| 1. |
- Blanco-Cuaresma, S., et al.
(author)
-
Testing the chemical tagging technique with open clusters
- 2015
-
In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 577
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context. Stars are born together from giant molecular clouds and, if we assume that the priors were chemically homogeneous and well-mixed, we expect them to share the same chemical composition. Most of the stellar aggregates are disrupted while orbiting the Galaxy and most of the dynamic information is lost, thus the only possibility of reconstructing the stellar formation history is to analyze the chemical abundances that we observe today. Aims. The chemical tagging technique aims to recover disrupted stellar clusters based merely on their chemical composition. We evaluate the viability of this technique to recover co-natal stars that are no longer gravitationally bound. Methods. Open clusters are co-natal aggregates that have managed to survive together. We compiled stellar spectra from 31 old and intermediate-age open clusters, homogeneously derived atmospheric parameters, and 17 abundance species, and applied machine learning algorithms to group the stars based on their chemical composition. This approach allows us to evaluate the viability and efficiency of the chemical tagging technique. Results. We found that stars at different evolutionary stages have distinct chemical patterns that may be due to NLTE effects, atomic diffusion, mixing, and biases. When separating stars into dwarfs and giants, we observed that a few open clusters show distinct chemical signatures while the majority show a high degree of overlap. This limits the recovery of co-natal aggregates by applying the chemical tagging technique. Nevertheless, there is room for improvement if more elements are included and models are improved.
|
|
| 2. |
- Cantat-Gaudin, T., et al.
(author)
-
The Gaia-ESO Survey: Stellar content and elemental abundances in the massive cluster NGC 6705
- 2014
-
In: Astronomy & Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 569
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context. Chemically inhomogeneous populations are observed in most globular clusters, but not in open clusters. Cluster mass seems to play a key role in the existence of multiple populations. Aims. Studying the chemical homogeneity of the most massive open clusters is needed to better understand the mechanism of their formation and determine the mass limit under which clusters cannot host multiple populations. Here we studied NGC 6705, which is a young and massive open cluster located towards the inner region of the Milky Way. This cluster is located inside the solar circle. This makes it an important tracer of the inner disk abundance gradient. Methods. This study makes use of BVI and ri photometry and comparisons with theoretical isochrones to derive the age of NGC 6705. We study the density profile of the cluster and the mass function to infer the cluster mass. Based on abundances of the chemical elements distributed in the first internal data release of the Gaia-ESO Survey, we study elemental ratios and the chemical homogeneity of the red clump stars. Radial velocities enable us to study the rotation and internal kinematics of the cluster. Results. The estimated ages range from 250 to 316 Myr, depending on the adopted stellar model. Luminosity profiles and mass functions show strong signs of mass segregation. We derive the mass of the cluster from its luminosity function and from the kinematics, finding values between 3700 M-circle dot and 11 000 M-circle dot. After selecting the cluster members from their radial velocities, we obtain a metallicity of [Fe/H] = 0.10 +/- 0.06 based on 21 candidate members. Moreover, NGC 6705 shows no sign of the typical correlations or anti-correlations between Al, Mg, Si, and Na, which are expected in multiple populations. This is consistent with our cluster mass estimate, which is lower than the required mass limit proposed in the literature to develop multiple populations.
|
|
| 3. |
- Jacobson, H. R., et al.
(author)
-
The Gaia-ESO Survey : Probes of the inner disk abundance gradient
- 2016
-
In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 591
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context. The nature of the metallicity gradient inside the solar circle (R-GC < 8 kpc) is poorly understood, but studies of Cepheids and a small sample of open clusters suggest that it steepens in the inner disk. Aims. We investigate the metallicity gradient of the inner disk using a sample of inner disk open clusters that is three times larger than has previously been studied in the literature to better characterize the gradient in this part of the disk. Methods. We used the Gaia-ESO Survey (GES) [Fe/H] values and stellar parameters for stars in 12 open clusters in the inner disk from GES-UVES data. Cluster mean [Fe/H] values were determined based on a membership analysis for each cluster. Where necessary, distances and ages to clusters were determined via comparison to theoretical isochrones. Results. The GES open clusters exhibit a radial metallicity gradient of -0.10 +/- 0.02 dex kpc(-1), consistent with the gradient measured by other literature studies of field red giant stars and open clusters in the range R-GC similar to 6-12 kpc. We also measure a trend of increasing [Fe/H] with increasing cluster age, as has also been found in the literature. Conclusions. We find no evidence for a steepening of the inner disk metallicity gradient inside the solar circle as earlier studies indicated. The age-metallicity relation shown by the clusters is consistent with that predicted by chemical evolution models that include the effects of radial migration, but a more detailed comparison between cluster observations and models would be premature.
|
|
| 4. |
- Magrini, L., et al.
(author)
-
The Gaia-ESO Survey: Abundance ratios in the inner-disk open clusters Trumpler 20, NGC 4815, NGC 6705
- 2014
-
In: Astronomy & Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 563
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)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.
|
|
| 5. |
- Tang, B., et al.
(author)
-
The Gaia-ESO survey : the inner disk intermediate-age open cluster NGC 6802
- 2017
-
In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 601
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Milky Way open clusters are very diverse in terms of age, chemical composition, and kinematic properties. Intermediate-age and old open clusters are less common, and it is even harder to find them inside the solar Galactocentric radius, due to the high mortality rate and strong extinction inside this region. NGC 6802 is one of the inner disk open clusters (IOCs) observed by the Gaia-ESO survey (GES). This cluster is an important target for calibrating the abundances derived in the survey due to the kinematic and chemical homogeneity of the members in open clusters. Using the measurements from Gaia-ESO internal data release 4 (iDR4), we identify 95 main-sequence dwarfs as cluster members from the GIRAFFE target list, and eight giants as cluster members from the UVES target list. The dwarf cluster members have a median radial velocity of 13.6 +/- 1.9 km s(-1), while the giant cluster members have a median radial velocity of 12.0 +/- 0.9 km s(-1) and a median [Fe/H] of 0.10 +/- 0.02 dex. The color-magnitude diagram of these cluster members suggests an age of 0.9 +/- 0.1 Gyr, with (m - M)(0) = 11.4 and E(B - V) = 0.86. We perform the first detailed chemical abundance analysis of NGC 6802, including 27 elemental species. To gain a more general picture about IOCs, the measurements of NGC 6802 are compared with those of other IOCs previously studied by GES, that is, NGC 4815, Trumpler 20, NGC 6705, and Berkeley 81. NGC 6802 shows similar C, N, Na, and Al abundances as other IOCs. These elements are compared with nucleosynthetic models as a function of cluster turn-off mass. The alpha, iron-peak, and neutron-capture elements are also explored in a self-consistent way.
|
|
