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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.
| 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.
| Subaru/HDS Abundances in Three Giant Stars in the Ursa Minor Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy
With the HDS (High Dispersion Spectrograph) on the Subaru Telescope, weobtained high-resolution optical region spectra of three red giant stars(COS 4, COS 82, and COS 347) in the Ursa Minor dwarf spheroidal galaxy.The chemical abundances in these stars were analyzed for 26 elements,including α-, iron-peak, and neutron-capture elements. All threestars show low abundances of α-elements (Mg, Si, and Ca), and twostars (COS 82 and COS 347) show high abundances of Mn compared toGalactic halo stars of similar metallicity. One star (COS 4) has beenconfirmed to be very metal deficient ([Fe/H] = ‑2.7) and found toshow anomalously low abundances of Mn, Cu, and Ba. In another star, COS82 ([Fe/H] = ‑1.5), we have found a large excess of heavyneutron-capture elements with a general abundance pattern similar to thescaled solar system r-process abundance curve. These observationalresults are rather puzzling: low abundances of α-elements and highabundance of Mn seem to suggest a significant contribution of SNe Ia atlow metallicity, while there is no hint of an s-process (i.e., AGBstars) contribution, even at [Fe/H] = ‑1.5, suggesting a peculiarnucleosynthetic history of the UMi dSph galaxy.
| He I λ10830 Absorption in Metal-Poor Red Giants: Probing Fast Chromospheric Outflows
We present the results of a search for near-IR chromospheric He Iabsorption in 10 metal-poor red giants using high-resolution spectraobtained with NIRSPEC on Keck II. Four of these red giants are in thefield, and six are in the globular cluster M13. Two of the field starsand one of the cluster stars show evidence for He I absorption that isconsistent with chromospheric outflow velocities ranging from 30 to 140km s-1. If identified with a wind, the velocity found in theM13 red giant IV-15 (30 km s-1) is comparable to the escapevelocity of the cluster core, suggesting that such winds may beeffective in clearing out the interstellar medium of globular clusters.Absorption is confined to stars with Teff>~4600 K andMV fainter than -1.5. Since previous studies have foundHα and Ca II K2 emission line profiles indicative ofwinds in metal-poor giants brighter than this limit, the mechanismresponsible for He I absorption in metal-poor red giants apparentlyoperates less effectively in the cooler and brighter stars. On the otherhand, the He I line extends the detection of mass outflows further downthe giant branch of metal-poor stars than the Hα observations.Data presented herein were obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, whichis operated as a scientific partnership among the California Instituteof 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.
| 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.
| Empirically Constrained Color-Temperature Relations. II. uvby
A new grid of theoretical color indices for the Strömgren uvbyphotometric system has been derived from MARCS model atmospheres and SSGsynthetic spectra for cool dwarf and giant stars having-3.0<=[Fe/H]<=+0.5 and 3000<=Teff<=8000 K. Atwarmer temperatures (i.e., 8000-2.0. To overcome thisproblem, the theoretical indices at intermediate and high metallicitieshave been corrected using a set of color calibrations based on fieldstars having well-determined distances from Hipparcos, accurateTeff estimates from the infrared flux method, andspectroscopic [Fe/H] values. In contrast with Paper I, star clustersplayed only a minor role in this analysis in that they provided asupplementary constraint on the color corrections for cool dwarf starswith Teff<=5500 K. They were mainly used to test thecolor-Teff relations and, encouragingly, isochrones thatemploy the transformations derived in this study are able to reproducethe observed CMDs (involving u-v, v-b, and b-y colors) for a number ofopen and globular clusters (including M67, the Hyades, and 47 Tuc)rather well. Moreover, our interpretations of such data are verysimilar, if not identical, with those given in Paper I from aconsideration of BV(RI)C observations for the sameclusters-which provides a compelling argument in support of thecolor-Teff relations that are reported in both studies. Inthe present investigation, we have also analyzed the observedStrömgren photometry for the classic Population II subdwarfs,compared our ``final'' (b-y)-Teff relationship with thosederived empirically in a number of recent studies and examined in somedetail the dependence of the m1 index on [Fe/H].Based, in part, on observations made with the Nordic Optical Telescope,operated jointly on the island of La Palma by Denmark, Finland, Iceland,Norway, and Sweden, in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de losMuchachos of the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias.Based, in part, on observations obtained with the Danish 1.54 mtelescope at the European Southern Observatory, La Silla, Chile.
| Comparing Deep Mixing in Globular Cluster and Halo Field Giants: Carbon Abundance Data from the Literature
The behavior of carbon abundance as a function of luminosity is used tocompare the rates of deep mixing within red giants of four globularclusters and the Galactic halo field population. Measurements of [C/Fe]for the clusters M92, NGC 6397, M3, and M13 have been compiled from theliterature, together with the Gratton et al. data for halo field stars.Plots of [C/Fe] versus absolute visual magnitude show that forMV<+1.6 the rate of decline of carbon abundance withincreasing luminosity on the red giant branch isd[C/Fe]/dMV~0.22+/-0.03 among the field stars, as well as inM92, NGC 6397, and M3. Among giants fainter than MV=+1.6 thevariation of [C/Fe] with absolute magnitude is much less. The dataindicate that the rate at which deep mixing introduces carbon-depletedmaterial into the convective envelopes of field halo stars during theupper red giant branch phase of evolution is similar to that of manyglobular cluster giants. The notable exception appears to be M13, inwhich stars exhibit deep mixing at a greater rate; this may account forthe high incidence of very low oxygen abundances among the most luminousgiants in M13 in comparison to M3.
| 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.
| A grid of synthetic spectra and indices Fe5270, Fe5335, Mgb and Mg2 as a function of stellar parameters and [alpha/Fe]
We have computed a grid of synthetic spectra in the wavelength rangelambda lambda 4600-5600 Å using revised model atmospheres, for arange of atmospheric parameters and values of [alpha -elements/Fe] = 0.0and +0.4. The Lick indices Fe5270, Fe5335, Mgb and Mg2 aremeasured on the grid spectra for FWHM = 2 to 8.3 Å. Relationsbetween the indices Fe5270, Fe5335 and Mg2 and the stellarparameters effective temperature Teff, log ; g, [Fe/H] and[alpha /Fe], valid in the range 4000 <= Teff <= 7000 K,are presented. These fitting functions are given for FWHM = 3.5 and 8.3Å. The indices were also measured for a list of 97 reference starswith well-known stellar parameters observed at ESO and OHP, and theseare compared to the computed indices. Finally, a comparison of theindices measured on the observed spectra and those derived from thefitting functions based on synthetic spectra is presented.Observations collected at the European Southern Observatory (ESO), LaSilla, Chile and at the Observatoire de Haute Provence (OHP), St-Michel,France.All Tables of Appendices A and B are only available in electronic format the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) orvia http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?/A+A/404/661
| Sodium Abundances in Stellar Atmospheres with Differing Metallicities
The non-LTE sodium abundances of 100 stars with metallicities-3<[Fe/H]<0.3 are determined using high-dispersion spectra withhigh signal-to-noise ratios. The sodium abundances [Na/Fe] obtained areclose to the solar abundance and display a smaller scatter than valuespublished previously. Giants (logg<3.8) with [Fe/H]<-1 do notdisplay overabundances of sodium, and their sodium abundances do notshow an anticorrelation with the oxygen abundance, in contrast toglobular-cluster giants. They likewise do not show sodium-abundancevariations with motion along the giant branch. No appreciable decreasein the sodium abundance was detected for dwarfs (logg>3.8) withmetallicities -2<[Fe/H]<-1. The observed relation between [Na/Fe]and [Fe/H] is in satisfactory agreement with the theoreticalcomputations of Samland, which take into account the metallicitydependence of the sodium yield and a number of other factors affectingthe distribution of elements in the Galaxy during the course of itsevolution.
| Abundances of Cu and Zn in metal-poor stars: Clues for Galaxy evolution
We present new observations of copper and zinc abundances in 90metal-poor stars, belonging to the metallicity range -3<[Fe/H]<-0.5. The present study is based on high resolutionspectroscopic measurements collected at the Haute Provence Observatoire(R= 42 000, S/N>100). The trend of Cu and Zn abundances as a functionof the metallicity [Fe/H] is discussed and compared to that of otherheavy elements beyond iron. We also estimate spatial velocities andgalactic orbital parameters for our target stars in order to disentanglethe population of disk stars from that of halo stars using kinematiccriteria. In the absence of a firm a priori knowledge of thenucleosynthesis mechanisms controlling Cu and Zn production, and of therelative stellar sites, we derive constraints on these last from thetrend of the observed ratios [Cu/Fe] and [Zn/Fe] throughout the historyof the Galaxy, as well as from a few well established properties ofbasic nucleosynthesis processes in stars. We thus confirm that theproduction of Cu and Zn requires a number of different sources (neutroncaptures in massive stars, s-processing in low and intermediate massstars, explosive nucleosynthesis in various supernova types). We alsoattempt a ranking of the relative roles played by different productionmechanisms, and verify these hints through a simple estimate of thegalactic enrichment in Cu and Zn. In agreement with suggestionspresented earlier, we find evidence that type Ia Supernovae must play arelevant role, especially for the production of Cu. Based on the spectracollected with the 1.93-m telescope of Haute Provence Observatory.
| Radial velocities of population II binary stars. I.
Radial velocities for 114 Hipparcos stars, mostly high transversevelocity binaries without previous radial velocity measurements, arepublished. Measurements are made with the CORAVEL-type radial velocityspectrometer. The accuracy of measurements is better than 1 km/s. Twostars, BD +30 deg 2129A and HD 117466AB are found to be radial velocityvariables, and three more stars, HD 119515A, HD 131597AB, and HD 153344,are possible radial velocity variables.
| Abundances and Kinematics of Field Stars. II. Kinematics and Abundance Relationships
As an investigation of the origin of ``α-poor'' halo stars, weanalyze kinematic and abundance data for 73 intermediate-metallicitystars (-1>[Fe/H]>=-2) selected from Paper I of this series. We findevidence for a connection between the kinematics and the enhancement ofcertain element-to-iron ([X/Fe]) ratios in these stars. Statisticallysignificant correlations were found between [X/Fe] and galacticrest-frame velocities (vRF) for Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, and Ni,with marginally significant correlations existing for Ti and Y as well.We also find that the [X/Fe] ratios for these elements all correlatewith a similar level of significance with [Na/Fe]. Finally, we comparethe abundances of these halo stars against those of stars in nearbydwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies. We find significant differencesbetween the abundance ratios in the dSph stars and halo stars of similarmetallicity. From this result, it is unlikely that the halo stars in thesolar neighborhood, including even the ``α-poor'' stars, were oncemembers of disrupted dSph galaxies similar to those studied to date.
| 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.
| Analysis of neutron capture elements in metal-poor stars
We derived model atmosphere parameters (Teff, log g, [Fe/H],Vt) for 90 metal-deficient stars (-0.5<[Fe/H]<-3),using echelle spectra from the ELODIE library (Soubiran et al.\cite{soubet98}). These parameters were analyzed and compared withcurrent determinations by other authors. The study of the followingelements was carried out: Mg, Si, Ca, Sr, Y, Ba, La, Ce, Nd, and Eu. Therelative contributions of s- and r-processes were evaluated andinterpreted through theoretical computations of the chemical evolutionof the Galaxy. The chemical evolution models (Pagel &Tautvaišienė \cite{pagta95}; Timmes et al. \cite{timet95})depict quite well the behaviour of [Si/Fe], [Ca/Fe] with [Fe/H]. Thetrend of [Mg/Fe] compares more favourably with the computations of Pagel& Tautvaišienė (\cite{pagta95}) than those of Timmes etal. (\cite{timet95}). The runs of n-capture elements vs. metallicity aredescribed well both by the model of Pagel & Tautvaišienė(\cite{pagta95}, \cite{pagta97}) and by the model of Travaglio et al.(\cite{travet99}) at [Fe/H]>-1.5, when the matter of the Galaxy issufficiently homogeneous. The analysis of n-capture element abundancesconfirms the jump in [Ba/Fe] at [Fe/H]=-2.5. Some stars from our sampleat [Fe/H]<-2.0 show a large scatter of Sr, Ba, Y, Ce. This scatter isnot caused by the errors in the measurements, and may reflect theinhomogeneous nature of the prestellar medium at early stages ofgalactic evolution. The matching of [Ba/Fe], [Eu/Fe] vs. [Fe/H] with theinhomogeneous model by Travaglio et al. (\cite{travet01a}) suggests thatat [Fe/H]<-2.5, the essential contribution to the n-rich elementabundances derives from the r-process. The main sources of theseprocesses may be low mass SN II. The larger dispersion of s-processelement abundances with respect to alpha -rich elements may arise bothfrom the birth of metal-poor stars in globular clusters with followingdifferent evolutionary paths and (or) from differences in s-elementenrichment in Galaxy populations. Based on spectra collected at theObservatoire de Haute-Provence (OHP), France
| On the stellar content of the open clusters Melotte 105, Hogg 15, Pismis 21 and Ruprecht 140
CCD observations in the B, V and I passbands have been used to generatecolour-magnitude diagrams reaching down to V ~ 19 mag for two slightlycharacterized (Melotte 105 and Hogg 15) and two almost unstudied (Pismis21 and Ruprecht 140) open clusters. The sample consists of about 1300stars observed in fields of about 4arcmin x4arcmin . Our analysis showsthat neither Pismis 21 nor Ruprecht 140 are genuine open clusters sinceno clear main sequences or other meaningful features can be seen intheir colour-magnitude diagrams. Melotte 105 and Hogg 15 are openclusters affected by E(B-V) = 0.42 +/- 0.03 and 0.95 +/- 0.05,respectively. Their distances to the Sun have been estimated as 2.2 +/-0.3 and 2.6 +/- 0.08 kpc, respectively, while the corresponding agesestimated from empirical isochrones fitted to the Main Sequence clustermembers are ~ 350 Myr and 300 Myr, respectively. The present data arenot consistent with the membership of the WN6 star HDE 311884 to Hogg15. Tables 2 to 5 are only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.793.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/370/931
| A database of high and medium-resolution stellar spectra
We present a database of 908 spectra of 709 stars obtained with theELODIE spectrograph at the Observatoire de Haute-Provence. 52 orders ofthe echelle spectra have been carefully fitted together to providecontinuous, high-resolution spectra in the wavelength range lambdalambda = 410-680 nm. The archive provides a large coverage of the spaceof atmospheric parameters: T_eff from 3700 K to 13 600 K, log g from0.03 to 5.86 and [Fe/H] from -2.8 to +0.7. At the nominal resolution,R=42 000, the mean signal-to-noise ratio is 150 per pixel. The spectragiven at this resolution are normalized to their pseudo-continuum andare intended to serve for abundance studies, spectral classification andtests of stellar atmosphere models. A lower resolution version of thearchive, at R=10 000, is calibrated in physical flux with a broad-bandphotometric precision of 2.5% and narrow-band precision of 0.5%. It iswell suited to stellar population synthesis of galaxies and clusters,and to kinematical investigations of stellar systems. The archive isdistributed in FITS format through the HYPERCAT and CDS databases. Basedon observations made on the 193 cm telescope at the Haute-ProvenceObservatory, France. Table 1 is only available in electronic form at theCDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/369/1048
| Detection of Metal-poor Stars in the Direction of the North Galactic Pole
A simple approach to detecting metal-poor stars is to measure amagnesium index, which depends on the Mg H band plus the three nearby Mgb lines and is derived through intermediate-band interference filters.An empirically established line of demarcation in the Mg index versusB-V diagram separates metal-poor stars from solar-abundance stars. Afurther separation between metal-poor dwarfs and giants depends on B-Vprimarily dwarfs for B-V<0.55, giants for B-V>0.7, with both dwarfsand giants falling in the transition region. For the metal-poor giantsthe distance from the demarcation line correlates well with [Fe/H],permitting estimates of stellar abundances. Stars in two regions on thesky in the vicinity of the north Galactic pole have been observed withsuch a set of filters. Eighteen stars (6% of the population of 299) inthe sample covering the V range 8.7 to 15.6 and 48 stars (31% of thepopulation of 163) in a deeper probe to V=19.9 found through thisprocess are suspected metal-poor stars according to their Mg indices.Twenty-three are specifically deemed giants, with<[Fe/H]><=-1.5.
| 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.
| Abundances and Kinematics of Field Halo and Disk Stars. I. Observational Data and Abundance Analysis
We describe observations and abundance analysis of a high-resolution,high signal-to-noise ratio survey of 168 stars, most of which aremetal-poor dwarfs. We follow a self-consistent LTE analysis technique todetermine the stellar parameters and abundances, and we estimate theeffects of random and systematic uncertainties on the resultingabundances. Element-to-iron ratios are derived for key α-, odd-Z,Fe-peak, and r- and s-process elements. Effects of non-LTE on theanalysis of Fe I lines are shown to be very small on average.Spectroscopically determined surface gravities are derived that arequite close to those obtained from Hipparcos parallaxes.
| 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.
| Kinematics of Metal-poor Stars in the Galaxy. III. Formation of the Stellar Halo and Thick Disk as Revealed from a Large Sample of Nonkinematically Selected Stars
We present a detailed analysis of the space motions of 1203solar-neighborhood stars with metal abundances [Fe/H]<=-0.6, on thebasis of a catalog, of metal-poor stars selected without kinematic biasrecently revised and supplemented by Beers et al. This sample, havingavailable proper motions, radial velocities, and distance estimates forstars with a wide range of metal abundances, is by far the largest suchcatalog to be assembled to date. We show that the stars in our samplewith [Fe/H]<=-2.2, which likely represent a ``pure'' halo component,are characterized by a radially elongated velocity ellipsoid(σU,σV,σW)=(141+/-11,106+/-9, 94+/-8) km s-1 and small prograde rotation=30 to 50 km s-1, consistent withprevious analysis of this sample by Beers and Sommer-Larsen based onradial velocity information alone. In contrast to the previous analysis,we find a decrease in with increasingdistance from the Galactic plane for stars that are likely to be membersof the halo population(Δ/Δ|Z|=-52+/-6 km s-1kpc-1), which may represent the signature of a dissipativelyformed flattened inner halo. Unlike essentially all previouskinematically selected catalogs, the metal-poor stars in our sampleexhibit a diverse distribution of orbital eccentricities, e, with noapparent correlation between [Fe/H] and e. This demonstrates, clearlyand convincingly, that the evidence offered in 1962 by Eggen,Lynden-Bell, & Sandage for a rapid collapse of the Galaxy, anapparent correlation between the orbital eccentricity of halo stars withmetallicity, is basically the result of their proper-motion selectionbias. However, even in our nonkinematically selected sample, we haveidentified a small concentration of high-e stars at [Fe/H]~-1.7, whichmay originate, in part, from infalling gas during the early formation ofthe Galaxy. We find no evidence for an additional thick disk componentfor stellar abundances [Fe/H]<=-2.2. The kinematics of theintermediate-abundance stars close to the Galactic plane are, in part,affected by the presence of a rapidly rotating thick disk component with ~=200 km s-1 (with a verticalvelocity gradient on the order ofΔ/Δ|Z|=-30+/-3 km s-1kpc-1) and velocity ellipsoid (σU,σV, σW)=(46+/-4, 50+/-4, 35+/-3) kms-1. The fraction of low-metallicity stars in the solarneighborhood that are members of the thick disk population is estimatedas ~10% for -2.2<[Fe/H]<=-1.7 and ~30% for -1.7<[Fe/H]<=-1.We obtain an estimate of the radial scale length of the metal-weak thickdisk of 4.5+/-0.6 kpc. We also analyze the global kinematics of thestars constituting the halo component of the Galaxy. The outer part ofthe halo, which we take to be represented by local stars on orbitsreaching more than 5 kpc from the Galactic plane, exhibits no systematicrotation. In particular, we show that previous suggestions of thepresence of a ``counter-rotating high halo'' are not supported by ouranalysis. The density distribution of the outer halo is nearly sphericaland exhibits a power-law profile that is accurately described asρ~R-3.55+/-0.13. The inner part of the halo ischaracterized by a prograde rotation and a highly flattened densitydistribution. We find no distinct boundary between the inner and outerhalo. We confirm the clumping in angular-momentum phase space of a smallnumber of local metal-poor stars noted in 1999 by Helmi et al. We alsoidentify an additional elongated feature in angular-momentum phase spaceextending from the clump to regions with high azimuthal rotation. Thenumber of members in the detected clump is not significantly increasedfrom that reported by Helmi et al., even though the total number of thesample stars we consider is almost triple that of the previousinvestigation. We conclude that the fraction of halo stars that may havearisen from the precursor object of this clump may be smaller than 10%of the present Galactic halo, as previously suggested. The implicationsof our results for the formation of the Galaxy are discussed, inparticular in the context of the currently favored cold dark mattertheory of hierarchical galaxy formation.
| Abundances of light elements in metal-poor stars. III. Data analysis and results
We present the results of the analysis of an extensive set of new andliterature high quality data concerning Fe, C, N, O, Na, and Mg. Thisanalysis exploited the T_eff scale determined in Gratton et al. (1996a),and the non-LTE abundance corrections computed in Gratton et al.(1999a). Results obtained with various abundance indices are discussedand compared. Detailed comparison with models of galactic chemicalevolution will be presented in future papers of this series. Our non-LTEanalysis yields the same O abundances from both permitted and forbiddenlines for stars with T_eff >4600 K, in agreement with King (1993),but not with other studies using a lower T_eff -scale for subdwarfs.However, we obtain slightly smaller O abundances for the most luminousmetal-poor field stars than for fainter stars of similar metallicities,an effect attributed to inadequacies of the adopted model atmospheres(Kurucz 1992, with overshooting) for cool stars. We find a nearlyconstant O overundance in metal-poor stars ([Fe/H]<-0.8), at a meanvalue of 0.46+/- 0.02 dex (sigma =0.12, 32 stars), with only a gentleslope with [Fe/H] ( ~ -0.1); this result is different from the steeperslope recently obtained using OH band in the near UV. If only bonafideunmixed stars are considered, C abundances scale with Fe ones (i.e.[C/Fe]~ 0) down to [Fe/H] ~ -2.5. Due to our adoption of a differentT_eff scale, we do not confirm the slight C excess in the most metalpoor disk dwarfs (-0.8<[Fe/H]<-0.4) found in previousinvestigations. Na abundances scale as Fe ones in the high metallicityregime, while metal-poor stars present a Na underabundance. None of thefield stars analyzed belong to the group of O-poor and Na-rich starsobserved in globular clusters. Na is deficient with respect to Mg inhalo and thick disk stars; within these populations, Na deficiency maybe a slow function of [Mg/H]. Solar [Na/Mg] ratios are obtained for thindisk stars. Tables~ 2 to 9 are only available in electronic form at theCDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strabg.fr/Abstract.html
| Mixing along the red giant branch in metal-poor field stars
We have determined Li, C, N, O, Na, and Fe abundances, and12C/13C isotopic ratios for a sample of 62 fieldmetal-poor stars in the metallicity range -2<=[Fe/H]<= -1. Starswere selected in order to have accurate luminosity estimates from theliterature, so that evolutionary phases could be clearly determined foreach star. We further enlarged this dataset by adding 43 more starshaving accurate abundances for some of these elements and similarly welldefined luminosities from the literature. This large sample was used toshow that (small mass) lower-RGB stars (i.e. stars brighter than thefirst dredge-up luminosity and fainter than that of the RGB bump) haveabundances of light elements in agreement with predictions fromclassical evolutionary models: only marginal changes occur for CNOelements, while dilution within the convective envelope causes thesurface Li abundance to decrease by a factor of ~ 20. A second, distinctmixing episode occurs in most (perhaps all) small mass metal-poor starsjust after the RGB bump, when the molecular weight barrier left by themaximum inward penetration of the convective shell is canceled by theoutward expansion of the H-burning shell, in agreement with recenttheoretical predictions. In field stars, this second mixing episode onlyreaches regions of incomplete CNO burning: it causes a depletion of thesurface 12C abundance by about a factor of 2.5, and acorresponding increase in the N abundance by about a factor of 4. The12C/13C is lowered to about 6 to 10 (close to butdistinctly higher than the equilibrium value of 3.5), while practicallyall remaining Li is burnt. However an O-Na anti-correlation such astypically observed amongst globular cluster stars, is not present infield stars. None of the 29 field stars more evolved than the RGB bump(including 8 RHB stars) shows any sign of an O depletion or Naenhancement. This means that the second mixing episode is not deepenough to reach regions were ON-burning occurs in field stars. Based inpart on observations made at the ESO La Silla ObservatoryTables 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 are available in electronic form only at the CDSvia anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr(130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html
| The effective temperature scale of giant stars (F0-K5). I. The effective temperature determination by means of the IRFM
We have applied the InfraRed Flux Method (IRFM) to a sample ofapproximately 500 giant stars in order to derive their effectivetemperatures with an internal mean accuracy of about 1.5% and a maximumuncertainty in the zero point of the order of 0.9%. For the applicationof the IRFM, we have used a homogeneous grid of theoretical modelatmosphere flux distributions developed by \cite[Kurucz (1993)]{K93}.The atmospheric parameters of the stars roughly cover the ranges: 3500 K<= T_eff <= 8000 K; -3.0 <= [Fe/H] <= +0.5; 0.5 <= log(g) <= 3.5. The monochromatic infrared fluxes at the continuum arebased on recent photometry with errors that satisfy the accuracyrequirements of the work. We have derived the bolometric correction ofgiant stars by using a new calibration which takes the effect ofmetallicity into account. Direct spectroscopic determinations ofmetallicity have been adopted where available, although estimates basedon photometric calibrations have been considered for some stars lackingspectroscopic ones. The adopted infrared absolute flux calibration,based on direct optical measurements of stellar angular diameters, putsthe effective temperatures determined in this work in the same scale asthose obtained by direct methods. We have derived up to fourtemperatures, TJ, TH, TK and T_{L'},for each star using the monochromatic fluxes at different infraredwavelengths in the photometric bands J, H, K and L'. They show goodconsistency over 4000 K, and there is no appreciable trend withwavelength, metallicity and/or temperature. We provide a detaileddescription of the steps followed for the application of the IRFM, aswell as the sources of error and their effect on final temperatures. Wealso provide a comparison of the results with previous work.
| CH, CN, and NH Band Strengths of Metal-poor Cluster and Field Red Giants
The strengths of the CN, NH, and CH bands in the spectra of PopulationII red giants are discussed based on observations of a sample of bothglobular cluster and field giants. We confirm an anticorrelation betweenthe oxygen abundance and the CN indices and a correlation between the3883 Å CN band and the 3360 Å NH band strengths among giantsin the globular clusters M15 and M13. We find one M15 star (IV-38) witha strong 3883 Å CN band and detectable 4215 Å CN and 3360Å NH bands. Abundance analysis of M15 IV-38 reveals a comparablecarbon abundance to a comparison star that has much weaker CN bands. Onepossible reason for this may be that IV-38 is an insipid CH star thathas also undergone some deep mixing. Alternatively, the atmosphere ofIV-38 may have been extensively processed through the O-->N cycle ofhydrogen burning such that carbon has been affected by O-->Cconversion. By combining our data set with material from the literatureand high-quality B-V photometry, we find that the CN band strengthdifferences among the M5 red giants do not appear to broaden the giantbranch of that cluster within the photometric errors. Using the CN, CH,and NH bands, we are able to confirm that the metal-poor field giant HD135148 is a CH-strong star and has not undergone deep mixing.
| 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.
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