| 1. |
- Bergemann, M., et al.
(författare)
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The Gaia-ESO Survey : radial metallicity gradients and age-metallicity relation of stars in the Milky Way disk
- 2014
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 565, s. A89-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We study the relationship between age, metallicity, and alpha-enhancement of FGK stars in the Galactic disk. The results are based upon the analysis of high-resolution UVES spectra from the Gaia-ESO large stellar survey. We explore the limitations of the observed dataset, i.e. the accuracy of stellar parameters and the selection effects that are caused by the photometric target preselection. We find that the colour and magnitude cuts in the survey suppress old metal-rich stars and young metal-poor stars. This suppression may be as high as 97% in some regions of the age-metallicity relationship. The dataset consists of 144 stars with a wide range of ages from 0.5 Gyr to 13.5 Gyr, Galactocentric distances from 6 kpc to 9.5 kpc, and vertical distances from the plane 0 < vertical bar Z vertical bar < 1.5 kpc. On this basis, we find that i) the observed age-metallicity relation is nearly flat in the range of ages between 0 Gyr and 8 Gyr; ii) at ages older than 9 Gyr, we see a decrease in [Fe/H] and a clear absence of metal-rich stars; this cannot be explained by the survey selection functions; iii) there is a significant scatter of [Fe/H] at any age; and iv) [Mg/Fe] increases with age, but the dispersion of [Mg/Fe] at ages > 9 Gyr is not as small as advocated by some other studies. In agreement with earlier work, we find that radial abundance gradients change as a function of vertical distance from the plane. The [Mg/Fe] gradient steepens and becomes negative. In addition, we show that the inner disk is not only more alpha-rich compared to the outer disk, but also older, as traced independently by the ages and Mg abundances of stars.
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| 2. |
- Guiglion, G., et al.
(författare)
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The Gaia-ESO Survey : New constraints on the Galactic disc velocity dispersion and its chemical dependencies
- 2015
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 583
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. Understanding the history and the evolution of the Milky Way is one of the main goals of modern astrophysics. In particular, the formation of the Galactic disc is a key problem of Galactic archaeology. Aims. We study the velocity dispersion behaviour of Galactic disc stars as a function of the [Mg/Fe] ratio, which for small metallicity bins can be used as a proxy of relative age. This key relation is essential to constrain the formation mechanisms of the disc stellar populations as well as the cooling and settling processes. Methods. We used the recommended parameters and chemical abundances of 7800 FGK Milky Way field stars from the second internal data release of the Gaia-ESO spectroscopic Survey. These stars were observed with the GIRAFFE spectrograph (HR10 and HR21 setups), and cover a large spatial volume in the intervals 6 < R < 10 kpc and vertical bar Z vertical bar < 2 kpc. Based on a chemical criterion, we separated the thin- from the thick-disc sequence in the [Mg/Fe] vs. [Fe/H] plane. Results. From analysing the Galactocentric velocity of the stars for the thin disc, we find a weak positive correlation between 170 and [Fe/H] that is due to a slowly rotating [Fe/H]-poor tail. For the thick disc stars, a strong correlation with [Fe/H] and [Mg/Fe] is established. In addition, we have detected an inversion of the velocity dispersion trends with [Mg/Fe] for thick-disc stars with [Fe/H] < -0.10 dex and [Mg/Fe] > +0.20 dex for the radial component. First, the velocity dispersion increases with [Mg/Fe] at all [Fe/H] ratios for the thin-disc stars, and then it decreases for the thick-disc population at the highest [Mg/Fe] abundances Similar trends are observed for several bins of [Mg/Fe] within the errors for the azimuthal velocity dispersion, while a continuous increase with [Mg/Fe] is observed for the vertical velocity dispersion. The velocity dispersion decrease agrees with previous measurements of the RAVE survey, although it is observed here for a greater metallicity interval and a larger spatial volume. Conclusions. Thanks to the Gaia-ESO Survey data, we confirm the existence of [Mg/Fe]-rich thick-disc stars with cool kinematics in the generally turbulent context of the primitive Galactic disc. This is discussed in the framework of the different disc formation and evolution scenarios.
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| 3. |
- Howes, Louise, et al.
(författare)
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The Gaia-ESO Survey: the most metal-poor stars in the Galactic bulge
- 2014
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Ingår i: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1365-2966 .- 0035-8711. ; 445:4, s. 4241-4246
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present the first results of the EMBLA survey (Extremely Metal-poor BuLge stars with AAOmega), aimed at finding metal-poor stars in the Milky Way bulge, where the oldest stars should now preferentially reside. EMBLA utilizes SkyMapper photometry to pre-select metal-poor candidates, which are subsequently confirmed using AAOmega spectroscopy. We describe the discovery and analysis of four bulge giants with -2.72 <= [Fe/H] <= -2.48, the lowest metallicity bulge stars studied with high-resolution spectroscopy to date. Using FLAMES/UVES spectra through the Gaia-ESO Survey we have derived abundances of twelve elements. Given the uncertainties, we find a chemical similarity between these bulge stars and halo stars of the same metallicity, although the abundance scatter may be larger, with some of the stars showing unusual [alpha/Fe] ratios.
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| 4. |
- Jackson, R. J., et al.
(författare)
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The Gaia-ESO Survey: Empirical determination of the precision of stellar radial velocities and projected rotation velocities
- 2015
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Ingår i: Astronomy & Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 580
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. The Gaia-ESO Survey (GES) is a large public spectroscopic survey at the European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope. Aims. A key aim is to provide precise radial velocities (RVs) and projected equatorial velocities (v sin i) for representative samples of Galactic stars, which will complement information obtained by the Gaia astrometry satellite. Methods. We present an analysis to empirically quantify the size and distribution of uncertainties in RV and v sin i using spectra from repeated exposures of the same stars. Results. We show that the uncertainties vary as simple scaling functions of signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) and v sin i, that the uncertainties become larger with increasing photospheric temperature, but that the dependence on stellar gravity, metallicity and age is weak. The underlying uncertainty distributions have extended tails that are better represented by Student's t-distributions than by normal distributions. Conclusions. Parametrised results are provided, which enable estimates of the RV precision for almost all GES measurements, and estimates of the v sin i precision for stars in young clusters, as a function of S/N, v sin i and stellar temperature. The precision of individual high S/N GES RV measurements is 0.22-0.26 km s(-1), dependent on instrumental configuration.
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| 5. |
- Kordopatis, G., et al.
(författare)
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The Gaia-ESO Survey: characterisation of the [alpha/Fe] sequences in the Milky Way discs
- 2015
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Ingår i: Astronomy & Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 582
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. High-resolution spectroscopic surveys of stars indicate that the Milky Way thin and thick discs follow different paths in the chemical space defined by [alpha/Fe] vs. [Fe/H], possibly suggesting different formation mechanisms for each of these structures. Aims. We investigate, using the Gaia-ESO Survey internal Data-Release 2, the properties of the double sequence of the Milky Way discs, which are defined chemically as the high-alpha and low-alpha populations. We discuss their compatibility with discs defined by other means, such as metallicity, kinematics, or positions. Methods. This investigation uses two different approaches: in velocity space, for stars located in the extended solar neighbourhood; and, in chemical space, for stars at different ranges of Galactocentric radii and heights from the Galactic mid-plane. The separation we find in velocity space allows us to investigate, using a novel approach, the extent of metallicity of each of the two chemical sequences, without making any assumption about the shape of their metallicity distribution functions. Then, using the separation in chemical space, adopting the magnesium abundance as a tracer of the alpha-elements, we characterise the spatial variation of the slopes of the [alpha/Fe] [Fe/H] sequences for the thick and thin discs and the way in which the relative proportions of the two discs change across the Galaxy. Results. We find that the thick disc, defined as the stars tracing the high-alpha sequence, extends up to super-solar metallicities ([Fe/H] approximate to + 0.2 dex), and the thin disc, defined as the stars tracing the low-alpha sequence, extends at least down to [Fe/H] approximate to 0.8 dex, with hints pointing towards even lower values. Radial and vertical gradients in alpha-abundances are found for the thin disc, with mild spatial variations in its [alpha/Fe] [Fe/H] paths, whereas for the thick disc we do not detect any spatial variations of this kind. This is in agreement with results obtained recently from other high-resolution spectroscopic surveys. Conclusions. The small variations in the spatial [alpha/Fe] [Fe/H] paths of the thin disc do not allow us to distinguish between formation models of this structure. On the other hand, the lack of radial gradients and [alpha/Fe] [Fe/H] variations for the thick disc indicate that the mechanism responsible for the mixing of metals in the young Galaxy (e.g. radial stellar migration or turbulent gaseous disc) was more efficient before the (present) thin disc started forming.
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| 6. |
- Lanzafame, A. C., et al.
(författare)
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Gaia-ESO Survey: Analysis of pre-main sequence stellar spectra
- 2015
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Ingår i: Astronomy & Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 576
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. The Gaia-ESO Public Spectroscopic Survey is obtaining high-quality spectroscopy of some 100 000 Milky Way stars using the FLAMES spectrograph at the VLT, down to V = 19 mag, systematically covering all the main components of the Milky Way and providing the first homogeneous overview of the distributions of kinematics and chemical element abundances in the Galaxy. Observations of young open clusters, in particular, are giving new insights into their initial structure, kinematics, and their subsequent evolution. Aims. This paper describes the analysis of UVES and GIRAFFE spectra acquired in the fields of young clusters whose population includes pre-main sequence (PMS) stars. The analysis is applied to all stars in such fields, regardless of any prior information on membership, and provides fundamental stellar atmospheric parameters, elemental abundances, and PMS-specific parameters such as veiling, accretion, and chromospheric activity. Methods. When feasible,different methods were used to derive raw parameters (e. g. line equivalent widths) fundamental atmospheric parameters and derived parameters (e. g. abundances). To derive some of these parameters, we used methods that have been extensively used in the past and new ones developed in the context of the Gaia-ESO survey enterprise. The internal precision of these quantities was estimated by inter-comparing the results obtained by these different methods, while the accuracy was estimated by comparison with independent external data, such as effective temperature and surface gravity derived from angular diameter measurements, on a sample of benchmarks stars. A validation procedure based on these comparisons was applied to discard spurious or doubtful results and produce recommended parameters. Specific strategies were implemented to resolve problems of fast rotation, accretion signatures, chromospheric activity, and veiling. Results. The analysis carried out on spectra acquired in young cluster fields during the first 18 months of observations, up to June 2013, is presented in preparation of the first release of advanced data products. These include targets in the fields of the rho Oph, Cha I, NGC2264, gamma Vel, and NGC 2547 clusters. Stellar parameters obtained with the higher resolution and larger wavelength coverage from UVES are reproduced with comparable accuracy and precision using the smaller wavelength range and lower resolution of the GIRAFFE setup adopted for young stars, which allows us to provide stellar parameters with confidence for the much larger GIRAFFE sample. Precisions are estimated to be approximate to 120 K rms in T-eff, approximate to 0.3 dex rms in log g, and approximate to 0.15 dex rms in [Fe/H] for the UVES and GIRAFFE setups.
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| 7. |
- Lardo, C., et al.
(författare)
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The Gaia-ESO Survey: Kinematics of seven Galactic globular clusters
- 2015
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Ingår i: Astronomy & Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 573
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Gaia-ESO survey is a large public spectroscopic survey aimed at investigating the origin and formation history of our Galaxy by collecting spectroscopy of representative samples (about 105 Milky Way stars) of all Galactic stellar populations, in the field and in clusters. The survey uses globular clusters as intra-and inter-survey calibrators, deriving stellar atmospheric parameters and abundances of a significant number of stars in clusters, along with radial velocity determinations. We used precise radial velocities of a large number of stars in seven globular clusters (NGC 1851, NGC 2808, NGC 4372, NGC 4833, NGC 5927, NGC 6752, and NGC 7078) to validate pipeline results and to preliminarily investigate the cluster internal kinematics. Radial velocity measurements were extracted from FLAMES/GIRAFFE spectra processed by the survey pipeline as part of the second internal data release of data products to ESO. We complemented our sample with ESO archival data obtained with different instrument configurations. Reliable radial velocity measurements for 1513 bona fide cluster star members were obtained in total. We measured systemic rotation, estimated central velocity dispersions, and present velocity dispersion profiles of all the selected clusters, providing the first velocity dispersion curve and the first estimate of the central velocity dispersion for the cluster NGC 5927. Finally, we explore the possible link between cluster kinematics and other physical parameters. The analysis we present here demonstrates that Gaia-ESO survey data are sufficiently accurate to be used in studies of kinematics of stellar systems and stellar populations in the Milky Way.
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| 8. |
- Lind, Karin, et al.
(författare)
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The Gaia-ESO Survey : A globular cluster escapee in the Galactic halo
- 2015
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 575
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A small fraction of the halo field is made up of stars that share the light element (Z <= 13) anomalies characteristic of second generation globular cluster (GC) stars. The ejected stars shed light on the formation of the Galactic halo by tracing the dynamical history of the clusters, which are believed to have once been more massive. Some of these ejected stars are expected to show strong Al enhancement at the expense of shortage of Mg, but until now no such star has been found. We search for outliers in the Mg and Al abundances of the few hundreds of halo field stars observed in the first eighteen months of the Gaia-ESO public spectroscopic survey. One halo star at the base of the red giant branch, here referred to as 22593757-4648029 is found to have [Mg/Fe] = -0.36 +/- 0.04 and [Al/Fe] = 0.99 +/- 0.08, which is compatible with the most extreme ratios detected in GCs so far. We compare the orbit of 22593757-4648029 to GCs of similar metallicity and find it unlikely that this star has been tidally stripped with low ejection velocity from any of the clusters. However, both chemical and kinematic arguments render it plausible that the star has been ejected at high velocity from the anomalous GC omega Centauri within the last few billion years. We cannot rule out other progenitor GCs, because some may have disrupted fully, and the abundance and orbital data are inadequate for many of those that are still intact.
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| 9. |
- Magrini, L., et al.
(författare)
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The Gaia-ESO Survey: Abundance ratios in the inner-disk open clusters Trumpler 20, NGC 4815, NGC 6705
- 2014
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Ingår i: Astronomy & Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 563
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. Open clusters are key tools to study the spatial distribution of abundances in the disk and their evolution with time. Aims. Using the first release of stellar parameters and abundances of the Gaia-ESO Survey, we analyse the chemical properties of stars in three old/intermediate-age open clusters, namely NGC 6705, NGC 4815, and Trumpler 20, which are all located in the inner part of the Galactic disk at Galactocentric radius R-GC similar to 7 kpc. We aim to prove their homogeneity and to compare them with the field population. Methods. We study the abundance ratios of elements belonging to two different nucleosynthetic channels: alpha-elements and iron-peak elements. For each element, we analyse the internal chemical homogeneity of cluster members, and we compare the cumulative distributions of cluster abundance ratios with those of solar neighbourhood turn-off stars and of inner-disk/bulge giants. We compare the abundance ratios of field and cluster stars with two chemical evolution models that predict different alpha-enhancement dependences on the Galactocentric distance due to different assumptions on the infall and star-formation rates. Results. The main results can be summarised as follows: i) cluster members are chemically homogeneous within 3 sigma in all analysed elements; ii) the three clusters have comparable [El/Fe] patterns within similar to 1 sigma, but they differ in their global metal content [El/H] with NGC 4815 having the lowest metallicity; their [El/Fe] ratios show differences and analogies with those of the field population, in both the solar neighbourhood and the bulge/inner disk; iii) comparing the abundance ratios with the results of two chemical evolution models and with field star abundance distributions, we find that the abundance ratios of Mg, Ni, and Ca in NGC 6705 might require an inner birthplace, implying a subsequent variation in its R-GC during its lifetime, which is consistent with previous orbit determination. Conclusions. Using the results of the first internal data release, we show the potential of the Gaia-ESO Survey through a homogeneous and detailed analysis of the cluster versus field populations to reveal the chemical structure of our Galaxy using a completely uniform analysis of different populations. We verify that the Gaia-ESO Survey data are able to identify the unique chemical properties of each cluster by pinpointing the composition of the interstellar medium at the epoch and place of formation. The full dataset of the Gaia-ESO Survey is a superlative tool to constrain the chemical evolution of our Galaxy by disentangling different formation and evolution scenarios.
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| 10. |
- Mikolaitis, S., et al.
(författare)
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The Gaia-ESO Survey: the chemical structure of the Galactic discs from the first internal data release
- 2014
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Ingår i: Astronomy & Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 572
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aims. Until recently, most high-resolution spectroscopic studies of the Galactic thin and thick discs were mostly confined to objects in the solar vicinity. Here we aim at enlarging the volume in which individual chemical abundances are used to characterise the thin and thick discs, using the first internal data release of the Gaia-ESO survey (GES iDR1). Methods. We used the spectra of around 2000 FGK dwarfs and giants from the GES iDR1, obtained at resolutions of up to R similar to 20 000 with the FLAMES/GIRAFFE spectrograph. We derive and discuss the abundances of eight elements (Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Ti, Fe, Cr, Ni, and Y). Results. We show that the trends of these elemental abundances with iron are very similar to those in the solar neighbourhood. We find a natural division between alpha-rich and alpha-poor stars, best seen in the bimodality of the [Mg/M] distributions in bins of metallicity, which we attribute to thick-and thin-disc sequences, respectively. This separation is visible for most alpha-elements and for aluminium. With the possible exception of Al, the observed dispersion around the trends is well described by the expected errors, leaving little room for astrophysical dispersion. Using previously derived distances from the first paper from this series for our sample, we further find that the thick-disc is more extended vertically and is more centrally concentrated towards the inner Galaxy than the thin-disc, which indicates a shorter scale-length. We derive the radial (4 to 12 kpc) and vertical (0 to 3.5 kpc) gradients in metallicity, iron, four alpha-element abundances, and aluminium for the two populations, taking into account the identified correlation between R-GC and vertical bar Z vertical bar. Similarly to other works, a radial metallicity gradient is found in the thin disc. The positive radial individual [alpha/M] gradients found are at variance from the gradients observed in the RAVE survey. The thin disc also hosts a negative vertical metallicity gradient in the solar cylinder, accompanied by positive individual [alpha/M] and [Al/M] gradients. The thick-disc, on the other hand, presents no radial metallicity gradient, a shallower vertical metallicity gradient than the thin-disc, an alpha-elements-to-iron radial gradient in the opposite sense than that of the thin disc, and positive vertical individual [alpha/M] and [Al/M] gradients. We examine several thick-disc formation scenarii in the light of these radial and vertical trends.
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