| 1. |
- Arentsen, A., et al.
(author)
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The Pristine Inner Galaxy Survey (PIGS) I : tracing the kinematics of metal-poor stars in the Galactic bulge
- 2020
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In: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966 .- 1745-3925 .- 1745-3933. ; 491:1, s. L11-L16
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Our Galaxy is known to contain a central boxy/peanut-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 sample of metal-poor ([Fe/H] < -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 < [Fe/II] < -0.5, with a gradient of -44 +/- 41un 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/peanut-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.
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| 2. |
- Fantin, Nicholas J., et al.
(author)
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The Canada-France Imaging Survey : Reconstructing the Milky Way Star Formation History from Its White Dwarf Population
- 2019
-
In: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 887:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- As the remnants of stars with initial masses less than or similar to 8M(circle dot), white dwarfs contain valuable information on the formation histories of stellar populations. In this paper, we use deep, high-quality, u-band photometry from the Canada-France Imaging Survey, griz photometry from Pan-STARRS1, as well as proper motions from Gaia DR2, to select 25,156 white dwarf candidates over similar to 4500 deg(2) using a reduced proper motion diagram. We develop a new white dwarf population synthesis code that returns mock observations of the Galactic field white dwarf population for a given star formation history, while simultaneously taking into account the geometry of the Milky Way (MW), survey parameters, and selection effects. We use this model to derive the star formation histories of the thin disk, thick disk, and stellar halo. Our results show that the MW disk began forming stars (11.3 +/- 0.5) Gyr ago, with a peak rate of (8.8 +/- 1.4) M-circle dot yr(-1) at (9.8 +/- 0.4) Gyr, before a slow decline to a constant rate until the present day-consistent with recent results suggesting a merging event with a satellite galaxy. Studying the residuals between the data and best-fit model shows evidence for a slight increase in star formation over the past 3 Gyr. We fit the local fraction of helium-atmosphere white dwarfs to be (21 +/- 3)%. Incorporating this methodology with data from future wide-field surveys such as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope, Euclid, The Cosmological Advanced Survey Telescope for Optical and ultraviolet Research, and the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope should provide an unprecedented view into the formation of the MW at its earliest epoch through its white dwarfs.
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| 3. |
- Martin, N. F., et al.
(author)
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A stellar stream remnant of a globular cluster below the metallicity floor
- 2022
-
In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 601:7891, s. 45-48
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Stellar ejecta gradually enrich the gas out of which subsequent stars form, making the least chemically enriched stellar systems direct fossils of structures formed in the early Universe1. Although a few hundred stars with metal content below 1,000th of the solar iron content are known in the Galaxy2–4, none of them inhabit globular clusters, some of the oldest known stellar structures. These show metal content of at least approximately 0.2% of the solar metallicity ([Fe / H] ≳ − 2.7). This metallicity floor appears universal5,6, and it has been proposed that protogalaxies that merged into the galaxies we observe today were simply not massive enough to form clusters that survived to the present day7. Here we report observations of a stellar stream, C-19, whose metallicity is less than 0.05% of the solar metallicity ([Fe/H]=−3.38±0.06(statistical)±0.20(systematic)). The low metallicity dispersion and the chemical abundances of the C-19 stars show that this stream is the tidal remnant of the most metal-poor globular cluster ever discovered, and is significantly below the purported metallicity floor: clusters with significantly lower metallicities than observed today existed in the past and contributed their stars to the Milky Way halo.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Fernández-Alvar, Emma, et al.
(author)
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The Pristine survey XIII : uncovering the very metal-poor tail of the thin disc
- 2021
-
In: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 508:1, s. 1509-1525
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We evaluate the rotational velocity of stars observed by the Pristine survey towards the Galactic anticentre spanning a wide range of metallicities from the extremely metal-poor regime ([Fe/H] < −3) to nearly solar metallicity. In the Galactic anticentre direction, the rotational velocity (Vφ) is similar to the tangential velocity in the galactic longitude direction (V). This allows us to estimate Vφ from Gaia early data release 3 (Gaia EDR3) proper motions for stars without radial velocity measurements. This substantially increases the sample of stars in the outer disc with estimated rotational velocities. Our stellar sample towards the anticentre is dominated by a kinematical thin disc with a mean rotation of ∼−220 km s−1. However, our analysis reveals the presence of more stellar substructures. The most intriguing is a well-populated extension of the kinematical thin disc down to [Fe/H] ∼ −2 . A scarcer fast-rotating population reaching the extremely metal-poor regime down to [Fe/H] ∼ −3.5 is also detected but without statistical significance to unambiguously state whether this is the extremely metal-poor extension of the thin disc or the high-rotating tail of hotter structures (like the thick disc or the halo). In addition, a more slowly rotating kinematical thick disc component is also required to explain the observed V distribution at [Fe/H] > −1.5 . Furthermore, we detect signatures of a ‘heated disc’, the so-called Splash, at metallicities higher than ∼−1.5. Finally, at [Fe/H] < −1.5 our anticentre sample is dominated by a kinematical halo with a net prograde motion.
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| 6. |
- Thomas, Guillaume F., et al.
(author)
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The Hidden Past of M92 : Detection and Characterization of a Newly Formed 17 degrees Long Stellar Stream Using the Canada-France Imaging Survey
- 2020
-
In: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 902:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present an analysis of the structure, kinematics, and orbit of a newly found stellar stream emanating from the globular cluster M92 (NGC 6341). This stream was discovered in an improved matched-filter map of the outer Galaxy, based on a color-color-magnitude diagram, created using photometry from the Canada-France Imaging Survey and the Pan-STARRS 1 3 pi survey. We find the stream to have a length of 17 degrees (2.5 kpc at the distance of M92), a width dispersion of 029(42 pc), and a stellar mass of [3.17 0.89] x 10(4)M(10% of the stellar mass of the current main body of M92). We examine the kinematics of main-sequence, red giant, and blue horizontal branch stars belonging to the stream and that have proper motion measurements from the second data release of Gaia.N-body simulations suggest that the stream was likely formed very recently (during the last similar to 500 Myr) forcing us to question the orbital origin of this ancient, metal-poor globular cluster.
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| 7. |
- Longeard, Nicolas, et al.
(author)
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The pristine dwarf-galaxy survey - III. Revealing the nature of the Milky Way globular cluster Sagittarius II
- 2021
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In: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 503:2, s. 2754-2762
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present a new spectroscopic study of the faint Milky Way satellite Sagittarius II. Using multiobject spectroscopy from the Fibre Large Array Multi-Element Spectrograph, we supplement the data set of Longeard et al. with 47 newly observed stars, 19 of which are identified as members of the satellite. These additional member stars are used to put tighter constraints on the dynamics and the metallicity properties of the system. We find a low velocity dispersion of sigma(SgrII)(v) = 1.7 +/- 0.5 km s(-1), in agreement with the dispersion of Milky Way globular clusters of similar luminosity. We confirm the very metal-poor nature of the satellite ([Fe/H](spectro)(SgrII) = -2.23 +/- 0.07) and find that the metallicity dispersion of Sgr II is not resolved, reaching only 0.20 at the 95 per cent confidence limit. No star with a metallicity below -2.5 is confidently detected. Therefore, despite the unusually large size of the system (r(h) = 35.5(-1.2)(-1.4) pc), we conclude that Sgr II is an old and metal-poor globular cluster of the Milky Way.
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| 8. |
- Longeard, Nicolas, et al.
(author)
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The Pristine dwarf galaxy survey - IV. Probing the outskirts of the dwarf galaxy Bootes I
- 2022
-
In: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 516:2, s. 2348-2362
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present a new spectroscopic study of the dwarf galaxy Boötes I (Boo I) with data from the Anglo-Australian Telescope and its AAOmega spectrograph together with the Two Degree Field multi-object system. We observed 36 high-probability Boo I stars selected using Gaia Early Data Release 3 proper motions and photometric metallicities from the Pristine survey. Out of those, 27 are found to be Boo I stars, resulting in an excellent success rate of 75 per cent at finding new members. Our analysis uses a new pipeline developed to estimate radial velocities and equivalent widths of the calcium triplet lines from Gaussian and Voigt line profile fits. The metallicities of 16 members are derived, including 3 extremely metal-poor stars ([Fe/H] < −3.0), which translates into a success rate of 25 per cent at finding them with the combination of Pristine and Gaia. Using the large spatial extent of our new members that spans up to 4.1 half-light radii and spectroscopy from the literature, we find a systemic velocity gradient of 0.40 ± 0.10 km s−1 arcmin−1 and a small but resolved metallicity gradient of −0.008 ± 0.003 dex arcmin−1. Finally, we show that Boo I is more elongated than previously thought with an ellipticity of ϵ = 0.68 ± 0.15. Its velocity and metallicity gradients as well as its elongation suggest that Boo I may have been affected by tides, a result supported by direct dynamical modelling.
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| 9. |
- Lucchesi, R., et al.
(author)
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The Pristine survey – XV. A CFHT ESPaDOnS view on the Milky Way halo and disc populations
- 2022
-
In: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 511:1, s. 1004-1021
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present a one-dimensional, local thermodynamic equilibrium homogeneous analysis of 132 stars observed at high resolutionwith ESPaDOnS. This represents the largest sample observed at high resolution (R ∼ 40 000) from the Pristine survey. Thissample is based on the first version of the Pristine catalogue and covers the full range of metallicities from [Fe/H] ∼−3 to∼+0.25, with nearly half of our sample (58 stars) composed of very metal-poor (VMP) stars ([Fe/H] ≤ −2). This wide rangeof metallicities provides the opportunity of a new detailed study of the Milky Way stellar population. Because it includes bothdwarf and giant stars, it also enables the analysis of any potential bias induced by the Pristine selection process. Based on GaiaEDR3, the orbital analysis of this Pristine-ESPaDOnS sample shows that it is composed of 65 halo stars and 67 disc stars. Aftera general assessment of the sample chemical properties with the α-elements Mg and Ca, we focus on the abundance of carbonand the neutron capture elements Ba and Sr. While most of our VMP subsample is carbon normal, we also find that 14 starsout of the 38 stars with [Fe/H] ≤ −2 and measured carbon abundances turn out to be carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP)stars. We show that these CEMP stars are nearly exclusively (i.e. 12 stars out of 14) in the regime of low luminosity, unevolved,dwarf stars, which we interpret as the consequence of bias of the Pristine filter against C-rich giants. Among the VMP stars,we identify two CEMP stars with no enhancement in neutron-capture process elements and another one enriched in s-processelement. Finally, one VMP star is found with a very low [Sr/Fe] abundance ratio for its metallicity, as expected if it had beenaccreted from an ultra-faint dwarf galaxy.
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| 10. |
- Martin, Nicolas F., et al.
(author)
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The Pristine survey - XVI. The metallicity of 26 stellar streams around the Milky Way detected with the STREAMFINDER in Gaia EDR3
- 2022
-
In: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 516:4, s. 5331-5354
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We use the photometric metallicities provided by the panoramic Pristine survey to study the veracity and derive the metallicities of the numerous stellar streams found by the application of the STREAMFINDER algorithm to the Gaia Early Data Release 3 data. All 26 streams present in Pristine show a clear metallicity distribution function, which provides an independent check of the reality of these structures, supporting the reliability of STREAMFINDER in finding streams and the power of Pristine to measure precise metallicities. We further present six candidate structures with coherent phase-space and metallicity signals that are very likely streams. The majority of studied streams are very metal-poor (14 structures with [Fe/H] < −2.0) and include three systems with [Fe/H] < −2.9 (C-11, C-19, and C-20). These streams could be the closest debris of low-luminosity dwarf galaxies or may have originated from globular clusters of significantly lower metallicity than any known current Milky Way globular cluster. Our study shows that the promise of the Gaia data for Galactic Archeology studies can be substantially strengthened by quality photometric metallicities, allowing us to peer back into the earliest epochs of the formation of our Galaxy and its stellar halo constituents.
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| 11. |
- Sestito, Federico, et al.
(author)
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The Pristine survey – X. A large population of low-metallicity stars permeates the Galactic disc
- 2020
-
In: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966 .- 1745-3925 .- 1745-3933. ; 497:1, s. L7-L12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The orbits of the least chemically enriched stars open a window on the formation of our Galaxy when it was still in its infancy. The common picture is that these low-metallicity stars are distributed as an isotropic, pressure-supported component since these stars were either accreted from the early building blocks of the assembling Milky Way (MW), or were later brought by the accretion of faint dwarf galaxies. Combining the metallicities and radial velocities from the Pristine and LAMOST surveys and Gaia DR2 parallaxes and proper motions for an unprecedented large and unbiased sample of 1027 very metal poor stars at [Fe/H] ≤ −2.5 dex, we show that this picture is incomplete. We find that 31 per cent of the stars that currently reside spatially in the disc (|Z|≤3kpc) do not venture outside of the disc plane throughout their orbit. Moreover, this sample shows strong statistical evidence (at the 5.0σ level) of asymmetry in their kinematics, favouring prograde motion. The discovery of this population implies that a significant fraction of stars with iron abundances [Fe/H] ≤ −2.5 dex merged into, formed within, or formed concurrently with the MW disc and that the history of the disc was quiet enough to allow them to retain their disc-like orbital properties, challenging theoretical and cosmological models.
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| 12. |
- Sivertsson, Sofia, et al.
(author)
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Estimating the local dark matter density in a non-axisymmetric wobbling disc
- 2022
-
In: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 511:2, s. 1977-1991
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The density of dark matter near the Sun, ρDM, ⊙, is important for experiments hunting for dark matter particles in the laboratory, and for constraining the local shape of the Milky Way’s dark matter halo. Estimates to date have typically assumed that the Milky Way’s stellar disc is axisymmetric and in a steady-state. Yet the Milky Way disc is neither, exhibiting prominent spiral arms and a bar, and vertical and radial oscillations. We assess the impact of these assumptions on determinations of ρDM, ⊙ by applying a free-form, steady-state, Jeans method to two different N-body simulations of Milky Way-like galaxies. In one, the galaxy has experienced an ancient major merger, similar to the hypothesized Gaia–Sausage–Enceladus; in the other, the galaxy is perturbed more recently by the repeated passage and slow merger of a Sagittarius-like dwarf galaxy. We assess the impact of each of the terms in the Jeans–Poisson equations on our ability to correctly extract ρDM, ⊙ from the simulated data. We find that common approximations employed in the literature – axisymmetry and a locally flat rotation curve – can lead to significant systematic errors of up to a factor ∼1.5 in the recovered surface mass density ∼2 kpc above the disc plane, implying a fractional error on ρDM, ⊙ of the order of unity. However, once we add in the tilt term and the rotation curve term in our models, we obtain an unbiased estimate of ρDM, ⊙, consistent with the true value within our 95 per cent confidence intervals for realistic 20 per cent uncertainties on the baryonic surface density of the disc. Other terms – the axial tilt, 2nd Poisson and time-dependent terms – contribute less than 10 per cent to ρDM, ⊙ (given current data) and can be safely neglected for now. In the future, as more data become available, these terms will need to be included in the analysis.
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| 13. |
- Ibata, Rodrigo A., et al.
(author)
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The Streams of the Gaping Abyss : A Population of Entangled Stellar Streams Surrounding the Inner Galaxy
- 2019
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In: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 872:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present the discovery of a large population of stellar streams that surround the inner Galaxy, found in the Gaia DR2 catalog using the new STREAMFINDER algorithm. Here we focus on the properties of eight new high-significance structures found at heliocentric distances between 1 and 10 kpc and at Galactic latitudes vertical bar b vertical bar > 20 degrees, named Slidr, Sylgr, Ylgr, Fimbulthul, Svol, Fjorm, Gjoll, and Leiptr. Spectroscopic measurements of seven of the streams confirm the detections, which are based on Gaia astrometry and photometry alone, and show that these streams are predominantly metal-poor. The sample possesses diverse orbital properties, although most of the streams appear to be debris of inner-halo globular clusters. Many more candidate streams are visible in our maps but require follow-up spectroscopy to confirm their nature. We also explain in detail the workings of the algorithm and gauge the incidence of false detections by running the algorithm on a smooth model of the Gaia catalog.
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| 14. |
- Ibata, Rodrigo, et al.
(author)
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Charting the Galactic Acceleration Field. I. A Search for Stellar Streams with Gaia DR2 and EDR3 with Follow-up from ESPaDOnS and UVES
- 2021
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In: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 914:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present maps of the stellar streams detected in the Gaia Data Release 2 (DR2) and Early Data Release 3 (EDR3) catalogs using the STREAMFINDER algorithm. We also report the spectroscopic follow-up of the brighter DR2 stream members obtained with the high-resolution CFHT/ESPaDOnS and VLT/UVES spectrographs as well as with the medium-resolution NTT/EFOSC2 spectrograph. Two new stellar streams that do not have a clear progenitor are detected in DR2 (named Hrid and Gunnthra), and seven are detected in EDR3 (named Gaia-6 to Gaia-12). Several candidate streams are also identified. The software also finds very long tidal tails associated with the 15 globular clusters: NGC 288, NGC 1261, NGC 1851, NGC 2298, NGC 2808, NGC 3201, M68, omega Cen, NGC 5466, Palomar 5, M5, NGC 6101, M92, NGC 6397, and NGC 7089. These stellar streams will be used in subsequent contributions in this series to chart the properties of the Galactic acceleration field on similar to 100 pc to similar to 100 kpc scales.
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| 15. |
- Malhan, Khyati, et al.
(author)
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Evidence of a Dwarf Galaxy Stream Populating the Inner Milky Way Halo
- 2021
-
In: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-637X .- 1538-4357. ; 920:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Stellar streams produced from dwarf galaxies provide direct evidence of the hierarchical formation of the Milky Way. Here, we present the first comprehensive study of the LMS-1 stellar stream, that we detect by searching for wide streams in the Gaia EDR3 data set using the STREAMFINDER algorithm. This stream was recently discovered by Yuan et al. We detect LMS-1 as a 60° long stream to the north of the galactic bulge, at a distance of ∼20 kpc from the Sun, together with additional components that suggest that the overall stream is completely wrapped around the inner Galaxy. Using spectroscopic measurements from the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, and the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment, we infer that the stream is very metal-poor (〈[Fe/H]〉 = −2.1) with a significant metallicity dispersion (σ[Fe/H] = 0.4), and it possesses a large radial velocity dispersion (σv = 20 ± 4 km s−1). These estimates together imply that LMS-1 is a dwarf galaxy stream. The orbit of LMS-1 is close to polar, with an inclination of 75° to the galactic plane. Both the orbit and metallicity of LMS-1 are remarkably similar to the globular clusters NGC 5053, NGC 5024, and the stellar stream Indus. These findings make LMS-1 an important contributor to the stellar population of the inner Milky Way halo.
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| 16. |
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| 17. |
- Venn, Kim A., et al.
(author)
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The Pristine survey – IX. CFHT ESPaDOnS spectroscopic analysis of 115 bright metal-poor candidate stars
- 2020
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In: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 492:3, s. 3241-3262
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A chemo-dynamical analysis of 115 metal-poor candidate stars selected from the narrow band Pristine photometric survey is presented based on CFHT high-resolution ESPaDOnS spectroscopy, We have discovered 28 new bright (V < 15) stars with I Fe/H] <-2,5 and 5 with 1Fe/11-11 <-3.0 for success rates of 40 (28/70) and 19 per cent (5/27), respectively. A detailed model atmosphere analysis is carried out for the 28 new metal-poor stars. Stellar parameters were determined from SDSS photometric colours, Gala DR2 parallaxes, MESA/MIST stellar isochrones, and the initial Pristine survey metallicities, following a Bayesian inference method, Chemical abundances are determined for 10 elements (Na, Mg, Ca, Sc, Ti, Cr, Fe, Ni, Y, and Ba), Most stars show chemical abundance patterns that are similar to the normal metal-poor stars in the Galactic halo; however, we also report the discoveries of a new r-process-rich star, a new CF.MP-s candidate with I Y/Ba 0, and a metal-poor star with very low I Mg/Fe I, The kinematics and orbits for all of the highly probable metal-poor candidates are determined by combining our precision radial velocities with Gaia DR2 proper motions. Some stars show unusual kinematics for their chemistries, including planar orbits, unbound orbits, and highly elliptical orbits that plunge deeply into the Galactic bulge (Rperi < 0.5 kpc); also, eight stars have orbital energies and actions consistent with the Gaia-Enceladus accretion event. This paper contributes to our understanding of the complex chemo-dynamics of the metal-poor Galaxy, and increases the number of known bright metal-poor stars available for detailed nucleosynthetic studies.
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| 18. |
- Widmark, Axel, et al.
(author)
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Measuring the matter density of the Galactic disc using stellar streams
- 2020
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In: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 496:3, s. 3112-3127
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present a novel method for determining the total matter surface density of the Galactic disc by analysing the kinematics of a dynamically cold stellar stream that passes through or close to the Galactic plane. The method relies on the fact that the vertical component of energy for such stream stars is approximately constant, such that their vertical positions and vertical velocities are interrelated via the matter density of the Galactic disc. By testing our method on mock data stellar streams, with realistic phase-space dispersions and Gaia uncertainties, we demonstrate that it is applicable to small streams out to a distance of a few kilo-parsec, and that the surface density of the disc can be determined to a precision of 6 per cent. This method is complementary to other mass measurements. In particular, it does not rely on any equilibrium assumption for stars in the Galactic disc, and also makes it possible to measure the surface density to good precision at large distances from the Sun. Such measurements would inform us of the matter composition of the Galactic disc and its spatial variation, place stronger constraints on dark disc substructure, and even diagnose possible non-equilibrium effects that bias other types of dynamical mass measurements.
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| 19. |
- Widmark, Axel, et al.
(author)
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Measuring the Matter Density of the Galactic Disk Using Stellar Streams
-
Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- We present a novel method for determining the total matter surface density of the Galactic disk by analysing the kinematics of a dynamically cold stellar stream that passes through or close to the Galactic plane. The method relies on the fact that the vertical component of energy for such stream stars is approximately constant, such that their vertical positions and vertical velocities are interrelated via the matter density of the Galactic disk. By testing our method on mock data stellar streams, with realistic phase-space dispersions and Gaia uncertainties, we demonstrate that it is applicable to small streams out to a distance of a few kilo-parsec, and that the surface density of the disk can be determined to a precision of 6 %. This method is complementary to other mass measurements. In particular, it does not rely on any equilibrium assumption for stars in the Galactic disk, and also makes it possible to measure the surface density to good precision at large distances from the Sun. Such measurements would inform us of the matter composition of the Galactic disk and its spatial variation, place stronger constraints on dark disk sub-structure, and even diagnose possible non-equilibrium effects that bias other types of dynamical mass measurements.
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