1. |
- De Ridder, J., et al.
(author)
-
Gaia Data Release 3: Pulsations in main sequence OBAF-type stars
- 2023
-
In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 674
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context. The third Gaia data release provides photometric time series covering 34 months for about 10 million stars. For many of those stars, a characterisation in Fourier space and their variability classification are also provided. This paper focuses on intermediate- to high-mass (IHM) main sequence pulsators (M ≥ 1.3 M⊙) of spectral types O, B, A, or F, known as β Cep, slowly pulsating B (SPB), δ Sct, and γ Dor stars. These stars are often multi-periodic and display low amplitudes, making them challenging targets to analyse with sparse time series.Aims. We investigate the extent to which the sparse Gaia DR3 data can be used to detect OBAF-type pulsators and discriminate them from other types of variables. We aim to probe the empirical instability strips and compare them with theoretical predictions. The most populated variability class is that of the δ Sct variables. For these stars, we aim to confirm their empirical period-luminosity (PL) relation, and verify the relation between their oscillation amplitude and rotation.Methods. All datasets used in this analysis are part of the Gaia DR3 data release. The photometric time series were used to perform a Fourier analysis, while the global astrophysical parameters necessary for the empirical instability strips were taken from the Gaia DR3 gspphot tables, and the v sin i data were taken from the Gaia DR3 esphs tables. The δ Sct PL relation was derived using the same photometric parallax method as the one recently used to establish the PL relation for classical Cepheids using Gaia data.Results. We show that for nearby OBAF-type pulsators, the Gaia DR3 data are precise and accurate enough to pinpoint them in the Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram. We find empirical instability strips covering broader regions than theoretically predicted. In particular, our study reveals the presence of fast rotating gravity-mode pulsators outside the strips, as well as the co-existence of rotationally modulated variables inside the strips as reported before in the literature. We derive an extensive period–luminosity relation for δ Sct stars and provide evidence that the relation features different regimes depending on the oscillation period. We demonstrate how stellar rotation attenuates the amplitude of the dominant oscillation mode of δ Sct stars.Conclusions. The Gaia DR3 time-series photometry already allows for the detection of the dominant (non-)radial oscillation mode in about 100 000 intermediate- and high-mass dwarfs across the entire sky. This detection capability will increase as the time series becomes longer, allowing the additional delivery of frequencies and amplitudes of secondary pulsation modes.
|
|
2. |
- Drimmel, R., et al.
(author)
-
Gaia Data Release 3: Mapping the asymmetric disc of the Milky Way
- 2023
-
In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 674
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context. With the most recent Gaia data release, the number of sources with complete 6D phase space information (position and velocity) has increased to well over 33 million stars, while stellar astrophysical parameters are provided for more than 470 million sources, and more than 11 million variable stars are identified.Aims. Using the astrophysical parameters and variability classifications provided in Gaia DR3, we selected various stellar populations to explore and identify non-axisymmetric features in the disc of the Milky Way in configuration and velocity space.Methods. Using more about 580 000 sources identified as hot OB stars, together with 988 known open clusters younger than 100 Myr, we mapped the spiral structure associated with star formation 4−5 kpc from the Sun. We selected over 2800 Classical Cepheids younger than 200 Myr that show spiral features extending as far as 10 kpc from the Sun in the outer disc. We also identified more than 8.7 million sources on the red giant branch (RGB), of which 5.7 million have line-of-sight velocities. This later sample allows the velocity field of the Milky Way to be mapped as far as 8 kpc from the Sun, including the inner disc.Results. The spiral structure revealed by the young populations is consistent with recent results using Gaia EDR3 astrometry and source lists based on near-infrared photometry, showing the Local (Orion) Arm to be at least 8 kpc long, and an outer arm consistent with what is seen in HI surveys, which seems to be a continuation of the Perseus arm into the third quadrant. The subset of RGB stars with velocities clearly reveals the large-scale kinematic signature of the bar in the inner disc, as well as evidence of streaming motions in the outer disc that might be associated with spiral arms or bar resonances. A local comparison of the velocity field of the OB stars reveals similarities and differences with the RGB sample.Conclusions. This cursory study of Gaia DR3 data shows there is a rich bounty of kinematic information to be explored more deeply, which will undoubtedly lead us to a clearer understanding of the dynamical nature of the non-axisymmetric structures of the Milky Way.
|
|
3. |
- Lindegren, L., et al.
(author)
-
Gaia Data Release 3: A golden sample of astrophysical parameters
- 2023
-
In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 674
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context. Gaia Data Release 3 (DR3) provides a wealth of new data products for the astronomical community to exploit, including astrophysical parameters for half a billion stars. In this work, we demonstrate the high quality of these data products and illustrate their use in different astrophysical contexts.Aims. We produce homogeneous samples of stars with high-quality astrophysical parameters by exploiting Gaia DR3, while focusing on many regimes across the Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) diagram; spectral types OBA, FGKM, and ultracool dwarfs (UCDs). We also focus on specific subsamples of particular interest to the community: solar analogues, carbon stars, and the Gaia spectrophotometric standard stars (SPSS).Methods. We query the astrophysical parameter tables along with other tables in Gaia DR3 to derive the samples of the stars of interest. We validate our results using the Gaia catalogue itself and by comparison with external data.Results. We produced six homogeneous samples of stars with high-quality astrophysical parameters across the HR diagram for the community to exploit. We first focus on three samples that span a large parameter space: young massive disc stars (OBA; about 3 Million), FGKM spectral type stars (about 3 Million), and UCDs (about 20 000). We provide these sources along with additional information (either a flag or complementary parameters) as tables that are made available in the Gaia archive. We also identify 15 740 bone fide carbon stars and 5863 solar analogues, and provide the first homogeneous set of stellar parameters of the SPSS sample. We demonstrate some applications of these samples in different astrophysical contexts. We use a subset of the OBA sample to illustrate its usefulness in analysing the Milky Way rotation curve. We then use the properties of the FGKM stars to analyse known exoplanet systems. We also analyse the ages of some unseen UCD-companions to the FGKM stars. We additionally predict the colours of the Sun in various passbands (Gaia, 2MASS, WISE) using the solar-analogue sample.Conclusions. Gaia DR3 contains a wealth of new high-quality astrophysical parameters for the community to exploit.
|
|
4. |
- Recio-Blanco, A., et al.
(author)
-
Gaia Data Release 3: Chemical cartography of the Milky Way
- 2023
-
In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 674
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context. The motion of stars has been used to reveal details of the complex history of the Milky Way, in constant interaction with its environment. Nevertheless, to reconstruct the Galactic history puzzle in its entirety, the chemo-physical characterisation of stars is essential. Previous Gaia data releases were supported by a smaller, heterogeneous, and spatially biased mixture of chemical data from ground-based observations.Aims. Gaia Data Release 3 opens a new era of all-sky spectral analysis of stellar populations thanks to the nearly 5.6 million stars observed by the Radial Velocity Spectrometer (RVS) and parametrised by the GSP-Spec module. In this work, we aim to demonstrate the scientific quality of Gaia s Milky Way chemical cartography through a chemo-dynamical analysis of disc and halo populations.Methods. Stellar atmospheric parameters and chemical abundances provided by Gaia DR3 spectroscopy are combined with DR3 radial velocities and EDR3 astrometry to analyse the relationships between chemistry and Milky Way structure, stellar kinematics, and orbital parameters.Results. The all-sky Gaia chemical cartography allows a powerful and precise chemo-dynamical view of the Milky Way with unprecedented spatial coverage and statistical robustness. First, it reveals the strong vertical symmetry of the Galaxy and the flared structure of the disc. Second, the observed kinematic disturbances of the disc seen as phase space correlations and kinematic or orbital substructures are associated with chemical patterns that favour stars with enhanced metallicities and lower [α/Fe] abundance ratios compared to the median values in the radial distributions. This is detected both for young objects that trace the spiral arms and older populations. Several α, iron-peak elements and at least one heavy element trace the thin and thick disc properties in the solar cylinder. Third, young disc stars show a recent chemical impoverishment in several elements. Fourth, the largest chemo-dynamical sample of open clusters analysed so far shows a steepening of the radial metallicity gradient with age, which is also observed in the young field population. Finally, the Gaia chemical data have the required coverage and precision to unveil galaxy accretion debris and heated disc stars on halo orbits through their [α/Fe] ratio, and to allow the study of the chemo-dynamical properties of globular clusters. Conclusions. Gaia DR3 chemo-dynamical diagnostics open new horizons before the era of ground-based wide-field spectroscopic surveys. They unveil a complex Milky Way that is the outcome of an eventful evolution, shaping it to the present day.
|
|
5. |
- Schultheis, M., et al.
(author)
-
Gaia Data Release 3: Exploring and mapping the diffuse interstellar band at 862 nm
- 2023
-
In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 674
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context. Diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) are common interstellar absorption features in spectroscopic observations but their origins remain unclear. DIBs play an important role in the life cycle of the interstellar medium (ISM) and can also be used to trace Galactic structure.Aims. Here, we demonstrate the capacity of the Gaia-Radial Velocity Spectrometer (RVS) in Gaia DR3 to reveal the spatial distribution of the unknown molecular species responsible for the most prominent DIB at 862 nm in the RVS passband, exploring the Galactic ISM within a few kiloparsecs from the Sun.Methods. The DIBs are measured within the GSP-Spec module using a Gaussian profile fit for cool stars and a Gaussian process for hot stars. In addition to the equivalent widths and their uncertainties, Gaia DR3 provides their characteristic central wavelength, width, and quality flags.Results. We present an extensive sample of 476 117 individual DIB measurements obtained in a homogeneous way covering the entire sky. We compare spatial distributions of the DIB carrier with interstellar reddening and find evidence that DIB carriers are present in a local bubble around the Sun which contains nearly no dust. We characterised the DIB equivalent width with a local density of 0.19 ± 0.04 kpc1 and a scale height of 98.60 8.46+11.10 pc. The latter is smaller than the dust scale height, indicating that DIBs are more concentrated towards the Galactic plane. We determine the rest-frame wavelength with unprecedented precision (?0 = 8620.86 ± 0.019 in air) and reveal a remarkable correspondence between the DIB velocities and the CO gas velocities, suggesting that the 862 nm DIB carrier is related to macro-molecules. Conclusions. We demonstrate the unique capacity of Gaia to trace the spatial structure of the Galactic ISM using the 862 nm DIB.
|
|
6. |
- Vallenari, A., et al.
(author)
-
Gaia Data Release 3: Summary of the content and survey properties
- 2023
-
In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 674
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Context. We present the third data release of the European Space Agency's Gaia mission, Gaia DR3. This release includes a large variety of new data products, notably a much expanded radial velocity survey and a very extensive astrophysical characterisation of Gaia sources.Aims. We outline the content and the properties of Gaia DR3, providing an overview of the main improvements in the data processing in comparison with previous data releases (where applicable) and a brief discussion of the limitations of the data in this release.Methods. The Gaia DR3 catalogue is the outcome of the processing of raw data collected with the Gaia instruments during the first 34 months of the mission by the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium.Results. The Gaia DR3 catalogue contains the same source list, celestial positions, proper motions, parallaxes, and broad band photometry in the G, GBP, and G(RP) pass-bands already present in the Early Third Data Release, Gaia EDR3. Gaia DR3 introduces an impressive wealth of new data products. More than 33 million objects in the ranges G(RVS) < 14 and 3100 < T-eff < 14 500, have new determinations of their mean radial velocities based on data collected by Gaia. We provide GRVS magnitudes for most sources with radial velocities, and a line broadening parameter is listed for a subset of these. Mean Gaia spectra are made available to the community. The Gaia DR3 catalogue includes about 1 million mean spectra from the radial velocity spectrometer, and about 220 million low-resolution blue and red prism photometer BP /RP mean spectra. The results of the analysis of epoch photometry are provided for some 10 million sources across 24 variability types. Gaia DR3 includes astrophysical parameters and source class probabilities for about 470 million and 1500 million sources, respectively, including stars, galaxies, and quasars. Orbital elements and trend parameters are provided for some 800 000 astrometric, spectroscopic and eclipsing binaries. More than 150 000 Solar System objects, including new discoveries, with preliminary orbital solutions and individual epoch observations are part of this release. Reflectance spectra derived from the epoch BP /RP spectral data are published for about 60 000 asteroids. Finally, an additional data set is provided, namely the Gaia Andromeda Photometric Survey, consisting of the photometric time series for all sources located in a 5:5 degree radius field centred on the Andromeda galaxy.Conclusions. This data release represents a major advance with respect to Gaia DR2 and Gaia EDR3 because of the unprecedented quantity, quality, and variety of source astrophysical data. To date this is the largest collection of all-sky spectrophotometry, radial velocities, variables, and astrophysical parameters derived from both low- and high-resolution spectra and includes a spectrophotometric and dynamical survey of SSOs of the highest accuracy. The non-single star content surpasses the existing data by orders of magnitude. The quasar host and galaxy light profile collection is the first such survey that is all sky and space based. The astrophysical information provided in Gaia DR3 will unleash the full potential of Gaia's exquisite astrometric, photometric, and radial velocity surveys.
|
|
7. |
- Schultheis, M., et al.
(author)
-
Gaia Focused Product Release: Spatial distribution of two diffuse interstellar bands
- 2023
-
In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 680
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)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.
|
|
8. |
- Trabucchi, M., et al.
(author)
-
Gaia Focused Product Release: Radial velocity time series of long-period variables
- 2023
-
In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 680
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)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.
|
|
9. |
- Weingrill, K., et al.
(author)
-
Gaia Focused Product Release: Sources from Service Interface Function image analysis: Half a million new sources in omega Centauri
- 2023
-
In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 680
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)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.
|
|
10. |
|
|