arXiv subjects

A. E. Piatti

Publications and source records attributed to A. E. Piatti.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Pre-main Sequence B Stars Surrounding the Orion Nebula

Pre-main sequence (PMS) early-type stars are rare due to their rapid evolution. Confirming PMS B stars is accordingly valuable for constraining higher mass star formation scenarios. Although the Orion Nebula (ON) region offers an ideal laboratory for such studies, its population of B stars remains poorly characterized. We aim to determine spectral types, masses, and ages of B and early A stars surrounding the ON, to identify robust PMS candidates. We combine optical and near-infrared spectroscopy to estimate spectral types using Brackett, He, Si, and Mg lines. Photometry from Gaia, 2MASS, and WISE is used to construct colour-magnitude diagrams to fit isochrones via chi-square minimisation, yielding stellar ages and masses. Dynamical masses from eclipsing binaries are employed as independent constraints on the mass range allowed for each spectral subtype. We derive stellar ages and masses for 53 stars and spectral classifications for 48 of them, identifying 30 PMS candidates, including some that were previously assigned to luminosity classes I-III. Several stars show spectroscopic variability, potentially linked to circumstellar material or binarity. Our combined spectroscopic and photometric approach identifies robust PMS B-star candidates and provides a validated framework for distinguishing them from evolved counterparts - in this instance, refining the census of early-types young stars in Orion. The age distribution of the PMS candidates offers preliminary clues about the star formation history of the ON region.

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arXiv2025

Probing the farthest star clusters to the Small Magellanic Cloud

The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) has been tidally shaped by the interaction with the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The scope of such an interaction has recently been studied from different astrophysical properties of its star cluster population, which point to star clusters placed remarkably outside the known extension of the galaxy. In this work we report results for three of the recently identified most external SMC star clusters, OGLE-CL-SMC0133, OGLE-CL-SMC0237, and Lindsay~116, using deep GEMINI GMOS imaging. Once we confidently cleaned their color-magnitude diagrams from field star contamination, we estimated their fundamental parameters applying likelihood techniques. We also derived their structural parameters from normalized star number density radial profiles. Based on {\it Gaia} astrometric data, complemented with kinematics information available in the literature, we computed the 3D components of their space velocities. With similar ages (~ 2.2 Gyr) and moderately metal-poor overall abundances ([Fe/H] = -1.0 - -0.7 dex), OGLE-CL-SMC0237 is placed at 2.6 kpc from the SMC center and shares its disk rotation; OGLE-CL-SMC0133 is located at 7.6 kpc from the galaxy center and exhibits a kinematics marginally similar to the SMC rotation disk, while Lindsay~116 placed at 15.7 kpc from the center of the SMC is facing strong perturbations of its orbital motion with respect to an ordered rotational trajectory. Furthermore, its internal dynamical evolution would seem to be accelerated -- it seems kinematically older -- in comparison with star clusters in the outskirts of relatively isolated galaxies. These outcomes lead to conclude that Lindsay~116 is subject to LMC tides.

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arXiv2022

Metallicities and ages for star clusters and their surrounding fields in the Large Magellanic Cloud

We study 147 star clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) in order to determine their mean metallicities and ages, as well as the mean metallicities of 80 surrounding fields. We construct an age-metallicity relation (AMR) for the clusters in the LMC. For this purpose, we used Strömgren photometry obtained with the SOI camera on the 4.1 m SOAR telescope. We found the mean metallicity and age for 110 star clusters. For the remaining 37, we provide an age estimation only. To the best of our knowledge, for 29 clusters from our sample, we provide both the metallicity and age for the first time, whereas for 66 clusters, we provide a first determination of the metallicity, and for 43 clusters, the first estimation of the age. We also calculated the mean metallicities for stars from 80 fields around the clusters. The old, metal-poor star clusters occur both in and out of the LMC bar region, while intermediate-age clusters are located mostly outside of the bar. The majority of star clusters younger than 1 Gyr are located in the bar region. We find a good agreement between our AMR and theoretical models of the LMC chemical enrichment, as well as with AMRs for clusters from the literature. Next, we took advantage of 26 stellar clusters from our sample which host Cepheid variables and used them as an independent check of the correctness of our age determination procedure. We used period-age relations for Cepheids to calculate the mean age of a given cluster and compared it with the age obtained from isochrone fitting. We find good agreement between these ages, especially for models taking into account additional physical processes (e.g., rotation). We also compared the AMR of the LMC and Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) derived in a uniform way and we note that they indicate possible former interaction between these two galaxies.

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arXiv2022

Assessing the physical reality of Milky Way open cluster candidates

We report results on the analysis of eleven new Milky Way open cluster candidates, recently discovered from the detection of stellar overdensities in the Vector Point diagram, by employing extreme deconvolution Gaussian mixture models. We treated these objects as real open clusters and derived their fundamental properties with their associated intrinsic dispersions by exploring the parameter space through the minimization of likelihood functions on generated synthetic colour-magnitude diagrams (CMDs). The intrinsic dispersions of the resulting ages turned out to be much larger than those usually obtained for open clusters. Indeed, they resemble those of ages and metallicities of composite star field populations. We also traced their stellar number density profiles and mass functions, derived their total masses, Jacobi and tidal radii, which helped us as criteria while assessing their physical nature as real open clusters. Because the eleven candidates show a clear gathering of stars in the proper motion plane and some hint for similar distances, we concluded that they are possibly sparse groups of stars.

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arXiv2021

Metallicities and ages for 35 star clusters and their surrounding fields in the Small Magellanic Cloud

In this work we study 35 stellar clusters in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) in order to provide their mean metallicities and ages. We also provide mean metallicities of the fields surrounding the clusters. We used Strömgren photometry obtained with the 4.1 m SOAR telescope and take advantage of $(b - y)$ and $m1$ colors for which there is a metallicity calibration presented in the literature. The spatial metallicity and age distributions of clusters across the SMC are investigated using the results obtained by Strömgren photometry. We confirm earlier observations that younger, more metal-rich star clusters are concentrated in the central regions of the galaxy, while older, more metal-poor clusters are located farther from the SMC center. We construct the age-metallicity relation for the studied clusters and find good agreement with theoretical models of chemical enrichment, and with other literature age and metallicity values for those clusters. We also provide the mean metallicities for old and young populations of the field stars surrounding the clusters, and find the latter to be in good agreement with recent studies of the SMC Cepheid population. Finally, the Strömgren photometry obtained for this study is made publicly available.

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arXiv2021

Signatures of tidal disruption in the Milky Way globular cluster NGC 6981 (M72)

We study the outer regions of the Milky Way globular cluster NGC6981 from publicly available $BV$ photometry and new Dark Energy Camera (DECam) observations, both reaching nearly 4 mag below the cluster main sequence (MS) turnoff. While the $BV$ data sets reveal the present of extra-tidal features around the cluster, the much larger field of view of DECam observations allowed us to identify some other tidal features, which extend from the cluster toward the opposite direction to the Milky Way center. These cluster structural features arise from stellar density maps built using MS stars, once the cluster color-magnitude diagram was cleaned from the contamination of field stars. We also performed $N$-body simulations in order to help us to understand the spatial distribution of the extra-tidal debris. The outcomes reveal the presenceof long trailing and leading tails mostly parallel to the direction of the cluster velocity vector. We found that the cluster has lost most of its mass by tidal disruption during its perigalactic passages, that lasted nearly 20 Myr each. Hence, a decrease in the density of escaping stars near the cluster is expected from our $N$-body simulations, which in turn means that stronger extra-tidal features could be found out by exploring much larger areas around NGC6891.

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arXiv2020

The elusive tidal tails of the Milky Way globular cluster NGC 7099

We present results on the extra-tidal features of the Milky Way globular cluster NGC 7099, using deep gr photometry obtained with the Dark Energy Camera (DECam). We reached nearly 6 mag below the cluster Main Sequence (MS) turnoff, so that we dealt with the most suitable candidates to trace any stellar structure located beyond the cluster tidal radius. From star-by-star reddening corrected color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) we defined four adjacent strips along the MS, for which we built the respective stellar density maps, once the contamination by field stars was properly removed. The resulting field star cleaned stellar density maps show a short tidal tail and some scattered debris. Such extra-tidal features are hardly detected when much shallower Gaia DR2 data sets are used and the same CMD field star cleaning procedure is applied. Indeed, by using 2.5 magnitudes below the cluster MS turnoff as the faintest limit (G < 20.5 mag), cluster members turned out to be distributed within the cluster's tidal radius, and some hints for field star density variations are found across a circle of radius 3.5deg centered on the cluster and with similar CMD features as cluster stars. The proper motion distribution of these stars is distinguishable from that of the cluster, with some superposition, which resembles that of stars located beyond 3.5deg from the cluster center.

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arXiv2020

The VISCACHA survey -- II. Structure of star clusters in the Magellanic Clouds periphery

We provide a homogeneous set of structural parameters of 83 star clusters located at the periphery of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) and the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The clusters' stellar density and surface brightness profiles were built from deep, AO assisted optical images, and uniform analysis techniques. The structural parameters were obtained from King and Elson et al. model fittings. Integrated magnitudes and masses (for a subsample) are also provided. The sample contains mostly low surface brightness clusters with distances between 4.5 and 6.5 kpc and between 1 and 6.5 kpc from the LMC and SMC centres, respectively. We analysed their spatial distribution and structural properties, comparing them with those of inner clusters. Half-light and Jacobi radii were estimated, allowing an evaluation of the Roche volume tidal filling. We found that: (i) for our sample of LMC clusters, the tidal radii are, on average, larger than those of inner clusters from previous studies; (ii) the core radii dispersion tends to be greater for LMC clusters located towards the southwest, with position angles of $\sim$200 degrees and about $\sim$5 degrees from the LMC centre, i.e., those LMC clusters nearer to the SMC; (iii) the core radius evolution for clusters with known age is similar to that of inner clusters; (iv) SMC clusters with galactocentric distances closer than 4 kpc are overfilling; (v) the recent Clouds collision did not leave marks on the LMC clusters' structure that our analysis could reveal.

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arXiv2019

Characterizing dynamical stages of open clusters located in the Sagittarius spiral arm

The study of dynamical properties of Galactic open clusters is a fundamental prerequisite for the comprehension of their dissolution processes. In this work, we characterized 12 open clusters, namely: Collinder 258, NGC 6756, Czernik 37, NGC 5381, Ruprecht 111, Ruprecht 102, NGC 6249, Basel 5, Ruprecht 97, Trumpler 25, ESO 129-SC32 and BH 150, projected against dense stellar fields. In order to do that, we employed Washington $CT_{1}$ photometry and GAIA DR2 astrometry, combined with a decontamination algorithm applied to the three-dimensional astrometric space of proper motions and parallaxes. From the derived membership likelihoods, we built decontaminated colour-magnitude diagrams, while structural parameters were obtained from King profiles fitting. Our analysis revealed that they are relatively young open clusters (log($t$ yr$^{-1}$) $\sim7.3-8.6$), placed along the Sagittarius spiral arm, and at different internal dynamical stages. We found that the half-light radius to Jacobi radius ratio, the concentration parameter and the age to relaxation time ratio describe satisfactorily their different stages of dynamical evolution. Those relative more dynamically evolved open clusters have apparently experienced more important low-mass star loss.

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arXiv2018

Metallicity estimates of young clusters in the Magellanic Clouds from Stromgren photometry of supergiant stars

We present results obtained from Stromgren photometry of 13 young (~30-220 Myr) Magellanic Cloud (MC) clusters, most of them lacking in the literature from direct metallicity measurements. We derived for them [Fe/H] values from a high-dispersion spectroscopy-based empirical calibration of the Stromgren metallicity sensitive index m1 for yellow and red supergiants (SGs). Particular care was given while estimating their respective uncertainties. In order to obtain the mean cluster metallicities, we used [Fe/H] values of selected SGs for which we required to be located within the cluster radii, placed in the expected SG region in the cluster colour-magnitude diagrams, and with [Fe/H] values within the FWHM of the observed cluster metallicity distributions. The resulting metallicities for nearly 75 per cent of the cluster sample agree well with the most frequently used values of the mean MCs' present-day metallicities. The remaining clusters have mean [Fe/H] values that fall near the edge of the MC present-day metallicity distributions. When comparing the cluster metallicities with their present positions, we found evidence that supports the claimed recent interaction of the MCs with the Milky Way, that could have caused that some clusters were scattered from their birthplaces. Indeed, we show examples of clusters with metal contents typical of the galaxy inner regions placed outward them. Likewise, we found young clusters, at present located in the inner regions of both MCs, formed out of gas that has remained unmixed since several Gyr ago.

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arXiv2018

Accurate radial velocity and metallicity of the Large Magellanic Cloud old globular clusters NGC 1928 and NGC 1939

We present results obtained from spectroscopic observations of red giants located in the fields of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) globular clusters (GCs) NGC 1928 and NGC 1939. We used the GMOS and AAOmega+2dF spectrographs to obtain spectra centred on the CaII triplet, from which we derived individual radial velocities (RVs) and metallicities. From cluster members we derived mean RVs of RV_NGC1928=249.58+-4.65 km/s and RV_NGC939=258.85+-2.08 km/s, and mean metallicities of [Fe/H]_NGC1928=-1.30+-0.15 dex and [Fe/H]_NGC1939=-2.00+-0.15 dex. We found that both GCs have RVs and positions consistent with being part of the LMC disc, so that we rule out any possible origin but that in the same galaxy. By computing the best solution of a disc that fully contains each GC, we obtained circular velocities for the 15 known LMC GCs. We found that 11/15 of the GCs share the LMC rotation derived from $HST$ and $Gaia$ DR2 proper motions. This outcome reveals that the LMC disc existed since the very early epoch of the galaxy formation and experienced the steep relatively fast chemical enrichment shown by its GC metallicities. The four remaining GCs turned out to have circular velocities not compatible with an in situ cluster formation, but rather with being stripped from the SMC.

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arXiv2018

Evidence of differential tidal effects in the old globular cluster population of the Large Magellanic Cloud

We present for the first time extended stellar density and/or surface brightness radial profiles for almost all the known Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) old globular clusters (GCs). These were built from DECam images and reach out to ~ 4 times the GCs' tidal radii. The background subtracted radial profiles reveal that the GCs located closer than ~ 5 kpc from the LMC centre contain an excess of stars in their outermost regions with respect to the stellar density expected from a King profile. Such a residual amount of stars - not seen in GCs located farther than ~ 5 kpc from the LMC centre-, as well as the GCs' dimensions, show a clear dependence with the GCs' positions in the galaxy, in the sense that, the farther the GC from the centre of the LMC, the larger both the excess of stars in its outskirts and size. Although the masses of GCs located inside and outside ~ 5 kpc are commensurate, the outermost regions of GCs located closer than ~ 5 kpc from the LMC centre appear to have dynamically evolved more quickly. These outcomes can be fully interpreted in the light of the known GC radial velocity disc-like kinematics, from which GCs have been somehow mostly experiencing the influence of the LMC gravitational field at their respective mean distances from the LMC centre.

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arXiv2018

Catching Galactic open clusters in advanced stages of dynamical evolution

During their dynamical evolution, Galactic open clusters (OCs) gradually lose their stellar content mainly because of internal relaxation and tidal forces. In this context, the study of dynamically evolved OCs is necessary to properly understand such processes. We present a comprehensive Washington $CT_1$ photometric analysis of six sparse OCs, namely: ESO 518-3, Ruprecht 121, ESO 134-12, NGC 6573, ESO 260-7 and ESO 065-7. We employed Markov chain Monte-Carlo simulations to robustly determine the central coordinates and the structural parameters and $T_1\times(C-T_1)$ colour-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) cleaned from field contamination were used to derive the fundamental parameters. ESO 518-03, Ruprecht 121, ESO 134-12 and NGC 6573 resulted to be of nearly the same young age (8.2 $\leq\textrm{log}(t \textrm{yr}^{-1})\leq$ 8.3); ESO 260-7 and ESO065-7 are of intermediate age (9.2 $\leq\textrm{log}(t \textrm{yr}^{-1})\leq$ 9.4). All studied OCs are located at similar Galactocentric distances (R$_{G}\sim6-6.9 $kpc), considering uncertainties, except for ESO 260-7 ($R_{G}=8.9 $kpc). These OCs are in a tidally filled regime and are dynamically evolved, since they are much older than their half-mass relaxation times ($t/t_{rh}\gtrsim30$) and present signals of low-mass star depletion. We distinguished two groups: those dynamically evolving towards final disruptions and those in an advanced dynamical evolutionary stage. Although we do not rule out that the Milky Way potential could have made differentially faster their dynamical evolutions, we speculate here with the possibility that they have been mainly driven by initial formation conditions.

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arXiv2016

Investigation of Galactic open cluster remnants: the case of NGC 7193

Galactic open clusters (OCs) that survive the early gas-expulsion phase are gradually destroyed over time by the action of disruptive dynamical processes. Their final evolutionary stages are characterized by a poorly populated concentration of stars called open cluster remnant (OCR). This study is devoted to assess the real physical nature of the OCR candidate NGC 7193. GMOS/Gemini spectroscopy of 53 stars in the inner target region were obtained to derive radial velocities and atmospheric parameters. We also employed photometric and proper motion data. The analysis method consists of the following steps: (i) analysis of the statistical resemblance between the cluster and a set of field samples with respect to the sequences defined in colour-magnitude diagrams (CMDs); (ii) a 5-dimensional iteractive exclusion routine was employed to identify outliers from kinematical and positional data; (iii) isochrone fitting to the $K_{s}\times(J-K_{s})$ CMD of the remaining stars and the dispersion of spectral types along empirical sequences in the $(J-H)\times(H-K_{s})$ diagram was checked. A group of stars was identified for which the mean heliocentric distance is compatible with that obtained via isochrone fitting and whose metallicities are compatible with each other. Fifteen member stars observed spectroscopically were identified together with other 19 probable members. Our results indicate that NGC 7193 is a genuine OCR, of an once very populous OC, for which the following parameters were derived: $d=501\,\pm\,46\,$pc, $t=2.5\,\pm\,1.2\,$Gyr, $\langle\,[Fe/H]\,\rangle=-0.17\,\pm\,0.23$ and $E(B-V)=0.05\,\pm\,0.05$. Its luminosity and mass functions show depletion of low mass stars, confirming the OCR dynamically evolved state.

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arXiv2016

The VMC Survey - XX. Identification of new Cepheids in the Small Magellanic Cloud

We present Ks -band light curves for 299 Cepheids in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) of which 288 are new discoveries that we have identified using multi-epoch near-infrared photometry obtained by the VISTA survey of the Magellanic Clouds system (VMC). The new Cepheids have periods in the range from 0.34 to 9.1 days and cover the magnitude interval 12.9 <= Ks <= 17.6 mag. Our method was developed using variable stars previously identified by the optical microlensing survey OGLE. We focus on searching new Cepheids in external regions of the SMC for which complete VMC Ks-band observations are available and no comprehensive identification of different types of variable stars from other surveys exists yet.

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arXiv2016

The VMC Survey. XIX. Classical Cepheids in the Small Magellanic Cloud

The VISTA near infrared Y, J, Ks survey of the Magellanic System (VMC) is collecting deep Ks band time series photometry of pulsating variable stars hosted by the two Magellanic Clouds and their connecting Bridge. In this paper, we present Y, J, Ks light curves for a sample of 4172 Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) Classical Cepheids (CCs). These data, complemented with literature V values, allowed us to construct a variety of period-luminosity (PL), period-luminosity-color (PLC), and period-wesenheit (PW) relationships, valid for Fundamental (F), First Overtone (FO) and Second Overtone (SO) pulsators. The relations involving V, J, Ks bands are in agreement with their counterparts in the literature. As for the Y band, to our knowledge we present the first CC PL, PW, and PLC relations ever derived using this filter. We also present the first near infrared PL, PW, and PLC relations for SO pulsators to date. We used PW(V,Ks) to estimate the relative SMC-LMC distance and, in turn, the absolute distance to the SMC. For the former quantity we find a value of Delta(mu)=0.55+-0.04 mag, in rather good agreement with other evaluations based on CCs, but significantly larger than the results obtained from older population II distance indicators. This discrepancy might be due to the different geometric distributions of young and old tracers in both Clouds. As for the absolute distance to the SMC, our best estimates are mu(SMC)=19.01+-0.05 mag and mu(SMC)=19.04+-0.06 mag, based on two distance measurements to the LMC, which rely on accurate CC and eclipsing Cepheid binary data, respectively.

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arXiv2015

The VMC survey - XV. The Small Magellanic Cloud--Bridge connection history as traced by their star cluster populations

We present results based on YJKs photometry of star clusters located in the outermost, eastern region of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). We analysed a total of 51 catalogued clusters whose colour--magnitude diagrams (CMDs), having been cleaned from field-star contamination, were used to assess the clusters' reality and estimate ages of the genuine systems. Based on CMD analysis, 15 catalogued clusters were found to be possible non-genuine aggregates. We investigated the properties of 80% of the catalogued clusters in this part of the SMC by enlarging our sample with previously obtained cluster ages, adopting a homogeneous scale for all. Their spatial distribution suggests that the oldest clusters, log(t yr-1) >= 9.6, are in general located at greater distances to the galaxy's centre than their younger counterparts -- 9.0 <= log(t yr-1) <= 9.4 -- while two excesses of clusters are seen at log(t yr-1) ~ 9.2 and log(t yr-1) ~ 9.7. We found a trail of younger clusters which follow the Wing/Bridge components. This long spatial sequence does not only harbour very young clusters, log(t yr-1) ~ 7.3, but it also hosts some of intermediate ages, log(t yr-1) ~ 9.1. The derived cluster and field-star formation frequencies as a function of age are different. The most surprising feature is an observed excess of clusters with ages of log(t yr-1) < 9.0, which could have been induced by interactions with the LMC.

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arXiv2014

The VMC Survey. XIII. Type II Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud

The VISTA survey of the Magellanic Clouds System (VMC) is collecting deep $K_\mathrm{s}$--band time--series photometry of the pulsating variable stars hosted in the system formed by the two Magellanic Clouds and the Bridge connecting them. In this paper we have analysed a sample of 130 Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) Type II Cepheids (T2CEPs) found in tiles with complete or near complete VMC observations for which identification and optical magnitudes were obtained from the OGLE III survey. We present $J$ and $K_\mathrm{s}$ light curves for all 130 pulsators, including 41 BL Her, 62 W Vir (12 pW Vir) and 27 RV Tau variables. We complement our near-infrared photometry with the $V$ magnitudes from the OGLE III survey, allowing us to build a variety of Period-Luminosity ($PL$), Period-Luminosity-Colour ($PLC$) and Period-Wesenheit ($PW$) relationships, including any combination of the $V, J, K_\mathrm{s}$ filters and valid for BL Her and W Vir classes. These relationships were calibrated in terms of the LMC distance modulus, while an independent absolute calibration of the $PL(K_\mathrm{s})$ and the $PW(K_\mathrm{s},V)$ was derived on the basis of distances obtained from $Hubble Space Telescope$ parallaxes and Baade-Wesselink technique. When applied to the LMC and to the Galactic Globular Clusters hosting T2CEPs, these relations seem to show that: 1) the two population II standard candles RR Lyrae and T2CEPs give results in excellent agreement with each other; 2) there is a discrepancy of $\sim$0.1 mag between population II standard candles and Classical Cepheids when the distances are gauged in a similar way for all the quoted pulsators. However, given the uncertainties, this discrepancy is within the formal 1$σ$ uncertainties.

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