| 1. |
- David, P., et al.
(författare)
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Gaia Focused Product Release: Asteroid orbital solution : Properties and assessment
- 2023
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 680
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. We report the exploitation of a sample of Solar System observations based on data from the third Gaia Data Release (Gaia DR3) of nearly 157 000 asteroids. It extends the epoch astrometric solution over the time coverage planned for the Gaia DR4, which is not expected before the end of 2025. This data set covers more than one full orbital period for the vast majority of these asteroids. The orbital solutions are derived from the Gaia data alone over a relatively short arc compared to the observation history of many of these asteroids.Aims. The work aims to produce orbital elements for a large set of asteroids based on 66 months of accurate astrometry provided by Gaia and to assess the accuracy of these orbital solutions with a comparison to the best available orbits derived from independent observations. A second validation is performed with accurate occultation timings.Methods. We processed the raw astrometric measurements of Gaia to obtain astrometric positions of moving objects with 1D sub-mas accuracy at the bright end. For each asteroid that we matched to the data, an orbit fitting was attempted in the form of the best fit of the initial conditions at the median epoch. The force model included Newtonian and relativistic accelerations to derive the observation equations, which were solved with a linear least-squares fit.Results. Orbits are provided in the form of state vectors in the International Celestial Reference Frame for 156 764 asteroids, including near-Earth objects, main-belt asteroids, and Trojans. For the asteroids with the best observations, the (formal) relative uncertainty σa/a is better than 10-10. Results are compared to orbits available from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and MPC. Their orbits are based on much longer data arcs, but from positions of lower quality. The relative differences in semi-major axes have a mean of 5 × 10-10 and a scatter of 5 × 10-9
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| 2. |
- Krone-Martins, A., et al.
(författare)
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Gaia Focused Product Release: A catalogue of sources around quasars to search for strongly lensed quasars
- 2024
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 685
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. Strongly lensed quasars are fundamental sources for cosmology. The Gaia space mission covers the entire sky with the unprecedented resolution of 0.18âà € ³ in the optical, making it an ideal instrument to search for gravitational lenses down to the limiting magnitude of 21. Nevertheless, the previous Gaia Data Releases are known to be incomplete for small angular separations such as those expected for most lenses.Aims. We present the Data Processing and Analysis Consortium GravLens pipeline, which was built to analyse all Gaia detections around quasars and to cluster them into sources, thus producing a catalogue of secondary sources around each quasar. We analysed the resulting catalogue to produce scores that indicate source configurations that are compatible with strongly lensed quasars.Methods. GravLens uses the DBSCAN unsupervised clustering algorithm to detect sources around quasars. The resulting catalogue of multiplets is then analysed with several methods to identify potential gravitational lenses. We developed and applied an outlier scoring method, a comparison between the average BP and RP spectra of the components, and we also used an extremely randomised tree algorithm. These methods produce scores to identify the most probable configurations and to establish a list of lens candidates.Results. We analysed the environment of 3 760 032 quasars. A total of 4 760 920 sources, including the quasars, were found within 6âà € ³ of the quasar positions. This list is given in the Gaia archive. In 87% of cases, the quasar remains a single source, and in 501 385 cases neighbouring sources were detected. We propose a list of 381 lensed candidates, of which we identified 49 as the most promising ones. Beyond these candidates, the associate tables in this Focused Product Release allow the entire community to explore the unique Gaia data for strong lensing studies further.
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| 3. |
- Panuzzo, P., et al.
(författare)
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Discovery of a dormant 33 solar-mass black hole in pre-release Gaia astrometry
- 2024
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 686
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. Gravitational waves from black-hole (BH) merging events have revealed a population of extra-galactic BHs residing in short-period binaries with masses that are higher than expected based on most stellar evolution models-And also higher than known stellar-origin black holes in our Galaxy. It has been proposed that those high-mass BHs are the remnants of massive metal-poor stars.Aims. Gaia astrometry is expected to uncover many Galactic wide-binary systems containing dormant BHs, which may not have been detected before. The study of this population will provide new information on the BH-mass distribution in binaries and shed light on their formation mechanisms and progenitors.Methods. As part of the validation efforts in preparation for the fourth Gaia data release (DR4), we analysed the preliminary astrometric binary solutions, obtained by the Gaia Non-Single Star pipeline, to verify their significance and to minimise false-detection rates in high-mass-function orbital solutions.Results. The astrometric binary solution of one source, Gaia BH3, implies the presence of a 32.70a ±a 0.82aM- BH in a binary system with a period of 11.6 yr. Gaia radial velocities independently validate the astrometric orbit. Broad-band photometric and spectroscopic data show that the visible component is an old, very metal-poor giant of the Galactic halo, at a distance of 590 pc.Conclusions. The BH in the Gaia BH3 system is more massive than any other Galactic stellar-origin BH known thus far. The low metallicity of the star companion supports the scenario that metal-poor massive stars are progenitors of the high-mass BHs detected by gravitational-wave telescopes. The Galactic orbit of the system and its metallicity indicate that it might belong to the Sequoia halo substructure. Alternatively, and more plausibly, it could belong to the ED-2 stream, which likely originated from a globular cluster that had been disrupted by the Milky Way.
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| 4. |
- Schultheis, M., et al.
(författare)
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Gaia Focused Product Release: Spatial distribution of two diffuse interstellar bands
- 2023
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 680
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) are absorption features seen in optical and infrared spectra of stars and extragalactic objects that are probably caused by large and complex molecules in the galactic interstellar medium (ISM). Here we investigate the Galactic distribution and properties of two DIBs identified in almost six million stellar spectra collected by the Gaia Radial Velocity Spectrometer. These measurements constitute a part of the Gaia Focused Product Release to be made public between the Gaia DR3 and DR4 data releases. In order to isolate the DIB signal from the stellar features in each individual spectrum, we identified a set of 160 000 spectra at high Galactic latitudes (|b| ≥ 65) covering a range of stellar parameters which we consider to be the DIB-free reference sample. Matching each target spectrum to its closest reference spectra in stellar parameter space allowed us to remove the stellar spectrum empirically, without reference to stellar models, leaving a set of six million ISM spectra. Using the star's parallax and sky coordinates, we then allocated each ISM spectrum to a voxel (VOlume piXEL) on a contiguous three-dimensional grid with an angular size of 1.8 (level 5 HEALPix) and 29 unequally sized distance bins. Identifying the two DIBs at 862.1 nm (λ862.1) and 864.8 nm (λ864.8) in the stacked spectra, we modelled their shapes and report the depth, central wavelength, width, and equivalent width (EW) for each, along with confidence bounds on these measurements. We then explored the properties and distributions of these quantities and compared them with similar measurements from other surveys. Our main results are as follows: (1) the strength and spatial distribution of the DIB λ862.1 are very consistent with what was found in Gaia DR3, but for this work we attained a higher signal-to-noise ratio in the stacked spectra to larger distances, which allowed us to trace DIBs in the outer spiral arm and beyond the Scutum-Centaurus spiral arm; (2) we produced an all-sky map below ±65 of Galactic latitude to ∼4000 pc of both DIB features and their correlations; (3) we detected the signals of DIB λ862.1 inside the Local Bubble (≲200 pc); and (4) there is a reasonable correlation with the dust reddening found from stellar absorption and EWs of both DIBs with a correlation coefficient of 0.90 for λ862.1 and 0.77 for λ864.8.
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| 5. |
- Trabucchi, M., et al.
(författare)
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Gaia Focused Product Release: Radial velocity time series of long-period variables
- 2023
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 680
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. The third Gaia Data Release (DR3) provided photometric time series of more than 2 million long-period variable (LPV) candidates. Anticipating the publication of full radial-velocity data planned with Data Release 4, this Focused Product Release (FPR) provides radial-velocity time series for a selection of LPV candidates with high-quality observations.Aims. We describe the production and content of the Gaia catalog of LPV radial-velocity time series, and the methods used to compute the variability parameters published as part of the Gaia FPR.Methods. Starting from the DR3 catalog of LPV candidates, we applied several filters to construct a sample of sources with high-quality radial-velocity measurements. We modeled their radial-velocity and photometric time series to derive their periods and amplitudes, and further refined the sample by requiring compatibility between the radial-velocity period and at least one of the G, GBP, or GRP photometric periods.Results. The catalog includes radial-velocity time series and variability parameters for 9614 sources in the magnitude range 6 ≲ G/mag ≲ 14, including a flagged top-quality subsample of 6093 stars whose radial-velocity periods are fully compatible with the values derived from the G, GBP, and GRP photometric time series. The radial-velocity time series contain a mean of 24 measurements per source taken unevenly over a duration of about three years. We identify the great majority of the sources (88%) as genuine LPV candidates, with about half of them showing a pulsation period and the other half displaying a long secondary period. The remaining 12% of the catalog consists of candidate ellipsoidal binaries. Quality checks against radial velocities available in the literature show excellent agreement. We provide some illustrative examples and cautionary remarks.Conclusions. The publication of radial-velocity time series for almost ten thousand LPV candidates constitutes, by far, the largest such database available to date in the literature. The availability of simultaneous photometric measurements gives a unique added value to the Gaia catalog.
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| 6. |
- Weingrill, K., et al.
(författare)
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Gaia Focused Product Release: Sources from Service Interface Function image analysis: Half a million new sources in omega Centauri
- 2023
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 680
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. Gaia's readout window strategy is challenged by very dense fields in the sky. Therefore, in addition to standard Gaia observations, full Sky Mapper (SM) images were recorded for nine selected regions in the sky. A new software pipeline exploits these Service Interface Function (SIF) images of crowded fields (CFs), making use of the availability of the full two-dimensional (2D) information. This new pipeline produced half a million additional Gaia sources in the region of the omega Centauri (ω Cen) cluster, which are published with this Focused Product Release. We discuss the dedicated SIF CF data reduction pipeline, validate its data products, and introduce their Gaia archive table.Aims. Our aim is to improve the completeness of the Gaia source inventory in a very dense region in the sky, ω Cen.Methods. An adapted version of Gaia's Source Detection and Image Parameter Determination software located sources in the 2D SIF CF images. These source detections were clustered and assigned to new SIF CF or existing Gaia sources by Gaia s cross-match software. For the new sources, astrometry was calculated using the Astrometric Global Iterative Solution software, and photometry was obtained in the Gaia DR3 reference system. We validated the results by comparing them to the public Gaia DR3 catalogue and external Hubble Space Telescope data.Results. With this Focused Product Release, 526 587 new sources have been added to the Gaia catalogue in ω Cen. Apart from positions and brightnesses, the additional catalogue contains parallaxes and proper motions, but no meaningful colour information. While SIF CF source parameters generally have a lower precision than nominal Gaia sources, in the cluster centre they increase the depth of the combined catalogue by three magnitudes and improve the source density by a factor of ten.Conclusions. This first SIF CF data publication already adds great value to the Gaia catalogue. It demonstrates what to expect for the fourth Gaia catalogue, which will contain additional sources for all nine SIF CF regions.
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| 7. |
- Recio-Blanco, A., et al.
(författare)
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Gaia Data Release 3 : Analysis of RVS spectra using the General Stellar Parametriser from spectroscopy
- 2023
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 674
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context: The chemo-physical parametrisation of stellar spectra is essential for understanding the nature and evolution of stars and of Galactic stellar populations. A worldwide observational effort from the ground has provided, in one century, an extremely heterogeneous collection of chemical abundances for about two million stars in total, with fragmentary sky coverage.Aims: This situation is revolutionised by the Gaia third data release (DR3), which contains the parametrisation of Radial Velocity Spectrometer (RVS) data performed by the General Stellar Parametriser-spectroscopy, GSP-Spec, module. Here we describe the parametrisation of the first 34 months of Gaia RVS observations.Methods: GSP-Spec estimates the chemo-physical parameters from combined RVS spectra of single stars, without additional inputs from astrometric, photometric, or spectro-photometric BP /RP data. The main analysis workflow described here, MatisseGauguin, is based on projection and optimisation methods and provides the stellar atmospheric parameters; the individual chemical abundances of N, Mg, Si, S, Ca, Ti, Cr, Fe i, Fe ii, Ni, Zr, Ce and Nd; the di fferential equivalent width of a cyanogen line; and the parameters of a di ffuse interstellar band (DIB) feature. Another workflow, based on an artificial neural network (ANN) and referred to with the same acronym, provides a second set of atmospheric parameters that are useful for classification control. For both workflows, we implement a detailed quality flag chain considering different error sources.Results: With about 5.6 million stars, the Gaia DR3 GSP-Spec all-sky catalogue is the largest compilation of stellar chemo-physical parameters ever published and the first one from space data. Internal and external biases have been studied taking into account the implemented flags. In some cases, simple calibrations with low degree polynomials are suggested. The homogeneity and quality of the estimated parameters enables chemo-dynamical studies of Galactic stellar populations, interstellar extinction studies from individual spectra, and clear constraints on stellar evolution models. We highly recommend that users adopt the provided quality flags for scientific exploitation.Conclusions: The Gaia DR3 GSP-Spec catalogue is a major step in the scientific exploration of Milky Way stellar populations. It will be followed by increasingly large and higher quality catalogues in future data releases, confirming the Gaia promise of a new Galactic vision.
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| 8. |
- Kordopatis, G., et al.
(författare)
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Stellar ages, masses, extinctions, and orbital parameters based on spectroscopic parameters of Gaia DR3
- 2023
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 669
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context.Gaia's third data release provides radial velocities for 33 million stars and spectroscopically derived atmospheric parameters for more than 5 million targets. When combined with the astrometric data, these allow us to derive orbital and stellar parameters that are key to understanding the stellar populations of the Milky Way and to perform Galactic archaeology. Aims. We used the calibrated atmospheric parameters, 2MASS and Gaia-EDR3 photometry, and parallax-based distances to compute the ages, initial stellar masses, and reddenings for the stars with spectroscopic parameters. We also derived the orbits for all of the stars with measured radial velocities and astrometry, adopting two sets of line-of-sight distances from the literature. Methods. Four different sets of ages, masses, and absolute magnitudes in different photometric bands are obtained through an isochrone fitting method, considering different combinations of input parameters. The reddenings are obtained by comparing the observed colours with those obtained from the isochrone projection. Finally, the orbits are computed adopting an axisymmetric potential of the Galaxy. Results. Comparisons with reference catalogues of field and cluster stars suggest that reliable ages are obtained for stars younger than 9-10 Gyr when the estimated relative age uncertainty is < 50 per cent. For older stars, ages tend to be underestimated. The most reliable stellar type for age determination are turn-off stars, even when the input atmospheric parameters have large uncertainties. Ages for giants and main-sequence stars are retrieved with uncertainties of the order of 2Gyr when extinction towards the star's line of sight is less than AV ≤ 2.5 mag. Conclusions. The catalogue of ages, initial stellar masses, reddenings, galactocentric positions and velocities, as well as the stellar orbital actions, eccentricities, apocentre, pericentre and maximum distance from the Galactic plane reached during their orbits, is made publicly available to be downloaded. With this catalogue, the full chemo-dynamical properties of the extended solar neighbourhood unfold and allow us to better identify the properties of the spiral arms, to parametrise the dynamical heating of the disc, and to thoroughly study the chemical enrichment of the Milky Way.
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| 9. |
- Sarro, L. M., et al.
(författare)
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Ultracool dwarfs in Gaia DR3
- 2023
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 669
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. Previous Gaia data releases offered the opportunity to uncover ultracool dwarfs (UCDs) through astrometric, rather than purely photometric, selection. The most recent, the third data release (DR3), offers in addition the opportunity to use low-resolution spectra to refine and widen the selection.Aims. In this work we use the Gaia DR3 set of UCD candidates and complement the Gaia spectrophotometry with additional photometry in order to characterise the global properties of the set. This includes the inference of the distances, their locus in the Gaia colour-absolute magnitude diagram, and the (biased through selection) luminosity function at the faint end of the main sequence. We study the overall changes in the Gaia RP spectra as a function of spectral type. We study the UCDs in binary systems, we attempt to identify low-mass members of nearby young associations, star-forming regions, and clusters, and we analyse their variability properties.Methods. We used a forward model and the Bayesian inference framework to produce posterior probabilities for the distribution parameters and a calibration of the colour index as a function of the absolute magnitude in the form of a Gaussian process. Additionally, we applied the hierarchical mode association clustering (HMAC) unsupervised classification algorithm for the detection and characterisation of overdensities in the space of celestial coordinates, projected velocities, and parallaxes.Results. We detect 57 young, kinematically homogeneous groups, some of which are identified as well-known star-forming regions, associations, and clusters of different ages. We find that the primary members of the 880 binary systems with a UCD belong to the thin and thick disc components of the Milky Way. We identify 1109 variable UCDs using the variability tables in the Gaia archive, 728 of which belong to the star-forming regions defined by HMAC. We define two groups of variable UCDs with extreme bright or faint outliers.Conclusions. The set of sources identified as UCDs in the Gaia archive contains a wealth of information that will require focused follow-up studies and observations. It will help advance our understanding of the nature of the faint end of the main sequence and the stellar-substellar transition.
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