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A. Savino

Publications and source records attributed to A. Savino.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

The Galactic Bulge exploration V.: The secular spherical and X-shaped Milky Way bulge

In this work, we derive systemic velocities and subsequently orbits for 8456 RR~Lyrae stars. We identify interlopers from other Milky Way (MW) structures, which amount to 22 percent of the total sample. Most interlopers are associated with the halo, with the remainder linked to the Galactic disk. We confirm the previously reported lag in the rotation curve of bulge RR~Lyrae stars regardless of the removal of interlopers. Metal-rich RR~Lyrae stars' rotation patterns are consistent with that of non-variable metal-rich giants, following the MW bar, while metal-poor stars exhibit slower rotation. The analysis of orbital parameter space is used to distinguish bulge stars that, in the bar reference frame, have prograde orbits from those in retrograde orbits. We classify the prograde stars into orbital families and estimate the chaoticity (in the form of frequency drift) of their orbits. RR~Lyrae stars with banana-like orbits have a bimodal distance distribution, similar to the distance distribution seen in the metal-rich red clump stars. The fraction of stars with banana-like orbits decreases linearly with metallicity, as does the fraction of stars on prograde orbits (in the bar reference frame). The retrograde moving stars (in the bar reference frame) form a centrally concentrated nearly spherical distribution. Analyzing an $N$-body+SPH simulation, we find that some stellar particles in the central parts oscillate between retrograde and prograde orbits and only a minority stays prograde over a long period of time. Based on the simulation, the ratio between prograde and retrograde stellar particles seems to stabilize within a couple of gigayears after bar formation. The non-chaoticity of retrograde orbits and their high numbers can explain some of the spatial and kinematical features of the MW bulge that have been often associated with a classical bulge.

astro-ph.GA

The Hubble Space Telescope Survey of M31 Satellite Galaxies IV. Survey Overview and Lifetime Star Formation Histories

From $>1000$ orbits of HST imaging, we present deep homogeneous resolved star color-magnitude diagrams that reach the oldest main sequence turnoff and uniformly measured star formation histories (SFHs) of 36 dwarf galaxies ($-6 \ge M_V \ge -17$) associated with the M31 halo, and for 10 additional fields in M31, M33, and the Giant Stellar Stream. From our SFHs we find: i) the median stellar age and quenching epoch of M31 satellites correlate with galaxy luminosity and galactocentric distance. Satellite luminosity and present-day distance from M31 predict the satellite quenching epoch to within $1.8$ Gyr at all epochs. This tight relationship highlights the fundamental connection between satellite halo mass, environmental history, and star formation duration. ii) There is no difference between the median SFH of galaxies on and off the great plane of Andromeda satellites. iii) $\sim50$\% of our M31 satellites show prominent ancient star formation ($>12$ Gyr ago) followed by delayed quenching ($8-10$ Gyr ago), which is not commonly observed among the MW satellites. iv) A comparison with TNG50 and FIRE-2 simulated satellite dwarfs around M31-like hosts show that some of these trends (dependence of SFH on satellite luminosity) are reproduced in the simulations while others (dependence of SFH on galactocentric distance, presence of the delayed-quenching population) are weaker or absent. We provide all photometric catalogs and SFHs as High-Level Science Products on MAST.

astro-ph.GA

The Galactic Bulge exploration IV.: RR~Lyrae stars as traces of the Galactic bar -- 3D and 5D analysis, extinction variation

We created new reddening maps and derived new extinction laws from visual to near-infrared passbands using improved RR~Lyrae period-absolute magnitude-metallicity relations, thus enabling distance estimates for individual bulge RR~Lyrae variables. The extinction law is most uniform in RIK and RJK and the distances to individual RR~Lyrae based on these colors are determined with an accuracy six and four percent, respectively. Using only the near-infrared passbands for distance estimation we inferred the distance to the Galactic center equal to djk = 8.2 +- 0.001(stat) +- 0.53(sys)pc after geometrical correction. We show that variations in the extinction law toward the Galactic bulge can mimic a barred spatial distribution in the bulge RR~Lyrae star population in visual passbands. This arises from a gradient in extinction differences along Galactic longitudes and latitudes, which can create the perception of the Galactic bar, particularly when using visual passband-based distances. A barred angle in the RR~Lyrae spatial distribution disappears when near-infrared passband-based distances are used, as well as when reddening law variations are incorporated in visual passband-based distances. The prominence of the bar, as traced by RR~Lyrae stars, depends on their metallicity, with metal-poor RR~Lyrae stars ([Fe/H]<-1.0dex) showing little to no tilt with respect to the bar. Metal-rich ([Fe/H]>-1.0dex) RR~Lyrae stars do show a barred/bulge signature in spatial properties derived using near-infrared distances, with an angle ι = 18 +- 5deg, consistent with previous bar measurements from the literature. The 5D kinematic analysis, primarily based on transverse velocities, indicates a rotational lag in RR~Lyrae stars compared to red clump giants. Despite variations in the extinction law, our kinematic conclusions are robust across different distance estimation methods.

astro-ph.GA

The JWST Resolved Stellar Populations Early Release Science Program VII. Stress Testing the NIRCam Exposure Time Calculator

We empirically assess estimates from v3.0 of the JWST NIRCam Exposure Time Calculator (ETC) using observations of resolved stars in Local Group targets taken as part of the Resolved Stellar Populations Early Release Science (ERS) Program. For bright stars, we find that: (i) purely Poissonian estimates of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) are in good agreement between the ETC and observations, but non-ideal effects (e.g., flat field uncertainties) are the current limiting factor in the photometric precision that can be achieved; (ii) source position offsets, relative to the detector pixels, have a large impact on the ETC saturation predictions and introducing sub-pixel dithers in the observation design can improve the saturation limits by up to ~1 mag. For faint stars, for which the sky dominates the error budget, we find that the choice in ETC extraction strategy (e.g., aperture size relative to point spread function size) can affect the exposure time estimates by up to a factor of 5. We provide guidelines for configuring the ETC aperture photometry to produce SNR predictions in line with the ERS data. Finally, we quantify the effects of crowding on the SNRs over a large dynamic range in stellar density and provide guidelines for approximating the effects of crowding on SNRs predicted by the ETC.

astro-ph.GA

The Hubble Space Telescope Survey of M31 Satellite Galaxies II. The Star Formation Histories of Ultra-Faint Dwarf Galaxies

We present the lifetime star formation histories (SFHs) for six ultra-faint dwarf (UFD; $M_V>-7.0$, $ 4.9<\log_{10}({M_*(z=0)}/{M_{\odot}})<5.5$) satellite galaxies of M31 based on deep color-magnitude diagrams constructed from \textit{Hubble Space Telescope} imaging. These are the first SFHs obtained from the oldest main sequence turn-off of UFDs outside the halo of the Milky Way (MW). We find that five UFDs formed at least 50\% of their stellar mass by $z=5$ (12.6~Gyr ago), similar to known UFDs around the MW, but that 10-40\% of their stellar mass formed at later times. We uncover one remarkable UFD, \A{XIII}, which formed only 10\% of its stellar mass by $z=5$, and 75\% in a rapid burst at $z\sim2-3$, a result that is robust to choices of underlying stellar model and is consistent with its predominantly red horizontal branch. This "young" UFD is the first of its kind and indicates that not all UFDs are necessarily quenched by reionization, which is consistent with predictions from several cosmological simulations of faint dwarf galaxies. SFHs of the combined MW and M31 samples suggest reionization did not homogeneously quench UFDs. We find that the least massive MW UFDs ($M_*(z=5) \lesssim 5\times10^4 M_{\odot}$) are likely quenched by reionization, whereas more massive M31 UFDs ($M_*(z=5) \gtrsim 10^5 M_{\odot}$) may only have their star formation suppressed by reionization and quench at a later time. We discuss these findings in the context of the evolution and quenching of UFDs.

astro-ph.GA

SN 2023ixf in Messier 101: Photo-ionization of Dense, Close-in Circumstellar Material in a Nearby Type II Supernova

We present UV/optical observations and models of supernova (SN) 2023ixf, a type II SN located in Messier 101 at 6.9 Mpc. Early-time ("flash") spectroscopy of SN 2023ixf, obtained primarily at Lick Observatory, reveals emission lines of H I, He I/II, C IV, and N III/IV/V with a narrow core and broad, symmetric wings arising from the photo-ionization of dense, close-in circumstellar material (CSM) located around the progenitor star prior to shock breakout. These electron-scattering broadened line profiles persist for $\sim$8 days with respect to first light, at which time Doppler broadened features from the fastest SN ejecta form, suggesting a reduction in CSM density at $r \gtrsim 10^{15}$ cm. The early-time light curve of SN2023ixf shows peak absolute magnitudes (e.g., $M_{u} = -18.6$ mag, $M_{g} = -18.4$ mag) that are $\gtrsim 2$ mag brighter than typical type II supernovae, this photometric boost also being consistent with the shock power supplied from CSM interaction. Comparison of SN 2023ixf to a grid of light curve and multi-epoch spectral models from the non-LTE radiative transfer code CMFGEN and the radiation-hydrodynamics code HERACLES suggests dense, solar-metallicity, CSM confined to $r = (0.5-1) \times 10^{15}$ cm and a progenitor mass-loss rate of $\dot{M} = 10^{-2}$ M$_{\odot}$yr$^{-1}$. For the assumed progenitor wind velocity of $v_w = 50$ km s$^{-1}$, this corresponds to enhanced mass-loss (i.e., ``super-wind'' phase) during the last $\sim$3-6 years before explosion.

astro-ph.HE

The updated BaSTI stellar evolution models and isochrones: II. alpha-enhanced calculations

This is the second paper of a series devoted to present an updated release of the BaSTI ( a Bag of Stellar Tracks and Isochrones) stellar model and isochrone library. Following the publication of the updated solar scaled library, here we present the library for a $α-$enhanced heavy element distribution. These new alpha-enhanced models account for all improvements and updates in the reference solar metal distribution and physics inputs, as in the new solar scaled library. The models cover a mass range between 0.1 and $15~M_{\odot}$, 18 metallicities between [Fe/H]=-3.20 and +0.06 with [alpha/Fe]=+0.4 , and a helium to metal enrichment ratio Delta{Y}Δ{Z}=1.31. For each metallicity, He-enhanced stellar models are also provided. The isochrones cover (typically) an age range between 20Myr and 14.5Gyr, including consistently the pre-main sequence phase. Asteroseismic properties of the theoretical models have also been calculated. Models and isochrones have been compared with results from independent calculations, with the previous BaSTI release, and also with selected observations, to test the accuracy/reliability of these new calculations. All stellar evolution tracks, asteroseismic properties and isochrones are made publicly available at http://basti-iac.oa-teramo.inaf.it

astro-ph.SR

The age of the Milky Way inner stellar spheroid from RR Lyrae population synthesis

The central kiloparsecs of the Milky Way are known to host an old, spheroidal stellar population, whose spatial and kinematical properties set it apart from the boxy/peanut structure that constitutes most of the central stellar mass. The nature of this spheroidal population, whether a small classical bulge, the innermost stellar halo or a population of disk stars with large initial velocity dispersion, remains unclear. This structure is also a promising candidate to host some of the oldest stars in the Galaxy. Here we address the topic of the inner stellar spheroid age, using spectroscopic and photometric metallicities for a sample of 935 RR Lyrae stars that are constituents of this component. By means of stellar population synthesis, we derive an age-metallicity relation for RR Lyrae populations. We infer, for the RR Lyrae stars in the bulge spheroid, an extremely ancient age of $13.41 \pm 0.54$ Gyr and conclude they were among the first stars to form in what is now the Milky Way galaxy. Our age estimate for the central spheroid shows remarkable agreement with the age profile that has been inferred for the Milky Way stellar halo, suggesting a connection between the two structures. However, we find mild evidence for a transition in the halo properties at $r_{\rm GC} \sim 5$~kpc. We also investigate formation scenarios for metal-rich RR Lyrae stars, such as binarity and helium variations, and whether they can provide alternative explanations for the properties of our sample. We conclude that, within our framework, the only viable alternative is to have younger, slightly helium-rich, RR Lyrae stars, a hypothesis that would open intriguing questions for the formation of the inner stellar spheroid.

astro-ph.GA

The HST/ACS star formation history of the Tucana dwarf spheroidal galaxy: clues from the horizontal branch

We report a new star formation history for the Tucana dwarf spheroidal galaxy, obtained from a new look at a deep HST/ACS colour-magnitude diagram. We combined information from the main sequence turn-off and the horizontal branch to resolve the ancient star formation rates on a finer temporal scale than previously possible. We show that Tucana experienced three major phases of star formation, two very close together at ancient times and the last one ending between 6 and 8 Gyr ago. We show that the three discrete clumps of stars on the horizontal branch are linked to the distinct episodes of star formation in Tucana. The spatial distribution of the clumps reveals that each generation of stars presents a higher concentration than the previous one. The simultaneous modelling of the horizontal branch and the main sequence turn-off also allows us to measure the amount of mass lost by red giant branch stars in Tucana with unprecedented precision, confirming dwarf spheroidals to be excellent laboratories to study the advanced evolution of low-mass stars.

astro-ph.GA

Gaia DR2 orbital properties for field stars with globular cluster-like CN band strengths

Large spectroscopic surveys of the Milky Way have revealed that a small population of stars in the halo have light element abundances comparable to those found in globular clusters. The favoured explanation for the peculiar abundances of these stars is that they originated inside a globular cluster and were subsequently lost. Using orbit calculations we assess the likelihood that an existing sample of 57 field stars with globular cluster-like CN band strength originated in any of the currently known Milky Way globular clusters. Using Sloan Digital Sky Survey and Gaia data, we determine orbits and integrals of motion of our sample of field stars, and use these values and metallicity to identify likely matches to globular clusters. The pivot hypothesis is that had these stars been stripped from such objects, they would have remained on very similar orbits. We find that ~ 70% of the sample of field stars have orbital properties consistent with the halo of the Milky Way; however, only 20 stars have likely orbital associations with an existing globular cluster. The remaining ~ 30% of the sample have orbits that place them in the outer Galactic disc. No cluster of similar metallicity is known on analogous disc orbits. The orbital properties of the halo stars seem to be compatible with the globular cluster escapee scenario. The stars in the outer disc are particularly surprising and deserve further investigation to establish their nature.

astro-ph.SR

MORGOTH: incorporating horizontal branch modelling into star formation history determinations

We present a new method that incorporates the horizontal branch morphology into synthetic colour-magnitude diagram based star formation history determinations. This method, we call MORGOTH, self-consistently takes into account all the stellar evolution phases up to the early asymptothic giant branch, flexibly modelling red giant branch mass loss. We test MORGOTH on a range of synthetic populations, and find that the inclusion of the horizontal branch significantly increases the precision of the resulting star formation histories. When the main sequence turn-off is detected, MORGOTH can fit the star formation history and the red giant branch mass loss at the same time, efficiently breaking this degeneracy. As part of testing MORGOTH, we also model the observed colour-magnitude diagram of the well studied Sculptor dwarf spheroidal galaxy. We recover a new more detailed star formation history for this galaxy. Both the new star formation history and the red giant branch mass loss we determined for Sculptor with MORGOTH are in good agreement with previous analyses, thus demonstrating the power of this new approach.

astro-ph.GA

The Updated BaSTI Stellar Evolution Models and Isochrones: I. Solar Scaled Calculations

We present an updated release of the BaSTI (a Bag of Stellar Tracks and Isochrones) stellar model and isochrone library for a solar scaled heavy element distribution. The main input physics changed from the previous BaSTI release include the solar metal mixture, electron conduction opacities, a few nuclear reaction rates, bolometric corrections, and the treatment of the overshooting efficiency for shrinking convective cores. The new model calculations cover a mass range between 0.1 and 15 Msun, 22 initial chemical compositions between [Fe/H]=-3.20 and +0.45, with helium to metal enrichment ratio dY /dZ=1.31. The isochrones cover an age range between 20 Myr and 14.5 Gyr, take consistently into account the pre-main sequence phase, and have been translated to a large number of popular photometric systems. Asteroseismic properties of the theoretical models have also been calculated. We compare our isochrones with results from independent databases and with several sets of observations, to test the accuracy of the calculations. All stellar evolution tracks, asteroseismic properties and isochrones are made available through a dedicated Web site.

astro-ph.GA

M13 multiple stellar populations seen with the eyes of Strömgren photometry

We present a photometric study of M13 multiple stellar populations over a wide field of view, covering approximately 6.5 half-light radii, using archival Isaac Newton Telescope observations to build an accurate multi-band Strömgren catalogue. The use of the Strömgren index $c_{y}$ permits us to separate the multiple populations of M13 on the basis of their position on the red giant branch. The comparison with medium and high resolution spectroscopic analysis confirms the robustness of our selection criterion. To determine the radial distribution of stars in M13, we complemented our dataset with Hubble Space Telescope observations of the cluster core, to compensate for the effect of incompleteness affecting the most crowded regions. From the analysis of the radial distributions we do not find any significant evidence of spatial segregation. Some residuals may be present in the external regions where we observe only a small number of stars. This finding is compatible with the short dynamical timescale of M13 and represents, to date, one of the few examples of fully spatially mixed multiple populations in a massive globular cluster.

astro-ph.SR

Multiple populations along the asymptotic giant branch of the globular cluster M 4

Nearly all Galactic globular clusters host stars that display characteristic abundance anti-correlations, like the O-rich/Na-poor pattern typical of field halo stars, together with O-poor/Na-rich additional components. A recent spectroscopic investigation questioned the presence of O-poor/Na-rich stars amongst a sample of asymptotic giant branch stars in the cluster M 4, at variance with the spectroscopic detection of a O-poor/Na-rich component along both the cluster red giant branch and horizontal branch. This is contrary to what is expected from the cluster horizontal branch morphology and horizontal branch stellar evolution models. Here we have investigated this issue by employing the CUBI= (U-B)-(B-I) index, that previous studies have demonstrated to be very effective in separating multiple populations along both the red giant and asymptotic giant branch sequences. We confirm previous results that the RGB is intrinsically broad in the V-CUBI diagram, with the presence of two components which nicely correspond to the two populations identified by high-resolution spectroscopy. We find that AGB stars are distributed over a wide range of CUBI values, in close analogy with what is observed for the RGB, demonstrating that the AGB of M4 also hosts multiple stellar populations.

astro-ph.SR

Lost and found: evidence of Second Generation stars along the Asymptotic Giant Branch of the globular cluster NGC 6752

We derived chemical abundances for C, N, O, Na, Mg and Al in 20 asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars in the globular cluster NGC 6752. All these elements (but Mg) show intrinsic star-to-star variations and statistically significant correlations or anticorrelations analogous to those commonly observed in red giant stars of globular clusters hosting multiple populations. This demonstrates that, at odds with previous findings, both first and second generation stars populate the AGB of NGC 6752. The comparison with the Na abundances of red giant branch stars in the same cluster reveals that second generation stars (with mild Na and He enrichment) do reach the AGB phase. The only objects that are not observed along the AGB of NGC 6752 are stars with extreme Na enhancement. This is also consistent with standard stellar evolution models, showing that highly Na and He enriched stars populate the bluest portion of the horizontal branch and, because of their low stellar masses, evolve directly to the white dwarf cooling sequence, skipping the AGB phase.

astro-ph.SR