arXiv subjects

Eva K. Grebel

Publications and source records attributed to Eva K. Grebel.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2020

LEGUS and Halpha-LEGUS Observations of Star Clusters in NGC 4449: Improved Ages and the Fraction of Light in Clusters as a Function of Age

We present a new catalog and results for the cluster system of the starburst galaxy NGC 4449 based on multi-band imaging observations taken as part of the LEGUS and Halpha-LEGUS surveys. We improve the spectral energy fitting method used to estimate cluster ages and find that the results, particularly for older clusters, are in better agreement with those from spectroscopy. The inclusion of Halpha measurements, the role of stochasticity for low mass clusters, the assumptions about reddening, and the choices of SSP model and metallicity all have important impacts on the age-dating of clusters. A comparison with ages derived from stellar color-magnitude diagrams for partially resolved clusters shows reasonable agreement, but large scatter in some cases. The fraction of light found in clusters relative to the total light (i.e., T_L) in the U, B, and V filters in 25 different ~kpc-size regions throughout NGC 4449 correlates with both the specific Region Luminosity, R_L, and the dominant age of the underlying stellar population in each region. The observed cluster age distribution is found to decline over time as dN/dt ~ t^g, with g=-0.85+/-0.15, independent of cluster mass, and is consistent with strong, early cluster disruption. The mass functions of the clusters can be described by a power law with dN/dM ~ M^b and b=-1.86+/-0.2, independent of cluster age. The mass and age distributions are quite resilient to differences in age-dating methods. There is tentative evidence for a factor of 2-3 enhancement in both the star and cluster formation rate ~100 - 300 Myr ago, indicating that cluster formation tracks star formation generally. The enhancement is probably associated with an earlier interaction event.

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arXiv2020

The Next Generation Fornax Survey (NGFS): VII. A MUSE view of the nuclear star clusters in Fornax dwarf galaxies

Clues to the formation and evolution of Nuclear Star Clusters (NSCs) lie in their stellar populations. However, these structures are often very faint compared to their host galaxy, and spectroscopic analysis of NSCs is hampered by contamination of light from the rest of the system. With the introduction of wide-field IFU spectrographs, new techniques have been developed to model the light from different components within galaxies, making it possible to cleanly extract the spectra of the NSCs and study their properties with minimal contamination from the light of the rest of the galaxy. This work presents the analysis of the NSCs in a sample of 12 dwarf galaxies in the Fornax Cluster observed with MUSE. Analysis of the stellar populations and star-formation histories reveal that all the NSCs show evidence of multiple episodes of star formation, indicating that they have built up their mass further since their initial formation. The NSCs were found to have systematically lower metallicities than their host galaxies, which is consistent with a scenario for mass-assembly through mergers with infalling globular clusters, while the presence of younger stellar populations and gas emission in the core of two galaxies is indicative of in-situ star formation. We conclude that the NSCs in these dwarf galaxies likely originated as globular clusters that migrated to the core of the galaxy which have built up their mass mainly through mergers with other infalling clusters, with gas-inflow leading to in-situ star formation playing a secondary role.

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arXiv2020

Purveyors of fine halos. II. Chemodynamical association of halo stars with Milky Way globular clusters

We present chemodynamical links between the present-day Milky Way halo field star population and Galactic globular clusters (GCs) using a dataset that combines information from the $\rm{\it Gaia}$ space mission and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV, DR14). Moreover, we incorporated a sample of halo giant stars with a distinct chemical signature (strong CN bandheads) that resembles the light-elements anomaly otherwise only seen in the second generation of GC stellar populations. Using three different tagging techniques, we could successfully establish unique associations between 151 extratidal stars in the neighborhood of eight GCs. In addition, we traced the possible origin of about $62\%$ of the sample of CN-strong giants to their potential host clusters. Several of the involved GCs have been brought into connection with the Gaia-Enceladus and Sequoia merger events. By establishing kinematic and chemical connections between 17 CN-strong stars and their surrounding fields, we could identify co-moving groups of stars at the same [Fe/H] with a possible cluster origin. We found strong evidence that four CN-strong stars and their associates are connected to the Sagittarius stream whilst their tightly confined [Fe/H] may hint to a birth site in M 54. Finally, we provide tentative estimates for the fraction of first-generation cluster stars among all stars lost to the halo. In the immediate cluster vicinity, this value amounts to $50.0\pm16.7\%$ while the associations in the halo field rather imply $80.2_{-5.2}^{+4.9}\%$. We speculate that -- if proven real by spectroscopic follow-up -- the disparity between these numbers could indicate a major contribution of low-mass clusters to the overall number of stars escaped to the halo or, alternatively, point toward a strong mass loss from the first generation during early cluster dissolution. [abridged]

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arXiv2020

A high-precision abundance analysis of the nuclear benchmark star HD 20

We present our chemical abundance investigation of the metal-poor ([Fe/H]=-1.60 dex), r-process-enriched ([Eu/Fe]=0.73 dex) halo star HD 20 using novel and archival high-resolution spectra at outstanding signal-to-noise ratios. By combining one of the first asteroseismic gravity measurements in the metal-poor regime from a TESS light curve with non-LTE analyses of iron lines, we derive a set of highly accurate and precise stellar parameters. These allow us to delineate a chemical pattern comprised of solid detections of 48 elements, including 28 neutron-capture elements, which establishes HD 20 among the few benchmark stars that have almost complete patterns with low systematic dependencies on the stellar parameters. Our light-element (Z<30) abundances are representative of other, similarly metal-poor stars in the Galactic halo with contributions from core-collapse supernovae of type II. A comparison to the scaled solar r-pattern shows that the lighter neutron-capture elements (37<Z<60) are poorly matched. In particular, we find imprints of the weak r-process acting at low metallicities. Nonetheless, by comparing our detailed abundances to the observed metal-poor star BD +17 3248, we find a persistent residual pattern that is indicative of enrichment contributions from the s-process. We show that mixing with material from predicted yields of massive, rotating AGB stars at low metallicity considerably improves the fit. Based on a solar ratio of heavy- to light-s elements -- at odds with model predictions for the i-process -- and a missing clear residual pattern with respect to other stars with claimed contributions from this process, we refute (strong) contributions from such astrophysical sites providing intermediate neutron densities. Finally, nuclear cosmochronology is used to tie our detection of the radioactive element Th to an age estimate for HD 20 of $11.0\pm3.8$ Gyr. [abridged]

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arXiv2020

Candidate LBV stars in galaxy NGC 7793 found via HST photometry + MUSE spectroscopy

Only about 19 Galactic and 25 extra-galactic bona-fide Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs) are known to date. This incomplete census prevents our understanding of this crucial phase of massive star evolution which leads to the formation of heavy binary black holes via the classical channel. With large samples of LBVs one could better determine the duration and maximum stellar luminosity which characterize this phase. We search for candidate LBVs (cLBVs) in a new galaxy, NGC 7793. For this purpose, we combine high spatial resolution images from two Hubble Space Telescope (HST) programs with optical spectroscopy from the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE). By combining PSF-fitting photometry measured on F547M, F657N, and F814W images, with restrictions on point-like appearance (at HST resolution) and Hα luminosity, we find 100 potential cLBVs, 36 of which fall in the MUSE fields. Five of the latter 36 sources are promising cLBVs which have M(V) less than or equal to -7 and a combination of: Hα with a P-Cygni profile; no [O I] 6300 emission; weak or no [O III] 5007 emission; large [N II]/Hα relative to H II regions; and [S II] 6716 / [S II] 6731 similar to 1. It is not clear if these five cLBVs are isolated from O-type stars, which would favor the binary formation scenario of LBVs. Our study, which approximately covers one fourth of the optical disc of NGC 7793, demonstrates how by combining the above HST surveys with multi-object spectroscopy from 8-m class telescopes, one can efficiently find large samples of cLBVs in nearby galaxies.

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arXiv2019

A Catalog of Galaxies in the Direction of the Perseus Cluster

We present a catalog of 5437 morphologically classified sources in the direction of the Perseus galaxy cluster core, among them 496 early-type low-mass galaxy candidates. The catalog is primarily based on V-band imaging data acquired with the William Herschel Telescope, which we used to conduct automated source detection and to derive photometry. We additionally reduced archival Subaru multiband imaging data in order to measure aperture colors and to perform a morphological classification, benefiting from 0.5 arcsec seeing conditions in the r-band data. Based on morphological and color properties, we extracted a sample of early-type low-mass galaxy candidates with absolute V-band magnitudes in the range of -10 to -20 mag. In the color-magnitude diagram the galaxies are located where the red sequence for early-type cluster galaxies is expected, and they lie on the literature relation between absolute magnitude and Sérsic index. We classified the early-type dwarf candidates into nucleated and nonnucleated galaxies. For the faint candidates, we found a trend of increasing nucleation fraction toward brighter luminosity or higher surface brightness, similar to what is observed in other nearby galaxy clusters. We morphologically classified the remaining sources as likely background elliptical galaxies, late-type galaxies, edge-on disk galaxies, and likely merging systems and discussed the expected contamination fraction through non-early-type cluster galaxies in the magnitude-size surface brightness parameter space. Our catalog reaches its 50 per cent completeness limit at an absolute V-band luminosity of -12 mag and a V-band surface brightness of 26 mag arcsec$^{-2}$. This makes it to the largest and deepest catalog with coherent coverage compared to previous imaging studies of the Perseus cluster.

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arXiv2019

The mass fraction of halo stars contributed by the disruption of globular clusters in the E-MOSAICS simulations

Globular clusters (GCs) have been posited, alongside dwarf galaxies, as significant contributors to the field stellar population of the Galactic halo. In order to quantify their contribution, we examine the fraction of halo stars formed in stellar clusters in the suite of 25 present-day Milky Way-mass cosmological zoom simulations from the E-MOSAICS project. We find that a median of $2.3$ and $0.3$ per cent of the mass in halo field stars formed in clusters and GCs, defined as clusters more massive than $5\times 10^3$ and $10^5~M_{\odot}$, respectively, with the $25$-$75$th percentiles spanning $1.9$-$3.0$ and $0.2$-$0.5$ per cent being caused by differences in the assembly histories of the host galaxies. Under the extreme assumption that no stellar cluster survives to the present day, the mass fractions increase to a median of $5.9$ and $1.8$ per cent. These small fractions indicate that the disruption of GCs plays a sub-dominant role in the build-up of the stellar halo. We also determine the contributed halo mass fraction that would present signatures of light-element abundance variations considered to be unique to GCs, and find that clusters and GCs would contribute a median of $1.1$ and $0.2$ per cent, respectively. We estimate the contributed fraction of GC stars to the Milky Way halo, based on recent surveys, and find upper limits of $2$-$5$ per cent (significantly lower than previous estimates), suggesting that models other than those invoking strong mass loss are required to describe the formation of chemically enriched stellar populations in GCs.

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arXiv2019

Single-lined Spectroscopic Binary Star Candidates from a Combination of the RAVE and Gaia DR2 surveys

The combination of the final version of the RAVE spectroscopic survey data release 6 with radial velocities and astrometry from Gaia DR2 allows us to identify and create a catalog of single lined binary star candidates (SB1), their inferred orbital parameters, and to inspect possible double lined binary stars (SB2). A probability function for the detection of radial velocity (RV) variations is used for identifying SB1 candidates. The estimation of orbital parameters for main sequence dwarfs is performed by matching the measured RVs with theoretical velocity curves sampling the orbital parameter space. The method is verified by studying a mock sample from the SB9 catalogue. Studying the boxiness and asymmetry of the spectral lines allows us to identify possible SB2 candidates, while matching their spectra to a synthetic library indicates probable properties of their components. From the RAVE catalog we select 37,664 stars with multiple RV measurements and identify 3838 stars as SB1 candidates. Joining RAVE and Gaia DR2 yields 450,646 stars with RVs measured by both surveys and 27,716 of them turn out to be SB1 candidates, which is an increase by an order of magnitude over previous studies. For main sequence dwarf candidates we calculate their most probable orbital parameters: orbital periods are not longer than a few years and primary components have masses similar to the Solar mass. All our results are available via Vizier/CDS.

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arXiv2019

The young massive star cluster Westerlund 2 observed with MUSE. II. MUSEpack -- a Python package to analyze the kinematics of young star clusters

We mapped the Galactic young massive star cluster Westerlund 2 (Wd2) with the integral field spectrograph MUSE (spatial resolution: 0.2arcsec/px, spectral resolution: $Δλ$ = 1.25A, wavelength range 4600-9350A) mounted on the VLT, as part of an on-going study to measure the stellar and gas kinematics of the cluster region. In this paper we present the fully reduced dataset and introduce our new Python package "MUSEpack", which we developed to measure stellar radial velocities with an absolute precision of 1-2km/s without the necessity of a spectral template library. This novel method uses the two-dimensional spectra and an atomic transition line library to create templates around strong absorption lines for each individual star. The code runs fully automatically on multi-core machines, which makes it possible to efficiently determine stellar radial velocities of a large number of stars with the necessary precision to measure the velocity dispersion of young star clusters. MUSEpack also provides an enhanced method for removing telluric lines in crowded fields without sky exposures and a Python wrapper for ESO's data reduction pipeline. We observed Wd2 with a total of 11 short and 5 long exposures to cover the bright nebular emission and OB stars, as well as the fainter pre-main sequence stars down to ~1M$_\odot$. The survey covers an area of ~11arcmin$^2$ (15.8pc$^2$). In total, we extracted 1,725 stellar spectra with a mean S/N>5 per pixel. A typical radial velocity (RV) uncertainty of 4.78km/s, 2.92km/s, and 1.1km/s is reached for stars with a mean S/N>10, S/N>20, S/N>50 per pixel, respectively. Depending on the number of spectral lines used to measure the RVs, it is possible to reach RV accuracies of 0.9km/s, 1.3km/s, and 2.2km/s with $\geq5$, 3-4, and 1-2 spectral lines, respectively. The combined statistical uncertainty on the radial velocity measurements is 1.10km/s.

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arXiv2019

Into the Darkness: Classical and Type II Cepheids in the Zona Galactica Incognita

The far side of the Milky Way's disk is one of the most concealed parts of the known Universe due to extremely high interstellar extinction and point source density toward low Galactic latitudes. Large time-domain photometric surveys operating in the near-infrared hold great potential for the exploration of these vast uncharted areas of our Galaxy. We conducted a census of distant classical and type II Cepheids along the southern Galactic mid-plane using near-infrared photometry from the VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea survey. We performed a machine-learned classification of the Cepheids based on their infrared light curves using a convolutional neural network. We have discovered 640 distant classical Cepheids with up to ~40 magnitudes of visual extinction, and over 500 type II Cepheids, most of them located in the inner bulge. Intrinsic color indices of individual Cepheids were predicted from sparse photometric data using a neural network, allowing their use as accurate reddening tracers. They revealed a steep, spatially varying near-infrared extinction curve toward the inner bulge. Type II Cepheids in the Galactic bulge were also employed to measure robust mean selective-to-absolute extinction ratios. They trace a centrally concentrated spatial distribution of the old bulge population with a slight elongation, consistent with earlier results from RR Lyrae stars. Likewise, the classical Cepheids were utilized to trace the Galactic warp and various substructures of the Galactic disk, and to uncover significant vertical and radial age gradients of the thin disk population at the far side of the Milky Way.

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arXiv2019

On the nature of a shell of young stars in the outskirts of the Small Magellanic Cloud

Understanding the evolutionary history of the Magellanic Clouds requires an in-depth exploration and characterization of the stellar content in their outer regions, which ultimately are key to tracing the epochs and nature of past interactions. We present new deep images of a shell-like over-density of stars in the outskirts of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). The shell, also detected in photographic plates dating back to the fifties, is located at ~1.9 degr from the center of the SMC in the north-east direction.The structure and stellar content of this feature were studied with multi-band, optical data from the Survey of the MAgellanic Stellar History (SMASH) carried out with the Dark Energy Camera on the Blanco Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory. We also investigate the kinematic of the stars in the shell using the Gaia Data Release 2. The shell is composed of a young population with an age ~ 150 Myr, with no contribution from an old population. Thus, it is hard to explain its origin as the remnant of a tidally disrupted stellar system. The spatial distribution of the young main-sequence stars shows a rich sub-structure, with a spiral arm-like feature emanating from the main shell and a separated small arc of young stars close to the globular cluster NGC 362. We find that the absolute g-band magnitude of the shell is M_{g,shell} = -10.78+/- 0.02, with a surface brightness of mu_{g,shell} = 25.81+/- 0.01 mag/arcsec^{2}. We have not found any evidence that this feature is of tidal origin or a bright part of a spiral arm-like structure. Instead, we suggest that the shell formed in a recent star formation event, likely triggered by an interaction with the Large Magellanic Cloud and/or the Milky Way, ~150 Myr ago.

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arXiv2019

Purveyors of fine halos: Re-assessing globular cluster contributions to the Milky Way halo build-up with SDSS-IV

There is ample evidence in the Milky Way for globular cluster (GC) disruption. Hence one may expect that also part of the Galactic halo field stars may once have formed in GCs. We quantify the fraction of halo stars donated by GCs by searching for stars that bear the unique chemical fingerprints typical for a subset of GC stars often dubbed `second-generation stars'. These are stars showing light element abundance anomalies such as a pronounced CN-band strength accompanied by weak CH-bands. Based on this indicator, past studies have placed the fraction of halo stars with a GC origin between a few to up to 50%. Using low-resolution spectra from the most recent data release of the latest extension of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV), we were able to identify 118 metal-poor ($-1.8\le$[Fe/H]$\le -1.3$) CN-strong stars in a sample of 4470 halo giant stars out to 50 kpc. This results in an observed fraction of these stars of 2.6$\pm$0.2%. Using an updated formalism to account for the fraction of stars lost early on in the GCs' evolution we estimate the fraction of the halo that stems from disrupted clusters to be 11$\pm$1%. This number represents the case that stars lost from GCs were entirely from the first generation and is thus merely an upper limit. Our conclusions are sensitive to our assumptions of the mass lost early on from the first generation formed in the GCs, the ratio of first-to-second generation stars, and other GC parameters. We carefully test the influence of varying these parameters on the final result and find that, under realistic scenarios, the above fraction depends on the main assumptions at less than 10%. We further recover a flat trend in this fraction with Galactocentric radius, with a marginal indication of a rise beyond 30 kpc that could reflect the ex-situ origin of the outer halo. (abridged)

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arXiv2019

The R-Process Alliance: Discovery of a low-alpha, r-Process-Enhanced Metal-Poor Star in the Galactic Halo

A new moderately r-process-enhanced metal-poor star, RAVE J093730.5-062655, has been identified in the Milky Way halo as part of an ongoing survey by the R-Process Alliance. The temperature and surface gravity indicate that J0937-0626 is likely a horizontal branch star. At [Fe/H] = -1.86, J0937-0626 is found to have subsolar [X/Fe] ratios for nearly every light, alpha, and Fe-peak element. The low [alpha/Fe] ratios can be explained by an ~0.6 dex excess of Fe; J0937-0626 is therefore similar to the subclass of "iron-enhanced" metal-poor stars. A comparison with Milky Way field stars at [Fe/H] = -2.5 suggests that J0937-0626 was enriched in material from an event, possibly a Type Ia supernova, that created a significant amount of Cr, Mn, Fe, and Ni and smaller amounts of Ca, Sc, Ti, and Zn. The r-process enhancement of J0937-0626 is likely due to a separate event, which suggests that its birth environment was highly enriched in r-process elements. The kinematics of J0937-0626, based on Gaia DR2 data, indicate a retrograde orbit in the Milky Way halo; J0937-0626 was therefore likely accreted from a dwarf galaxy that had significant r-process enrichment.

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arXiv2018

The R-Process Alliance: First Release from the Northern Search for r-Process Enhanced Metal-Poor Stars in the Galactic Halo

This paper presents the detailed abundances and r-process classifications of 126 newly identified metal-poor stars as part of an ongoing collaboration, the R-Process Alliance. The stars were identified as metal-poor candidates from the RAdial Velocity Experiment (RAVE) and were followed-up at high spectral resolution (R~31,500) with the 3.5~m telescope at Apache Point Observatory. The atmospheric parameters were determined spectroscopically from Fe I lines, taking into account <3D> non-LTE corrections and using differential abundances with respect to a set of standards. Of the 126 new stars, 124 have [Fe/H]<-1.5, 105 have [Fe/H]<-2.0, and 4 have [Fe/H]<-3.0. Nine new carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars have been discovered, 3 of which are enhanced in r-process elements. Abundances of neutron-capture elements reveal 60 new r-I stars (with +0.3<=[Eu/Fe]<=+1.0 and [Ba/Eu]<0) and 4 new r-II stars (with [Eu/Fe]>+1.0). Nineteen stars are found to exhibit a `limited-r' signature ([Sr/Ba]>+0.5, [Ba/Eu]<0). For the r-II stars, the second- and third-peak main r-process patterns are consistent with the r-process signature in other metal-poor stars and the Sun. The abundances of the light, alpha, and Fe-peak elements match those of typical Milky Way halo stars, except for one r-I star which has high Na and low Mg, characteristic of globular cluster stars. Parallaxes and proper motions from the second Gaia data release yield UVW space velocities for these stars which are consistent with membership in the Milky Way halo. Intriguingly, all r-II and the majority of r-I stars have retrograde orbits, which may indicate an accretion origin.

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arXiv2018

Mirach's Goblin: Discovery of a dwarf spheroidal galaxy behind the Andromeda galaxy

It is of broad interest for galaxy formation theory to carry out a full inventory of the numbers and properties of dwarf galaxies in the Local Volume, both satellites and isolated ones. Ultra-deep imaging in wide areas of the sky with small amateur telescopes can help to complete the census of these hitherto unknown low surface brightness galaxies, which cannot be detected by the current resolved stellar population and HI surveys. We report the discovery of Donatiello I, a dwarf spheroidal galaxy located one degree from the star Mirach (Beta And) in a deep image taken with an amateur telescope. The color--magnitude diagram obtained from follow-up observations obtained with the Gran Telescopio Canarias (La Palma, Spain) reveals that this system is beyond the Local Group and is mainly composed of old stars. The absence of young stars and HI emission in the ALFALFA survey are typical of quenched dwarf galaxies. Our photometry suggests a distance modulus for this galaxy of (m-M)=27.6 +/- 0.2 (3.3 Mpc), although this distance cannot yet be established securely owing to the crowding effects in our color--magnitude diagram. At this distance, Donatiello I's absolute magnitude (M_v =-8.3), surface brightness (mu_v=26.5 mag arcsec^-2) and stellar content are similar to the "classical" Milky Way companions Draco or Ursa Minor. The projected position and distance of Donatiello I are consistent with being a dwarf satellite of the closest S0-type galaxy NGC 404 ("Mirach's Ghost"). Alternatively, it could be one of the most isolated quenched dwarf galaxies reported so far behind the Andromeda galaxy.

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arXiv2018

A likely runaway star cluster in the outer disc of the Large Magellanic Cloud

We present results from photometric and spectroscopic data obtained with SOAR and Gemini observatory facilities in the field of a recently discovered star cluster. The cluster, projected towards the Eastern side of the outer disc of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), was originally placed nearly 10 kpc behind the LMC with an age and metallicity typical of the innermost LMC star cluster population. We assigned radial velocity (RV) memberships to stars observed spectroscopically, and derived the cluster age and distance from theoretical isochrone fitting to the cluster colour-magnitude diagram. The new object turned out to be a 0.9 Gyr old outer LMC disc cluster, which possibly reached the present position after being scattered from the innermost LMC regions where it might have been born. We arrived at this conclusion by examining the spatial distribution of LMC star clusters of similar age, by comparing the derived spectroscopic metallicity with that expected for an outside-in galaxy formation scenario, by considering the cluster internal dynamical stage as inferred from its derived structural parameters and by estimating the circular velocity of a disc that rotates with the corresponding star cluster radial velocity at the cluster's deprojected distance, which resulted to be nearly 60 per cent higher than that of most of the outer LMC disc clusters.

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arXiv2018

The young massive star cluster Westerlund 2 observed with MUSE. I. First results on the cluster internal motion from stellar radial velocities

Westerlund 2 (Wd2) is the central ionizing star cluster of the \ion{H}{2} region RCW~49 and the second most massive young star cluster (${\rm M} = (3.6 \pm 0.3)\times 10^4\,{\rm M}_\odot$) in the Milky Way. Its young age ($\sim2\,$Myr) and close proximity to the Sun ($\sim 4\,$kpc) makes it a perfect target to study stars emerging from their parental gas cloud, the large number of OB-stars and their feedback onto the gas, and the gas dynamics. We combine high-resolution multi-band photometry obtained in the optical and near-infrared with the \textit{Hubble} Space Telescope (HST), and VLT/MUSE integral field spectroscopy to study the gas, the stars, and their interactions, simultaneously. In this paper we focus on a small, $64\times64\,{\rm arcsec}^2$ region North of the main cluster center, which we call the Northern Bubble (NB), a circular cavity carved into the gas of the cluster region. Using MUSE data, we determined the spectral types of 17 stars in the NB from G9III to O7.5. With the estimation of these spectral types we add 2 O and 5 B-type stars to the previously published census of 37 OB-stars in Wd2. To measure radial velocities we extracted 72 stellar spectra throughout Wd2, including the 17 of the NB, and show that the cluster member stars follow a bimodal velocity distribution centered around $(8.10 \pm 1.53)\,{\rm km}\,{\rm s}^{-1}$ and $(25.41 \pm 1.57)\,{\rm km}\,{\rm s}^{-1}$ with a dispersion of $(4.52 \pm 1.78)\,{\rm km}\,{\rm s}^{-1}$ and $(3.46 \pm 1.29)\,{\rm km}\,{\rm s}^{-1}$, respectively. These are in agreement with CO($J=1$-2) studies of RCW~49 leaving cloud-cloud collision as a viable option for the formation scenario of Wd2. The bimodal distribution is also detected in the Gaia DR2 proper motions.

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arXiv2018

ATHOS: On-the-fly stellar parameter determination of FGK stars based on flux ratios from optical spectra

Tools for the spectroscopic determination of fundamental stellar parameters should not only comprise customized solutions for one particular survey or instrument, but, in order to enable cross-survey comparability, they should also be capable of dealing with spectra from a variety of spectrographs, resolutions, and wavelength coverages. To meet these ambitious specifications, we developed ATHOS (A Tool for HOmogenizing Stellar parameters), a fundamentally new analysis tool that adopts computationally inexpensive analytical relations tying flux ratios (FRs) of designated wavelength regions in optical spectra to the stellar parameters effective temperature ($T_\mathrm{eff}$), iron abundance ([Fe/H]), and surface gravity ($\log{g}$). Our $T_\mathrm{eff}$ estimator is based on FRs from nine pairs of wavelength ranges around the Balmer lines H$β$ and H$α$, while for [Fe/H] and $\log{g}$ we provide 31 and 11 FRs between 4800 Å and 6500 Å. The analytical relations employing these FRs were trained on 124 real spectra of a benchmark sample that covers a large parameter space of $T_{\rm eff}\approx$ 4000 to 6500 K, [Fe/H] $\approx$ -4.5 to 0.3 dex, and $\log{g}\approx$ 1 to 5 dex, which also reflects ATHOS' range of applicability. The method's accuracies are merely bounded by finite uncertainties in the training sample parameters, while its internal precisions can be better by up to 70%. We tested ATHOS on six independent large surveys, amongst which are the Gaia-ESO and the SDSS/SEGUE surveys. The exceptionally low execution time (<30 ms/spectrum) together with a comparison to the literature parameters showed that ATHOS can successfully achieve its main objectives, i.e. fast stellar parameterization with cross-survey validity, high accuracy, and high precision. These are key to homogenize the output from future surveys, such as 4MOST or WEAVE. [abridged]

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