arXiv subjects

M. Hempel

Publications and source records attributed to M. Hempel.

68 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2009

VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV): The public ESO near-IR variability survey of the Milky Way

We describe the public ESO near-IR variability survey (VVV) scanning the Milky Way bulge and an adjacent section of the mid-plane where star formation activity is high. The survey will take 1929 hours of observations with the 4-metre VISTA telescope during five years (2010-2014), covering ~10^9 point sources across an area of 520 deg^2, including 33 known globular clusters and ~350 open clusters. The final product will be a deep near-IR atlas in five passbands (0.9-2.5 microns) and a catalogue of more than 10^6 variable point sources. Unlike single-epoch surveys that, in most cases, only produce 2-D maps, the VVV variable star survey will enable the construction of a 3-D map of the surveyed region using well-understood distance indicators such as RR Lyrae stars, and Cepheids. It will yield important information on the ages of the populations. The observations will be combined with data from MACHO, OGLE, EROS, VST, Spitzer, HST, Chandra, INTEGRAL, WISE, Fermi LAT, XMM-Newton, GAIA and ALMA for a complete understanding of the variable sources in the inner Milky Way. This public survey will provide data available to the whole community and therefore will enable further studies of the history of the Milky Way, its globular cluster evolution, and the population census of the Galactic Bulge and center, as well as the investigations of the star forming regions in the disk. The combined variable star catalogues will have important implications for theoretical investigations of pulsation properties of stars.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2009

Millimagnitude Photometry for Transiting Extrasolar Planetary Candidates. V. Follow-up of 30 OGLE Transits. New Candidates

We used VLT/VIMOS images in the V band to obtain light curves of extrasolar planetary transits OGLE-TR-111 and OGLE-TR-113, and candidate planetary transits: OGLE-TR-82, OGLE-TR-86, OGLE-TR-91, OGLE-TR-106, OGLE-TR-109, OGLE-TR-110, OGLE-TR-159, OGLE-TR-167, OGLE-TR-170, OGLE-TR-171. Using difference imaging photometry, we were able to achieve millimagnitude errors in the individual data points. We present the analysis of the data and the light curves, by measuring transit amplitudes and ephemerides, and by calculating geometrical parameters for some of the systems. We observed 9 OGLE objects at the predicted transit moments. Two other transits were shifted in time by a few hours. For another seven objects we expected to observe transits during the VIMOS run, but they were not detected. The stars OGLE-TR-111 and OGLE-TR-113 are probably the only OGLE objects in the observed sample to host planets, with the other objects being very likely eclipsing binaries or multiple systems. In this paper we also report on four new transiting candidates which we have found in the data.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2009

A new possible quark-hadron mixed phase in protoneutron stars

The phase transition from hadronic matter to quark matter at high density might be a strong first order phase transition in presence of a large surface tension between the two phases. While this implies a constant-pressure mixed phase for cold and catalyzed matter this is not the case for the hot and lepton rich matter formed in a protoneutron star. We show that it is possible to obtain a mixed phase with non-constant pressure by considering the global conservation of lepton number during the stage of neutrino trapping. In turn, it allows for the appearance of a new kind of mixed phase as long as neutrinos are trapped and its gradual disappearance during deleptonization. This new mixed phase, being composed by two electric neutral phases, does not develop a Coulomb lattice and it is formed only by spherical structures, drops and bubbles, which can have macroscopic sizes. The disappearance of the mixed phase at the end of deleptonization might lead to a delayed collapse of the star into a more compact configuration containing a core of pure quark phase. In this scenario, a significant emission of neutrinos and, possibly, gravitational waves are expected.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2009

Conditions for Phase Equilibrium in Supernovae, Proto-Neutron and Neutron Stars

We investigate the qualitative properties of phase transitions in a general way, if not the single particle numbers of the system but only some particular charges like e.g. baryon number are conserved. In addition to globally conserved charges we analyze the implications of locally conserved charge fractions, like e.g. local electric charge neutrality or locally fixed proton or lepton fractions. The conditions for phase equilibrium are derived and it is shown, that the properties of the phase transition do not depend on the locally conserved fractions. Finally, the general formalism is applied to the liquid-gas phase transition and the hadron-quark phase transition for typical astrophysical environments like in supernovae, proto-neutron or a neutron stars. We demonstrate that the Maxwell construction known from cold-deleptonized neutron star matter with two locally charge neutral phases requires modifications and further assumptions concerning the applicability for hot lepton-rich matter. All possible combinations of local and global conservation laws are analyzed, and the physical meaningful cases are identified. Several new kinds of mixed phases are presented, as e.g. a locally charge neutral mixed phase in proto-neutron stars which will disappear during the cooling and deleptonization of the proto-neutron star.

astro-ph.HE↗

arXiv2009

Deep census of variable stars in a VLT/VIMOS field in Carina

We have searched for variable stars in deep V-band images of a field towards the Galactic plane in Carina. The images were taken with VIMOS instrument at ESO VLT during 4 contiguous nights in April 2005. We detected 348 variables among 50897 stars in the magnitude range between V=15.4 and V=24.5 mag. Upon detection, we classified the variables by direct eye inspection of their light curves. All variable objects but 9 OGLE transits in the field are new discoveries. We provide a complete catalog of all variables which includes eclipsing/ellipsoidal binaries, miscellaneous pulsators (mostly delta Scuti-type variables), stars with flares and other (irregular and likely long-period) variables. Only two of the stars in our sample are known to host planets. Our result give some implications for future large variability surveys.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2009

Radial extent of the SGB in NGC 1851

Recent HST-ACS observations revealed the presence of a double subgiant branch (SGB) in the core of the Galactic globular cluster NGC 1851. This peculiarity was tentatively explained by the presence of a second population with either an age difference of about 1 Gyr, or a higher C+N+O abundance, probably due to pollution by the first generation of stars. In the present Letter, we analyze VLT-FORS V,I images, covering 12.7x12.7 arcmin, in the southwest quadrant of the cluster, allowing us to probe the extent of the double SGB from ~1.4 to ~13 arcmin from the cluster center. Our study reveals, for the first time, that the "peculiar" population is the one associated to the fainter SGB. Indeed, while the percentage of stars in this sequence is about 45% in the cluster core (as previously found on the basis of HST-ACS data), we find that it drops sharply, to a level consistent with zero in our data, at ~2.4 arcmin from the cluster center, where the brighter SGB, in our sample, still contains ~100 stars. Implications for the proposed scenarios are discussed.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2008

Signals of the QCD phase transition in core-collapse supernovae

We explore the implications of the QCD phase transition during the postbounce evolution of core-collapse supernovae. Using the MIT bag model for the description of quark matter and assuming small bag constants, we find that the phase transition occurs during the early postbounce accretion phase. This stage of the evolution can be simulated with general relativistic three-flavor Boltzmann neutrino transport. The phase transition produces a second shock wave that triggers a delayed supernova explosion. If such a phase transition happens in a future galactic supernova, its existence and properties should become observable as a second peak in the neutrino signal that is accompanied by significant changes in the energy of the emitted neutrinos. In contrast to the first neutronization burst, this second neutrino burst is dominated by the emission of anti-neutrinos because the electron-degeneracy is lifted when the second shock passes through the previously neutronized matter.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2008

Triaxial nuclear models and the outer crust of nonaccreting cold neutron stars

The properties and composition of the outer crust of nonaccreting cold neutron stars are studied by applying the model of Baym, Pethick, and Sutherland (BPS) and taking into account for the first time triaxial deformations of nuclei. Two theoretical nuclear models, Hartree-Fock plus pairing in the BCS approximation (HF-BCS) with Skyrme SLy6 parametrization and Hartree-Fock-Bogolyubov (HFB) with Gogny D1S force, are used to calculate the nuclear masses. The two theoretical calculations are compared concerning their neutron drip line, binding energies, magic neutron numbers, and the sequence of nuclei in the outer crust of nonaccreting cold neutron stars, with special emphasis on the effect of triaxial deformations. The BPS model is extended by the higher-order corrections for the atomic binding, screening, exchange and zero-point energies. The influence of the higher-order corrections on the sequence of the outer crust is investigated.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2007

The ACS Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters. III. The Double Subgiant Branch of NGC 1851

Photometry with HST's ACS reveals that the subgiant branch (SGB) of the globular cluster NGC 1851 splits into two well-defined branches. If the split is due only to an age effect, the two SGBs would imply two star formation episodes separated by $\sim$ 1 Gyr. We discuss other anomalies in NGC 1851 which could be interpreted in terms of a double stellar population. Finally, we compare the case of NGC 1851 with the other two globulars known to host multiple stellar populations, and show that all three clusters differ in several important respects.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2005

Extragalactic Globular Clusters in the Near-Infrared: V. IC 4051 and NGC 3311

We present the results of combined optical and near-infrared photometry for the globular cluster systems of the giant ellipticals IC 4051 and NGC 3311. We use the reduced age-metallicity degeneracy in (V-I) vs.(V-H) color-color diagrams to derive the cumulative age distribution within the red sub-population of globular clusters and to search for age sub-populations. The age distribution is then compared to the one determined for simulated globular cluster systems in order to set constraints on the relative age and size of these globular cluster sub-populations. In both galaxies we find a significant fraction of globular clusters with ages between 2- 5 Gyr. We also investigate the metallicity distribution in both systems. Small number statistics prevent us from making any definite statements concerning NGC 3311, but we find that the derived metallicity distribution of the IC 4051 clusters strongly depends on the assumed age distribution. Based on our most likely result that finds a large number of young/intermediate age clusters (~2 Gyr) within the selected globular cluster sample, we find metallicity peaks at $\sim$ -0.2 for the old clusters and +0.8 for the young clusters. Only few very metal poor clusters are found. However, the metallicity distribution within the young/intermediate globular cluster population is significantly affected by our choice of the applied Single Stellar Population model. The mean metallicity of the second generation of globular clusters changes from the above mentioned and extremely high +0.8 dex to +0.2 dex. Note that the model dependency becomes less severe with an increasing age of the cluster population.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2005

The Star Cluster Population in the Tidal Tails of NGC 6872

We present a photometric analysis of the rich star cluster population in the tidal tails of NGC 6872. We find star clusters with ages between 1 - 100 Myr distributed in the tidal tails, while the tails themselves have an age of less than 150 Myr. Most of the young massive ($10^{4} \le M/M_{\odot} \le 10^{7}$) clusters are found in the outer regions of the galactic disk or the tidal tails. The mass distribution of the cluster population can be well described by power-law of the form $N(m) \propto m^{-α}$, where $α= 1.85 \pm 0.11$, in very good agreement with other young cluster populations found in a variety of different environments. We estimate the star formation rate for three separate regions of the galaxy, and find that the eastern tail is forming stars at $\sim 2$ times the rate of the western tail and $\sim 5$ times the rate of the main body of the galaxy. By comparing our observations with published N-body models of the fate of material in tidal tails in a galaxy cluster potential, we see that many of these young clusters will be lost into the intergalactic medium. We speculate that this mechanism may also be at work in larger galaxy clusters such as Fornax, and suggest that the so-called ultra-compact dwarf galaxies could be the most massive star clusters that have formed in the tidal tails of an ancient galactic merger.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2004

Strong latitudinal shear in the shallow convection zone of a rapidly rotating A-star

We have derived the mean broadening profile of the star V102 in the region of the open cluster IC4665 from high resolution spectroscopy. At a projected equatorial rotation velocity of vsini = (105 +- 12)km/s we find strong deviation from classical rotation. We discuss several scenarios, the most plausible being strong differential rotation in latitudinal direction. For this scenario we find a difference in angular velocity of DeltaOmega = 3.6 +- 0.8 rad/d (DeltaOmega/Omega = 0.42 +- 0.09). From the Halpha line we derive a spectral type of A9 and support photometric measurements classifying IC4665 V102 as a non-member of IC4665. At such early spectral type this is the strongest case of differential rotation observed so far. Together with three similar stars, IC4665 V102 seems to form a new class of objects that exhibit extreme latitudinal shear in a very shallow convective envelope.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2002

The Chemistry of Extragalactic Globular Clusters

We present preliminary results of VLT/FORS spectroscopy of globular clusters in nearby early-type galaxies. Our project aims at studying the chemistry and determine the ages of globular cluster (sub-)populations. First results indicate that the different galaxies host from little to significant intermediate-age populations, and that the latter have alpha-element over iron ratios closer to solar than the old population that show an alpha-element enhancement similar to the diffuse stellar light.

astro-ph↗

arXiv2002

Extragalactic Globular Clusters in the Near-Infrared

Visual and near-infrared colours are used to identify intermediate-age globular cluster in early-type galaxies. In NGC5846 and NGC4365 colour-colour diagrams (V-I vs. V-K) reveal a sub-population in the globular cluster systems with an age much younger than the expected old populations (13-15 Gyr). A comparison with SSP models dates the formation of this younger population 2-7 Gyr back. Further evidence for multiple star formation events is given by the age distribution in both systems and the comparison to models. Our photometric age determination was confirmed by spectroscopy for a small sample of the clusters in NGC4365.

astro-ph↗