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E. J. Alfaro

Publications and source records attributed to E. J. Alfaro.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

The Gaia-ESO Survey: The inner disc, intermediate-age open cluster Pismis 18

Pismis 18 is a moderately populated, intermediate-age open cluster located within the solar circle at a Galactocentric distance of about 7 kpc. Few open clusters have been studied in detail in the inner disc region before the Gaia-ESO Survey. New data from the Gaia-ESO Survey allowed us to conduct an extended radial velocity membership study as well as spectroscopic metallicity and detailed chemical abundance measurements for this cluster. Gaia-ESO Survey data for 142 potential members, lying on the upper MS and on the red clump, yielded radial velocity measurements, which, together with proper motion measurements from the Gaia DR2, were used to determine the systemic velocity of the cluster and membership of individual stars. Photometry from Gaia DR2 was used to re-determine cluster parameters based on high confidence member stars only. Cluster abundance measurements of six radial-velocity member stars with UVES high-resolution spectroscopy are presented for 23 elements. According to the new estimates, based on high confidence members, Pismis 18 has an age of $700^{+40}_{-50}$ Myr, interstellar reddening of E(B-V) = $0.562^{+0.012}_{-0.026}$ mag and a de-reddened distance modulus of $DM_0 = 11.96^{+0.10}_{-0.24}$ mag. The median metallicity of the cluster (using the six UVES stars) is [Fe/H] = $+0.23 \pm 0.05$ dex, with [$α$/Fe]= $0.07 \pm 0.13$ and a slight enhancement of s- and r- neutron-capture elements. With the present work, we fully characterized the open cluster Pismis 18, confirming its present location in the inner disc. We estimated a younger age than the previous literature values and gave, for the first time, its metallicity and its detailed abundances. Its [$α$/Fe] and [s-process/Fe], both slightly super-solar, are in agreement with other inner-disc open clusters observed by the Gaia-ESO survey. [abridged]

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MONOS: Multiplicity Of Northern O-type Spectroscopic systems. I. Project description and spectral classifications and visual multiplicity of previously known objects

[ABRIDGED] AIMS. MONOS is collecting information and studying O-type spectroscopic binaries with delta > -20 deg. In this 1st paper we describe the sample and provide spectral classifications and additional information for objects with previous SB or EB orbits. In the future we will test the validity of previous solutions and calculate new SB orbits. METHODS.The spectra in this paper have 2 sources: GOSSS, which is obtaining blue-violet R~2500 spectroscopy of thousands of massive stars, and LiLiMaRlin, a library of libraries of high-resolution spectroscopy of massive stars obtained from 4 different surveys and additional data from our own observing programs and public archives. We also use lucky images from AstraLux. RESULTS. We present homogeneous spectral classifications for 92 O-type spectroscopic multiple systems and 10 optical companions. We discuss the visual multiplicity of each system with the support of AstraLux images and additional sources. For 11 O-type objects and for 6 B-type objects we present their first GOSSS spectral classifications. For 2 known EBs we detect SB2/SB1 lines for the first time, to which we add a third system already reported by us recently. For 2 previous SB1 systems we detect their SB2 nature for the first time and give their first separate spectral classifications, something we also do for a 3rd object just recently identified as a SB2. We also detect 9 new astrometric companions and provide updated information on several others. For sigma Ori AaAbB we provide spectral classifications for the 3 components with a single observation for the first time thanks to a lucky spectroscopy observation obtained close to the Aa,Ab periastron and for theta^1 Ori CaCb we add it to the class of Galactic Of?p stars, raising the number of its members to 6. Our sample of O-type spectroscopic binaries contains more triple/higher-order systems than double systems.

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The GALANTE Photometric System

This paper describes the characterization of the GALANTE photometric system, a seven intermediate- and narrow-band filter system with a wavelength coverage from 3000 $Å$ to 9000 $Å$ . We describe the photometric system presenting the full sensitivity curve as a product of the filter sensitivity, CCD, telescope mirror, and atmospheric transmission curves, as well as some first- and second-order moments of this sensitivity function. The GALANTE photometric system is composed of four filters from the J-PLUS photometric system, a twelve broad-to-narrow filter system, and three exclusive filters, specifically designed to measure the physical parameters of stars such as effective temperature $T_{\rm eff}$, $\log(g)$, metallicity, colour excess $E(4405-5495)$, and extinction type $R_{5495}$. Two libraries, the Next Generation Spectral Library (NGSL) and the one presented in Maíz Apellániz & Weiler (2018), have been used to determine the transformation equations between the Sloan Digital Sky Survey ($\textit{SDSS}$) $\textit{ugriz}$ photometry and the GALANTE photometric system. We will use this transformation to calibrate the zero points of GALANTE images. To this end, a preliminary photometric calibration of GALANTE has been made based on two different $\textit{griz}$ libraries ($\textit{SDSS}$ DR12 and ATLAS All-Sky Stellar Reference Catalog, hereinafter $\textit{RefCat2}$). A comparison between both zero points is performed leading us to the choice of $\textit{RefCat2}$ as the base catalogue for this calibration, and applied to a field in the Cyg OB2 association.

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The Gaia-ESO Survey: Asymmetric expansion of the Lagoon Nebula cluster NGC 6530 from GES and Gaia DR2

The combination of precise radial velocities from multi-object spectroscopy and highly accurate proper motions from Gaia DR2 opens up the possibility for detailed 3D kinematic studies of young star forming regions and clusters. Here, we perform such an analysis by combining Gaia-ESO Survey spectroscopy with Gaia astrometry for ~900 members of the Lagoon Nebula cluster, NGC 6530. We measure the 3D velocity dispersion of the region to be $5.35^{+0.39}_{-0.34}$~km~s$^{-1}$, which is large enough to suggest the region is gravitationally unbound. The velocity ellipsoid is anisotropic, implying that the region is not sufficiently dynamically evolved to achieve isotropy, though the central part of NGC 6530 does exhibit velocity isotropy that suggests sufficient mixing has occurred in this denser part. We find strong evidence that the stellar population is expanding, though this is preferentially occurring in the declination direction and there is very little evidence for expansion in the right ascension direction. This argues against a simple radial expansion pattern, as predicted by models of residual gas expulsion. We discuss these findings in the context of cluster formation, evolution and disruption theories.

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The Gaia-ESO Survey: age spread in the star forming region NGC6530 from the HR diagram and gravity indicators

In very young clusters, stellar age distribution is the empirical proof of the duration of star formation (SF) and of the physical mechanisms involved in the process. We derived accurate stellar ages for the cluster NGC6530, associated with the Lagoon Nebula to infer its SF history. We use the Gaia-ESO survey observations and Gaia DR2 data, to derive cluster membership and fundamental stellar parameters. We identified 652 confirmed and 9 probable members. The reddening inferred for members and non-members allows us to distinguish MS stars and giants, in agreement with the distances inferred from Gaia DR2 data. The foreground and background stars show a spatial pattern that traces the 3D structure of the nebular dust component. We derive stellar ages for 382 confirmed cluster members and we find that the gravity-sensitive gamma index distribution for M stars is correlated with stellar age. For all members with Teff<5500 K, the mean logarithmic age is 5.84 (units of years) with a dispersion of 0.36 dex. The age distribution of stars with accretion and/or disk (CTTSe) is similar to that of stars without accretion and without disk (WTTSp). We interpret this dispersion as evidence of a real age spread since the total uncertainties on age determinations, derived from Monte Carlo simulations, are significantly smaller than the observed spread. This conclusion is supported by the evidence of a decreasing of the gravity-sensitive gamma index as a function of stellar ages. The presence of the age spread is also supported by the spatial distribution and the kinematics of old and young members. In particular, members with accretion and/or disk, formed in the last 1 Myr, show evidence of subclustering around the cluster center, in the Hourglass Nebula and in the M8-E region, suggesting a possible triggering of star formation events by the O-type star ionization fronts.

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GALANTE: finding all the optically accessible Galactic O+B+WR stars in the Galactic Plane

GALANTE is an optical photometric survey with seven intermediate/narrow filters that has been covering the Galactic Plane since 2016 using the Javalambre T80 and Cerro Tololo T80S telescopes. The P.I.s of the northern part (GALANTE NORTE) are Emilio J. Alfaro and Jesús Maíz Apellániz. and the P.I. of the southern part (GALANTE SUR) is Rodolfo H. Barbá. The detector has a continuous 1.4 degr x 1.4 degr field of view with a sampling of 0.55"/pixel and the seven filters are optimized to detect obscured early-type stars. The survey includes long, intermediate, short, and ultrashort exposure times to reach a dynamical range close to 20 magnitudes, something never achieved for such an optical project before. The characteristics of GALANTE allow for a new type of calibration scheme using external Gaia, Tycho-2, and 2MASS data that has already led to a reanalysis of the sensitivity of the Gaia G filter. We describe the project and present some early results. GALANTE will identify the majority of the early-type massive stars within several kpc of the Sun and measure their amount and type of extinction. It will also map the Halpha nebular emission, identify emission-line stars, and do other studies of low- and intermediate-mass stars.

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The Gaia-ESO Survey: the origin and evolution of s-process elements

Several works have found an increase of the abundances of the s-process neutron-capture elements in the youngest Galactic stellar populations, giving important constraints to stellar and Galactic evolution. We aim to trace the abundance patterns and the time-evolution of five s-process elements in the first peak, Y and Zr, and in the second peak, Ba, La and Ce using the Gaia-ESO idr5 results. From the UVES spectra of cluster member stars, we determined the average composition of clusters with ages >0.1 Gyr. We derived statistical ages and distances of field stars, and we separated them in thin and thick disc populations. We studied the time evolution and dependence on metallicity of abundance ratios using open clusters and field stars. Using our large and homogeneous sample of open clusters, thin and thick disc stars, spanning an age range larger than 10 Gyr, we confirm an increase towards young ages of s-process abundances in the Solar neighbourhood. These trends are well defined for open clusters and stars located nearby the solar position and they may be explained by a late enrichment due to significant contribution to the production of these elements from long-living low-mass stars. At the same time, we found a strong dependence of the s-process abundance ratios with the Galactocentric distance and with the metallicity of the clusters and field stars. Our results, derived from the largest and homogeneous sample of s-process abundances in the literature, confirm the growth with decreasing stellar ages of the s-process abundances in both field and open cluster stars. At the same time, taking advantage of the abundances of open clusters located in a wide Galactocentric range, they open a new view on the dependence of the s-process evolution on the metallicity and star formation history, pointing to different behaviours at various Galactocentric distances.

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The Gaia-ESO Survey: Evidence of atomic diffusion in M67?

Investigating the chemical homogeneity of stars born from the same molecular cloud at virtually the same time is very important for our understanding of the chemical enrichment of the interstellar medium and with it the chemical evolution of the Galaxy. One major cause of inhomogeneities in the abundances of open clusters is stellar evolution of the cluster members. In this work, we investigate variations in the surface chemical composition of member stars of the old open cluster M67 as a possible consequence of atomic diffusion effects taking place during the main-sequence phase. The abundances used are obtained from high-resolution UVES/FLAMES spectra within the framework of the Gaia-ESO Survey. We find that the surface abundances of stars on the main sequence decrease with increasing mass reaching a minimum at the turn-off. After deepening of the convective envelope in sub-giant branch stars, the initial surface abundances are restored. We found the measured abundances to be consistent with the predictions of stellar evolutionary models for a cluster with the age and metallicity of M67. Our findings indicate that atomic diffusion poses a non-negligible constraint on the achievable precision of chemical tagging methods.

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J-PLUS: The Javalambre Photometric Local Universe Survey

J-PLUS is an ongoing 12-band photometric optical survey, observing thousands of square degrees of the Northern hemisphere from the dedicated JAST/T80 telescope at the Observatorio Astrofísico de Javalambre. T80Cam is a 2 sq.deg field-of-view camera mounted on this 83cm-diameter telescope, and is equipped with a unique system of filters spanning the entire optical range. This filter system is a combination of broad, medium and narrow-band filters, optimally designed to extract the rest-frame spectral features (the 3700-4000Å Balmer break region, H$δ$, Ca H+K, the G-band, the Mgb and Ca triplets) that are key to both characterize stellar types and to deliver a low-resolution photo-spectrum for each pixel of the sky observed. With a typical depth of AB $\sim 21.25$ mag per band, this filter set thus allows for an indiscriminate and accurate characterization of the stellar population in our Galaxy, it provides an unprecedented 2D photo-spectral information for all resolved galaxies in the local universe, as well as accurate photo-z estimates ($Δ\,z\sim 0.01-0.03$) for moderately bright (up to $r\sim 20$ mag) extragalactic sources. While some narrow band filters are designed for the study of particular emission features ([OII]/$λ$3727, H$α$/$λ$6563) up to $z < 0.015$, they also provide well-defined windows for the analysis of other emission lines at higher redshifts. As a result, J-PLUS has the potential to contribute to a wide range of fields in Astrophysics, both in the nearby universe (Milky Way, 2D IFU-like studies, stellar populations of nearby and moderate redshift galaxies, clusters of galaxies) and at high redshifts (ELGs at $z\approx 0.77, 2.2$ and $4.4$, QSOs, etc). With this paper, we release $\sim 36$ sq.deg of J-PLUS data, containing about $1.5\times 10^5$ stars and $10^5$ galaxies at $r<21$ mag.

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Lucky Spectroscopy, an equivalent technique to Lucky Imaging. Spatially resolved spectroscopy of massive close visual binaries using the William Herschel Telescope

CONTEXT: Many massive stars have nearby companions whose presence hamper their characterization through spectroscopy. AIMS: We want to obtain spatially resolved spectroscopy of close massive visual binaries to derive their spectral types. METHODS: We obtain a large number of short long-slit spectroscopic exposures of five close binaries under good seeing conditions, select those with the best characteristics, extract the spectra using multiple-profile fitting, and combine the results to derive spatially separated spectra. RESULTS: We demonstrate the usefulness of Lucky Spectroscopy by presenting the spatially resolved spectra of the components of each system, in two cases with separations of only ~0.3". Those are delta Ori Aa+Ab (resolved in the optical for the first time) and sigma Ori AaAb+B (first time ever resolved). We also spatially resolve 15 Mon AaAb+B, zeta Ori AaAb+B (both previously resolved with GOSSS, the Galactic O-Star Spectroscopic Survey), and eta Ori AaAb+B, a system with two spectroscopic B+B binaries and a fifth visual component. The systems have in common that they are composed of an inner pair of slow rotators orbited by one or more fast rotators, a characteristic that could have consequences for the theories of massive star formation.

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The Gaia -ESO Survey: Lithium enrichment histories of the Galactic thick and thin disc

Lithium abundance in most of the warm metal-poor main sequence stars shows a constant plateau (A(Li)~2.2 dex) and then the upper envelope of the lithium vs. metallicity distribution increases as we approach solar metallicity. Meteorites, which carry information about the chemical composition of the interstellar medium at the solar system formation time, show a lithium abundance A(Li)~3.26 dex. This pattern reflects the Li enrichment history of the interstellar medium during the Galaxy lifetime. After the initial Li production in Big Bang Nucleosynthesis, the sources of the enrichment include AGB stars, low-mass red giants, novae, type II supernovae, and Galactic cosmic rays. The total amount of enriched Li is sensitive to the relative contribution of these sources. Thus different Li enrichment histories are expected in the Galactic thick and thin disc. We investigate the main sequence stars observed with UVES in Gaia-ESO Survey iDR4 catalog and find a Li-[alpha/Fe] anticorrelation independent of [Fe/H], Teff, and log(g). Since in stellar evolution different α enhancements at the same metallicity do not lead to a measurable Li abundance change, the anticorrelation indicates that more Li is produced during the Galactic thin disc phase than during the Galactic thick disc phase. We also find a correlation between the abundance of Li and s-process elements Ba and Y, and they both decrease above the solar metallicity, which can be explained in the framework of the adopted Galactic chemical evolution models.

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The Gaia-ESO Survey and CSI 2264: Substructures, disks, and sequential star formation in the young open cluster NGC 2264

We explore the structure and star formation history of the open cluster NGC 2264 (~3 Myr). We combined spectroscopic data from the Gaia-ESO Survey (GES) with multi-wavelength photometry from the Coordinated Synoptic Investigation of NGC 2264 (CSI 2264). We examined a sample of 655 cluster members, including both disk-bearing and disk-free young stars. We find a significant age spread of 4-5 Myr among cluster members. Disk-bearing objects are statistically associated with younger isochronal ages than disk-free sources. The cluster has a hierarchical structure, with two main blocks. The northern half develops around the O-type binary star S Mon; the southern half, close to the tip of the Cone Nebula, contains the most embedded regions of NGC 2264, populated mainly by objects with disks and ongoing accretion. The median ages of objects at different locations within the cluster, and the spatial distribution of disked and non-disked sources, suggest that star formation began in the north of the cluster, over 5 Myr ago, and was ignited in its southern region a few Myr later. Star formation is likely still ongoing in the most embedded regions of the cluster, while the outer regions host a widespread population of more evolved objects. We find a detectable lag between the typical age of disk-bearing objects and that of accreting objects in the inner regions of NGC 2264: the first tend to be older than the second, but younger than disk-free sources at similar locations within the cluster. This supports earlier findings that the characteristic timescales of disk accretion are shorter than those of disk dispersal, and smaller than the average age of NGC 2264 (i.e., < 3 Myr). At the same time, disks in the north of the cluster tend to be shorter-lived (~2.5 Myr) than elsewhere; this may reflect the impact of massive stars within the region (notably S Mon), that trigger rapid disk dispersal.

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The Gaia-ESO Survey: Matching Chemo-Dynamical Simulations to Observations of the Milky Way

The typical methodology for comparing simulated galaxies with observational surveys is usually to apply a spatial selection to the simulation to mimic the region of interest covered by a comparable observational survey sample. In this work we compare this approach with a more sophisticated post-processing in which the observational uncertainties and selection effects (photometric, surface gravity and effective temperature) are taken into account. We compare a `solar neighbourhood analogue' region in a model Milky Way-like galaxy simulated with RAMSES-CH with fourth release Gaia-ESO survey data. We find that a simple spatial cut alone is insufficient and that observational uncertainties must be accounted for in the comparison. This is particularly true when the scale of uncertainty is large compared to the dynamic range of the data, e.g. in our comparison, the [Mg/Fe] distribution is affected much more than the more accurately determined [Fe/H] distribution. Despite clear differences in the underlying distributions of elemental abundances between simulation and observation, incorporating scatter to our simulation results to mimic observational uncertainty produces reasonable agreement. The quite complete nature of the Gaia-ESO survey means that the selection function has minimal impact on the distribution of observed age and metal abundances but this would become increasingly more important for surveys with narrower selection functions.

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The ALHAMBRA survey: 2-D analysis of the stellar populations in massive early-type galaxies at z < 0.3

We present a technique that permits the analysis of stellar population gradients in a relatively low cost way compared to IFU surveys analyzing a vastly larger samples as well as out to larger radii. We developed a technique to analyze unresolved stellar populations of spatially resolved galaxies based on photometric multi-filter surveys. We derived spatially resolved stellar population properties and radial gradients by applying a Centroidal Voronoi Tesselation and performing a multi-color photometry SED fitting. This technique has been applied to a sample of 29 massive (M$_{\star}$ > 10$^{10.5}$ M$_{\odot}$), early-type galaxies at $z$ < 0.3 from the ALHAMBRA survey. We produced detailed 2D maps of stellar population properties (age, metallicity and extinction). Radial structures have been studied and luminosity-weighted and mass-weighted gradients have been derived out to 2 - 3.5 R$_\mathrm{eff}$. We find the gradients of early-type galaxies to be on average flat in age ($\nabla$log Age$_\mathrm{L}$ = 0.02 $\pm$ 0.06 dex/R$_\mathrm{eff})$ and negative in metallicity ($\nabla$[Fe/H]$_\mathrm{L}$ = - 0.09 $\pm$ 0.06 dex/R$_\mathrm{eff}$). Overall, the extinction gradients are flat ($\nabla$A$_\mathrm{v}$ = - 0.03 $\pm$ 0.09 mag/R$_\mathrm{eff}$ ) with a wide spread. These results are in agreement with previous studies that used standard long-slit spectroscopy as well as with the most recent integral field unit (IFU) studies. According to recent simulations, these results are consistent with a scenario where early-type galaxies were formed through major mergers and where their final gradients are driven by the older ages and higher metallicity of the accreted systems. We demonstrate the scientific potential of multi-filter photometry to explore the spatially resolved stellar populations of local galaxies and confirm previous spectroscopic trends from a complementary technique.

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A Multi-Membership Catalogue for 1876 Open Clusters using UCAC4 data

The main objective of this work is to determine the cluster members of 1876 open clusters, using positions and proper motions of the astrometric catalogue UCAC4. For this purpose we apply three different methods, all them based on a Bayesian approach, but with different formulations: a purely parametric method, another completely non-parametric algorithm, and a third, recently developed by Sampedro & Alfaro, using both formulations at different steps of the whole process. The first and second statistical moments of the members phase-space subspace, obtained after applying the three methods, are compared for every cluster. Although, on average, the three methods yield similar results, specific differences between them, as well as for some particular clusters, are also present. The comparison with other published catalogues shows good agreement. We have also estimated for the first time the mean proper motion for a sample of 18 clusters. The results are organized in a single catalogue formed by two main files, one with the most relevant information for each cluster, partially including that in UCAC4, and the other showing the individual membership probabilities for each star in the cluster area. The final catalogue, with an interface design that enables an easy interaction with the user, is available in electronic format at SSG-IAA (http://ssg.iaa.es/en/content/sampedro-cluster-catalog) website.

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The Gaia-ESO Survey: Exploring the complex nature and origins of the Galactic bulge populations

Abridged: We used the fourth internal data release of the Gaia-ESO survey to characterize the bulge chemistry, spatial distribution, kinematics, and to compare it chemically with the thin and thick disks. The sample consist on ~2500 red clump stars in 11 bulge fields ($-10^\circ\leq l\leq+8^\circ$ and $-10^\circ\leq b\leq-4^\circ$), and a set of ~6300 disk stars selected for comparison. The bulge MDF is confirmed to be bimodal across the whole sampled area, with metal-poor stars dominating at high latitudes. The metal-rich stars exhibit bar-like kinematics and display a bimodality in their magnitude distribution, a feature which is tightly associated with the X-shape bulge. They overlap with the metal-rich end of the thin disk sequence in the [Mg/Fe] vs. [Fe/H] plane. Metal-poor bulge stars have a more isotropic hot kinematics and do not participate in the X-shape bulge. With similar Mg-enhancement levels, the position of the metal-poor bulge sequence "knee" is observed at [Fe/H]$_{knee}=-0.37\pm0.09$, being 0.06 dex higher than that of the thick disk. It suggests a higher SFR for the bulge than for the thick disk. Finally, we present a chemical evolution model that suitably fits the whole bulge sequence by assuming a fast ($<1$ Gyr) intense burst of stellar formation at early epochs. We associate metal-rich stars with the B/P bulge formed from the secular evolution of the early thin disk. On the other hand, the metal-poor subpopulation might be the product of an early prompt dissipative collapse dominated by massive stars. Nevertheless, our results do not allow us to firmly rule out the possibility that these stars come from the secular evolution of the early thick disk. This is the first time that an analysis of the bulge MDF and $α$-abundances has been performed in a large area on the basis of a homogeneous, fully spectroscopic analysis of high-resolution, high S/N data.

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Gaia-ESO Survey: global properties of clusters Trumpler 14 and 16 in the Carina Nebula

We present the first extensive spectroscopic study of the global population in star clusters Trumpler~16, Trumpler~14 and Collinder~232 in the Carina Nebula, using data from the Gaia-ESO Survey, down to solar-mass stars. In addition to the standard homogeneous Survey data reduction, a special processing was applied here because of the bright nebulosity surrounding Carina stars. We find about four hundred good candidate members ranging from OB types down to slightly sub-solar masses. About one-hundred heavily-reddened early-type Carina members found here were previously unrecognized or poorly classified, including two candidate O stars and several candidate Herbig Ae/Be stars. Their large brightness makes them useful tracers of the obscured Carina population. The spectroscopically-derived temperatures for nearly 300 low-mass members allows the inference of individual extinction values, and the study of the relative placement of stars along the line of sight. We find a complex spatial structure, with definite clustering of low-mass members around the most massive stars, and spatially-variable extinction. By combining the new data with existing X-ray data we obtain a more complete picture of the three-dimensional spatial structure of the Carina clusters, and of their connection to bright and dark nebulosity, and UV sources. The identification of tens of background giants enables us also to determine the total optical depth of the Carina nebula along many sightlines. We are also able to put constraints on the star-formation history of the region, with Trumpler~14 stars found to be systematically younger than stars in other sub-clusters. We find a large percentage of fast-rotating stars among Carina solar-mass members, which provide new constraints on the rotational evolution of pre-main-sequence stars in this mass range.

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The Gaia-ESO Survey: Structural and dynamical properties of the young cluster Chamaeleon I

The young (~2 Myr) cluster Chamaeleon I is one of the closest laboratories to study the early stages of star cluster dynamics in a low-density environment. We studied its structural and kinematical properties combining parameters from the high-resolution spectroscopic survey Gaia-ESO with data from the literature. Our main result is the evidence of a large discrepancy between the velocity dispersion (sigma = 1.14 \pm 0.35 km s^{-1}) of the stellar population and the dispersion of the pre-stellar cores (~0.3 km s^{-1}) derived from submillimeter observations. The origin of this discrepancy, which has been observed in other young star clusters is not clear. It may be due to either the effect of the magnetic field on the protostars and the filaments, or to the dynamical evolution of stars driven by two-body interactions. Furthermore, the analysis of the kinematic properties of the stellar population put in evidence a significant velocity shift (~1 km s^{-1}) between the two sub-clusters located around the North and South main clouds. This result further supports a scenario, where clusters form from the evolution of multiple substructures rather than from a monolithic collapse. Using three independent spectroscopic indicators (the gravity indicator $γ$, the equivalent width of the Li line, and the H_alpha 10\% width), we performed a new membership selection. We found six new cluster members located in the outer region of the cluster. Starting from the positions and masses of the cluster members, we derived the level of substructure Q, the surface density Σand the level of mass segregation $Λ_{MSR}$ of the cluster. The comparison between these structural properties and the results of N-body simulations suggests that the cluster formed in a low density environment, in virial equilibrium or supervirial, and highly substructured.

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