arXiv subjects

Gary S. Da Costa

Publications and source records attributed to Gary S. Da Costa.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

The GALAH+ Survey: Third Data Release

The ensemble of chemical element abundance measurements for stars, along with precision distances and orbit properties, provides high-dimensional data to study the evolution of the Milky Way. With this third data release of the Galactic Archaeology with HERMES (GALAH) survey, we publish 678 423 spectra for 588 571 mostly nearby stars (81.2% of stars are within <2 kpc), observed with the HERMES spectrograph at the Anglo-Australian Telescope. This release (hereafter GALAH+ DR3) includes all observations from GALAH Phase 1 (bright, main, and faint survey, 70%), K2-HERMES (17%), TESS-HERMES (5%), and a subset of ancillary observations (8%) including the bulge and >75 stellar clusters. We derive stellar parameters $T_\text{eff}$, $\log g$, [Fe/H], $v_\text{mic}$, $v_\text{broad}$ & $v_\text{rad}$ using our modified version of the spectrum synthesis code Spectroscopy Made Easy (SME) and 1D MARCS model atmospheres. We break spectroscopic degeneracies in our spectrum analysis with astrometry from $Gaia$ DR2 and photometry from 2MASS. We report abundance ratios [X/Fe] for 30 different elements (11 of which are based on non-LTE computations) covering five nucleosynthetic pathways. We describe validations for accuracy and precision, flagging of peculiar stars/measurements and recommendations for using our results. Our catalogue comprises 65% dwarfs, 34% giants, and 1% other/unclassified stars. Based on unflagged chemical composition and age, we find 62% young low-$α$, 9% young high-$α$, 27% old high-$α$, and 2% stars with $\mathrm{[Fe/H]} \leq -1$. Based on kinematics, 4% are halo stars. Several Value-Added-Catalogues, including stellar ages and dynamics, updated after $Gaia$ eDR3, accompany this release and allow chrono-chemodynamic analyses, as we showcase.

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arXiv2021

Broken into Pieces: ATLAS and Aliqa Uma as One Single Stream

We present the first spectroscopic measurements of the ATLAS and Aliqa Uma streams from the Southern Stellar Stream Spectroscopic Survey ($S^5$), in combination with the photometric data from the Dark Energy Survey and astrometric data from $Gaia$. From the coherence of spectroscopic members in radial velocity and proper motion, we find out that these two systems are extremely likely to be one stream with discontinuity in morphology and density on the sky (the "kink" feature). We refer to this entire stream as the ATLAS-Aliqa Uma stream, or the AAU stream. We perform a comprehensive exploration of the effect of baryonic substructures and find that only an encounter with the Sagittarius dwarf $\sim 0.5$ Gyr ago can create a feature similar to the observed "kink". In addition, we also identify two gaps in the ATLAS component associated with the broadening in the stream width (the "broadening" feature). These gaps have likely been created by small mass perturbers, such as dark matter halos, as the AAU stream is the most distant cold stream known with severe variations in both the stream surface density and the stream track on the sky. With the stream track, stream distance and kinematic information, we determine the orbit of the AAU stream and find that it has been affected by the Large Magellanic Cloud, resulting in a misalignment between the proper motion and stream track. Together with the Orphan-Chenab Stream, AAU is the second stream pair that has been found to be a single stream separated into two segments by external perturbation.

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arXiv2020

Milky Way Tomography with the SkyMapper Southern Survey. II. Photometric Re-calibration of SMSS DR2

We apply the spectroscopy-based stellar-color regression (SCR) method to perform an accurate photometric re-calibration of the second data release from the SkyMapper Southern Survey (SMSS DR2). From comparison with a sample of over 200,000 dwarf stars with stellar atmospheric parameters taken from GALAH+ DR3 and with accurate, homogeneous photometry from $Gaia$ DR2, zero-point offsets are detected in the original photometric catalog of SMSS DR2, in particular for the gravity- and metallicity-sensitive $uv$ bands. For $uv$ bands, the zero-point offsets are close to zero at very low extinction, and then steadily increase with $E (B - V)$, reaching as large as 0.174 and 0.134 mag respectively, at $E (B - V) \sim 0.5$ mag. These offsets largely arise from the adopted dust term in the transformations used by SMSS DR2 to construct photometric calibrators from the ATLAS reference catalog. For the $gr$ bands, the zero-point offsets exhibit negligible variations with SFD $E(B - V )$, due to their tiny coefficients on the dust term in the transformation. Our study also reveals small, but significant, spatial variations of the zero-point offsets in all $uvgr$ bands. External checks using Strömgren photometry, WD loci and the SDSS Stripe 82 standard-star catalog independently confirm the zero-points found by our revised SCR method.

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arXiv2020

SkyMapper Southern Survey: Second Data Release (DR2)

We present the second data release (DR2) of the SkyMapper Southern Survey, a hemispheric survey carried out with the SkyMapper Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory in Australia, using six optical filters: $u,v,g,r,i,z$. DR2 is the first release to go beyond the $\sim$18mag (10$σ$) limit of the Shallow Survey released in DR1, and includes portions of the sky at full survey depth that reach >21mag in $g$ and $r$ filters. The DR2 photometry has a precision as measured by internal reproducibility of 1% in $u$ and $v$, and 0.7% in $griz$. More than 21 000 deg$^2$ have data in some filters (at either Shallow or Main Survey depth) and over 7 000 deg$^2$ have deep Main Survey coverage in all six filters. Finally, about 18 000 deg$^2$ have Main Survey data in $i$ and $z$ filters, albeit not yet at full depth. The release contains over 120 000 images, as well as catalogues with over 500 million unique astrophysical objects and nearly 5 billion individual detections. It also contains cross-matches with a range of external catalogues such as Gaia DR2, Pan-STARRS1 DR1, GALEX GUVcat, 2MASS, and AllWISE, as well as spectroscopic surveys such as 2MRS, GALAH, 6dFGS, and 2dFLenS.

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arXiv2020

The tidal remnant of an unusually metal-poor globular cluster

Globular clusters are some of the oldest bound stellar structures observed in the Universe. They are ubiquitous in large galaxies and are believed to trace intense star formation events and the hierarchical build-up of structure. Observations of globular clusters in the Milky Way, and a wide variety of other galaxies, have found evidence for a `metallicity floor', whereby no globular clusters are found with chemical (`metal') abundances below approximately 0.3 to 0.4 per cent of that of the Sun. The existence of this metallicity floor may reflect a minimum mass and a maximum redshift for surviving globular clusters to form, both critical components for understanding the build-up of mass in the universe. Here we report measurements from the Southern Stellar Streams Spectroscopic Survey of the spatially thin, dynamically cold Phoenix stellar stream in the halo of the Milky Way. The properties of the Phoenix stream are consistent with it being the tidally disrupted remains of a globular cluster. However, its metal abundance ([Fe/H] = -2.7) is substantially below that of the empirical metallicity floor. The Phoenix stream thus represents the debris of the most metal-poor globular cluster discovered so far, and its progenitor is distinct from the present-day globular cluster population in the local Universe. Its existence implies that globular clusters below the metallicity floor have probably existed, but were destroyed during Galactic evolution.

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arXiv2020

The closest extremely low-mass white dwarf to the Sun

We present the orbit and properties of 2MASS J050051.85-093054.9, establishing it as the closest (d ~ 71 pc) extremely low mass white dwarf to the Sun. We find that this star is hydrogen-rich with Teff ~ 10 500 K, log g ~ 5.9, and, following evolutionary models, has a mass of ~ 0.17 solar masses. Independent analysis of radial velocity and TESS photometric time series reveals an orbital period of ~ 9.5 h. Its high velocity amplitude (K ~ 144 km/s) produces a measurable Doppler beaming effect in the TESS light curve with an amplitude of 1 mmag. The unseen companion is most likely a faint white dwarf. J0500-0930 belongs to a class of post-common envelope systems that will most likely merge through unstable mass transfer and in specific circumstances lead to Type Ia supernova explosions.

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arXiv2019

THOR 42: A touchstone $\sim$24 Myr-old eclipsing binary spanning the fully-convective boundary

We present the characterization of CRTS J055255.7$-$004426 (=THOR 42), a young eclipsing binary comprising two pre-main sequence M dwarfs (combined spectral type M3.5). This nearby (103 pc), short-period (0.859 d) system was recently proposed as a member of the $\sim$24 Myr-old 32 Orionis Moving Group. Using ground- and space-based photometry in combination with medium- and high-resolution spectroscopy, we model the light and radial velocity curves to derive precise system parameters. The resulting component masses and radii are $0.497\pm0.005$ and $0.205\pm0.002$ $\rm{M}_{\odot}$, and $0.659\pm0.003$ and $0.424\pm0.002$ $\rm{R}_{\odot}$, respectively. With mass and radius uncertainties of $\sim$1 per cent and $\sim$0.5 per cent, respectively, THOR 42 is one of the most precisely characterized pre-main sequence eclipsing binaries known. Its systemic velocity, parallax, proper motion, colour-magnitude diagram placement and enlarged radii are all consistent with membership in the 32 Ori Group. The system provides a unique opportunity to test pre-main sequence evolutionary models at an age and mass range not well constrained by observation. From the radius and mass measurements we derive ages of 22-26 Myr using standard (non-magnetic) models, in excellent agreement with the age of the group. However, none of the models can simultaneously reproduce the observed mass, radius, temperature and luminosity of the coeval components. In particular, their H-R diagram ages are 2-4 times younger and we infer masses $\sim$50 per cent smaller than the dynamical values.

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arXiv2019

The Great Escape: Discovery of a nearby 1700 km/s star ejected from the Milky Way by Sgr A*

We present the serendipitous discovery of the fastest Main Sequence hyper-velocity star (HVS) by the Southern Stellar Stream Spectroscopic Survey (S5). The star S5-HVS1 is a $\sim 2.35$ M$_\odot$ A-type star located at a distance of $\sim 9$ kpc from the Sun and has a heliocentric radial velocity of $1017\pm 2.7$ km/s without any signature of velocity variability. The current 3-D velocity of the star in the Galactic frame is $1755\pm50$ km/s. When integrated backwards in time, the orbit of the star points unambiguously to the Galactic Centre, implying that S5-HVS1 was kicked away from Sgr A* with a velocity of $\sim 1800$ km/s and travelled for $4.8$ Myr to its current location. This is so far the only HVS confidently associated with the Galactic Centre. S5-HVS1 is also the first hyper-velocity star to provide constraints on the geometry and kinematics of the Galaxy, such as the Solar motion $V_{y,\odot}= 246.1\pm 5.3$ km/s or position $R_0=8.12\pm 0.23$ kpc. The ejection trajectory and transit time of S5-HVS1 coincide with the orbital plane and age of the annular disk of young stars at the Galactic centre, and thus may be linked to its formation. With the S5-HVS1 ejection velocity being almost twice the velocity of other hyper-velocity stars previously associated with the Galactic Centre, we question whether they have been generated by the same mechanism or whether the ejection velocity distribution has been constant over time.

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arXiv2018

SkyMapper Southern Survey: First Data Release (DR1)

We present the first data release (DR1) of the SkyMapper Southern Survey, a hemispheric survey carried out with the SkyMapper Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory in Australia. Here, we present the survey strategy, data processing, catalogue construction and database schema. The DR1 dataset includes over 66,000 images from the Shallow Survey component, covering an area of 17,200 deg$^2$ in all six SkyMapper passbands $uvgriz$, while the full area covered by any passband exceeds 20,000 deg$^2$. The catalogues contain over 285 million unique astrophysical objects, complete to roughly 18 mag in all bands. We compare our $griz$ point-source photometry with PanSTARRS1 DR1 and note an RMS scatter of 2%. The internal reproducibility of SkyMapper photometry is on the order of 1%. Astrometric precision is better than 0.2 arcsec based on comparison with Gaia DR1. We describe the end-user database, through which data are presented to the world community, and provide some illustrative science queries.

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arXiv2017

Tidal tails around the outer halo globular clusters Eridanus and Palomar 15

We report the discovery of tidal tails around the two outer halo globular clusters, Eridanus and Palomar 15, based on $gi$-band images obtained with DECam at the CTIO 4-m Blanco Telescope. The tidal tails are among the most remote stellar streams presently known in the Milky Way halo. Cluster members have been determined from the color-magnitude diagrams and used to establish the radial density profiles, which show, in both cases, a strong departure in the outer regions from the best-fit King profile. Spatial density maps reveal tidal tails stretching out on opposite sides of both clusters, extending over a length of $\sim$760 pc for Eridanus and $\sim$1160 pc for Palomar 15. The great circle projected from the Palomar 15 tidal tails encompasses the Galactic Center, while that for Eridanus passes close to four dwarf satellite galaxies, one of which (Sculptor) is at a comparable distance to that of Eridanus.

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arXiv2017

A chemical signature from fast-rotating low-metallicity massive stars: ROA 276 in omega Centauri

We present a chemical abundance analysis of a metal-poor star, ROA 276, in the stellar system omega Centauri. We confirm that this star has an unusually high [Sr/Ba] abundance ratio. Additionally, ROA 276 exhibits remarkably high abundance ratios, [X/Fe], for all elements from Cu to Mo along with normal abundance ratios for the elements from Ba to Pb. The chemical abundance pattern of ROA 276, relative to a primordial omega Cen star ROA 46, is best fit by a fast-rotating low-metallicity massive stellar model of 20 Msun, [Fe/H] = -1.8, and an initial rotation 0.4 times the critical value; no other nucleosynthetic source can match the neutron-capture element distribution. ROA 276 arguably offers the most definitive proof to date that fast-rotating massive stars contributed to the production of heavy elements in the early Universe.

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arXiv2016

The EMBLA Survey -- Metal-poor stars in the Galactic bulge

Cosmological models predict the oldest stars in the Galaxy should be found closest to the centre of the potential well, in the bulge. The EMBLA Survey successfully searched for these old, metal-poor stars by making use of the distinctive SkyMapper photometric filters to discover candidate metal-poor stars in the bulge. Their metal-poor nature was then confirmed using the AAOmega spectrograph on the AAT. Here we present an abundance analysis of 10 bulge stars with -2.8<[Fe/H]<-1.7 from MIKE/Magellan observations, in total determining the abundances of 22 elements. Combining these results with our previous high-resolution data taken as part of the Gaia-ESO Survey, we have started to put together a picture of the chemical and kinematic nature of the most metal-poor stars in the bulge. The currently available kinematic data is consistent with the stars belonging to the bulge, although more accurate measurements are needed to constrain the stars' orbits. The chemistry of these bulge stars deviates from that found in halo stars of the same metallicity. Two notable differences are the absence of carbon-enhanced metal-poor bulge stars, and the alpha-element abundances exhibit a large intrinsic scatter and include stars which are underabundant in these typically enhanced elements.

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arXiv2016

Confirming the intrinsic abundance spread in the globular cluster NGC 6273 (M 19) with calcium triplet spectroscopy

We present metallicities for red giant stars in the globular cluster NGC 6273 based on intermediate resolution GMOS-S spectra of the calcium triplet region. For the 42 radial velocity members with reliable calcium triplet line strength measurements, we obtain metallicities, [Fe/H], using calibrations established from standard globular clusters. We confirm the presence of an intrinsic abundance dispersion identified by Johnson et al. (2015). The total range in [Fe/H] is ~1.0 dex and after taking into account the measurement errors, the intrinsic abundance dispersion is σ[Fe/H] = 0.17 dex. Among the Galactic globular clusters, the abundance dispersion in NGC 6273 is only exceeded by omega Cen, which is regarded as the remnant of a disrupted dwarf galaxy, and M 54, which is the nuclear star cluster of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy. If these three globular clusters share the same formation mechanism, then NGC 6273 may also be the remnant nucleus of a disrupted dwarf galaxy.

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arXiv2016

A 10 kpc stellar substructure at the edge of the Large Magellanic Cloud: perturbed outer disk or evidence for tidal stripping?

We report the discovery of a substantial stellar overdensity in the periphery of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), found using public imaging from the first year of the Dark Energy Survey. The structure appears to emanate from the edge of the outer LMC disk at a radius $\approx 13.5$ degrees due north of its centre, and stretches more than $10$ kpc towards the east. It is roughly $1.5$ kpc wide and has an integrated $V$-band luminosity of at least $M_V = -7.4$. The stellar populations in the feature are indistinguishable from those in the outer LMC disk. We attempt to quantify the geometry of the outer disk using simple planar models, and find that only a disk with mild intrinsic ellipticity can simultaneously explain the observed stellar density on the sky and the azimuthal line-of-sight distance profile. We also see possible non-planar behaviour in the outer disk that may reflect a warp and/or flare, as well as deviations that resemble a ring-like structure between $\sim9-12$ degrees from the LMC centre. Based on all these observations, we conclude that our remote, stream-like feature is likely comprised of material that has been stripped from the outskirts of the LMC disk, although we cannot rule out that it represents a transient overdensity in the disk itself. We conduct a simple $N$-body simulation to show that either type of structure could plausibly arise due to the tidal force of the Milky Way; however we also recognize that a recent close interaction between the LMC and the SMC may be the source of the stripping or perturbation. Finally, we observe evidence for extremely diffuse LMC populations extending to radii of $\sim 18.5$ kpc in the disk plane ($\approx 20$ degrees on the sky), corroborating previous spectroscopic detections at comparable distances.

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arXiv2015

High-Resolution Spectroscopic Study of Extremely Metal-Poor Star Candidates from the SkyMapper Survey

The SkyMapper Southern Sky Survey is carrying out a search for the most metal-poor stars in the Galaxy. It identifies candidates by way of its unique filter set that allows for estimation of stellar atmospheric parameters. The set includes a narrow filter centered on the Ca II K 3933A line, enabling a robust estimate of stellar metallicity. Promising candidates are then confirmed with spectroscopy. We present the analysis of Magellan-MIKE high-resolution spectroscopy of 122 metal-poor stars found by SkyMapper in the first two years of commissioning observations. 41 stars have [Fe/H] <= -3.0. Nine have [Fe/H] <= -3.5, with three at [Fe/H] ~ -4. A 1D LTE abundance analysis of the elements Li, C, Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Sc, Ti, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Zn, Sr, Ba and Eu shows these stars have [X/Fe] ratios typical of other halo stars. One star with low [X/Fe] values appears to be "Fe-enhanced," while another star has an extremely large [Sr/Ba] ratio: >2. Only one other star is known to have a comparable value. Seven stars are "CEMP-no" stars ([C/Fe] > 0.7, [Ba/Fe] < 0). 21 stars exhibit mild r-process element enhancements (0.3 <=[Eu/Fe] < 1.0), while four stars have [Eu/Fe] >= 1.0. These results demonstrate the ability to identify extremely metal-poor stars from SkyMapper photometry, pointing to increased sample sizes and a better characterization of the metal-poor tail of the halo metallicity distribution function in the future.

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arXiv2015

A Hero's Dark Horse: Discovery of an Ultra-Faint Milky Way Satellite in Pegasus

We report the discovery of an ultra-faint Milky Way satellite galaxy in the constellation of Pegasus. The concentration of stars was detected by applying our overdensity detection algorithm to the SDSS-DR 10 and confirmed with deeper photometry from the Dark Energy Camera at the 4-m Blanco telescope. Fitting model isochrones indicates that this object, Pegasus III, features an old and metal-poor stellar population ([Fe/H]$\sim-2.1$) at a heliocentric distance of $205\pm20$ kpc. The new stellar system has an estimated half-light radius of $r_h=78^{+30}_{-24}$ pc and a total luminosity of $M_{V}\sim-4.1\pm0.5$ that places it into the domain of dwarf galaxies on the size--luminosity plane. Pegasus III is spatially close to the MW satellite Pisces II. It is possible that the two might be physically associated, similar to the Leo IV and Leo V pair. Pegasus III is also well aligned with the Vast Polar Structure, which suggests a possible physical association.

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arXiv2015

Discovery of a Faint Outer Halo Milky Way Star Cluster in the Southern Sky

We report the discovery of a new, low luminosity star cluster in the outer halo of the Milky Way. High quality $gr$ photometry is presented, from which a color-magnitude diagram is constructed, and estimates of age, [Fe/H], [$α$/Fe], and distance are derived. The star cluster, which we designate as Kim 2, lies at a heliocentric distance of $\sim105$ kpc. With a half-light radius of $\sim12.8$ pc and ellipticity of $ε\sim0.12$, it shares the properties of outer halo GCs, except for the higher metallicity ([Fe/H]$\sim-1.0$) and lower luminosity ($M_{V}\sim-1.5)$. These parameters are similar to those for the globular cluster AM 4, that is considered to be associated with the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy. We find evidence of dynamical mass segregation and the presence of extra-tidal stars that suggests Kim 2 is most likely a star cluster. Spectroscopic observations for radial-velocity membership and chemical abundance measurements are needed to further understand the nature of the object.

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arXiv2014

The s-Process Enrichment of the Globular Clusters M4 and M22

We investigate the enrichment in elements produced by the slow neutron-capture process ($s$-process) in the globular clusters M4 (NGC 6121) and M22 (NGC 6656). Stars in M4 have homogeneous abundances of Fe and neutron-capture elements, but the entire cluster is enhanced in $s$-process elements (Sr, Y, Ba, Pb) relative to other clusters with a similar metallicity. In M22, two stellar groups exhibit different abundances of Fe and $s$-process elements. By subtracting the mean abundances of $s$-poor from $s$-rich stars, we derive $s$-process residuals or empirical $s$-process distributions for M4 and M22. We find that the $s$-process distribution in M22 is more weighted toward the heavy $s$-peak (Ba, La, Ce) and Pb than M4, which has been enriched mostly with light $s$-peak elements (Sr, Y, Zr). We construct simple chemical evolution models using yields from massive star models that include rotation, which dramatically increases $s$-process production at low metallicity. We show that our massive star models with rotation rates of up to 50\% of the critical (break-up) velocity and changes to the preferred $^{17}$O($α$,$γ$)$^{21}$Ne rate produce insufficient heavy $s$-elements and Pb to match the empirical distributions. For models that incorporate AGB yields, we find that intermediate-mass yields (with a $^{22}$Ne neutron source) alone do not reproduce the light-to-heavy $s$-element ratios for M4 and M22, and that a small contribution from models with a $^{13}$C pocket is required. With our assumption that $^{13}$C pockets form for initial masses below a transition range between 3.0 and 3.5 M$_\odot$, we match the light-to-heavy s-element ratio in the s-process residual of M22 and predict a minimum enrichment timescale of between 240 and 360 Myr. Our predicted value is consistent with the 300 Myr upper limit age difference between the two groups derived from isochrone fitting.

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