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Matthew Shetrone

Publications and source records attributed to Matthew Shetrone.

105 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
arXiv2010

SDSS-III/APOGEE: Detailed Abundances of Galactic Star Clusters

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey III/Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (SDSS-III/APOGEE) is a large-scale spectroscopic survey of Galactic stars and star clusters. The SDSS-III/APOGEE survey is designed to produce high-S/N, R = 27,500-31,000 spectra that cover a wavelength range of 1.51 to 1.68 microns. By utilizing APOGEE's excellent kinematics (error <= 0.5 km/s) and abundances (errors ~ 0.1 dex), we will be able to study star cluster kinematics and chemical properties in detail. Over the course of the 3-year survey beginning in 2011, APOGEE will target 25-30 key open and globular clusters. In addition, the large area coverage of the SDSS focal plane will also allow us to target stars in 100-200 additional star clusters during the main survey observations. We present the strength of APOGEE for both open and globular star cluster studies and the methods of identifying probable clusters members utilizing 2MASS and IRAC/WISE data.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2010

Light-Element Abundance Variations at Low Metallicity: the Globular Cluster NGC 5466

We present low-resolution (R~850) spectra for 67 asymptotic giant branch (AGB), horizontal branch and red giant branch (RGB) stars in the low-metallicity globular cluster NGC 5466, taken with the VIRUS-P integral-field spectrograph at the 2.7-m Harlan J. Smith telescope at McDonald Observatory. Sixty-six stars are confirmed, and one rejected, as cluster members based on radial velocity, which we measure to an accuracy of 16 km s-1 via template-matching techniques. CN and CH band strengths have been measured for 29 RGB and AGB stars in NGC 5466, and the band strength indices measured from VIRUS-P data show close agreement with those measured from Keck/LRIS spectra previously taken of five of our target stars. We also determine carbon abundances from comparisons with synthetic spectra. The RGB stars in our data set cover a range in absolute V magnitude from +2 to -3, which permits us to study the rate of carbon depletion on the giant branch as well as the point of its onset. The data show a clear decline in carbon abundance with rising luminosity above the luminosity function "bump" on the giant branch, and also a subdued range in CN band strength, suggesting ongoing internal mixing in individual stars but minor or no primordial star-to-star variation in light-element abundances.

astro-ph.GA↗
arXiv2010

Bright Variable Stars in NGC 6819 - An Open Cluster in the Kepler Field

We describe a variability study of the moderately old open cluster NGC 6819. We have detected 4 new detached eclipsing binaries near the cluster turnoff (one of which may be in a triple system). Several of these systems should be able to provide mass and radius information, and can therefore constrain the age of the cluster. We have also newly detected one possible detached binary member about 3.5 magnitudes below the turnoff. One EW-type binary (probably not a cluster member) shows unusually strong night-to-night light curve variations in sets of observations separated by 8 years. According to the best current information, the three brightest variables we detected (2 of them new) are cluster members, making them blue stragglers. One is a delta Scu pulsating variable, one is a close but detached binary, and the third contains a detached short period binary that shows total eclipses. In each case, however, there is evidence hinting that the system may have been produced through the interaction of more than two stars.

astro-ph.SR↗
arXiv2010

The NIR Ca II triplet at low metallicity - Searching for extremely low-metallicity stars in classical dwarf galaxies

The NIR Ca II triplet absorption lines have proven to be an important tool for quantitative spectroscopy of individual red giant branch stars in the Local Group, providing a better understanding of metallicities of stars in the Milky Way and dwarf galaxies and thereby an opportunity to constrain their chemical evolution processes. An interesting puzzle in this field is the significant lack of extremely metal-poor stars, below [Fe/H]=-3, found in classical dwarf galaxies around the Milky Way using this technique. The question arises whether these stars are really absent, or if the empirical Ca II triplet method used to study these systems is biased in the low-metallicity regime. Here we present results of synthetic spectral analysis of the Ca II triplet, that is focused on a better understanding of spectroscopic measurements of low-metallicity giant stars. Our results start to deviate strongly from the widely-used and linear empirical calibrations at [Fe/H]<-2. We provide a new calibration for Ca II triplet studies which is valid for -0.5<[Fe/H]<-4. We subsequently apply this new calibration to current data sets and suggest that the classical dwarf galaxies are not so devoid of extremely low-metallicity stars as was previously thought.

astro-ph.SR↗
arXiv2008

HD 91669b: A New Brown Dwarf Candidate from the McDonald Observatory Planet Search

We report the detection of a candidate brown dwarf orbiting the metal-rich K dwarf HD 91669, based on radial-velocity data from the McDonald Observatory Planet Search. HD 91669b is a substellar object in an eccentric orbit (e=0.45) at a separation of 1.2 AU. The minimum mass of 30.6 Jupiter masses places this object firmly within the brown dwarf desert for inclinations i>23 degrees. This is the second rare close-in brown dwarf candidate discovered by the McDonald planet search program.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2008

Chemical Abundances of the Leo II Dwarf Galaxy

We use previously-published moderate-resolution spectra in combination with stellar atmosphere models to derive the first measured chemical abundance ratios in the Leo II dSph galaxy. We find that for spectra with SNR > 24, we are able to measure abundances from weak Ti, Fe and Mg lines located near the calcium infrared triplet (CaT). We also quantify and discuss discrepancies between the metallicities measured from Fe I lines and those estimated from the CaT features. We find that while the most metal-poor ([Fe/H] <-2.0]) Leo II stars have Ca and Ti abundance ratios similar to those of Galactic globular clusters, the more metal-rich stars show a gradual decline of Ti, Mg and Ca abundance ratio with increasing metallicity. Finding these trends in this distant and apparently dynamically stable dSph galaxy supports the hypothesis that the slow chemical enrichment histories of the dSph galaxies is universal, independent of any interaction with the Milky Way. Combining our spectroscopic abundances with published broadband photometry and updated isochrones, we are able to approximate stellar ages for our bright RGB stars to a relative precision of 2-3 Gyr. While the derived age-metallicity relationship of Leo II hints at some amount of slow enrichment, the data are still statistically consistent with no enrichment over the history of Leo II.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2007

Ten Year Review of Queue Scheduling of the Hobby-Eberly Telescope

This paper presents a summary of the first 10 years of operating the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) in queue mode. The scheduling can be quite complex but has worked effectively for obtaining the most science possible with this uniquely designed telescope. The queue must handle dozens of separate scientific programs, the involvement of a number of institutions with individual Telescope Allocation Committees as well as engineering and instrument commissioning. We have continuously revised our queue operations as we have learned from experience. The flexibility of the queue and the simultaneous availability of three instruments, along with a staff trained for all aspects of telescope and instrumentation operation, have allowed optimum use to be made of variable weather conditions and have proven to be especially effective at accommodating targets of opportunity and engineering tasks. In this paper we review the methodology of the HET queue along with its strengths and weaknesses.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2004

The Extreme Ends of the Metallicity Distribution in dSph Galaxies

This paper reviews recent abundance results of local dSph giants. All dSph systems seem to show evidence of slow star formation rates, compared to the Milky Way, based on the most metal-rich stars exhibiting low [even-Z/Fe] ratios and high [s-process/r-process] ratios. The most metal-poor stars in the Draco, Ursa Minor, Sextans and Sculptor dSphs seem to show a split in their light even-Z, Mg and O, and the heavier even-Z, Ca and Ti, abundance ratios, where the light even-Z are halo like and the heavier even-Z elements exhibit sub-halo abundance ratios. This split remains a mystery. A review of the first dSph abundance results from FLAMES+GIRAFFE on the VLT and HRS on the Hobby-Eberly Telescope shows that the study of chemical evolution of dSph galaxies is rapidly moving out of infancy and into an era requiring very large surveys and/or targeted studies.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2003

Mg isotopic ratios in giant stars of the globular cluster NGC 6752

Mg isotopic abundance ratios are measured in 20 bright red giants in globular cluster NGC 6752 based on very high-resolution, high signal-to-noise spectra obtained with UVES on the VLT. There is a considerable spread in the ratio 24Mg:25Mg:26Mg with values ranging from 53:9:39 to 83:10:7. We measured the abundances of O, Na, Mg, Al, and Fe combining our sample with 21 RGB bump stars (Grundahl et al. 2002). The abundances of the samples are consistent and exhibit the usual anticorrelations between O-Na and Mg-Al. A positive correlation is found between 26Mg and Al, a mild anticorrelation is found between 24Mg and Al, while no correlation is found between 25Mg and Al. None of the elemental or isotopic abundances show a dependence on evolutionary status and, as shown by Gratton et al. (2001), the abundance variations exist even in main sequence stars. This strongly suggests that the star-to-star abundance variations are a result of varying degrees of pollution with intermediate mass AGB stars being likely polluters. Even for the least polluted stars, the abundances of 25Mg and 26Mg relative to 24Mg are considerably higher than predicted for ejecta from Z=0 supernovae. Zero metallicity AGB stars may be responsible for these higher abundances. Our measured Mg isotopic ratios reveal another layer to the globular cluster star-to-star abundance variations that demands extensions of our present theoretical knowledge of stellar nucleosynthesis by giant stars.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2001

L Dwarfs Found in Sloan Digital Sky Survey Commissioning Data II. Hobby-Eberly Telescope Observations

Low dispersion optical spectra have been obtained with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope of 22 very red objects found in early imaging data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The objects are assigned spectral types on the 2MASS system (Kirkpatrick et al. 1999) and are found to range from late M to late L. The red- and near-infrared colors from SDSS and 2MASS correlate closely with each other, and most of the colors are closely related to spectral type in this range; the exception is the (i^* - z^*) color, which appears to be independent of spectral type between about M7 and L4. The spectra suggest that this independence is due to the disappearance of the TiO and VO absorption in the i-band for later spectral types; to the presence of strong Na I and K I absorption in the i-band; and to the gradual disappearance of the 8400 Angstrom absorption of TiO and FeH in the z-band.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2001

Chemical Abundance Variations in Globular Clusters: Recent Results from Mildly Metal-Poor M5

We present a chemical composition analysis of 36 giant stars in mildly metal-poor globular cluster M5. In comparing the M5 results to those obtained in M4, a cluster previously considered to be a ``twin'' in age, metallicity and chemical composition, we find large star-to-star variations in the abundances of elements sensitive to proton-capture nucleosynthesis, similar [Fe/H] values, but factor of two differences in some alpha-capture, odd-Z and slow neutron-capture process elements. Among stars in globular clusters, apparently there are no definitive ``single'' values of [el/Fe] at a given [Fe/H] for many important elements.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2001

New Analyses of Star-to-Star Abundance Variations Among Bright Giants in the Mildly Metal-Poor Globular Cluster M5

We present a chemical composition analysis of 36 giant stars in the mildly metal-poor globular cluster M5 (NGC 5904). The analysis makes use of high resolution data acquired at the Keck I telescope as well as a re-analysis of high resolution spectra acquired for an earlier study at Lick Observatory. We employed two analysis techniques: one, adopting standard spectroscopic constraints, and two, adopting an analysis consistent with the non-LTE precepts as recently described by Thevenin & Idiart. The abundance ratios we derive for magnesium, silicon, calcium, scandium, titanium, vanadium, nickel, barium and europium in M5 show no significant abundance variations and the ratios are comparable to those of halo field stars. However, large variations are seen in the abundances of oxygen, sodium and aluminum, the elements that are sensitive to proton-capture nucleosynthesis. In comparing the abundances of M5 and M4 (NGC 6121), another mildly metal-poor globular cluster, we find that silicon, aluminum, barium and lanthanum are overabundant in M4 with respect to what is seen in M5, confirming and expanding the results of previous studies. In comparing the abundances between these two clusters and others having comparable metallicities, we find that the anti-correlations observed in M5 are similar to those found in more metal-poor clusters, M3, M10 and M13, whereas the behavior in M4 is more like that of the more metal-rich globular cluster M71. We conclude that among stars in Galactic globular clusters, there is no definitive ``single'' value of [el/Fe] at a given [Fe/H] for at least some alpha-capture, odd-Z and slow neutron-capture process elements, in this case, silicon, aluminum, barium and lanthanum.

astro-ph↗
arXiv2000

Abundance Patterns in the Draco, Sextans and Ursa Minor Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies

The Keck I telescope has been used to obtain HIRES spectra for red giants belonging to the Draco, Sextans and Ursa Minor dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies. An analysis of these spectra is presented, along with abundance ratios for more than 20 elements. The resulting database of element abundances for 17 stars is the most extensive yet assembled for stars in dSph environments. Our main findings are summarized as follows: (1) There is unambiguous evidence for a large internal spread in metallicity in all three galaxies: our program stars span a range of [Fe/H] = 1.53, 1.40 and 0.73 dex in Draco, Sextans and Ursa Minor, respectively. (2) The abundance patterns among the dSph stars are remarkably uniform, suggesting that all three galaxies have similar nucleosynthetic histories. (3) A comparison of the measured abundance ratios for our sample of dSph stars with published values for Galactic halo and disk field stars suggests that the dSph galaxies have 0.02 < [alpha/Fe] < 0.13 dex, whereas the halo field star sample has [alpha/Fe] ~ 0.28 dex over the same range in metallicity. (4) The most metal-rich dSph stars in our sample have [Y/Fe] abundances which are significantly lower than those measured for halo field stars of similar metallicity, while the measured [Ba/Eu] ratios for the dSph stars suggest that the early chemical evolution of these galaxies was dominated by the r-process. Taken together, these results suggest that the Galactic halo is unlikely to have assembled, in its entirety, through the disruption of dwarf galaxies similar to the low-luminosity dSphs studied here. (ABRIDGED).

astro-ph↗
arXiv2000

Spectroscopy of Blue Stragglers and Turnoff Stars in M67 (NGC 2682)

We have analyzed high-resolution spectra of relatively cool blue stragglers and main sequence turnoff stars in the old open cluster M67 (NGC 2682). We attempt to identify blue stragglers whose spectra are least contaminated by binary effects (contamination by a binary companion or absorption by circumstellar material). These ``best'' stragglers have metallicities ([Fe/H] = -0.05) and abundance ratios of the blue stragglers are not significantly different from those of the turnoff stars. Based on arguments from hydrodynamical models of stellar collisions, we assert that the current upper limits for the lithium abundances of all blue stragglers observed in M67 (by us and others) are consistent with no mixing during the formation process, assuming pre-main sequence and main sequence depletion patterns observed for M67 main sequence stars. We discuss composition signatures that could more definitively distinguish between blue straggler formation mechanisms in open cluster stars. We confirm the spectroscopic detection of a binary companion to the straggler S 1082. From our spectra, we measure a projected rotational speed of 90+/-20 km/sec for the secondary, and find that its radial velocity varies with a peak-to-peak amplitude of ~ 25 km/sec. Because the radial velocities do not vary with a period corresponding to the partial eclipses in the system, we believe this system is currently undergoing mass transfer. In addition we present evidence that S 984 is a true blue straggler (and not an unresolved pair). If this can be proven, our detection of lithium may indicate a collisional origin.

astro-ph↗