arXiv subjects

A. G. A. Brown

Publications and source records attributed to A. G. A. Brown.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

Gaia Data Release 1. Summary of the astrometric, photometric, and survey properties

At about 1000 days after the launch of Gaia we present the first Gaia data release, Gaia DR1, consisting of astrometry and photometry for over 1 billion sources brighter than magnitude 20.7. We summarize Gaia DR1 and provide illustrations of the scientific quality of the data, followed by a discussion of the limitations due to the preliminary nature of this release. Gaia DR1 consists of: a primary astrometric data set which contains the positions, parallaxes, and mean proper motions for about 2 million of the brightest stars in common with the Hipparcos and Tycho-2 catalogues and a secondary astrometric data set containing the positions for an additional 1.1 billion sources. The second component is the photometric data set,consisting of mean G-band magnitudes for all sources. The G-band light curves and the characteristics of ~3000 Cepheid and RR Lyrae stars, observed at high cadence around the south ecliptic pole, form the third component. For the primary astrometric data set the typical uncertainty is about 0.3 mas for the positions and parallaxes, and about 1 mas/yr for the proper motions. A systematic component of ~0.3 mas should be added to the parallax uncertainties. For the subset of ~94000 Hipparcos stars in the primary data set, the proper motions are much more precise at about 0.06 mas/yr. For the secondary astrometric data set, the typical uncertainty of the positions is ~10 mas. The median uncertainties on the mean G-band magnitudes range from the mmag level to ~0.03 mag over the magnitude range 5 to 20.7. Gaia DR1 represents a major advance in the mapping of the heavens and the availability of basic stellar data that underpin observational astrophysics. Nevertheless, the very preliminary nature of this first Gaia data release does lead to a number of important limitations to the data quality which should be carefully considered before drawing conclusions from the data.

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arXiv2016

The evolution of the Sun's birth cluster and the search for the solar siblings with Gaia

We use self-consistent numerical simulations of the evolution and disruption of the Sun's birth cluster in the Milky Way potential to investigate the present-day phase space distribution of the Sun's siblings. The simulations include the gravitational N-body forces within the cluster and the effects of stellar evolution on the cluster population. In addition the gravitational forces due to the Milky Way potential are accounted for in a self-consistent manner. Our aim is to understand how the astrometric and radial velocity data from the Gaia mission can be used to pre-select solar sibling candidates. We vary the initial conditions of the Sun's birth cluster, as well as the parameters of the Galactic potential. We show that the disruption time-scales of the cluster are insensitive to the details of the non-axisymmetric components of the Milky Way model and we make predictions, averaged over the different simulated possibilities, about the number of solar siblings that should appear in surveys such as Gaia or GALAH. We find a large variety of present-day phase space distributions of solar siblings, which depend on the cluster initial conditions and the Milky Way model parameters. We show that nevertheless robust predictions can be made about the location of the solar siblings in the space of parallaxes ($\varpi$), proper motions ($μ$) and radial velocities ($V_\mathrm{r}$). By calculating the ratio of the number of simulated solar siblings to that of the number of stars in a model Galactic disk, we find that this ratio is above 0.5 in the region given by: $\varpi \geq 5$mas, $4 \leq μ\leq 6$masyr$^{-1}$, and $-2\leq V_\mathrm{r} \leq 0$kms$^{-1}$. Selecting stars from this region should increase the probability of success in identifying solar siblings through follow up observations [Abridged].

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arXiv2015

Nested shells reveal the rejuvenation of the Orion-Eridanus superbubble

The Orion-Eridanus superbubble is the prototypical superbubble due to its proximity and evolutionary state. Here, we provide a synthesis of recent observational data from WISE and Planck with archival data, allowing to draw a new and more complete picture on the history and evolution of the Orion-Eridanus region. We discuss the general morphological structures and observational characteristics of the superbubble, and derive quantitative properties of the gas- and dust inside Barnard's Loop. We reveal that Barnard's Loop is a complete bubble structure which, together with the lambda Ori region and other smaller-scale bubbles, expands within the Orion-Eridanus superbubble. We argue that the Orion-Eridanus superbubble is larger and more complex than previously thought, and that it can be viewed as a series of nested shells, superimposed along the line of sight. During the lifetime of the superbubble, HII region champagne flows and thermal evaporation of embedded clouds continuously mass-load the superbubble interior, while winds or supernovae from the Orion OB association rejuvenate the superbubble by sweeping up the material from the interior cavities in an episodic fashion, possibly triggering the formation of new stars that form shells of their own. The steady supply of material into the superbubble cavity implies that dust processing from interior supernova remnants is more efficient than previously thought. The cycle of mass-loading, interior cleansing, and star formation repeats until the molecular reservoir is depleted or the clouds have been disrupted. While the nested shells come and go, the superbubble remains for tens of millions of years.

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arXiv2015

The solar siblings in the Gaia era

We perform realistic simulations of the Sun's birth cluster in order to predict the current distribution of solar siblings in the Galaxy. We study the possibility of finding the solar siblings in the Gaia catalogue by using only positional and kinematic information. We find that the number of solar siblings predicted to be observed by Gaia will be around 100 in the most optimistic case, and that a phase space only search in the Gaia catalogue will be extremely difficult. It is therefore mandatory to combine the chemical tagging technique with phase space selection criteria in order to have any hope of finding the solar siblings.

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arXiv2014

Quest for finding the lost siblings of the Sun

The aim of this paper is to find lost siblings of the Sun by analyzing high resolution spectra. Finding solar siblings will enable us to constrain the parameters of the parental cluster and the birth place of the Sun in the Galaxy. The solar siblings can be identified by accurate measurements of metallicity, stellar age and elemental abundances for solar neighbourhood stars. The solar siblings candidates were kinematically selected based on their proper motions, parallaxes and colours. Stellar parameters were determined through a purely spectroscopic approach and partly physical method, respectively. Comparing synthetic with observed spectra, elemental abundances were computed based on the stellar parameters obtained using a partly physical method. A chemical tagging technique was used to identify the solar siblings. We present stellar parameters, stellar ages, and detailed elemental abundances for Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Ti, Cr, Fe, and Ni for 32 solar sibling candidates. Our abundances analysis shows that four stars are chemically homogenous together with the Sun. Technique of chemical tagging gives us a high probability that they might be from the same open cluster. Only one candidate HIP 40317 which has solar metallicity and age could be a solar sibling. We performed simulations of the Sun's birth cluster in analytical Galactic model and found that most of the radial velocities of the solar siblings lie in the range $-10 \leq \mathrm{V_r}\leq 10$ $\mathrm{km~s^{-1}}$, which is smaller than the radial velocity of HIP 40317 $(\mathrm{V_r} = 34.2~\mathrm{km~s^{-1}})$, under different Galactic parameters and different initial conditions of the Sun's birth cluster. The sibling status for HIP 40317 is not directly supported by our dynamical analysis.

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arXiv2014

Gaia on-board metrology: basic angle and best focus

The Gaia payload ensures maximum passive stability using a single material, SiC, for most of its elements. Dedicated metrology instruments are, however, required to carry out two functions: monitoring the basic angle and refocusing the telescope. Two interferometers fed by the same laser are used to measure the basic angle changes at the level of $μ$as (prad, micropixel), which is the highest level ever achieved in space. Two Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensors, combined with an ad-hoc analysis of the scientific data are used to define and reach the overall best-focus. In this contribution, the systems, data analysis, procedures and performance achieved during commissioning are presented

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arXiv2013

Digging supplementary buried channels: investigating the notch architecture within the CCD pixels on ESA's Gaia satellite

The European Space Agency (ESA) Gaia satellite has 106 CCD image sensors which will suffer from increased charge transfer inefficiency (CTI) as a result of radiation damage. To aid the mitigation at low signal levels, the CCD design includes Supplementary Buried Channels (SBCs, otherwise known as `notches') within each CCD column. We present the largest published sample of Gaia CCD SBC Full Well Capacity (FWC) laboratory measurements and simulations based on 13 devices. We find that Gaia CCDs manufactured post-2004 have SBCs with FWCs in the upper half of each CCD that are systematically smaller by two orders of magnitude (<50 electrons) compared to those manufactured pre-2004 (thousands of electrons). Gaia's faint star (13 < G < 20 mag) astrometric performance predictions by Prod'homme et al. and Holl et al. use pre-2004 SBC FWCs as inputs to their simulations. However, all the CCDs already integrated onto the satellite for the 2013 launch are post-2004. SBC FWC measurements are not available for one of our five post-2004 CCDs but the fact it meets Gaia's image location requirements suggests it has SBC FWCs similar to pre-2004. It is too late to measure the SBC FWCs onboard the satellite and it is not possible to theoretically predict them. Gaia's faint star astrometric performance predictions depend on knowledge of the onboard SBC FWCs but as these are currently unavailable, it is not known how representative of the whole focal plane the current predictions are. Therefore, we suggest Gaia's initial in-orbit calibrations should include measurement of the onboard SBC FWCs. We present a potential method to do this. Faint star astrometric performance predictions based on onboard SBC FWCs at the start of the mission would allow satellite operating conditions or CTI software mitigation to be further optimised to improve the scientific return of Gaia.

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arXiv2011

Electrode level Monte Carlo model of radiation damage effects on astronomical CCDs

Current optical space telescopes rely upon silicon Charge Coupled Devices (CCDs) to detect and image the incoming photons. The performance of a CCD detector depends on its ability to transfer electrons through the silicon efficiently, so that the signal from every pixel may be read out through a single amplifier. This process of electron transfer is highly susceptible to the effects of solar proton damage (or non-ionizing radiation damage). This is because charged particles passing through the CCD displace silicon atoms, introducing energy levels into the semi-conductor bandgap which act as localized electron traps. The reduction in Charge Transfer Efficiency (CTE) leads to signal loss and image smearing. The European Space Agency's astrometric Gaia mission will make extensive use of CCDs to create the most complete and accurate stereoscopic map to date of the Milky Way. In the context of the Gaia mission CTE is referred to with the complementary quantity Charge Transfer Inefficiency (CTI = 1-CTE). CTI is an extremely important issue that threatens Gaia's performances. We present here a detailed Monte Carlo model which has been developed to simulate the operation of a damaged CCD at the pixel electrode level. This model implements a new approach to both the charge density distribution within a pixel and the charge capture and release probabilities, which allows the reproduction of CTI effects on a variety of measurements for a large signal level range in particular for signals of the order of a few electrons. A running version of the model as well as a brief documentation and a few examples are readily available at http://www.strw.leidenuniv.nl/~prodhomme/cemga.php as part of the CEMGA java package (CTI Effects Models for Gaia).

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arXiv2010

Distance determination for RAVE stars using stellar models II: Most likely values assuming a standard stellar evolution scenario

The RAdial Velocity Experiment (RAVE) is a spectroscopic survey of the Milky Way. We use the subsample of spectra with spectroscopically determined values of stellar parameters to determine the distances to these stars. The list currently contains 235,064 high quality spectra which show no peculiarities and belong to 210,872 different stars. The numbers will grow as the RAVE survey progresses. The public version of the catalog will be made available through the CDS services along with the ongoing RAVE public data releases. The distances are determined with a method based on the work by Breddels et al.~(2010). Here we assume that the star undergoes a standard stellar evolution and that its spectrum shows no peculiarities. The refinements include: the use of either of the three isochrone sets, a better account of the stellar ages and masses, use of more realistic errors of stellar parameter values, and application to a larger dataset. The derived distances of both dwarfs and giants match within ~21% to the astrometric distances of Hipparcos stars and to the distances of observed members of open and globular clusters. Multiple observations of a fraction of RAVE stars show that repeatability of the derived distances is even better, with half of the objects showing a distance scatter of \simlt 11%. RAVE dwarfs are ~300 pc from the Sun, and giants are at distances of 1 to 2 kpc, and up to 10 kpc. This places the RAVE dataset between the more local Geneva-Copenhagen survey and the more distant and fainter SDSS sample. As such it is ideal to address some of the fundamental questions of Galactic structure and evolution in the pre-Gaia era. Individual applications are left to separate papers, here we show that the full 6-dimensional information on position and velocity is accurate enough to discuss the vertical structure and kinematic properties of the thin and thick disks.

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arXiv2008

Pairing mechanisms for binary stars

Knowledge of the binary population in stellar groupings provides important information about the outcome of the star forming process in different environments. Binarity is also a key ingredient in stellar population studies and is a prerequisite to calibrate the binary evolution channels. In these proceedings we present an overview of several commonly used methods to pair individual stars into binary systems, which we refer to as the pairing function. Many pairing functions are frequently used by observers and computational astronomers, either for the mathematical convenience, or because they roughly describe the expected outcome of the star forming process. We discuss the consequences of each pairing function for the interpretation of observations and numerical simulations. The binary fraction and mass ratio distribution generally depend strongly on the selection of the range in primary spectral type in a sample. These quantities, when derived from a binary survey with a mass-limited sample of target stars, are thus not representative for the population as a whole.

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arXiv2008

Exploring the consequences of pairing algorithms for binary stars

Knowledge of the binary population in stellar groupings provides important information about the outcome of the star forming process in different environments (see, e.g., Blaauw 1991, and references therein). Binarity is also a key ingredient in stellar population studies, and is a prerequisite to calibrate the binary evolution channels. In this paper we present an overview of several commonly used methods to pair individual stars into binary systems, which we refer to as pairing functions. These pairing functions are frequently used by observers and computational astronomers, either for their mathematical convenience, or because they roughly describe the expected outcome of the star forming process. We discuss the consequences of each pairing function for the interpretation of observations and numerical simulations. The binary fraction and mass ratio distribution generally depend strongly on the selection of the range in primary spectral type in a sample. The mass ratio distribution and binary fraction derived from a binarity survey among a mass-limited sample of targets is thus not representative for the population as a whole. Neither theory nor observations indicate that random pairing of binary components from the mass distribution, the simplest pairing function, is realistic. It is more likely that companion stars are formed in a disk around a star, or that a pre-binary core fragments into two binary components. The results of our analysis are important for (i) the interpretation of the observed mass ratio distribution and binary fraction for a sample of stars, (ii) a range of possible initial condition algorithms for star cluster simulations, and (iii) how to discriminate between the different star formation scenarios.

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arXiv2007

The primordial binary population II: Recovering the binary population for intermediate mass stars in Sco OB2

We characterize the binary population in the young and nearby OB association Scorpius OB2 using available observations of visual, spectroscopic, and astrometric binaries with intermediate-mass primaries. We take into account observational biases by comparing the observations with simulated observations of model associations. The available data indicate a large binary fraction (> 70% with 3sigma confidence), with a large probability that all intermediate mass stars in Sco OB2 are part of a binary system. The binary systems have a mass ratio distribution of the form f(q) ~ q^-0.4. Sco OB2 has a semi-major axis distribution of the form f(log a) ~ constant (Opik's law), in the range 5-5e6 Rsun. The log-normal period distribution of Duquennoy & Mayor results in too few spectroscopic binaries, even if the model binary fraction is 100%. Sco OB2 is a young association with a low stellar density; its current population is expected to be very similar to the primordial population. The fact that practically all stars in Sco OB2 are part of a binary (or multiple) system demonstrates that multiplicity is a fundamental factor in the star formation process, at least for intermediate mass stars.

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arXiv2006

A brown dwarf desert for intermediate mass stars in Sco OB2?

We present JHK observations of 22 intermediate-mass stars in Sco OB2, obtained with VLT/NACO. The survey was performed to determine the status of (sub)stellar candidate companions of A and late-B members. The distinction between companions and background stars is by a comparison with isochrones and statistical arguments. We are sensitive to companions in the separation range 0.1''-11'' (13-1430 AU) and K<17. We detect 62 secondaries of which 18 are physical companions (3 new), 11 candidates, and 33 background stars. The companion masses are in the range 0.03 12 as background stars. Our multi-color analysis demonstrates that the simple K=12 criterion correctly classifies the secondaries in ~80% of the cases. We reanalyse the total ADONIS/NACO sample and conclude that of the 176 secondaries, 25 are physical companions, 55 are candidates, and 96 are background stars. Although we are sensitive and complete to brown dwarfs as faint as K=14 in the separation range 130-520 AU, we detect only one, giving a brown dwarf companion fraction of 0.5% (M>30 MJ). However, the number of brown dwarfs is consistent with an extrapolation of the stellar companion mass distribution. This indicates that the physical mechanism for the formation of brown dwarfs around intermediate mass stars is similar to that of stellar companions, and that the embryo ejection mechanism does not need to be invoked in order to explain the small number of brown dwarf companions among these stars.

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arXiv2005

The design and performance of the Gaia photometric system

The European Gaia astrometry mission is due for launch in 2011. Gaia will rely on the proven principles of ESA's Hipparcos mission to create an all-sky survey of about one billion stars throughout our Galaxy and beyond, by observing all objects down to 20th magnitude. Through its massive measurement of stellar distances, motions and multi-colour photometry it will provide fundamental data necessary for unravelling the structure, formation and evolution of the Galaxy. This paper presents the design and performance of the broad- and medium-band set of photometric filters adopted as the baseline for Gaia. The nineteen selected passbands (extending from the ultraviolet to the far-red), the criteria, and the methodology on which this choice has been based are discussed in detail. We analyse the photometric capabilities for characterizing the luminosity, temperature, gravity and chemical composition of stars. We also discuss the automatic determination of these physical parameters for the large number of observations involved, for objects located throughout the entire Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. Finally, the capability of the photometric system to deal with the main Gaia science case is outlined.

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arXiv2004

The Primordial Binary Population - I: A near-infrared adaptive optics search for close visual companions to A star members of Scorpius OB2

We present the results of a near-infrared adaptive optics survey with the aim to detect close companions to Hipparcos members in the three subgroups of the nearby OB association Sco OB2: Upper Scorpius (US), Upper Centaurus Lupus (UCL) and Lower Centaurus Crux (LCC). We have targeted 199 A-type and late B-type stars in the Ks band, and a subset also in the J and H band. We find 151 stellar components other than the target stars. A brightness criterion is used to separate these components into 77 background stars and 74 candidate physical companion stars. Out of these 74 candidate companions, 41 have not been reported before (14 in US; 13 in UCL; 14 in LCC). Companion star masses range from 0.1 to 3 Msun. The mass ratio distribution follows f(q) = q^-0.33, which excludes random pairing. No close (rho < 3.75'') companion stars or background stars are found in the magnitude range 12 < Ks < 14. The lack of stars with these properties cannot be explained by low-number statistics, and may imply a lower limit on the companion mass of ~ 0.1 Msun. Close stellar components with Ks > 14 are observed. If these components are very low-mass companion stars, a gap in the companion mass distribution might be present. The small number of close low-mass companion stars could support the embryo-ejection formation scenario for brown dwarfs. Our findings are compared with and complementary to visual, spectroscopic, and astrometric data on binarity in Sco OB2. We find an overall companion star fraction of 0.52 in this association. This paper is the first step toward our goal to derive the primordial binary population in Sco OB2.

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arXiv2004

On the Hipparcos parallaxes of O stars

We compare the absolute visual magnitude of the majority of bright O stars in the sky as predicted from their spectral type with the absolute magnitude calculated from their apparent magnitude and the Hipparcos parallax. We find that many stars appear to be much fainter than expected, up to five magnitudes. We find no evidence for a correlation between magnitude differences and the stellar rotational velocity as suggested for OB stars by Lamers et al. (1997), whose small sample of stars is partly included in ours. Instead, by means of a simulation we show how these differences arise naturally from the large distances at which O stars are located, and the level of precision of the parallax measurements achieved by Hipparcos. Straightforwardly deriving a distance from the Hipparcos parallax yields reliable results for one or two O stars only. We discuss several types of bias reported in the literature in connection with parallax samples (Lutz-Kelker, Malmquist) and investigate how they affect the O star sample. In addition, we test three absolute magnitude calibrations from the literature (Schmidt-Kaler et al. 1982; Howarth & Prinja 1989; Vacca et al. 1996) and find that they are consistent with the Hipparcos measurements. Although O stars conform nicely to the simulation, we notice that some B stars in the sample of Lamers et al. (1997) have a magnitude difference larger than expected.

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arXiv2003

The Primordial Binary Population in OB Associations

For understanding the process of star formation it is essential to know how many stars are formed as singles or in multiple systems, as a function of environment and binary parameters. This requires a characterization of the primordial binary population, which we define as the population of binaries that is present just after star formation has ceased, but before dynamical and stellar evolution have significantly altered its characteristics. In this article we present the first results of our adaptive optics survey of 200 (mainly) A-type stars in the nearby OB association Sco OB2. We report the discovery of 47 new candidate companions of Sco OB2 members. The next step will be to combine these observations with detailed simulations of young star clusters, in order to find the primordial binary population.

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arXiv2001

ADONIS observations of X-ray emitting late B-type stars in Lindroos systems

We present adaptive optics JHKs imaging observations of three main-sequence late B-type stars listed in the Lindroos Catalogue: HD123445, HD127971 and HD129791. Given their spectral types, these stars should not be X-ray emitters. However, they have been detected by ROSAT and their X-ray emission has been attributed to possible unresolved late-type companions. We have carried out near-IR observations with ADONIS at the ESO 3.6m but have not detected any late-type companions close to HD127971 and HD129791. This result leads us to conclude that either (i) they are spectroscopic binaries with unresolved low-mass companions, or (ii) they are intrinsic X-ray emitters. While the former case would be consistent with the reported high multiplicity of early-type (A and B) stars, the latter would yield a revision of stellar activity theories which do not predict X-ray emission from these stars. On the other hand, HD123445 does indeed show visual companions, namely an apparent subarcsecond faint (Ks=10mag) binary system at a projected separation of 5" from the late-B type star. The JHKs magnitudes and colors of the components are consistent with a pair of Pre Main Sequence (PMS) K-type stars at 140 pc, i.e. possible members of the Upper Centaurus Lupus association. In this case the reported X-ray emission can be ascribed to the new binary system. Nevertheless, spectroscopy is required to confirm the possible PMS nature of the pair.

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