| 1. |
- McMillan, Paul J., et al.
(författare)
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Improved distances and ages for stars common to TGAS and RAVE
- 2018
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Ingår i: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - 0035-8711. ; 477:4, s. 5279-5300
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We combine parallaxes from the first Gaia data release with the spectrophotometric distance estimation framework for stars in the fifth RAVE survey data release. The combined distance estimates aremore accurate than either determination in isolation - uncertainties are on average two times smaller than for RAVE-only distances (three times smaller for dwarfs), and 1.4 times smaller than TGAS parallax uncertainties (two times smaller for giants). We are also able to compare the estimates from spectrophotometry to those from Gaia, and use this to assess the reliability of both catalogues and improve our distance estimates. We find that the distances to the lowest log g stars are, on average, overestimated and caution that they may not be reliable. We also find that it is likely that the Gaia random uncertainties are smaller than the reported values. As a by-product we derive ages for the RAVE stars, many with relative uncertainties less than 20 per cent. These results for 219 566 RAVE sources have been made publicly available, and we encourage their use for studies that combine the radial velocities provided by RAVE with the proper motions provided by Gaia. A sample that we believe to be reliable can be found by taking only the stars with the flag notification 'flag_any=0'.
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| 2. |
- Wojno, Jennifer, et al.
(författare)
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Chemical separation of disc components using RAVE
- 2016
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Ingår i: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 461:4, s. 4246-4255
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present evidence from the RAdial Velocity Experiment (RAVE) survey of chemically separated, kinematically distinct disc components in the solar neighbourhood.We apply probabilistic chemical selection criteria to separate our sample into a-low ('thin disc') and a-high ('thick disc') sequences. Using newly derived distances,which will be utilized in the upcoming RAVE DR5, we explore the kinematic trends as a function of metallicity for each of the disc components. For our a-low disc, we find a negative trend in the mean rotational velocity (Vf) as a function of iron abundance ([Fe/H]). We measure a positive gradient ∂Vφ/∂[Fe/H] for the a-high disc, consistent with results from high-resolution surveys.We also find differences between the a-low and a-high discs in all three components of velocity dispersion.We discuss the implications of an a-low, metal-rich population originating from the inner Galaxy, where the orbits of these stars have been significantly altered by radial mixing mechanisms in order to bring them into the solar neighbourhood. The probabilistic separation we propose can be extended to other data sets for which the accuracy in [a/Fe] is not sufficient to disentangle the chemical disc components a priori. For such data sets which will also have significant overlap with Gaia DR1, we can therefore make full use of the improved parallax and proper motion data as it becomes available to investigate kinematic trends in these chemical disc components.
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| 3. |
- Wojno, Jennifer, et al.
(författare)
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The selection function of the RAVE survey
- 2017
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Ingår i: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 468:3, s. 3368-3380
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We characterize the selection function of RAdial Velocity Experiment (RAVE) using 2 Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) as our underlying population, which we assume represents all stars that could have potentially been observed.We evaluate the completeness fraction as a function of position, magnitude and colour in two ways: first, on a field-by-field basis, and second, in equal-size areas on the sky. Then, we consider the effect of the RAVE stellar parameter pipeline on the final resulting catalogue, which in principle limits the parameter space over which our selection function is valid. Our final selection function is the product of the completeness fraction and the selection function of the pipeline. We then test if the application of the selection function introduces biases in the derived parameters. To do this, we compare a parent mock catalogue generated using GALAXIA with a mock-RAVE catalogue where the selection function of RAVE has been applied. We conclude that for stars brighter than I = 12, between 4000 < Teff < 8000K and 0.5 < log g < 5.0, RAVE is kinematically and chemically unbiased with respect to expectations from GALAXIA.
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| 4. |
- Gouliermis, Dimitrios A., et al.
(författare)
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Hierarchical star formation across the grand-design spiral NGC 1566
- 2017
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 468:1, s. 509-530
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We investigate how star formation is spatially organized in the grand-design spiral NGC 1566 from deep Hubble Space Telescope photometry with the Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey. Our contour-based clustering analysis reveals 890 distinct stellar conglomerations at various levels of significance. These star- forming complexes are organized in a hierarchical fashion with the larger congregations consisting of smaller structures, which themselves fragment into even smaller and more compact stellar groupings. Their size distribution, covering a wide range in length-scales, shows a power law as expected from scale-free processes. We explain this shape with a simple 'fragmentation and enrichment' model. The hierarchical morphology of the complexes is confirmed by their mass-size relation that can be represented by a power law with a fractional exponent, analogous to that determined for fractal molecular clouds. The surface stellar density distribution of the complexes shows a lognormal shape similar to that for supersonic non-gravitating turbulent gas. Between 50 and 65 per cent of the recently formed stars, as well as about 90 per cent of the young star clusters, are found inside the stellar complexes, located along the spiral arms. We find an age difference between young stars inside the complexes and those in their direct vicinity in the arms of at least 10 Myr. This time-scale may relate to the minimum time for stellar evaporation, although we cannot exclude the in situ formation of stars. As expected, star formation preferentially occurs in spiral arms. Our findings reveal turbulent-driven hierarchical star formation along the arms of a grand-design galaxy.
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| 5. |
- Gouliermis, Dimitrios A., et al.
(författare)
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Hierarchical star formation across the ring galaxy NGC 6503
- 2015
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Ingår i: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 452:4, s. 3508-3528
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present a detailed clustering analysis of the young stellar population across the star-forming ring galaxy NGC 6503, based on the deep Hubble Space Telescope photometry obtained with the Legacy ExtraGalactic UV Survey. We apply a contour-based map analysis technique and identify in the stellar surface density map 244 distinct star-forming structures at various levels of significance. These stellar complexes are found to be organized in a hierarchical fashion with 95 per cent being members of three dominant super-structures located along the star-forming ring. The size distribution of the identified structures and the correlation between their radii and numbers of stellar members show power-law behaviours, as expected from scale-free processes. The self-similar distribution of young stars is further quantified from their autocorrelation function, with a fractal dimension of similar to 1.7 for length-scales between similar to 20 pc and 2.5 kpc. The young stellar radial distribution sets the extent of the star-forming ring at radial distances between 1 and 2.5 kpc. About 60 per cent of the young stars belong to the detected stellar structures, while the remaining stars are distributed among the complexes, still inside the ring of the galaxy. The analysis of the time-dependent clustering of young populations shows a significant change from a more clustered to a more distributed behaviour in a time-scale of similar to 60 Myr. The observed hierarchy in stellar clustering is consistent with star formation being regulated by turbulence across the ring. The rotational velocity difference between the edges of the ring suggests shear as the driving mechanism for this process. Our findings reveal the interesting case of an inner ring forming stars in a hierarchical fashion.
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| 6. |
- Hunter, Deidre A., et al.
(författare)
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A Comparison of Young Star Properties with Local Galactic Environment for LEGUS/LITTLE THINGS Dwarf Irregular Galaxies
- 2018
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Ingår i: Astronomical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-6256 .- 1538-3881. ; 156:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We have explored the role environmental factors play in determining characteristics of young stellar objects in nearby dwarf irregular and blue compact dwarf galaxies. Star clusters are characterized by concentrations, masses, and formation rates; OB associations by mass and mass surface density; O stars by their numbers and near-ultraviolet absolute magnitudes; and H II regions by H alpha surface brightnesses. These characteristics are compared to surrounding galactic pressure, stellar mass density, H I surface density, and star formation rate (SFR) surface density. We find no trend of cluster characteristics with environmental properties, implying that larger-scale effects are more important in determining cluster characteristics or that rapid dynamical evolution erases any memory of the initial conditions. On the other hand, the most massive OB associations are found at higher pressure and H I surface density, and there is a trend of higher H II region H alpha surface brightness with higher pressure, suggesting that a higher concentration of massive stars and gas is found preferentially in regions of higher pressure. At low pressures we find massive stars but not bound clusters and OB associations. We do not find evidence for an increase of cluster formation efficiency as a function of SFR density. However, there is an increase in the ratio of the number of clusters to the number of O stars with increasing pressure, perhaps reflecting an increase in clustering properties with SFR.
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| 7. |
- Hunter, Deidre A., et al.
(författare)
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A Study of Two Dwarf Irregular Galaxies with Asymmetrical Star Formation Distributions
- 2018
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 855:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Two dwarf irregular galaxies, DDO 187 and NGC 3738, exhibit a striking pattern of star formation: intense star formation is taking place in a large region occupying roughly half of the inner part of the optical galaxy. We use data on the H I distribution and kinematics and stellar images and colors to examine the properties of the environment in the high star formation rate (HSF) halves of the galaxies in comparison with the low star formation rate halves. We find that the pressure and gas density are higher on the HSF sides by 30%-70%. In addition we find in both galaxies that the H I velocity fields exhibit significant deviations from ordered rotation and there are large regions of high-velocity dispersion and multiple velocity components in the gas beyond the inner regions of the galaxies. The conditions in the HSF regions are likely the result of large-scale external processes affecting the internal environment of the galaxies and enabling the current star formation there.
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| 8. |
- Wojno, Jennifer, et al.
(författare)
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Correlations between age, kinematics, and chemistry as seen by the RAVE survey
- 2018
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Ingår i: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 477:4, s. 5612-5624
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We explore the connections between stellar age, chemistry, and kinematics across a Galactocentric distance of 7.5 < R(kpc) < 9.0, using a sample of ~12 000 intermediate-mass (FGK) turn-offstars observed with the RAdial Velocity Experiment (RAVE) survey. The kinematics of this sample are determined using radial velocity measurements from RAVE, and parallax and proper motion measurements from the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution (TGAS). In addition, ages for RAVE stars are determined using a Bayesian method, taking TGAS parallaxes as a prior. We divide our sample into young (0 < τ < 3 Gyr) and old (8 < τ < 13 Gyr) populations, and then consider different metallicity bins for each of these age groups. We find significant differences in kinematic trends of young and old, metal-poor and metal-rich, stellar populations. In particular, we find a strong metallicity dependence in the mean Galactocentric radial velocity as a function of radius (∂V R /∂R) for young stars, with metal-rich stars having a much steeper gradient than metal-poor stars. For ∂V Φ /∂R, young, metal-rich stars significantly lag the LSR with a slightly positive gradient, while metal-poor stars show a negative gradient above the LSR. We interpret these findings as correlations between metallicity and the relative contributions of the non-axisymmetries in the Galactic gravitational potential (the spiral arms and the bar) to perturb stellar orbits.
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