, which ensures that they have also retained theirfull initial abundance of B. Evaluation of the trend of B with Feprovides a means to study the evolution of B in the Galactic disk. Weobserved 16 bright stars around the B I 2497 Å line, using theSTIS echelle spectrograph on HST. New observations of Li and Be in somestars were made, and previous abundance studies of Li and Be in thesestars were reevaluated using revised parameters and a modified spectralsynthesis code for consistency with the B measurements. Abundances of Bwere calculated by spectrum synthesis with the revised MOOG code, whichaccounts for the increased opacity in the UV due to metals; the LTE Babundances were then corrected for non-LTE effects. Four additionalstars with undepleted Be have HST B observations, which increase oursample to 20. For these disk stars there is a shallow slope for B versusFe and Be versus Fe, such that as Fe increases by a factor of 4, B andBe increase by 1.7 times. The slope for BLTE versus Fe is0.31+/-0.09, for BNLTE versus Fe 0.40+/-0.12, and for Beversus Fe 0.38+/-0.14. We have estimated the effect of additional UVopacity from Mg and find that an increase of 0.3 dex in Mg results in ahigher B abundances by 0.1 dex for all the disk stars. Individual starsare not consistently above (or below) the mean in both B and Be,implying that the star-to-star differences are not due to variations inthe elemental content of the ``natal'' clouds. We find that the trend ofB abundance with [Fe/H] is consistent with the general trend observed inhalo stars. If we connect the halo and disk stars, then an increase inthe Fe abundance by 103 is accompanied by increases of 100times in B and 550 times in Be. However, fitting two separate relationsfor the disk and the halo stars results in a somewhat steeper slope forBe for the halo stars (1.08+/-0.07) relative to the disk stars(0.38+/-0.14). This is the case for B also in LTE, with Bhalo(0.90+/-0.07) versus Bdisk (0.32+/-0.12). However, the NLTE Babundance increases more slowly for halo stars than the Be abundancedoes; since this is not predicted by light-element synthesis ordepletion, we suggest that a full NLTE analysis would be preferable tomaking the (small) corrections to the LTE abundances. Some of the lowestmetallicity stars are thought to have only upper limits on the Babundance; if that is the case, the NLTE B slope is steeper, nearing1.0. The abundance of B in the disk stars is observed to be a factor of~15+7-5 more than the abundance of Be in thesestars, a result consistent with the predictions of Galactic cosmic-ray(GCR) spallation, B/Be=15+/-5. The upper envelope for Li versus Feyields Li/B and Li/Be ratios that, when coupled with models andpredictions, indicate that 20%-45% of Li might be produced by GCRs.While there is no evidence to support the production of B by neutrinospallation, we cannot rule it out.Based on observations obtained with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope(HST) through the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operatedby the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc.,under NASA contract NAS5-26555.
| 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
| First stars IV. CS 29497-030: Evidence for operation of the s-process at very low metallicity
We present an abundance analysis of the very metal-poor, carbon-enhancedstar CS 29497-030. Our results indicate that this unusually hot turnoffstar (Teff = 6650 K, log g = 3.5) has a metallicity [Fe/H] =-2.8, and exhibits large overabundances of carbon ([C/Fe] = +2.38),nitrogen ([N/Fe] = +1.88), and oxygen ([O/Fe] = +1.67). This star alsoexhibits a large enhancement in its neutron-capture elements; thepattern follows that expected to arise from the s-process. Inparticular, the Pb abundance is found to be very high with respect toiron ([Pb/Fe] = +3.5), and also with respect to the second peaks-process elements (e.g., Ba, La, Ce, Nd), which fits into the newlyintroduced classification of lead (Pb) stars. The known spectroscopicbinary status of this star, along with the observed s-process abundancepattern, suggest that it has accreted matter from a companion, whichformerly was an Asymptotic Giant-Branch (AGB) star. In a preliminaryanalysis, we have also identified broad absorption lines of metallicspecies that suggest a large axial rotational velocity for this star,which may be the result of spin-up associated with the accretion ofmaterial from its previous AGB companion. In addition, this star isclearly depleted in the light element Li. When considered along with itsrather high inferred temperature, these observations are consistent withthe expected properties of a very low metallicity halo blue straggler.Based on observations made with the ESO Very Large Telescope at ParanalObservatory, Chile (program ID 165.N-0276(A)).Table \ref{tab6} is only available in electronic form athttp://www.edpsciences.org
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Herkules |
| Right ascension: | 17h32m41.62s |
| Declination: | +23°44'11.6" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 8.951 |
| Distance: | 233.1 parsecs |
| Proper motion RA: | -332.3 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -86.8 |
| B-T magnitude: | 9.673 |
| V-T magnitude: | 9.011 |
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INHABITED SKY
