| 1. |
- Kunder, Andrea, et al.
(author)
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THE RADIAL VELOCITY EXPERIMENT (RAVE) : FIFTH DATA RELEASE
- 2017
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In: The Astronomical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 0004-6256 .- 1538-3881. ; 153:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Data Release 5 (DR5) of the Radial Velocity Experiment (RAVE) is the fifth data release from a magnitude-limited (9 < I < 12) survey of stars randomly selected in the Southern Hemisphere. The RAVE medium-resolution spectra (R ∼ 7500) covering the Ca-triplet region (8410-8795 A) span the complete time frame from the start of RAVE observations in 2003 to their completion in 2013. Radial velocities from 520,781 spectra of 457,588 unique stars are presented, of which 255,922 stellar observations have parallaxes and proper motions from the Tycho-Gaia astrometric solution in Gaia DR1. For our main DR5 catalog, stellar parameters (effective temperature, surface gravity, and overall metallicity) are computed using the RAVE DR4 stellar pipeline, but calibrated using recent K2 Campaign 1 seismic gravities and Gaia benchmark stars, as well as results obtained from high-resolution studies. Also included are temperatures from the Infrared Flux Method, and we provide a catalog of red giant stars in the dereddened color - (J Ks) 0 interval (0.50, 0.85) for which the gravities were calibrated based only on seismology. Further data products for subsamples of the RAVE stars include individual abundances for Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Ti, Fe, and Ni, and distances found using isochrones. Each RAVE spectrum is complemented by an error spectrum, which has been used to determine uncertainties on the parameters. The data can be accessed via the RAVE Web site or the VizieR database.
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| 2. |
- Feltzing, Sofia, et al.
(author)
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On the metallicity dependence of the [Y/Mg]–age relation for solar-type stars
- 2017
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In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1745-3925 .- 1745-3933. ; 465:1, s. 109-113
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Several recent studies of solar twins in the solar neighbourhood have shown a tight correlation between various elemental abundances and age, in particular [Y/Mg]. If this relation is real and valid for other types of stars as well as elsewhere in the Galaxy, it would provide a very powerful tool to derive ages of stars without the need to resort to determining their masses (evolutionary stage) very precisely. The method would also likely work if the stellar parameters have relatively large errors. The studies presented in the recent literature span a narrow range of [Fe/H]. By studying a larger sample of solar neighbourhood dwarfs with a much larger range of [Fe/H], we find that the relation between [Y/Mg] and age depends on the [Fe/H] of the stars. Hence, it appears that the [Y/Mg]–age relation is unique to solar analogues.
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| 3. |
- McMillan, Paul J.
(author)
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The mass distribution and gravitational potential of the Milky Way
- 2017
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In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 465:1, s. 76-94
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present mass models of the Milky Way created to fit observational constraints and to be consistent with expectations from theoretical modelling. The method used to create these models is that demonstrated in our previous study, and we improve on those models by adding gas discs to the potential, considering the effects of allowing the inner slope of the halo density profile to vary, and including new observations of maser sources in the Milky Way amongst the new constraints. We provide a best-fitting model, as well as estimates of the properties of the Milky Way. Under the assumptions in our main model, we find that the Sun is R0 = 8.20 ± 0.09 kpc from the Galactic Centre, with the circular speed at the Sun being v0 = 232.8 ± 3.0 kms-1; and that the Galaxy has a total stellar mass of (54.3 ± 5.7) × 109 M⊙, a total virial mass of (1.30 ± 0.30) × 1012M⊙ and a local dark-matter density of 0.40 ± 0.04 GeV cm-3, where the quoted uncertainties are statistical. These values are sensitive to our choice of priors and constraints. We investigate systematic uncertainties, which in some cases may be larger. For example, if we weaken our prior on R0, we find it to be 7.97 ± 0.15 kpc and that v0 = 226.8 ± 4.2 kms-1.We find that most of these properties, including the local dark-matter density, are remarkably insensitive to the assumed power-law density slope at the centre of the dark-matter halo. We find that it is unlikely that the local standard of rest differs significantly from that found under assumptions of axisymmetry. We have made code to compute the force from our potential, and to integrate orbits within it, publicly available.
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| 4. |
- Schönrich, Ralph, et al.
(author)
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Understanding inverse metallicity gradients in galactic discs as a consequence of inside-out formation
- 2017
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In: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0035-8711 .- 1365-2966. ; 467:1, s. 1154-1174
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The early stages of a galaxy's evolution leave an imprint on its metallicity distribution. We discuss the origins and evolution of radial metallicity gradients in discs of spiral galaxies using an analytical chemical evolution model. We explain how radial metallicity gradients in stellar populations are determined by three factors: the radial metallicity profile of the star-forming interstellar medium (ISM), radial changes in the star formation history (in particular, inside-out formation) and radial mixing of stars. Under reasonable assumptions, inside-out formation steepens the negative ISM metallicity gradient, but contributes positively to the stellar metallicity gradient, up to inverting the metallicity profile to a positive d[Fe/H]/dR. This reconciles steep negative d[Fe/H]/dR in some high-redshift galaxies to generally flatter gradients in local observations. We discuss the evidence for inverse radial metallicity gradients (positive d[X/H]/dR) at high redshifts and the inverse relationship between azimuthal velocity and the metallicity (positive dVφ/d[Fe/H]) of stars for the Milky Way's thick disc. The former can be achieved by high central gas-loss rates and re-distribution processes, e.g. re-accretion of enriched material in conjunction with the inside-out formation and near-disc galactic fountaining. For the Milky Way-thick disc, we show that the positive dVφ/d[Fe/H] correlation points to comparable time-scales for inside-out formation, initial metal enrichment and SNIa enrichment. We argue that the original ISM metallicity gradient could be inferred with better data from the high-metallicity tail of the alpha-enhanced population. Including inside-out formation in our models changes the local vertical metallicity gradient by about −0.2 dex kpc−1, in line with local measurements.
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