arXiv subjects

G. Kordopatis

Publications and source records attributed to G. Kordopatis.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Reassessing the low-$\alpha$ massive sequence stars in Gaia RVS

Recently, a chemically depleted young massive stellar population was identified using the spectroscopic catalogue of Gaia DR3. To explain its characteristics, a recent enhanced star formation event, via a third infall occurring within the last 2 Gyr, has been evoked. In this paper we reassess the low alpha sequence of massive stars identified in the Gaia spectroscopic catalog and investigate their presence in other Milky Way spectroscopic survey catalogs. We select massive sequence stars and RGB stars from the Gaia DR3 catalogue using the same filtering strategy adopted in previous chemical cartography studies. These samples are then cross matched with APOGEE DR17, GALAH DR4, and Gaia CNN to enable a detailed comparison of stellar parameters and alpha abundances. Stellar masses are estimated by projecting their atmospheric parameters and infrared magnitudes onto PARSEC isochrones. For the massive star sample, we find large discrepancies in stellar parameters and calcium abundances between Gaia DR3 and the three external surveys. The external catalogues do not show a low ca sequence but rather resemble those of thin disc RGB stars. Other alpha elements (si in APOGEE and GALAH, and mg in GALAH) also do not show depleted values. In APOGEE, however, massive sequence stars with metallicities above -0.5 dex display lower mg abundances. We attribute this to APOGEE's use of macroturbulence velocities calibrated solely on metallicity. Our analysis does not show any evidence for alpha element depletion in massive sequence stars. Alpha abundances of massive sequence stars derived from the Gaia RVS spectra should therefore be used with caution. Nevertheless, the previously proposed three infall chemical evolution models remain plausible: even without a chemically depleted young massive population, scenarios involving only mild dilution could still account for recent star formation episodes.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

Milky Way disc & Bulge in situ populations: ESO white paper - Expanding horizons call

The formation and evolution of the Milky Way's disc, bar, and bulge remain fundamentally limited by the lack of a contiguous, Galaxy-wide, high-precision chemo-dynamical map. Key open questions - including the survival or destruction of the primitive discs, the origin of the bulge's multi-component structure, the role of mergers and secular processes, and the coupling between stellar chemistry, dynamics, and the Galactic potential - cannot be fully resolved with current or planned facilities. Existing spectroscopic surveys provide either high resolution for small samples or wide coverage at insufficient resolution and depth, and none can obtain homogeneous abundances, precise 3D kinematics, and reliable ages for the millions of stars required, particularly in the obscured midplane, the far side of the bar, or the outer, low-density disc. A new wide-field, massively multiplexed, large-aperture spectroscopic facility, capable of both high- and low-resolution spectroscopy over tens of thousands of square degrees, is therefore essential. Such a facility would deliver the statistical power, sensitivity, and completeness needed to reconstruct the Galaxy's assembly history, constrain its gravitational potential, and establish the Milky Way as the definitive benchmark for galaxy evolution.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2025

Supergiant GCIRS 22 in the Milky Way Nuclear Star Cluster: Revised alpha abundances

Context: The chemical abundances of alpha-elements in Galactic Centre (GC) supergiants provide key insights into the chemical enrichment and star formation history of the Milky Way's Nuclear Star Cluster. Previous studies have reported enhanced alpha-element abundances, raising questions about the chemical evolution of this unique region. Aims: We aim to reassess the alpha-element abundances in the GC supergiant GCIRS 22 using updated spectral modelling and non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) corrections to resolve discrepancies from earlier abundance analyses. Methods: High-resolution near-infrared spectra of GCIRS 22 were analysed using contemporary line lists and precise stellar parameters derived from scandium line diagnostics. We applied comprehensive NLTE corrections to accurately determine the abundances of silicon and calcium. Results: Our analysis reveals solar-scale alpha abundances ([Ca/Fe] = 0.06 $\pm$ 0.07; [Si/Fe] = $-$0.08 $\pm$ 0.20) for GCIRS 22, significantly lower than previous LTE-based findings. NLTE corrections reduce the calcium abundance by approximately 0.3,dex compared to LTE estimates, aligning our results with recent studies and highlighting the importance of accurate NLTE modelling. Conclusions: The solar-scale alpha-element abundances observed in GCIRS 22 suggest that recent star formation in the region has not been dominated by Type II supernovae, such as those expected from a recent starburst. Our findings support a scenario of episodic star formation, characterized by intermittent bursts separated by extended quiescent phases, or potentially driven by gas inflows from the inner disk, funnelled by the Galactic bar. Future comprehensive NLTE studies of additional GC stars will be essential for refining our understanding of the region's chemical evolution and star formation history.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

A Pristine-UNIONS view on the Galaxy: Kinematics of the distant spur feature of the Sagittarius stream traced by Blue Horizontal Branch stars

Providing a detailed picture of the Sagittarius (Sgr) stream offers important constraints on the build-up of the Galactic halo as well as its gravitational potential at large radii. While several attempts have been made to model the structure of the Sgr stream, no model has yet been able to match all the features observed for the stream. Moreover, for several of these features, observational characterisation of their properties is rather limited, particularly at large distances. The aim of this work is to investigate the kinematics of the Sgr stream outermost spur feature using blue horizontal branch (BHB) stars. Candidate BHB stars were selected by combining two approaches; one capitalising on Pan-STARRS1 3$\Pi$ griz and u photometry taken as part of UNIONS, the other using Pristine Survey CaHK and SDSS ugr photometry. Follow-up optical spectra are obtained using ESO/VLT/FORS2 to confirm their BHB nature and obtain line-of-sight (LOS) velocities. Of our 25 candidates, 20 stars can be confirmed as bona fide BHB stars. Their LOS velocities, together with the 3D positions of these stars qualitatively match well with Sgr model predictions and trace the outer apocentre of the trailing arm and its spur feature very nicely. The quantitative offsets that are found between our data and the different models can be used to provide information about the Galactic gravitational potential at large distances. We present a first, tentative, analysis in this direction, showing that the model of Vasiliev et al. (2021) would provide better agreement with our observations if the enclosed mass of the Milky Way within 100 kpc were lowered to $(5.3\!\pm\!0.4)\!\times\!10^{11}$ M$_\odot$ (versus $(5.6\!\pm\!0.4)\!\times\!10^{11}$ M$_\odot$). Our selection of BHB stars provides a new view on the outermost structure in 3D positions and LOS velocities of the Sgr debris.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

The Pristine survey. XXVI. Chemical abundances of subgiant stars of the extremelymetal-poor stream C-19

Context: The C-19 stellar stream is the most metal-poor stream known to date. While its width and velocity dispersion indicate a dwarf galaxy origin, its metallicity spread and abundance patterns are more similar to those of globular clusters (GCs). If it is indeed of GC origin, its extremely low metallicity ([Fe/H]=-3.4, estimated from giant stars) implies that these stellar systems can form out of gas that is as extremely poor in metals as this. Previously, only giant stream stars were observed spectroscopically, although the majority of stream stars are unevolved stars. Aims: We pushed the spectroscopic observations to the subgiant branch stars ($G\approx 20$) in order to consolidate the chemical and dynamical properties of C-19. Methods: We used the high-efficiency spectrograph X-shooter fed by the ESO 8.2 m VLT telescope to observe 15 candidate subgiant C-19 members. The spectra were used to measure radial velocities and to determine chemical abundances using the \mygi\ code. Results; We developed a likelihood model that takes metallicity and radial velocities into account. We conclude that 12 stars are likely members of C-19, while 3 stars (S05, S12, and S13) are likely contaminants. When these 3 stars are excluded, our model implies a mean metallicity $\rm \langle [Fe/H]\rangle = -3.1\pm 0.1$, the mean radial velocity is $\langle v_r\rangle = -192\pm3$ kms$^{-1}$, and the velocity dispersion is $\sigma_{vr} = 5.9^{+3.6}_{-5.9}$ kms$^{-1}$. This all agrees within errors with previous studies. The A(Mg) of a sample of 15 C-19 members, including 6 giant stars, shows a standard deviation of 0.44 dex, and the mean uncertainty on Mg is 0.25 dex. Conclusions: Our preferred interpretation of the current data is that C-19 is a disrupted GC. We cannot completely rule out the possibility that the GC could have belonged to a dwarf galaxy that contained more metal-rich stars, however. This scenario would explain the radial velocity members at higher metallicity, as well as the width and velocity dispersion of the stream. In either case, a GC formed out of gas as poor in metals as these stars seems necessary to explain the existence of C-19. The possibility that no GC was associated with C-19 cannot be ruled out either.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

Chemical Abundances in the Nuclear Star Cluster of the Milky Way: alpha-Element Trends and Their Similarities with the Inner Bulge

A chemical characterization of the Galactic Center is essential for understanding its formation and structural evolution. Trends of alpha-elements, such as Mg, Si, and Ca, serve as powerful diagnostic tools, offering insights into star-formation rates and gas-infall history. However, high extinction has previously hindered such studies. In this study, we present a detailed chemical abundance analysis of M giants in the Milky Way's Nuclear Star Cluster (NSC), focusing on alpha-element trends with metallicity. High-resolution, near-infrared spectra were obtained using the IGRINS spectrograph on the Gemini South telescope for nine M giants. Careful selection of spectral lines, based on a solar-neighborhood control sample of 50 M giants, was implemented to minimize systematic uncertainties. Our findings show enhanced alpha-element abundances in the predominantly metal-rich NSC stars, consistent with trends in the inner bulge. The NSC stars follow the high-[alpha/Fe] envelope seen in the solar vicinity's metal-rich population, indicating a high star-formation rate. The alpha-element trends decrease with increasing metallicity, also at the highest metallicities. Our results suggest the NSC population likely shares a similar evolutionary history with the inner bulge, challenging the idea of a recent dominant star formation burst. This connection between the NSC and the inner-disk sequence suggests that the chemical properties of extragalactic NSCs of Milky Way type galaxies could serve as a proxy for understanding the host galaxies' evolutionary processes.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

New stellar age estimates using SPInS based on Gaia DR3 photometry and LAMOST DR8 abundances

Reliable stellar age estimates are fundamental for testing several problems in modern astrophysics, in particular since they set the time scales of Galactic dynamical and chemical evolution. In this study, we determine ages using only Gaia DR3 photometry and parallaxes, in combination with interstellar extinction maps, spectroscopic metallicities and $\alpha$ abundances from the latest data release (DR8) of the LAMOST survey. In contrast with previous age estimates, we do not use spectroscopic effective temperatures or surface gravities, thus relying on the excellent precision and accuracy of the Gaia photometry. We use a new version of the publicly available SPInS code with improved features, including the on-the-fly computation of the autocorrelation time and the automatic convergence evaluation. We determine reliable age estimates for 35,096 and 243,768 sub-giant and main-sequence turn-off stars in the LAMOST DR8 low- and medium-resolution surveys with typical uncertainties smaller than 10%. In addition, we successfully test our method on more than 4,000 stars of 14 well-studied open and globular star clusters covering a wide range of ages, confirming the reliability of our age and uncertainty estimates.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

SpectroTranslator: a deep-neural network algorithm to homogenize spectroscopic parameters

The emergence of large spectroscopic surveys requires homogenising on the same scale the quantities they measure in order to increase their scientific legacy. We developed the SpectroTranslator, a data-driven deep neural network algorithm that can convert spectroscopic parameters from the base of one survey to another. The algorithm also includes a method to estimate the importance that the various parameters play in the conversion from base A to B. As a showcase, we apply the algorithm to transform effective temperature, surface gravity, metallicity, [Mg/Fe] and los velocity from the base of GALAH into the APOGEE base. We demonstrate the efficiency of the SpectroTranslator algorithm to translate the spectroscopic parameters from one base to another using parameters directly by the survey teams, and are able to achieve a similar performance than previous works that have performed a similar type of conversion but using the full spectrum rather than the spectroscopic parameters, allowing to reduce the computational time, and to use the output of pipelines optimized for each survey. By combining the transformed GALAH catalogue with the APOGEE catalogue, we study the distribution of [Fe/H] and [Mg/Fe] across the Galaxy, and we find that the median distribution of both quantities present a vertical asymmetry at large radii. We attribute it to the recent perturbations generated by the passage of a dwarf galaxy across the disc or by the infall of the Large Magellanic Cloud. Although several aspects still need to be refined, in particular how to deal in an optimal manner with regions of the parameter space meagrely populated by stars in the training sample, the SpectroTranslator already shows its capability and promises to play a crucial role in standardizing various spectroscopic surveys onto a unified basis.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2023

Gaia Focused Product Release: Spatial distribution of two diffuse interstellar bands

Diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) are absorption features seen in optical and infrared spectra of stars that are probably caused by large and complex molecules in the ISM. Here we investigate the Galactic distribution and properties of two DIBs identified in almost six million stellar spectra collected by the Gaia Radial Velocity Spectrometer. These measurements constitute a part of the Gaia Focused Product Release to be made public between the Gaia DR3 and DR4 data releases. In order to isolate the DIB signal from the stellar features in each individual spectrum, we identified a set of 160 000 spectra at high Galactic latitudes which we consider to be the DIB-free reference sample. Matching each target spectrum to its closest reference spectra in stellar parameter space allowed us to remove the stellar spectrum empirically, without reference to stellar models, leaving a set of six million ISM spectra. Identifying the two DIBs at 862.1 nm and 864.8 nm in the stacked spectra, we modelled their shapes and report the depth, central wavelength, width, and equivalent width (EW) for each, along with confidence bounds on these measurements. Our main results are as follows: (1) the strength and spatial distribution of the DIB $λ$862.1 are very consistent with what was found in Gaia DR3, but for this work we attained a higher signal-to-noise ratio in the stacked spectra to larger distances, which allowed us to trace DIBs in the outer spiral arm and beyond the Scutum--Centaurus spiral arm; (2) we produced an all-sky map below ${\pm}65^{\circ}$ of Galactic latitude to $\sim$4000 pc of both DIB features and their correlations; (3) we detected the signals of DIB\,$λ$862.1 inside the Local Bubble; and (4) there is a reasonable correlation with the dust reddening found from stellar absorption and EWs of both DIBs.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2023

The treasure behind the haystack: MUSE analysis of five recently discovered globular clusters

After the second data release of Gaia, the number of new globular cluster candidates has increased importantly. However, most of them need to be properly characterised, both spectroscopically and photometrically, by means of radial velocities, metallicities, and deeper photometric observations. Our goal is to provide an independent confirmation of the cluster nature of Gran 4, a recently discovered globular cluster, with follow-up spectroscopic observations. The derived radial velocity for individual stars, coupled with proper motions, allows us to isolate cluster members from field stars, while the analysis of their spectra allows us to derive metallicities. By including in the analysis the recently confirmed clusters Gran 1, 2, 3, and 5, we aim to completely characterise the sample presented in Gran et al. 2022. Using Gaia DR3 and VVV catalogue data and MUSE@VLT observations, we performed a selection of cluster members based on their proper motions, radial velocities and their position in colour-magnitude diagrams. Furthermore, full spectral synthesis was performed on the cluster members, extracting surface parameters and metallicity from MUSE spectra. Finally, a completeness estimation was performed on the total globular cluster population of the Milky Way. We confirm the nature of Gran 4, a newly discovered globular cluster behind the Galactic bulge, with a mean radial velocity of ${\rm RV} = -265.28 \pm 3.92$ km s$^{-1}$ and a mean metallicity of ${\rm [Fe/H] = -1.72 \pm 0.32}$ dex. Additionally, independent measurements of the metallicities were derived for Gran 1, 2, 3, and 5. We also revise the observational lower mass limit for a globular cluster to survive in the bulge/disk environment. We estimate that $\sim 12-26$ globular clusters have still to be discovered on the other side of the Galaxy (i.e., behind the bulge/bar/disk), up to 20 kpc.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

The cerium content of the Milky Way as revealed by Gaia DR3 GSP-Spec abundances

The recent Gaia Third Data Release contains a homogeneous analysis of millions of high-quality Radial Velocity Spectrometer (RVS) stellar spectra by the GSP-Spec module. This led to the estimation of millions of individual chemical abundances and allows us to chemically map the Milky Way. Among the published GSP-Spec abundances, three heavy-elements produced by neutron-captures in stellar interiors can be found: Ce, Zr and Nd. We use a sample of about 30,000 LTE Ce abundances, selected after applying different combinations of GSP-Spec flags. Thanks to the Gaia DR3 astrometric data and radial velocities, we explore the cerium content in the Milky Way and, in particular, in its halo and disc components. The high quality of the Ce GSP-Spec abundances is quantified thanks to literature comparisons. We found a rather flat [Ce/Fe] versus [M/H] trend. We also found a flat radial gradient in the disc derived from field stars and, independently, from about 50 open clusters, in agreement with previous studies. The [Ce/Fe] vertical gradient has also been estimated. We also report an increasing [Ce/Ca] vs [Ca/H] in the disc, illustrating the late contribution of AGB with respect to SN II. Our cerium abundances in the disc, including the young massive population, are well reproduced by a new three-infall chemical evolution model. Among the halo population, the M 4 globular cluster is found to be enriched in cerium. Moreover, eleven stars with cerium abundances belonging to the Thamnos, Helmi Stream and Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus accreted systems were identified from chemo-dynamical diagnostics. We found that the Helmi Stream could be slightly underabundant in cerium, compared to the two other systems. This work illustrates the high quality of the GSP-Spec chemical abundances, that significantly contributes to unveil the heavy elements evolution history of the Milky Way.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Beyond the two-infall model I. Indications for a recent gas infall with Gaia DR3 chemical abundances

The recent Gaia Data Release 3 (DR3) represents an unparalleled revolution in Galactic Archaeology, providing us with numerous radial velocities chemical abundances for millions of stars, with all-sky coverage. We present a new chemical evolution model for the Galactic disc components (high- and low- $α$ sequence stars) designed to reproduce the new abundance ratios provided by the GSP-spec module for the Gaia DR3 and also constrained by the detailed star formation histories for both the thick and thin disc stars inferred from previous Gaia releases. Sophisticated modeling based on previous Gaia releases has found evidence for narrow episodes of enhanced SF inferred in recent time. Additionally, Gaia DR3 highlighted the presence of young (massive) low-$α$ disc stars which show evidence of a recent chemical impoverishment in several elements. Hence, in this study, we compare Gaia DR3 chemical abundances with the predictions of a three-infall chemical evolution model for the high- and low-$α$ components. The proposed three-infall chemical evolution model nicely reproduces the main features of the abundance ratio [X/Fe] versus [M/H] (X=Mg, Si, Ca, Ti, $α$) of Gaia DR3 stars in different age bins for the considered $α$ elements. Moreover, the most recent gas infall - which started $\sim$ 2.7 Gyr ago - allows us to predict well the Gaia DR3 young population which has experienced a recent chemical impoverishment.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Ultracool dwarfs in Gaia DR3

Aims. In this work we use the Gaia DR3 set of ultracool dwarf candidates and complement the Gaia spectrophotometry with additional photometry in order to characterise its global properties. This includes the inference of the distances, their locus in the Gaia colour-absolute magnitude diagram and the (biased through selection) luminosity function in the faint end of the Main Sequence. We study the overall changes in the Gaia RP spectra as a function of spectral type. We study the UCDs in binary systems, attempt to identify low-mass members of nearby young associations, star forming regions and clusters, and analyse their variability properties. Results. We detect 57 young, kinematically homogeneous groups some of which are identified as well known star forming regions, associations and clusters of different ages. We find that the primary members of 880 binary systems with a UCD belong mainly to the thin and thick disk components of the Milky Way. We identify 1109 variable UCDs using the variability tables in the Gaia archive, 728 of which belong to the star forming regions defined by HMAC. We define two groups of variable UCDs with extreme bright or faint outliers. Conclusions. The set of sources identified as UCDs in the Gaia archive contains a wealth of information that will require focused follow-up studies and observations. It will help to advance our understanding of the nature of the faint end of the Main Sequence and the stellar/substellar transition.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2022

Solid confirmation of the broad DIB around 864.8 nm using stacked Gaia-RVS spectra

Studies of the correlation between different diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) are important for exploring their origins. However, the Gaia-RVS spectral window between 846 and 870 nm contains few DIBs, the strong DIB at 862 nm being the only convincingly confirmed one. Here we attempt to confirm the existence of a broad DIB around 864.8 nm and estimate its characteristics using the stacked Gaia-RVS spectra of a large number of stars. We study the correlations between the two DIBs at 862 nm and 864.8 nm, as well as the interstellar extinction. We obtained spectra of the interstellar medium absorption by subtracting the stellar components using templates constructed from real spectra at high Galactic latitudes with low extinctions. We then stacked the ISM spectra in Galactic coordinates, pixelized by the HEALPix scheme, to measure the DIBs. The stacked spectrum is modeled by the profiles of the two DIBs, Gaussian for $λ$862 and Lorentzian for $λ$864.8, and a linear continuum. We obtain 8458 stacked spectra in total, of which 1103 (13%) have reliable fitting results after applying numerous conservative filters. This work is the first of its kind to fit and measure $λ$862 and $λ$864.8 simultaneously in cool-star spectra. We find that the EWs and CDs of the two DIBs are well correlated with each other. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of $λ$864.8 is estimated as $1.62 \pm 0.33$ nm which compares to $0.55 \pm 0.06$ nm for $λ$862. We also measure the vacuum rest-frame wavelength of $λ$864.8 to be $λ_0 = 864.53 \pm 0.14$ nm, smaller than previous estimates. We find a solid confirmation of the existence of the DIB around 864.8 nm based on an exploration of its correlation with $λ$862 and estimation of its FWHM. $λ$862 correlates better with E(BP-RP) than $λ$864.8.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

The chemical signature of the Galactic spiral arms revealed by Gaia DR3

Taking advantage of the recent Gaia Data Release 3 (DR3), we map chemical inhomogeneities in the Milky Way's disc out to a distance of $\sim$ 4 kpc from the Sun, using different samples of bright giant stars. The samples are selected using effective temperatures and surface gravities from the GSP-Spec module, and are expected to trace stellar populations of different typical age. The cool (old) giants exhibit a relatively smooth radial metallicity gradient with an azimuthal dependence. Binning in Galactic azimuth $ϕ$, the slope gradually varies from $d$[M/H]$/dR \sim -0.054$ dex kpc$^{-1}$ at $ϕ\sim -20^{\circ}$ to $\sim -0.035$ dex kpc$^{-1}$ at $ϕ\sim 20^{\circ}$. On the other hand, the relatively hotter (and younger) stars present remarkable inhomogeneities, apparent as three (possibly four) metal-rich elongated features in correspondence of the spiral arms' locations in the Galactic disc. When projected onto Galactic radius, those features manifest themselves as statistically significant bumps on top of the observed radial metallicity gradients with amplitudes up to $ \sim 0.05-0.1$ dex, making the assumption of a linear radial decrease not applicable to this sample. The strong correlation between the spiral structure of the Galaxy and the observed chemical pattern in the young sample indicates that the spiral arms might be at the origin for the detected chemical inhomogeneities. In this scenario, the spiral arms would leave in the younger stars a strong signature, which progressively disappears when cooler (and older) giants are considered.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Gaia DR3: Apsis III -- Non-stellar content and source classification

Context. As part of the third Gaia data release, we present the contributions of the non-stellar and classification modules from the eighth coordination unit (CU8) of the Data Processing and Analysis Consortium, which is responsible for the determination of source astrophysical parameters using Gaia data. This is the third in a series of three papers describing the work done within CU8 for this release. Aims. For each of the five relevant modules from CU8, we summarise their objectives, the methods they employ, their performance, and the results they produce for Gaia DR3. We further advise how to use these data products and highlight some limitations. Methods. The Discrete Source Classifier (DSC) module provides classification probabilities associated with five types of sources: quasars, galaxies, stars, white dwarfs, and physical binary stars. A subset of these sources are processed by the Outlier Analysis (OA) module, which performs an unsupervised clustering analysis, and then associates labels with the clusters to complement the DSC classification. The Quasi Stellar Object Classifier (QSOC) and the Unresolved Galaxy Classifier (UGC) determine the redshifts of the sources classified as quasar and galaxy by the DSC module. Finally, the Total Galactic Extinction (TGE) module uses the extinctions of individual stars determined by another CU8 module to determine the asymptotic extinction along all lines of sight for Galactic latitudes |b| > 5 deg. Results. Gaia DR3 includes 1591 million sources with DSC classifications; 56 million sources to which the OA clustering is applied; 1.4 million sources with redshift estimates from UGC; 6.4 million sources with QSOC redshift; and 3.1 million level 9 HEALPixes of size 0.013 squared degree, where the extinction is evaluated by TGE.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Stellar ages, masses, extinctions and orbital parameters based on spectroscopic parameters of Gaia DR3

Gaia DR3 provides radial velocities for 33 million stars and spectroscopically derived atmospheric parameters for more than five million targets. When combined with the astrometric data, these allow us to derive orbital and stellar parameters that are key in order to understand the stellar populations of the Milky Way and perform galactic archaeology. We use the calibrated atmospheric parameters, 2MASS and Gaia-EDR3 photometry, and parallax-based distances to compute, via an isochrone fitting method, the ages, initial stellar masses and reddenings for the stars with spectroscopic parameters. We also derive the orbits (actions, eccentricities, apocentre, pericentre and Zmax) for all of the stars with measured radial velocities and astrometry, adopting two sets of line-of-sight distances from the literature and an axisymmetric potential of the Galaxy. Comparisons with reference catalogues of field and cluster stars suggest that reliable ages are obtained for stars younger than 9-10Gyr when the estimated relative age uncertainty is <50%. For older stars, ages tend to be under-estimated. The most reliable stellar type for age determination are turn-off stars, even when the input atmospheric parameters have large uncertainties. Ages for giants and main-sequence stars are retrieved with uncertainties of ~2Gyr when extinction towards the star's line-of sight is smaller than A_V<2.5mag. The full catalogue is made publicly available to be downloaded. With it, the full chemo-dynamical properties of the extended Solar neighbourhood unfold, and allow us to better identify the properties of the spiral arms, to parameterise the dynamical heating of the disc, or to thoroughly study the chemical enrichment of the Milky Way.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

Gaia Data Release 3: Analysis of the Gaia BP/RP spectra using the General Stellar Parameterizer from Photometry

We present the General Stellar Parameterizer from Photometry (GSP-Phot), which is part of the astrophysical parameters inference system (Apsis). GSP-Phot is designed to produce a homogeneous catalogue of parameters for hundreds of millions of single non-variable stars based on their astrometry, photometry, and low-resolution BP/RP spectra. These parameters are effective temperature, surface gravity, metallicity, absolute $M_G$ magnitude, radius, distance, and extinction for each star. GSP-Phot uses a Bayesian forward-modelling approach to simultaneously fit the BP/RP spectrum, parallax, and apparent $G$ magnitude. A major design feature of GSP-Phot is the use of the apparent flux levels of BP/RP spectra to derive, in combination with isochrone models, tight observational constraints on radii and distances. We carefully validate the uncertainty estimates by exploiting repeat Gaia observations of the same source. The data release includes GSP-Phot results for 471 million sources with $G<19$. Typical differences to literature values are 110 K for $T_{\rm eff}$ and 0.2-0.25 for $\log g$, but these depend strongly on data quality. In particular, GSP-Phot results are significantly better for stars with good parallax measurements ($\varpi/σ_varpi>20$), mostly within 2kpc. Metallicity estimates exhibit substantial biases compared to literature values and are only useful at a qualitative level. However, we provide an empirical calibration of our metallicity estimates that largely removes these biases. Extinctions $A_0$ and $A_{\rm BP}$ show typical differences from reference values of 0.07-0.09 mag. MCMC samples of the parameters are also available for 95% of the sources. GSP-Phot provides a homogeneous catalogue of stellar parameters, distances, and extinctions that can be used for various purposes, such as sample selections (OB stars, red giants, solar analogues etc.).

astro-ph.SR↗