• Chemical Tagging N-rich Field Stars with High-resolution Spectroscopy

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: We measure chemical abundances for over 20 elements of 15 N-rich field stars with high resolution ($R \sim 30000$) optical spectra. We find that Na, Mg, Al, Si, and Ca abundances of our N-rich field stars are mostly consistent with those of stars from globular clusters (GCs). Seven stars are estimated to have [Al/Fe$]>0.5$, which is not found in most GC "first generation" stars. On the other hand, $\alpha$ element abundances (especially Ti) could show distinguishable differences between in situ stars and accreted stars. We discover that one interesting star, with consistently low [Mg/Fe], [Si/Fe], [Ca/Fe], [Ti/Fe], [Sc/Fe], [V/Fe], and [Co/Fe], show similar kinematic and [Ba/Eu] as other stars from the dissolved dwarf galaxy "$Gaia$-Sausage-Enceladus". The $\alpha$-element abundances and the iron-peak element abundances of the N-rich field stars with metallicities $-1.25 \le {\rm [Fe/H]} \le -0.95$ show consistent values with Milky Way field stars rather than stars from dwarf galaxies, indicating that they were formed in situ. In addition, the neutron capture elements of N-rich field stars show that most of them could be enriched by asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars with masses around $3 - 5\, M_{\odot}$.

  • A Systematic Search for Short-period Close White Dwarf Binary Candidates Based on Gaia EDR3 Catalog and Zwicky Transient Facility Data

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Galactic short-period close white dwarf binaries (CWDBs) are important objects for space-borne gravitational-wave (GW) detectors in the millihertz frequency bands. Due to the intrinsically low luminosity, only about 25 identified CWDBs are detectable by the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), which are also known as verification binaries (VBs). The Gaia Early Data Release 3 (EDR3) provids a catalog containing a large number of CWDB candidates, which also includes parallax and photometry measurements. We crossmatch the Gaia EDR3 and Zwicky Transient Facility public data release 8, and apply period-finding algorithms to obtain a sample of periodic variables. The phase-folded light curves are inspected, and finally we obtain a binary sample containing 429 CWDB candidates. We further classify the samples into eclipsing binaries (including 58 HW Vir-type binaries, 65 EA-type binaries, 56 EB-type binaries, and 41 EW-type binaries) and ellipsoidal variations (209 ELL-type binaries). We discovered four ultrashort period binary candidates with unique light-curve shapes. We estimate the GW amplitude of all of our binary candidates, and calculate the corresponding signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) for TianQin and LISA. We find two (six) potential GW candidates with S/Ns greater than 5 in the nominal mission time of TianQin (LISA), which increases the total number of candidate VBs for TianQin (LISA) to 18 (31).

  • A Systematic Search for Short-period Close White Dwarf Binary Candidates Based on Gaia EDR3 Catalog and Zwicky Transient Facility Data

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Galactic short-period close white dwarf binaries (CWDBs) are important objects for space-borne gravitational-wave (GW) detectors in the millihertz frequency bands. Due to the intrinsically low luminosity, only about 25 identified CWDBs are detectable by the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), which are also known as verification binaries (VBs). The Gaia Early Data Release 3 (EDR3) provids a catalog containing a large number of CWDB candidates, which also includes parallax and photometry measurements. We crossmatch the Gaia EDR3 and Zwicky Transient Facility public data release 8, and apply period-finding algorithms to obtain a sample of periodic variables. The phase-folded light curves are inspected, and finally we obtain a binary sample containing 429 CWDB candidates. We further classify the samples into eclipsing binaries (including 58 HW Vir-type binaries, 65 EA-type binaries, 56 EB-type binaries, and 41 EW-type binaries) and ellipsoidal variations (209 ELL-type binaries). We discovered four ultrashort period binary candidates with unique light-curve shapes. We estimate the GW amplitude of all of our binary candidates, and calculate the corresponding signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) for TianQin and LISA. We find two (six) potential GW candidates with S/Ns greater than 5 in the nominal mission time of TianQin (LISA), which increases the total number of candidate VBs for TianQin (LISA) to 18 (31).

  • Near-infrared chemical abundances of stars in the Sculptor dwarf galaxy

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Owing to the recent identification of major substructures in our Milky Way (MW), the astronomical community has started to reevaluate the importance of dissolved and existing dwarf galaxies. In this work, we investigate up to 13 elements in 43 giant stars of the Sculptor dwarf galaxy (Scl) using high-signal-to-noise-ratio near-infrared (NIR) APOGEE spectra. Thanks to the strong feature lines in the NIR, we were able to determine high-resolution O, Si, and Al abundances for a large group of sample stars for the first time in Scl. By comparing the [$\alpha$/Fe] (i.e., O, Mg, Si, Ca, and Ti) of the stars in Scl, Sagittarius, and the MW, we confirm the general trend that less massive galaxies tend to show lower [$\alpha$/Fe]. The low [Al/Fe] ($\sim -0.5$) in Scl demonstrates the value of this ratio as a discriminator with which to identify stars born in dwarf galaxies (from MW field stars). A chemical-evolution model suggests that Scl has a top-light initial mass function (IMF), with a high-mass IMF power index of $\sim -2.7$, and a minimum Type Ia supernovae delay time of $\sim 100$ Myr. Furthermore, a linear regression analysis indicates a negative radial metallicity gradient and positive radial gradients for [Mg/Fe] and [Ca/Fe], in qualitative agreement with the outside-in formation scenario.

  • Near-infrared chemical abundances of stars in the Sculptor dwarf galaxy

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Owing to the recent identification of major substructures in our Milky Way (MW), the astronomical community has started to reevaluate the importance of dissolved and existing dwarf galaxies. In this work, we investigate up to 13 elements in 43 giant stars of the Sculptor dwarf galaxy (Scl) using high-signal-to-noise-ratio near-infrared (NIR) APOGEE spectra. Thanks to the strong feature lines in the NIR, we were able to determine high-resolution O, Si, and Al abundances for a large group of sample stars for the first time in Scl. By comparing the [$\alpha$/Fe] (i.e., O, Mg, Si, Ca, and Ti) of the stars in Scl, Sagittarius, and the MW, we confirm the general trend that less massive galaxies tend to show lower [$\alpha$/Fe]. The low [Al/Fe] ($\sim -0.5$) in Scl demonstrates the value of this ratio as a discriminator with which to identify stars born in dwarf galaxies (from MW field stars). A chemical-evolution model suggests that Scl has a top-light initial mass function (IMF), with a high-mass IMF power index of $\sim -2.7$, and a minimum Type Ia supernovae delay time of $\sim 100$ Myr. Furthermore, a linear regression analysis indicates a negative radial metallicity gradient and positive radial gradients for [Mg/Fe] and [Ca/Fe], in qualitative agreement with the outside-in formation scenario.

  • Multiple stellar populations at less evolved stages-III: a possible helium spread in NGC 2210

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Helium variations are common features of globular clusters (GCs) with multiple stellar populations. All the formation scenarios predict that secondary population stars are enhanced in helium but the exact helium content depends on the polluters. Therefore, searching for helium variations in a star cluster is a straightforward method to understand if it hosts multiple populations or not, and constrain the formation scenario. Although this topic has been well explored for Galactic GCs, GCs beyond the Milky Way are challenging to study because of their large distances. This work studies the helium distribution of GK-type main sequence dwarfs in an old ($\sim$12.5 Gyr) GC in the Large Magellanic Cloud, NGC 2210, using the deep photometry observed by the {\sl Hubble Space Telescope}. We compare the observed morphology of the MS with that of synthetic populations with different helium distributions. We confirm that NGC 2210 dwarfs have a helium spread, with an internal dispersion of $\delta{Y}\sim$0.06--0.07. The fraction of helium enriched stars depends on the $\delta{Y}$ distribution. A continuous $\delta{Y}$ distribution would indicate that more than half of MS stars are helium enriched ($\sim$55\%). If the $\delta{Y}$ distribution is discrete (bimodal), a fraction of $\sim$30\% enriched stars is able to explain the observed morphology of the MS. We also find that the He-enriched population stars are more centrally concentrated than He-normal stars.

  • Multiple stellar populations at less evolved stages-III: a possible helium spread in NGC 2210

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Helium variations are common features of globular clusters (GCs) with multiple stellar populations. All the formation scenarios predict that secondary population stars are enhanced in helium but the exact helium content depends on the polluters. Therefore, searching for helium variations in a star cluster is a straightforward method to understand if it hosts multiple populations or not, and constrain the formation scenario. Although this topic has been well explored for Galactic GCs, GCs beyond the Milky Way are challenging to study because of their large distances. This work studies the helium distribution of GK-type main sequence dwarfs in an old ($\sim$12.5 Gyr) GC in the Large Magellanic Cloud, NGC 2210, using the deep photometry observed by the {\sl Hubble Space Telescope}. We compare the observed morphology of the MS with that of synthetic populations with different helium distributions. We confirm that NGC 2210 dwarfs have a helium spread, with an internal dispersion of $\delta{Y}\sim$0.06--0.07. The fraction of helium enriched stars depends on the $\delta{Y}$ distribution. A continuous $\delta{Y}$ distribution would indicate that more than half of MS stars are helium enriched ($\sim$55\%). If the $\delta{Y}$ distribution is discrete (bimodal), a fraction of $\sim$30\% enriched stars is able to explain the observed morphology of the MS. We also find that the He-enriched population stars are more centrally concentrated than He-normal stars.

  • Searching for multiple populations in star clusters using the China Space Station Telescope

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Multiple stellar populations (MPs) in most star clusters older than 2 Gyr, as seen by lots of spectroscopic and photometric studies, have led to a significant challenge to the traditional view of star formation. In this field, space-based instruments, in particular the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), have made a breakthrough as they significantly improved the efficiency of detecting MPs in crowding stellar fields by images. The China Space Station Telescope (CSST) and the HST are sensitive to a similar wavelength interval, but it covers a field of view which is about 5-8 times wider than that of HST. One of its instruments, the Multi-Channel Imager (MCI), will have multiple filters covering a wide wavelength range from NUV to NIR, making the CSST a potentially powerful tool for studying MPs in clusters. In this work, we evaluate the efficiency of the designed filters for the MCI/CSST in revealing MPs in different color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs). We find that CMDs made with MCI/CSST photometry in appropriate UV filters are powerful tools to disentangle stellar populations with different abundances of He, C, N, O and Mg. On the contrary, the traditional CMDs are blind to multiple populations in globular clusters (GCs). We show that CSST has the potential of being the spearhead instrument for investigating MPs in GCs in the next decades.

  • On the Identification of N-rich Metal-poor Field Stars with Future Chinese Space Station Telescope

    分类: 物理学 >> 地球物理学、天文学和天体物理学 提交时间: 2024-02-01 合作期刊: 《Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics》

    摘要: During the long term evolution of globular clusters (GCs), some member stars are lost to the field. The recently found nitrogen-rich (N-rich) metal-poor field stars are promising candidates of these GC escapees, since N enhancement is the fingerprint of chemically enhanced populations in GCs. In this work, we discuss the possibility of identifying N-rich metal-poor field stars with the upcoming Chinese Space Station Telescope (CSST). We focus on the main survey camera with NUV, u, g, r, i, z, y filters and slitless spectrograph with a resolution about 200. The combination of UV sensitive equipment and prominent N-related molecular lines in the UV band bodes well for the identification: the color–color diagram of (u − g) versus (g − r) is capable of separating N-rich field stars from normal halo stars, if metallicity can be estimated without using the information on u-band photometry. Besides, the synthetic spectra show that a signal-to-noise ratio of 10 is sufficient to identify N-rich field stars. In the near future, a large sample of N-rich field stars found by CSST, combined with state-of-the-art N-body simulations will be crucial to deciphering GC-Galaxy co-evolution.

  • The role of binarity and stellar rotation in the split main sequence of NGC 2422

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: In addition to the extended main-sequence turnoffs widely found in young and intermediate-age (~ 600 Myr-2 Gyr-old) star clusters, some younger clusters even exhibit split main sequences (MSs). Different stellar rotation rates are proposed to account for the bifurcated MS pattern, with red and blue MSs (rMS and bMS) populated by fast and slowly rotating stars, respectively. Using photometry from Gaia Early Data Release 3, we report a Galactic open cluster with a bifurcated MS, NGC 2422 ( ~ 90 Myr). We exclude the possibilities that the bifurcated MS pattern is caused by photometric noise or differential reddening. We aim to examine if stellar rotation can account for the split MSs. We use spectra observed with the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope and the Southern African Large Telescope, and directly measured v sin i, the projected rotational velocities, for stars populating the bMS and rMS. We find that their v sin i values are weakly correlated with their loci in the color-magnitude diagram because of contamination caused by a large fraction of rMS stars with low projected rotational velocities. Based on the spectral energy distribution fitting method, we suggest that these slowly rotating stars at the rMS may hide a binary companion, which breaks the expected v sin i-color correlation. Future time-domain studies focusing on whether these slowly rotating stars are radial velocity variables are crucial to test the roles of stellar rotation and binarity in generating the split MSs.

  • Multiple Populations in Low-mass Globular Clusters: Eridanus

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Multiple populations (MPs), characterized by variations in light elemental abundances, have been found in stellar clusters in the Milky Way, Magellanic Clouds, as well as several other dwarf galaxies. Based on a large amount of observations, mass has been suggested to be a key parameter affecting the presence and appearance of MPs in stellar clusters. To further investigate the existence of MPs in low-mass clusters and explore the mass threshold for MP formation, we carried out a project studying the stellar population composition in several low-mass Galactic globular clusters. Here we present our study on the cluster Eridanus. With blue-UV low-resolution spectra obtained with the OSIRIS/Multi-object spectrograph on the Gran Telescopio Canarias, we computed the spectral indices of CH and CN for the sample giant stars, and derived their carbon and nitrogen abundances using model spectra. A significant dispersion in the initial surface abundance of nitrogen was found in the sample, indicating the existence of MPs in Eridanus. Inspecting the age-initial mass distribution of in-situ clusters with MPs, we find a slight trend that initial mass increases with increasing age, and the lowest initial mass of log Minitial ~4.98 and 5.26 are found at the young and old end, respectively, which might provide a rough reference for the mass threshold for clusters to form MPs. However, more observations of clusters with low initial masses are still necessary before any firm conclusion can be drawn.

  • Multiple Populations in Low-mass Globular Clusters: Eridanus

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Multiple populations (MPs), characterized by variations in light elemental abundances, have been found in stellar clusters in the Milky Way, Magellanic Clouds, as well as several other dwarf galaxies. Based on a large amount of observations, mass has been suggested to be a key parameter affecting the presence and appearance of MPs in stellar clusters. To further investigate the existence of MPs in low-mass clusters and explore the mass threshold for MP formation, we carried out a project studying the stellar population composition in several low-mass Galactic globular clusters. Here we present our study on the cluster Eridanus. With blue-UV low-resolution spectra obtained with the OSIRIS/Multi-object spectrograph on the Gran Telescopio Canarias, we computed the spectral indices of CH and CN for the sample giant stars, and derived their carbon and nitrogen abundances using model spectra. A significant dispersion in the initial surface abundance of nitrogen was found in the sample, indicating the existence of MPs in Eridanus. Inspecting the age-initial mass distribution of in-situ clusters with MPs, we find a slight trend that initial mass increases with increasing age, and the lowest initial mass of log Minitial ~4.98 and 5.26 are found at the young and old end, respectively, which might provide a rough reference for the mass threshold for clusters to form MPs. However, more observations of clusters with low initial masses are still necessary before any firm conclusion can be drawn.

  • Searching Extra-tidal Features around the Globular Cluster Whiting 1

    分类: 天文学 >> 天文学 提交时间: 2023-02-19

    摘要: Whiting 1 is a faint and young globular cluster in the halo of the Milky Way, and was suggested to have originated in the Sagittarius spherical dwarf galaxy (Sgr dSph). In this paper, we use the deep DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys to explore tentative spatial connection between Whiting 1 and the Sgr dSph. We redetermine the fundamental parameters of Whiting 1 and use the best-fitting isochrone (age $\tau$=6.5 Gyr, metalicity Z=0.005 and $\rm d_{\odot}$=26.9 kpc) to construct a theoretical matched filter for the extra-tidal features searching. Without any smooth technique to the matched filter density map, we detect a round-shape feature with possible leading and trailing tails on either side of the cluster. This raw image is not totally new compared to old discoveries, but confirms that no more large-scale features can be detected under a depth of r<=22.5 mag. In our results, the whole feature stretches 0.1-0.2 degree along the orbit of Whiting 1, which gives a much larger area than the cluster core. The tails on both sides of the cluster align along the orbital direction of the Sgr dSph as well as the cluster itself, which implies that these debris are probably stripped remnants of Whiting 1 by the Milky Way.