| 1. |
- Bergemann, M., et al.
(author)
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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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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 565, s. A89-
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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. |
- Damiani, F., et al.
(author)
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Gaia-ESO Survey: Empirical classification of VLT/Giraffe stellar spectra in the wavelength range 6440-6810 angstrom in the gamma Velorum cluster, and calibration of spectral indices
- 2014
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In: Astronomy & Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 566
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present a study of spectral diagnostics available from optical spectra with R = 17 000 obtained with the VLT/Giraffe HR15n setup, using observations from the Gaia-ESO Survey, on the gamma Vel young cluster, with the purpose of classifying these stars and finding their fundamental parameters. We define several spectroscopic indices, sampling the amplitude of TiO bands, the H alpha line core and wings, and temperature- and gravity-sensitive sets of lines, each useful as a T-eff or log g indicator over a limited range of stellar spectral types. H alpha line indices are also useful as chromospheric activity or accretion indicators. Furthermore, we use all indices to define additional global T-eff - and logg-sensitive indices tau and gamma, valid for the entire range of types in the observed sample. We find a clear difference between gravity indices of main-sequence and pre-main-sequence stars, as well as a much larger difference between these and giant stars. The potentially great usefulness of the (gamma, t) diagram as a distance-independent age measurement tool for young clusters is discussed. We discuss the effect on the defined indices of classical T Tauri star veiling, which is however detected in only a few stars in the present sample. Then, we present tests and calibrations of these indices, on the basis of both photometry and literature reference spectra, from the UVES Paranal Observatory Project and the ELODIE 3.1 Library. The known properties of these stars, spanning a wide range of stellar parameters, enable us to obtain a good understanding of the performances of our new spectral indices. For non-peculiar stars with known temperature, gravity, and metallicity, we are able to calibrate quantitatively our indices, and derive stellar parameters for a wide range of stellar types. To this aim, a new composite index is defined, providing a good metallicity indicator. The ability of our indices to select peculiar, or otherwise rare classes of stars is also established. For pre-main-sequence stars outside the parameter range of the ELODIE dataset, index calibration relies on model isochrones. We check our calibrations against current Gaia-ESO UVES results, plus a number of Survey benchmark stars, and also against Gaia-ESO observations of young clusters, which contribute to establishing the good performance of our method across a wide range of stellar parameters. Our gravity determination for late-type PMS stars is found to be accurate enough to let us obtain gravity-based age estimates for PMS clusters. Finally, our gravity determinations support the existence of an older pre-main-sequence population in the gamma Vel sky region, in agreement with evidence obtained from the lithium depletion pattern of the same stars.
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| 3. |
- Mikolaitis, S., et al.
(author)
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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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In: Astronomy & Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 572
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)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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| 4. |
- Rojas-Arriagada, A., et al.
(author)
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The Gaia-ESO Survey: metallicity and kinematic trends in the Milky Way bulge
- 2014
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In: Astronomy & Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 569
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aims. Observational studies of the Milky Way bulge are providing increasing evidence of its complex chemo-dynamical patterns and morphology. Our intent is to use the iDR1 Gaia-ESO Survey (GES) data set to provide new constraints on the metallicity and kinematic trends of the Galactic bulge, exploring the viability of the currently proposed formation scenarios. Methods. We analyzed the stellar parameters and radial velocities of similar to 1200 stars in five bulge fields wich are located in the region -10 degrees < / < 7 degrees and -10 degrees < b < -4 degrees. We use VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) photometry to verify the internal consistency of the atmospheric parameters recommended by the consortium. As a by-product, we obtained reddening values using a semi-empirical Tdf -color calibration. We constructed the metallicity distribution functions and combined them with photometric and radial velocity data to analyze the properties of the stellar populations in the observed fields. Results. From a Gaussian decomposition of the metallicity distribution functions, we unveil a clear bimodality in all fields, with the relative size of components depending of the specific position on the sky. In agreement with some previous studies, we find a mild gradient along the minor axis (-0.05 dex/deg between b = -6 degrees and b = -10 degrees) that arises from the varying proportion of metal-rich and metal-poor components. The number of metal-rich stars fades in favor of the metal-poor stars with increasing b. The K-magnitude distribution of the metal-rich population splits into two peaks for two of the analyzed fields that intersects the near and far branches of the X-shaped bulge structure. In addition, two lateral fields at (l,b) = (7, -9) and (l, b) = (-10, 8) present contrasting characteristics. In the former, the metallicity distribution is dominated by metal-rich stars, while in the latter it presents a mix of a metal-poor population and and a metal-intermediate one, of nearly equal sizes. Finally, we find systematic differences in the velocity dispersion between the metal-rich and the metal-poor components of each field. Conclusions. The iDR I bulge data show chemo-dynamical distributions that are consistent with varying proportions of stars belonging to (i) a metal-rich boxy/peanut X-shaped component, with bar-like kinematics; and (ii) a metal-poor more extended rotating structure with a higher velocity dispersion that dominates far from the Galactic plane. These first GES data already allow studying the detailed spatial dependence of the Galactic bulge populations, thanks to the analysis of individual fields with relatively high statistics.
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