ORCID Profile
0000-0003-1124-8477
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In Research Link Australia (RLA), "Research Topics" refer to ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes. These topics are either sourced from ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes listed in researchers' related grants or generated by a large language model (LLM) based on their publications.
Astronomical and Space Sciences | Galactic Astronomy | Cosmology and Extragalactic Astronomy | Astronomical and Space Instrumentation | Stellar Astronomy and Planetary Systems | Astrobiology | Pattern Recognition and Data Mining | Numerical Computation
Expanding Knowledge in the Physical Sciences | Expanding Knowledge in Engineering | Expanding Knowledge in Technology | Scientific Instruments | Expanding Knowledge in the Information and Computing Sciences |
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 18-01-2008
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 2006
DOI: 10.1086/497917
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 04-2008
DOI: 10.1086/524984
Publisher: European Southern Observatory (ESO)
Date: 2019
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 07-11-2012
DOI: 10.1093/MNRAS/STS194
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 24-01-2014
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 10-2007
DOI: 10.1086/518864
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 24-09-2020
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 12-10-2019
Abstract: Asteroseismology is a promising tool to study Galactic structure and evolution because it can probe the ages of stars. Earlier attempts comparing seismic data from the Kepler satellite with predictions from Galaxy models found that the models predicted more low-mass stars compared to the observed distribution of masses. It was unclear if the mismatch was due to inaccuracies in the Galactic models, or the unknown aspects of the selection function of the stars. Using new data from the K2 mission, which has a well-defined selection function, we find that an old metal-poor thick disc, as used in previous Galactic models, is incompatible with the asteroseismic information. We use an importance-s ling framework, which takes the selection function into account, to fit for the metallicities of a population synthesis model using spectroscopic data. We show that spectroscopic measurements of [Fe/H] and [α/Fe] elemental abundances from the GALAH survey indicate a mean metallicity of log (Z/Z⊙) = −0.16 for the thick disc. Here Z is the effective solar-scaled metallicity, which is a function of [Fe/H] and [α/Fe]. With the revised disc metallicities, for the first time, the theoretically predicted distribution of seismic masses show excellent agreement with the observed distribution of masses. This indirectly verifies that the asteroseismic mass scaling relation is good to within five per cent. Assuming the asteroseismic scaling relations are correct, we estimate the mean age of the thick disc to be about 10 Gyr, in agreement with the traditional idea of an old α-enhanced thick disc.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 26-08-2017
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 05-09-2019
Abstract: Gaia DR2 has revealed new small-scale and large-scale patterns in the phase-space distribution of stars in the Milky Way. In cylindrical Galactic coordinates $(R,\phi ,z)$, ridge-like structures can be seen in the $(R,V_\phi)$ plane and asymmetric arch-like structures in the $(V_R,V_\phi)$ plane. We show that the ridges are also clearly present when the third dimension of the $(R,V_\phi)$ plane is represented by $\langle z \rangle$, $\langle V_z \rangle$, $\langle V_R \rangle$, $\langle$[Fe/H]$\rangle$, and $\langle [\alpha /{\rm Fe}]\rangle$. The maps suggest that stars along the ridges lie preferentially close to the Galactic mid-plane ($|z|\lt 0.2$ kpc), and have metallicity and $\alpha$ elemental abundance similar to that of the Sun. We show that phase mixing of disrupting spiral arms can generate both the ridges and the arches. It also generates discrete groupings in orbital energy – the ridges and arches are simply surfaces of constant energy. We identify eight distinct ridges in the Gaia DR2 data: six of them have constant energy while two have constant angular momentum. Given that the signature is strongest for stars close to the plane, the presence of ridges in $\langle z \rangle$ and $\langle V_z \rangle$ suggests a coupling between planar and vertical directions. We demonstrate, using N-body simulations that such coupling can be generated both in isolated discs and in discs perturbed by an orbiting satellite like the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 05-2014
DOI: 10.1017/S1743921313006522
Abstract: HERMES is a new high-resolution multi-object spectrograph on the Anglo Australian Telescope. The primary science driver for HERMES is the GALAH survey, GALactic Archaeology with HERMES. We are planning a spectroscopic survey of about a million stars, aimed at using chemical tagging techniques to reconstruct the star-forming aggregates that built up the disk, the bulge and halo of the Galaxy. This project will benefit greatly from the stellar distances and transverse motions from the Gaia mission.
Publisher: SPIE
Date: 05-10-2012
DOI: 10.1117/12.925806
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 08-06-2202
Abstract: Lithium depletion and enrichment in the cosmos is not yet well understood. To help tighten constraints on stellar and Galactic evolution models, we present the largest high-resolution analysis of Li abundances A(Li) to date, with results for over $100\\, 000$ GALAH (Galactic Archeology with HERMES) field stars spanning effective temperatures $5900\\, \\mathrm{K} \\lesssim T_{\\mathrm{eff}}\\lesssim 7000\\, \\mathrm{K}$ and metallicities −3 ≲ [Fe/H] ≲ +0.5. We separated these stars into two groups, on the warm and cool sides of the so-called Li dip, a localized region of the Kiel diagram wherein lithium is severely depleted. We discovered that stars in these two groups show similar trends in the A(Li)–[Fe/H] plane, but with a roughly constant offset in A(Li) of $0.4\\, \\mathrm{dex}$, the warm group having higher Li abundances. At $\\rm [Fe/H]\\gtrsim -0.5$, a significant increase in Li abundance with increasing metallicity is evident in both groups, signalling the onset of significant Galactic production. At lower metallicity, stars in the cool group sit on the Spite plateau, showing a reduced lithium of around $0.4\\, \\mathrm{dex}$ relative to the primordial value predicted from big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN). However, stars in the warm group between [Fe/H] = −1.0 and −0.5 form an elevated plateau that is largely consistent with the BBN prediction. This may indicate that these stars in fact preserve the primordial Li produced in the early Universe.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 17-08-2015
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 05-09-2018
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 24-10-2019
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 03-2022
Abstract: We report the kinematic, orbital, and chemical properties of 12 stellar streams with no evident progenitors using line-of-sight velocities and metallicities from the Southern Stellar Stream Spectroscopic Survey ( S 5 ), proper motions from Gaia EDR3, and distances derived from distance tracers or the literature. This data set provides the largest homogeneously analyzed set of streams with full 6D kinematics and metallicities. All streams have heliocentric distances between ∼10 and 50 kpc. The velocity and metallicity dispersions show that half of the stream progenitors were disrupted dwarf galaxies (DGs), while the other half originated from disrupted globular clusters (GCs), hereafter referred to as DG and GC streams. Based on the mean metallicities of the streams and the mass–metallicity relation, the luminosities of the progenitors of the DG streams range between those of Carina and Ursa Major I (−9.5 ≲ M V ≲ −5.5). Four of the six GC streams have mean metallicities of [Fe/H] −2, more metal poor than typical Milky Way (MW) GCs at similar distances. Interestingly, the 300S and Jet GC streams are the only streams on retrograde orbits in our dozen-stream s le. Finally, we compare the orbital properties of the streams with known DGs and GCs in the MW, finding several possible associations. Some streams appear to have been accreted with the recently discovered Gaia–Enceladus–Sausage system, and others suggest that GCs were formed in and accreted together with the progenitors of DG streams whose stellar masses are similar to those of Draco to Carina (∼10 5 –10 6 M ⊙ ).
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 23-02-2017
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 13-08-2018
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 07-06-2021
Abstract: We have identified a first group of 33 new candidates for symbiotic stars (SySt) of the accreting-only variety among the 600 255 stars so far observed by the GALactic Archaeology with HERMES (GALAH) high-resolution spectroscopic survey of the Southern hemisphere, more than doubling the number of those previously known. GALAH aims to high latitudes and this offers the possibility to sound the Galaxy for new SySt away from the usual plane and bulge hunting regions. In this paper, we focus on SySt of the M spectral type, showing an Hα emission with a peak in excess of 0.5 above the adjacent continuum level, and not affected by coherent radial pulsations. These constraints will be relaxed in future studies. The 33 new candidate SySt were subjected to an array of follow-up confirmatory observations [X-ray/ultraviolet (UV) observations with the Swift satellite, search for optical flickering, presence of a near-UV upturn in ground-based photometric and spectroscopic data, radial velocity changes suggestive of orbital motion, and variability of the emission-line profiles]. According to Gaia Early Data Release 3 (EDR3) parallaxes, the candidate new SySt are located at the tip of the giant branch, sharing the same distribution in M(Ks) of the well-established SySt. The accretion luminosities of the candidate new SySt are in the range 1–10 L⊙, corresponding to mass accretion rates of 0.1–1 × 10−9 M⊙ yr−1 for white dwarfs of 1 M⊙. The M giant of one of them presents a large lithium overabundance.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 17-08-2017
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 05-11-2020
Abstract: Using kinematics from Gaia and the large elemental abundance space of the second data release of the GALAH survey, we identify two new members of the Fimbulthul stellar stream, and chemically tag them to massive, multimetallic globular cluster ω Centauri. Recent analysis of the second data release of Gaia had revealed the Fimbulthul stellar stream in the halo of the Milky Way. It had been proposed that the stream is associated with the ω Cen, but this proposition relied exclusively upon the kinematics and metallicities of the stars to make the association. In this work, we find our two new members of the stream to be metal-poor stars that are enhanced in sodium and aluminium, typical of second population globular cluster stars, but not otherwise seen in field stars. Furthermore, the stars share the s-process abundance pattern seen in ω Cen, which is rare in field stars. Apart from one star within 1.5 deg of ω Cen, we find no other stars observed by GALAH spatially near ω Cen or the Fimbulthul stream that could be kinematically and chemically linked to the cluster. Chemically tagging stars in the Fimbulthul stream to ω Cen confirms the earlier work, and further links this tidal feature in the Milky Way halo to ω Cen.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 03-10-2019
Abstract: We introduce the southern stellar stream spectroscopy survey (S5), an on-going program to map the kinematics and chemistry of stellar streams in the southern hemisphere. The initial focus of S5 has been spectroscopic observations of recently identified streams within the footprint of the dark energy survey (DES), with the eventual goal of surveying streams across the entire southern sky. Stellar streams are composed of material that has been tidally striped from dwarf galaxies and globular clusters and hence are excellent dynamical probes of the gravitational potential of the Milky Way, as well as providing a detailed snapshot of its accretion history. Observing with the 3.9 m Anglo-Australian Telescope’s 2-degree-Field fibre positioner and AAOmega spectrograph, and combining the precise photometry of DES DR1 with the superb proper motions from Gaia DR2, allows us to conduct an efficient spectroscopic survey to map these stellar streams. So far S5 has mapped nine DES streams and three streams outside of DES the former are the first spectroscopic observations of these recently discovered streams. In addition to the stream survey, we use spare fibres to undertake a Milky Way halo survey and a low-redshift galaxy survey. This paper presents an overview of the S5 program, describing the scientific motivation for the survey, target selection, observation strategy, data reduction, and survey validation. Finally, we describe early science results on stellar streams and Milky Way halo stars drawn from the survey. Updates on S5, including future public data releases, can be found at s5collab.github.io.
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 25-04-2018
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 06-02-2016
DOI: 10.1093/MNRAS/STW083
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 29-07-2020
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 24-01-2018
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 04-2019
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201833218
Abstract: The overlap between the spectroscopic Galactic Archaeology with HERMES (GALAH) survey and Gaia provides a high-dimensional chemodynamical space of unprecedented size. We present a first analysis of a subset of this overlap, of 7066 dwarf, turn-off, and sub-giant stars. These stars have spectra from the GALAH survey and high parallax precision from the Gaia DR1 Tycho- Gaia Astrometric Solution. We investigate correlations between chemical compositions, ages, and kinematics for this s le. Stellar parameters and elemental abundances are derived from the GALAH spectra with the spectral synthesis code S PECTROSCOPY M ADE E ASY . We determine kinematics and dynamics, including action angles, from the Gaia astrometry and GALAH radial velocities. Stellar masses and ages are determined with Bayesian isochrone matching, using our derived stellar parameters and absolute magnitudes. We report measurements of Li, C, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Y, as well as Ba and we note that we have employed non-LTE calculations for Li, O, Al, and Fe. We show that the use of astrometric and photometric data improves the accuracy of the derived spectroscopic parameters, especially log g . Focusing our investigation on the correlations between stellar age, iron abundance [Fe/H], and mean alpha-enhancement [ α /Fe] of the magnitude-selected s le, we recover the result that stars of the high- α sequence are typically older than stars in the low- α sequence, the latter spanning iron abundances of −0.7 [Fe/H] +0.5. While these two sequences become indistinguishable in [ α /Fe] vs. [Fe/H] at the metal-rich regime, we find that age can be used to separate stars from the extended high- α and the low- α sequence even in this regime. When dissecting the s le by stellar age, we find that the old stars ( Gyr) have lower angular momenta L z than the Sun, which implies that they are on eccentric orbits and originate from the inner disc. Contrary to some previous smaller scale studies we find a continuous evolution in the high- α -sequence up to super-solar [Fe/H] rather than a gap, which has been interpreted as a separate “high- α metal-rich” population. Stars in our s le that are younger than 10 Gyr, are mainly found on the low α -sequence and show a gradient in L z from low [Fe/H] ( L z L z , ⊙ ) towards higher [Fe/H] ( L z L z , ⊙ ), which implies that the stars at the ends of this sequence are likely not originating from the close solar vicinity.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 26-07-2017
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 17-07-2020
Abstract: Metal-poor stars are important tools for tracing the early history of the Milky Way, and for learning about the first generations of stars. Simulations suggest that the oldest metal-poor stars are to be found in the inner Galaxy. Typical bulge surveys, however, lack low metallicity ($\\rm {[Fe/H]} \\lt -1.0$) stars because the inner Galaxy is predominantly metal-rich. The aim of the Pristine Inner Galaxy Survey (PIGS) is to study the metal-poor and very metal-poor (VMP, $\\rm {[Fe/H]} \\lt -2.0$) stars in this region. In PIGS, metal-poor targets for spectroscopic follow-up are selected from metallicity-sensitive CaHK photometry from the CFHT. This work presents the ∼250 deg2 photometric survey as well as intermediate-resolution spectroscopic follow-up observations for ∼8000 stars using AAOmega on the AAT. The spectra are analysed using two independent tools: ULySS with an empirical spectral library, and FERRE with a library of synthetic spectra. The comparison between the two methods enables a robust determination of the stellar parameters and their uncertainties. We present a s le of 1300 VMP stars – the largest s le of VMP stars in the inner Galaxy to date. Additionally, our spectroscopic data set includes ∼1700 horizontal branch stars, which are useful metal-poor standard candles. We furthermore show that PIGS photometry selects VMP stars with unprecedented efficiency: 86 per cent/80 per cent (lower/higher extinction) of the best candidates satisfy $\\rm {[Fe/H]} \\lt -2.0$, as do 80 per cent/63 per cent of a larger, less strictly selected s le. We discuss future applications of this unique data set that will further our understanding of the chemical and dynamical evolution of the innermost regions of our Galaxy.
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 21-12-2010
Publisher: European Southern Observatory (ESO)
Date: 2019
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 27-10-2017
Publisher: SPIE
Date: 08-07-2014
DOI: 10.1117/12.2055595
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 03-2005
DOI: 10.1086/427544
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 11-2019
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201834710
Abstract: Context. The Orion complex is arguably the most studied star-forming region in the Galaxy. While stars are still being born in the Orion nebula, the oldest part was believed to be no more than 13 Myr old. Aims. In order to study the full hierarchy of star formation across the Orion complex, we perform a clustering analysis of the Ori OB1a region using new stellar surveys and derive robust ages for each identified stellar aggregate. Methods. We use Gaia DR2 parameters supplemented with radial velocities from the GALAH and APOGEE surveys to perform clustering of the Ori OB1a association. Five overdensities are resolved in a six-dimensional parameter space (positions, distance, proper motions, and radial velocity). Most correspond to previously known structures (ASCC 16, 25 Orionis, ASCC 20, ASCC 21). We use Gaia DR2, Pan-STARRS1 and 2MASS photometry to fit isochrones to the colour-magnitude diagrams of the identified clusters. The ages of the clusters can thus be measured with ∼10% precision. Results. While four of the clusters have ages between 11 and 13 Myr, the ASCC 20 cluster stands out at an age of 21 ± 3 Myr. This is significantly greater than the age of any previously known component of the Orion complex. To some degree, all clusters overlap in at least one of the six phase-space dimensions. Conclusions. We argue that the formation history of the Orion complex, and its relation to the Gould belt, must be reconsidered. A significant challenge in reconstructing the history of the Ori OB1a association is to understand the impact of the newly discovered 21 Myr old population on the younger parts of the complex, including their formation.
Publisher: SPIE
Date: 24-09-2012
DOI: 10.1117/12.925812
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 04-2021
Abstract: The conventional picture of coeval, chemically homogeneous, populous star clusters – known as ‘simple’ stellar populations (SSPs) – is a view of the past. Photometric and spectroscopic studies reveal that almost all ancient globular clusters in the Milky Way and our neighbouring galaxies exhibit star-to-star light-element abundance variations, typically known as ‘multiple populations’ (MPs). Here, we analyse photometric Hubble Space Telescope observations of three young (& -Gyr old) Large and Small Magellanic Cloud clusters, NGC 411, NGC 1718, and NGC 2213. We measure the widths of their red giant branches (RGBs). For NGC 411, we also use a pseudo-colour–magnitude diagram (pseudo-CMD) to assess its RGB for evidence of MPs. We compare the morphologies of the clusters’ RGBs with artificially generated SSPs. We conclude that their RGBs do not show evidence of significant broadening beyond intrinsic photometric scatter, suggesting an absence of significant chemical abundance variations in our s le clusters. Specifically, for NGC 411, NGC 1718, and NGC 2213 we derive maximum helium-abundance variations of δY = 0.003 ± 0.001(Y = 0.300), 0.002 ± 0.001(Y = 0.350), and 0.004 ± 0.002(Y = 0.300), respectively. We determined an upper limit to the NGC 411 nitrogen-abundance variation of Δ[N/Fe] = 0.3 dex the available data for our other clusters do not allow us to determine useful upper limits. It thus appears that the transition from SSPs to MPs occurs at an age of ∼2 Gyr, implying that age might play an important role in this transition. This raises the question as to whether this is indeed a fundamental minimum age limit for the formation of MPs.
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 18-05-2009
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 05-04-2018
DOI: 10.1093/MNRAS/STY865
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 25-05-2023
Abstract: We present the first detailed comparison of populations of dwarf galaxy stellar streams in cosmological simulations and the Milky Way. In particular, we compare streams identified around 13 Milky Way analogs in the FIRE-2 simulations to streams observed by the Southern Stellar Stream Spectroscopic Survey ( S 5 ). For an accurate comparison, we produce mock Dark Energy Survey (DES) observations of the FIRE streams and estimate the detectability of their tidal tails and progenitors. The number and stellar mass distributions of detectable stellar streams is consistent between observations and simulations. However, there are discrepancies in the distributions of pericenters and apocenters, with the detectable FIRE streams, on average, forming at larger pericenters (out to kpc) and surviving only at larger apocenters (≳40 kpc) than those observed in the Milky Way. We find that the population of high-stellar-mass dwarf galaxy streams in the Milky Way is incomplete. Interestingly, a large fraction of the FIRE streams would only be detected as intact satellites in DES-like observations, since their tidal tails have too low surface brightness to be detectable. We thus predict a population of yet-undetected tidal tails around Milky Way satellites, as well as a population of fully undetected low-surface-brightness stellar streams, and estimate their detectability with the Rubin Observatory. Finally, we discuss the causes and implications of the discrepancies between the stream populations in FIRE and the Milky Way, and explore future avenues for tests of satellite disruption in cosmological simulations.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 17-10-2017
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 10-06-2008
DOI: 10.1086/588032
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 04-07-2011
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 02-06-2015
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 03-2022
Abstract: Multiple stellar populations (MPs) representing star-to-star light-element abundance variations are common in nearly all ancient Galactic globular clusters (GCs). Here we provide the strongest evidence yet that the populous, ∼1.7 Gyr old Large Magellanic Cloud cluster NGC 2173 also exhibits light-element abundance variations. Thus, our results suggest that NGC 2173 is the youngest cluster for which MPs have been confirmed to date. Our conclusion is based on the distinct bifurcation at the tip of its red giant branch in high-quality color–magnitude diagrams generated from Hubble Space Telescope imaging observations. Our results are further supported by a detailed analysis of “pseudo- UBI ” maps, which reveal clear evidence of a bimodality in the cluster’s red giant branch color distribution. Young clusters in the Magellanic Clouds can provide critical insights into galaxy evolution histories. Our discovery of MPs in NGC 2173 suggests that ancient Galactic GCs and young massive clusters might share a common formation process.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 18-02-2021
Abstract: Open clusters are unique tracers of the history of our own Galaxy’s disc. According to our membership analysis based on Gaia astrometry, out of the 226 potential clusters falling in the footprint of the GALactic Archaeology with HERMES (GALAH) survey or the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) survey, we find that 205 have secure members that were observed by at least one of the surveys. Furthermore, members of 134 clusters have high-quality spectroscopic data that we use to determine their chemical composition. We leverage this information to study the chemical distribution throughout the Galactic disc of 21 elements, from C to Eu. The radial metallicity gradient obtained from our analysis is −0.076 ± 0.009 dex kpc−1, which is in agreement with previous works based on smaller s les. Furthermore, the gradient in the [Fe/H]–guiding radius (rguid) plane is −0.073 ± 0.008 dex kpc−1. We show consistently that open clusters trace the distribution of chemical elements throughout the Galactic disc differently than field stars. In particular, at the given radius, open clusters show an age–metallicity relation that has less scatter than field stars. As such scatter is often interpreted as an effect of radial migration, we suggest that these differences are due to the physical selection effect imposed by our Galaxy: clusters that would have migrated significantly also had higher chances to get destroyed. Finally, our results reveal trends in the [X/Fe]–rguid–age space, which are important to understand production rates of different elements as a function of space and time.
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 28-10-2021
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 28-10-2022
Abstract: It has recently been shown that the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) has a substantial effect on the Milky Way’s stellar halo and stellar streams. Here, we explore how deformations of the Milky Way and LMC’s dark matter haloes affect stellar streams, and whether these effects are observable. In particular, we focus on the Orphan–Chenab (OC) stream which passes particularly close to the LMC and spans a large portion of the Milky Way’s halo. We represent the Milky Way–LMC system using basis function expansions that capture their evolution in an N-body simulation. We present the properties of this system, such as the evolution of the densities and force fields of each galaxy. The OC stream is evolved in this time-dependent, deforming potential, and we investigate the effects of the various moments of the Milky Way and the LMC. We find that the simulated OC stream is strongly influenced by the deformations of both the Milky Way and the LMC and that this effect is much larger than current observational errors. In particular, the Milky Way dipole has the biggest impact on the stream, followed by the evolution of the LMC’s monopole, and the LMC’s quadrupole. Detecting these effects would confirm a key prediction of collisionless, cold dark matter, and would be a powerful test of alternative dark matter and alternative gravity models.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 03-11-2016
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 05-2021
Abstract: The results from the ESA Gaia astrometric mission and deep photometric surveys have revolutionized our knowledge of the Milky Way. There are many ongoing efforts to search these data for stellar substructure to find evidence of in idual accretion events that built up the Milky Way and its halo. One of these newly identified features, called Nyx, was announced as an accreted stellar stream traveling in the plane of the disk. Using a combination of elemental abundances and stellar parameters from the GALAH and Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) surveys, we find that the abundances of the highest likelihood Nyx members are entirely consistent with membership of the thick disk, and inconsistent with a dwarf galaxy origin. We conclude that the postulated Nyx stream is most probably a high-velocity component of the Milky Way’s thick disk. With the growing availability of large data sets including kinematics, stellar parameters, and detailed abundances, the probability of detecting chance associations increases, and hence new searches for substructure require confirmation across as many data dimensions as possible.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 21-05-2019
Abstract: The latest Gaia data release enables us to accurately identify stars that are more luminous than would be expected on the basis of their spectral type and distance. During an investigation of the 329 best solar twin candidates uncovered among the spectra acquired by the GALAH survey, we identified 64 such overluminous stars. In order to investigate their exact composition, we developed a data-driven methodology that can generate a synthetic photometric signature and spectrum of a single star. By combining multiple such synthetic stars into an unresolved binary or triple system and comparing the results to the actual photometric and spectroscopic observations, we uncovered 6 definitive triple stellar system candidates and an additional 14 potential candidates whose combined spectrum mimics the solar spectrum. Considering the volume correction factor for a magnitude-limited survey, the fraction of probable unresolved triple stars with long orbital periods is ∼2 per cent. Possible orbital configurations of the candidates were investigated using the selection and observational limits. To validate the discovered multiplicity fraction, the same procedure was used to evaluate the multiplicity fraction of other stellar types.
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 11-2021
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 11-02-2020
Abstract: We present the chemodynamic structure of the solar neighbourhood using 55 652 stars within a 500 pc volume around the Sun observed by GALAH and with astrometric parameters from Gaia DR2. We measure the velocity dispersion for all three components (vertical, radial, and tangential) and find that it varies smoothly with [Fe/H] and [α/Fe] for each component. The vertical component is especially clean, with $\\sigma _{v_z}$ increasing from a low of 10 km s−1 at solar [α/Fe] and [Fe/H] to a high of more than 50 km s−1 for more metal-poor and [α/Fe] enhanced populations. We find no evidence of a large decrease in the velocity dispersion of the highest [α/Fe] populations as claimed in surveys prior to Gaia DR2. The eccentricity distribution for local stars varies most strongly as a function of [α/Fe], where stars with [α/Fe] & 0.1 dex having generally circular orbits (e & 0.15), while the median eccentricity increases rapidly for more [α/Fe] enhanced stellar populations up to e ∼ 0.35. These [α/Fe] enhanced populations have guiding radii consistent with origins in the inner Galaxy. Of the stars with metallicities much higher than the local interstellar medium ([Fe/H] & 0.1 dex), we find that the majority have e & 0.2 and are likely observed in the solar neighbourhood through churning/migration rather than blurring effects, as the epicyclic motion for these stars is not large enough to reach the radii at which they were likely born based on their metallicity.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 06-05-2015
DOI: 10.1093/MNRAS/STV806
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 12-2021
Abstract: Stellar streams are excellent probes of the underlying gravitational potential in which they evolve. In this work, we fit dynamical models to five streams in the Southern Galactic hemisphere, combining observations from the Southern Stellar Stream Spectroscopic Survey ( S 5 ), Gaia EDR3, and the Dark Energy Survey, to measure the mass of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). With an ensemble of streams, we find a mass of the LMC ranging from ∼14–19 × 10 10 M ⊙ , probed over a range of closest approach times and distances. With the most constraining stream (Orphan–Chenab), we measure an LMC mass of 18.8 − 4.0 + 3.5 × 10 10 M ⊙ , probed at a closest approach time of 310 Myr and a closest approach distance of 25.4 kpc. This mass is compatible with previous measurements, showing that a consistent picture is emerging of the LMC’s influence on structures in the Milky Way. Using this s le of streams, we find that the LMC’s effect depends on the relative orientation of the stream and LMC at their point of closest approach. To better understand this, we present a simple model based on the impulse approximation and we show that the LMC’s effect depends both on the magnitude of the velocity kick imparted to the stream and the direction of this kick.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 04-06-2015
DOI: 10.1093/MNRAS/STV800
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 28-06-2021
Abstract: Due to its proximity, the Orion star forming region is often used as a proxy to study processes related to star formation and to observe young stars in the environment they were born in. With the release of Gaia DR2, the distance measurements to the Orion complex are now good enough that the 3D structure of the complex can be explored. Here we test the hypothesis that, due to non-trivial structure and dynamics, and age spread in the Orion complex, the chemical enrichment of youngest stars by early core-collapse supernovae can be observed. We obtained spectra of 794 stars of the Orion complex with the HERMES spectrograph at the Anglo Australian telescope as a part of the GALAH and GALAH-related surveys. We use the spectra of ∼300 stars to derive precise atmospheric parameters and chemical abundances of 25 elements for 15 stellar clusters in the Orion complex. We demonstrate that the Orion complex is chemically homogeneous and that there was no self-pollution of young clusters by core-collapse supernovae from older clusters with a precision of 0.02 dex in relative alpha-elements abundance and 0.06 dex in oxygen abundance we would have been able to detect pollution from a single supernova, given a fortunate location of the SN and favourable conditions for ISM mixing. We estimate that the supernova rate in the Orion complex was very low, possibly producing no supernova by the time the youngest stars of the observed population formed (from around 21 to 8 Myr ago).
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 10-11-2018
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 05-2022
Abstract: Extremely metal-poor (EMP) stars provide a valuable probe of early chemical enrichment in the Milky Way. Here we leverage a large s le of ∼600,000 high-resolution stellar spectra from the GALAH survey plus a machine-learning algorithm to find 54 candidates with estimated [Fe/H] ≤−3.0, six of which have [Fe/H] ≤−3.5. Our s le includes ∼20% main-sequence EMP candidates, unusually high for EMP star surveys. We find the magnitude-limited metallicity distribution function of our s le is consistent with previous work that used more complex selection criteria. The method we present has significant potential for application to the next generation of massive stellar spectroscopic surveys, which will expand the available spectroscopic data well into the millions of stars.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 13-08-2018
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 23-08-2018
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 16-05-2018
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 04-2021
Abstract: We present the first spectroscopic measurements of the ATLAS and Aliqa Uma streams from the Southern Stellar Stream Spectroscopic Survey ( S 5 ), in combination with the photometric data from the Dark Energy Survey and astrometric data from Gaia. From the coherence of spectroscopic members in radial velocity and proper motion, we find that these two systems are extremely likely to be one stream with discontinuity in morphology and density on the sky (the “kink” feature). We refer to this entire stream as the ATLAS-Aliqa Uma stream, or the AAU stream. We perform a comprehensive exploration of the effect of baryonic substructures and find that only an encounter with the Sagittarius dwarf ∼0.5 Gyr ago can create a feature similar to the observed “kink.” In addition, we also identify two gaps in the ATLAS component associated with the broadening in the stream width (the “broadening” feature). These gaps have likely been created by small mass perturbers, such as dark matter halos, as the AAU stream is the most distant cold stream known with severe variations in both the stream surface density and the stream track on the sky. With the stream track, stream distance, and kinematic information, we determine the orbit of the AAU stream and find that it has been affected by the Large Magellanic Cloud, resulting in a misalignment between the proper motion and stream track. Together with the Orphan-Chenab Stream, AAU is the second stream pair that has been found to be a single stream separated into two segments by external perturbation.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 03-06-2020
Abstract: Accurate and precise radius estimates of transiting exoplanets are critical for understanding their compositions and formation mechanisms. To know the planet, we must know the host star in as much detail as possible. We present complete results for planet-candidate hosts from the K2-HERMES survey, which uses the HERMES multi-object spectrograph on the Anglo-Australian Telescope to obtain $R\\sim 28\\, 000$ spectra for more than 30 000 K2 stars. We present complete host-star parameters and planet-candidate radii for 224 K2 candidate planets from C1–C13. Our results cast severe doubt on 30 K2 candidates, as we derive unphysically large radii, larger than 2RJup. This work highlights the importance of obtaining accurate, precise, and self-consistent stellar parameters for ongoing large planet search programs – something that will only become more important in the coming years, as TESS begins to deliver its own harvest of exoplanets.
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 11-12-2019
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 12-11-2020
Abstract: We present isochrone ages and initial bulk metallicities ($\\rm [Fe/H]_{bulk}$, by accounting for diffusion) of 163 722 stars from the GALAH Data Release 2, mainly composed of main-sequence turn-off stars and subgiants ($7000\\, \\mathrm{ K}& T_{\\mathrm{ eff}}& 4000\\, \\mathrm{ K}$ and $\\log g& $ dex). The local age–metallicity relationship (AMR) is nearly flat but with significant scatter at all ages the scatter is even higher when considering the observed surface abundances. After correcting for selection effects, the AMR appears to have intrinsic structures indicative of two star formation events, which we speculate are connected to the thin and thick discs in the solar neighbourhood. We also present abundance ratio trends for 16 elements as a function of age, across different $\\rm [Fe/H]_{bulk}$ bins. In general, we find the trends in terms of [X/Fe] versus age from our far larger s le to be compatible with studies based on small (∼100 stars) s les of solar twins, but we now extend them to both sub- and supersolar metallicities. The α-elements show differing behaviour: the hydrostatic α-elements O and Mg show a steady decline with time for all metallicities, while the explosive α-elements Si, Ca, and Ti are nearly constant during the thin-disc epoch (ages $\\lesssim \\! 12$ Gyr). The s-process elements Y and Ba show increasing [X/Fe] with time while the r-process element Eu has the opposite trend, thus favouring a primary production from sources with a short time delay such as core-collapse supernovae over long-delay events such as neutron star mergers.
Publisher: EDP Sciences
Date: 06-2020
DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202037484
Abstract: Context. Binary stellar systems form a large fraction of the Galaxy’s stars. They are useful as laboratories for studying the physical processes taking place within stars, and must be correctly taken into account when observations of stars are used to study the structure and evolution of the Galaxy. The advent of large-scale spectroscopic and photometric surveys allows us to obtain large s les of binaries that permit characterising their populations. Aims. We aim to obtain a large s le of double-lined spectroscopic binaries (SB2s) by analysis of spectra from the GALAH survey in combination with photometric and astrometric data. A combined analysis will provide stellar parameters of thousands of binary stars that can be combined to form statistical observables of a given population. We aim to produce a catalogue of well-characterised systems, which can in turn be compared to models of populations of binary stars, or to follow-up in idual systems of interest. Methods. We obtained a list of candidate SB2 systems from a t-distributed stochastic neighbour embedding (t-SNE) classification and a cross-correlation analysis of GALAH spectra. To compute parameters of the primary and secondary star, we used a Bayesian approach that includes a parallax prior from Gaia DR2, spectra from GALAH, and apparent magnitudes from APASS, Gaia DR2, 2MASS, and WISE. We used a Markov chain Monte Carlo approach to s le the posterior distributions of the following model parameters for the two stars: T eff[1,2] , log g [1,2] , [Fe/H], V r [1,2] , v mic[1,2] , v broad[1,2] , R [1,2] , and E ( B − V ). Results. We present results for 12 760 binary stars detected as SB2s. We construct the statistical observables T 1 ∕ T 2 , Δ V r , and R 1 ∕ R 2 , which demonstrate that our s le mostly consists of dwarfs, with a significant fraction of evolved stars and several dozen members of the giant branch. The majority of these binary stars is concentrated at the lower boundary of the Δ V r distribution, and the R 1 ∕ R 2 ratio is mostly close to unity. The derived metallicity of our binary stars is statistically lower than that of single dwarf stars from the same magnitude-limited s le. Conclusions. Our s le of binary stars represents a large population of well-characterised double-lined spectroscopic binaries that are appropriate for statistical studies of the binary populations. The derived stellar properties and their distributions show trends that are expected for a population of close binary stars ( a 10 AU) detected through double lines in their spectra. Our detection technique allows us to probe binary systems with mass ratios 0.5 ≤ q ≤ 1.
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 23-07-2020
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 30-10-2019
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 29-09-2016
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 26-11-0011
Abstract: Our Galaxy is known to contain a central boxy eanut-shaped bulge, yet the importance of a classical, pressure-supported component within the central part of the Milky Way is still being debated. It should be most visible at low metallicity, a regime that has not yet been studied in detail. Using metallicity-sensitive narrow-band photometry, the Pristine Inner Galaxy Survey (PIGS) has collected a large s le of metal-poor ($\\rm {[Fe/H]}\\, \\lt -1.0$) stars in the inner Galaxy to address this open question. We use PIGS to trace the metal-poor inner Galaxy kinematics as function of metallicity for the first time. We find that the rotational signal decreases with decreasing [Fe/H] , until it becomes negligible for the most metal-poor stars. Additionally, the velocity dispersion increases with decreasing metallicity for $-3.0 \\lt \\rm {[Fe/H]}\\, \\lt -0.5$, with a gradient of −44 ± 4 km s−1 dex−1. These observations may signal a transition between Galactic components of different metallicities and kinematics, a different mapping on to the boxy eanut-shaped bulge for former disc stars of different metallicities and/or the secular dynamical and gravitational influence of the bar on the pressure-supported component. Our results provide strong constraints on models that attempt to explain the properties of the inner Galaxy.
Publisher: SPIE
Date: 16-07-2010
DOI: 10.1117/12.856103
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 30-03-2016
DOI: 10.1093/MNRAS/STW746
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 02-12-2014
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 07-2021
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 27-02-2018
DOI: 10.1093/MNRAS/STY525
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 22-01-2019
DOI: 10.1093/MNRAS/STZ217
No related organisations have been discovered for Daniel Zucker.
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