arXiv subjects

M. G. Lattanzi

Publications and source records attributed to M. G. Lattanzi.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2010

Evidence of a thick disk rotation-metallicity correlation

We analyze a new kinematic survey that includes accurate proper motions derived from SDSS DR7 positions, combined with multi-epoch measurements from the GSC-II database. By means of the SDSS spectro-photometric data (effective temperature, surface gravity, metallicity, and radial velocities), we estimate photometric parallaxes for a sample of 27,000 FGK (sub)dwarfs with [Fe/H]<-0.5, which we adopted as tracers of the seven-dimensional space distribution (kinematic phase distribution plus chemical abundance) of the thick disk and inner halo within a few kiloparsecs of the Sun. We find evidence of a kinematics-metallicity correlation, dVphi/d[Fe/H]=40-50 km/s/dex, amongst thick disk stars located between one and three kiloparsecs from the plane and with abundance -1 <[Fe/H]< -0.5, while no significant correlation is present for [Fe/H]> -0.5. In addition, we estimate a shallow vertical rotation velocity gradient, dVphi/d|z| = -19 +/- 2 km/s/kpc, for the thick disk between 1 kpc < |z| < 3 kpc, and a low prograde rotation, 37 +/- 3 km/s for the inner halo up to 4 kpc. Finally, we briefly discuss the implications of these findings for the thick disk formation scenarios in the context of CDM hierarchical galaxy formation mechanisms and of secular evolutionary processes in galactic disks.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2009

The distance to the cool T9 brown dwarf ULAS J003402.77-005206.7

Aims. We demonstrate the feasibility of determining parallaxes for nearby objects with theWide Field Camera on the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) using the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey as a first epoch. We determine physical parameters for ULAS J003402.77-005206.7, one of the coolest brown dwarfs currently known, using atmospheric and evolutionary models with the distance found here. Methods. Observations over the period 10/2005 to 07/2009 were pipeline processed at the Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit and combined to produce a parallax and proper motion using standard procedures. Results. We determined pi = 79.6 +/- 3.8 mas, mura = -20.0 +/- 3.7 mas/yr and mudec = -363.8 +/- 4.3 mas/yr for ULAS J003402.77-005206.7. Conclusions. We have made a direct parallax determination for one of the coolest objects outside of the solar system. The distance is consistent with a relatively young, 1 - 2 Gyr, low mass, 13 - 20 MJ, cool, 550-600K, brown dwarf. We present a measurement of the radial velocity that is consistent with an age between 0.5 and 4.0 Gyr.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2009

A Photometric Transit Search for Planets around Cool Stars from the Italian Alps: Results from a Feasibility Study

A feasibility study was carried out at the Astronomical Observatory of the Autonomous Region of the Aosta Valley demonstrating that it is a well-poised site to conduct an upcoming observing campaign aimed at detecting small-size (R<R_Neptune) transiting planets around nearby cool M dwarf stars. Three known transiting planet systems were monitored from May to August 2009 with a 25 cm f/3.8 Maksutov telescope. We reached seeing-independent, best-case photometric RMS less than 0.003 mag for stars with V<13, with a median RMS of 0.006 mag for the whole observing period.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2008

The Second-Generation Guide Star Catalog: Description and Properties

The GSC-II is an all-sky database of objects derived from the uncompressed DSS that the STScI has created from the Palomar and UK Schmidt survey plates and made available to the community. Like its predecessor (GSC-I), the GSC-II was primarily created to provide guide star information and observation planning support for HST. This version, however, is already employed at some of the ground-based new-technology telescopes such as GEMINI, VLT, and TNG, and will also be used to provide support for the JWST and Gaia space missions as well as LAMOST, one of the major ongoing scientific projects in China. Two catalogs have already been extracted from the GSC-II database and released to the astronomical community. A magnitude-limited (R=18.0) version, GSC2.2, was distributed soon after its production in 2001, while the GSC2.3 release has been available for general access since 2007. The GSC2.3 catalog described in this paper contains astrometry, photometry, and classification for 945,592,683 objects down to the magnitude limit of the plates. Positions are tied to the ICRS; for stellar sources, the all-sky average absolute error per coordinate ranges from 0.2" to 0.28" depending on magnitude. When dealing with extended objects, astrometric errors are 20% worse in the case of galaxies and approximately a factor of 2 worse for blended images. Stellar photometry is determined to 0.13-0.22 mag as a function of magnitude and photographic passbands (B,R,I). Outside of the galactic plane, stellar classification is reliable to at least 90% confidence for magnitudes brighter than R=19.5, and the catalog is complete to R=20.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2008

Double-blind test program for astrometric planet detection with Gaia

We use detailed simulations of the Gaia observations of synthetic planetary systems and develop and utilize independent software codes in double-blind mode to analyze the data, including statistical tools for planet detection and different algorithms for single and multiple Keplerian orbit fitting that use no a priori knowledge of the true orbital parameters of the systems. 1) Planets with astrometric signatures $α\simeq 3$ times the single-measurement error $σ_ψ$ and period $P\leq 5$ yr can be detected reliably, with a very small number of false positives. 2) At twice the detection limit, uncertainties in orbital parameters and masses are typically $15%-20%$. 3) Over 70% of two-planet systems with well-separated periods in the range $0.2\leq P\leq 9$ yr, $2\leqα/σ_ψ\leq 50$, and eccentricity $e\leq 0.6$ are correctly identified. 4) Favorable orbital configurations have orbital elements measured to better than 10% accuracy $> 90%$ of the time, and the value of the mutual inclination angle determined with uncertainties $\leq 10^{\degr}$. 5) Finally, uncertainties obtained from the fitting procedures are a good estimate of the actual errors. Extrapolating from the present-day statistical properties of the exoplanet sample, the results imply that a Gaia with $σ_ψ$ = 8 $μ$as, in its unbiased and complete magnitude-limited census of planetary systems, will measure several thousand giant planets out to 3-4 AUs from stars within 200 pc, and will characterize hundreds of multiple-planet systems, including meaningful coplanarity tests. Finally, we put Gaia into context, identifying several areas of planetary-system science in which Gaia can be expected to have a relevant impact, when combined with data coming from other ongoing and future planet search programs.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2007

Testing Planet Formation Models with Gaia $μ$as Astrometry

In this paper, we first summarize the results of a large-scale double-blind tests campaign carried out for the realistic estimation of the Gaia potential in detecting and measuring planetary systems. Then, we put the identified capabilities in context by highlighting the unique contribution that the Gaia exoplanet discoveries will be able to bring to the science of extrasolar planets during the next decade.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2005

Chromaticity in all-reflective telescopes for astrometry

Chromatic effects are usually associated with refractive optics, so reflective telescopes are assumed to be free from them. We show that all-reflective optics still bears significant levels of such perturbations, which is especially critical to modern micro-arcsecond astrometric experiments. We analyze the image formation and measurement process to derive a precise definition of the chromatic variation of the image position, and we evaluate the key aspects of optical design with respect to chromaticity. The fundamental requirement related to chromaticity is the symmetry of the optical design and of the wavefront errors. Finally, we address some optical engineering issues, such as manufacturing and alignment, providing recommendations to minimize the degradation that chromaticity introduces into astrometry.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2005

The GSC-II-based survey of ancient cool white dwarfs I. The sample of spectroscopically confirmed WDs

The GSC-II white dwarf survey was designed to identify faint and high proper motion objects, which we used to define a new and independent sample of cool white dwarfs. With this survey we aim to derive new constraints on the halo white dwarf space density. Also, these data can provide information on the age of thick disk and halo through the analysis of the luminosity function. On the basis of astrometric and photometric parameters, we selected candidates with mu > 0.28 as/yr and R_F > 16 in an area of 1150 square degrees. Then, we separated white dwarfs from late type dwarfs and subdwarfs by means of the reduced proper motion diagram. Finally, spectroscopic follow-up observations were carried out to confirm the white dwarf nature of the selected candidates. We found 41 white dwarfs of which 24 are new discoveries. Here we present the full sample and for each object provide positions, absolute proper motions, photometry, and spectroscopy.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2005

Structure in the motions of the fastest halo stars

We have analyzed the catalog of 2106 non-kinematically selected metal poor stars in the solar neighborhood published by Beers et al. (2000), with the goal of quantifying the amount of substructure in the motions of the fastest halo stars. We have computed the two-point velocity correlation function for a subsample of halo stars within 1-2 kpc of the Sun, and found statistical evidence of substructure, with a similar amplitude to that predicted by high resolution CDM simulations. The signal is due to a small kinematic group whose dynamical properties are compared to the stellar "stream", previously discovered by Helmi et al. (1999). If real, this high velocity moving group would provide further support to the idea that substructures remain as fossils from the formation of the Galaxy as expected in the CDM scenario.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

Disk or Halo white dwarfs? Kinematic analysis of high proper motion surveys

We present an alternative method for the kinematic analysis of high proper motion surveys and discuss its application to the survey of Oppenheimer et al. (2001) for the selection of reliable halo white dwarfs (WDs). The local WD space density we estimate is (1-2) 10^{-5}MSun/pc^{3}, which is about an order of magnitude smaller than the value derived in Oppenheimer et al. (2001), and is consistent with the values obtained from recent reanalyses of the same data (e.g. Reid et al. 2001, Reyle et al. 2001, Torres et al. 2002, Salim et al. 2004). Our result, which corresponds to a fraction of 0.1%-0.2% of the local dark matter, does not support the scenario suggested by the microlensing experiments that ancient cool WDs could contribute significantly to the dark halo of the Milky Way.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

A General Relativistic Model of Light Propagation in the Gravitational Field of the Solar System: the Static Case

We develop here a new approach for the relativistic modeling of the photons moving into a quasi-Minkowskian space-time, where the metric is generated by an arbitrary n-body distribution within an isolated Solar System. Our model is built on the prescriptions of the theory of General Relativity and leaves the choices of the metric, as well as that of the motion of the observer, arbitrary. Adopting a quasi-Minkowskian expression of the metric accurate to order (v/c)^2, a thorough numerical test campaign is conducted to verify correctness and reliability of the model equations. The test results show that the model behaves according to predictions. Specifically, comparisons to true (simulated) data demonstrate that stellar distances are reconstructed up to the specified level of accuracy. Although the (v/c)^2 approximation is not always sufficient for its application to future astrometric experiments, which require modeling to (v/c)^3, this work serves also as a natural test-ground for the higher order model, whose formulation is now close to completion, and will be presented in a forthcoming paper.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

Narrow-Angle Astrometry with the Space Interferometry Mission: The Search for Extra-Solar Planets. II. Detection and Characterization of Planetary Systems

(Abridged) The probability of detecting additional companions is essentially unchanged with respect to the single-planet configurations, but after fitting and subtraction of orbits with astrometric signal-to-noise ratio $α/σ_d\to 1$ the false detection rates can be enhanced by up to a factor 2; the periodogram approach results in robust multiple-planet detection for systems with periods shorter than the SIM mission length, even at low values of $α/σ_d$, while the least squares technique combined with Fourier series expansions is arguably preferable in the long-period regime. The accuracy on multiple-planet orbit reconstruction and mass determination suffers a typical degradation of 30-40% with respect to single-planet solutions; mass and orbital inclination can be measured to better than 10% for periods as short as 0.1 yr, and for $α/σ_d$ as low as $\sim 5$, while $α/σ_d\simeq 100$ is required in order to measure with similar accuracy systems harboring objects with periods as long as three times the mission duration. For systems with all components producing $α/σ_d\simeq 10$ or greater, quasi-coplanarity can be reliably established with uncertainties of a few degrees, for periods in the range $0.1\leq T\leq 15$ yr; in systems where at least one component has $α/σ_d\to 1$, coplanarity measurements are compromised, with typical uncertainties on the mutual inclinations of order of $30^\circ-40^\circ$. Our findings are illustrative of the importance of the contribution SIM will make to the fields of formation and evolution of planetary systems.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

The GAIA Astrometric Survey of the Solar Neighborhood and its Contribution to the Target Database for DARWIN/TPF

We evaluate the potential of the ESA Cornerstone Mission GAIA in helping populate the database of nearby stars ($d < 25$ pc) for subsequent target selection for DARWIN/TPF. The GAIA high-precision astrometric measurements will make it an ideal tool for a complete screening of the expected several thousands stars within 25 pc in order to identify and characterize (or rule out the presence of) Jupiter signposts. GAIA astrometry will be instrumental in complementing radial velocity surveys of F-G-K stars, and will more effectively search for massive planets the large database of nearby M dwarfs, which are less easily accessible with precision spectroscopy. The ability to determine the actual planet masses and inclination angles for detected systems, especially those with low-mass primaries (M $< 0.6$ M$_\odot$), stems as a fundamental contribution GAIA will make toward the final target selection for DARWIN/TPF, thus complementing exo-zodiacal dust emission observations from ground-based observatories such as Keck, LBTI, and VLTI.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

The Torino Observatory Parallax Program: White Dwarf Candidates

We present parallax determinations for six white dwarf candidates in the Torino Observatory Parallax Program. The absolute parallaxes are found with precisions at the 2-3 milliarcsecond level. For WD 1126+185 we find a distance incompatible with being a white dwarf, implying an incorrect classification. For WD 2216+484 we find our distance is consistent with a simple DA white dwarf rather than a composite system as previously proposed in the literature. In general it is found that the published photometric distance is an overestimate of the distance found here.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2003

Model atmosphere analysis of the extreme DQ white dwarf GSC2U J131147.2+292348

A new model atmosphere analysis for the peculiar DQ white dwarf discovered by Carollo et al. (2002) is presented. The effective temperature and carbon abundance have been estimated by fitting both the photometric data (UBJ,VRF,IN,JHK) and a low resolution spectrum (3500<lambda<7500 A) with a new model grid for helium-rich white dwarfs with traces of carbon (DQ stars). We estimate Teff ~ 5120 +/- 200 K and log[C/He] ~ -5.8 +/- 0.5, which make GSC2U J131147.2+292348 the coolest DQ star ever observed. This result indicates that the hypothetical transition from C2 to C2H molecules around Teff = 6000 K, which was inferred to explain the absence of DQ stars at lower temperatures, needs to be reconsidered.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2002

Faint and peculiar objects in GAIA: results from GSC-II

The one billion objects in the GSC-II make up a formidable data set for the hunt of peculiar and rare targets such as late type stars, white dwarfs, carbon dwarfs, asteroids, variable stars, etc. Here we present a survey to search for ancient cool white dwarfs, which led to the discovery of several stars with peculiar spectral distributions and extreme physical properties. Finally, we discuss the impact of the GAIA mission with respect to these peculiar and faint white dwarfs.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2002

Galaxy structure and kinematics towards the NGP

We present a proper motion survey over about 200 square degrees towards the NGP, based on the material used for the construction of the GSC-II, that we are using to study the vertical structure and kinematics of the Galaxy. In particular, we measured the rotation velocity of the halo up to 10 kpc above the galactic plane traced by a sample of RR Lyræ and BHB giants for which radial velocities were used to recover the complete distribution of the spatial velocities. Finally, the impact of astrometric and spectroscopic GAIA observation are discussed.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2002

Discovery of a peculiar DQ white dwarf

We report the discovery of a new carbon rich white dwarf that was identified during a proper motion survey for cool white dwarfs based on photographic material used for the construction of the Guide Star Catalog II. Its large proper motion (0.48 arcsec/yr) and faint apparent magnitude (V = 18.7) suggest a nearby object of low luminosity. A low-resolution spectrum taken with the William Herschel Telescope clearly shows strong C2 Deslandres-d'Azambuja and Swan bands, which identify the star as a DQ white dwarf. The strength of the Deslandres-d'Azambuja bands and the depression of the continuum in the Swan-band region are signs of enhanced carbon abundance for the given Teff. Comparison of our spectrophotometric data to published synthetic spectra suggests 6000 K < Teff < 8000 K although further analysis with specialized synthetic models appear necessary to derive both Teff and chemical composition. Finally, the range of spatial velocity estimated for this object makes it a likely member of the halo or thick disk population.

astro-ph↗