arXiv subjects

R. Lallement

Publications and source records attributed to R. Lallement.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Gaia DR3 high radial velocity stars: Genuine fast-moving objects or outliers?

The third Gaia data release includes 33.8 million radial velocity measurements, extending to a magnitude of G_RVS = 14. To reach this magnitude limit, spectra were processed down to a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of 2. In this very low S/N regime, noise-induced peaks in the cross-correlation function can result in spurious radial velocity determinations. Quality filters were applied to the dataset to mitigate such artefacts as much as possible prior to publication. Nevertheless, the high radial velocity (HRV) stars -- defined here as those with radial velocities below -500 or above +500 km/s -- are so sparsely populated that even a few hundred spurious measurements can lead to significant contamination. The objectives of the present study are as follows: (i) to confirm or refute the radial velocity values of the order of one hundred Gaia DR3 HRV stars, (ii) to evaluate the rate of spurious radial velocities in the Gaia DR3 catalogue as a function of S/N and radial velocity, and (iii) to examine the properties of the genuine HRV stars. A total of 134 Gaia DR3 HRV stars were observed using the SOPHIE and UVES spectrographs. (abridged) Ground-based measurements confirm the Gaia DR3 radial velocities of 104 out of our 134 targets, and they refute those of the remaining 30. The combination of these data with the spectroscopic surveys mentioned above enabled an assessment of the rate of spurious measurements as a function of S/N and across three intervals of absolute value of the radial velocity. (abridged) The majority of these stars follow retrograde orbits. Their location in the energy-vertical component of the angular momentum diagram coincides with the region where several structures associated with past merging events have been identified: Sequoia, Arjuna and I'itoi, Antaeus, ED-2, and ED-3. It is likely that most of these HRV stars were accreted.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2025

Water Production of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS from SOHO/SWAN Observations after Perihelion

The Solar Wind ANisotropies (SWAN) all-sky hydrogen Lyman-alpha camera on the Solar and Heliosphere Observatory (SOHO) observed the hydrogen coma of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, also called C/2025 N1 (ATLAS), beginning on November 6, 2025, 9 days after perihelion. Water production rates were calculated from each image of 3I/ATLAS using the methodology of Makinen & Combi (2005, Icarus 177, 217) and fluorescence rates, g-factors, calculated using the daily solar Lyman-alpha fluxes from the LASP database (https://lasp.colorado.edu/lisird/data) corrected for solar rotation and for the comet heliocentric velocity. The method has been used for over 90 comet apparitions (Combi 2022; Combi et al. 2019). A water production rate of 3.17 x 10^29 s^-1 was found on November 6 when the comet was at a heliocentric distance of 1.40 au and at a sufficient solar elongation angle. It decreased over time after that, down to 1-2 x 10^28 s^-1 around 40 days post-perihelion (December 9).

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2025

Unveiling the nature of HE 0107-5240

The vast majority of the most iron-poor stars in the Galaxy exhibit a strong carbon enhancement, with C/H ratios only about two orders of magnitude below solar. This unusual chemical composition likely reflects the properties of the gas cloud from which these stars formed, having been enriched by one, or at most a few, supernovae. A remarkable member of this stellar class, HE 0107-5240 with [Fe/H]=-5.56, has been identified as part of a binary system. To constrain its orbital parameters, radial velocity monitoring has been carried out using the ESPRESSO spectrograph. Radial velocities were derived using cross-correlation with a template, taking advantage of the strong G-band feature. Combining all observations yielded a high signal-to-noise spectrum, which has been used to refine our understanding of the stellar chemical composition. Additionally, a co-added UVES spectrum in the blue was used to complement the wavelength coverage of ESPRESSO. Observations of HE 0107-5240 over a span of more than four years have yielded a revised orbital period of about 29 years. Updated elemental abundances have been determined for Sc, Cr, Co, and, tentatively, Al, along with a new upper limit for Be. The iron abundance has been derived from ionised Fe lines. Significant upper limits have been established for Li, Si, and Sr. The star is confirmed to be a long-period binary. Iron abundances derived from neutral and ionised lines are consistent with local thermodynamical equilibrium (LTE) assumption, casting doubt on published deviation from LTE corrections for Fe for this star. The heavy elements Sr and Ba remain undetected, confirming the classification of HE 0107-5240 as a carbon enhanced metal-poor and non enhanced in heavy elements (CEMP-no) star and supporting the absence of an n-capture element plateau at the lowest metallicities.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2025

Transmission of the AtmosPhere for AStronomical data: TAPAS upgrade

State-of-the-art molecular databases and realistic global atmospheric models allow to predict accurate atmospheric transmittance spectra. The TAPAS online service provides atmospheric transmittance spectra of the most important species as well as Rayleigh extinction, adapted to any observing location, date, and direction. We describe recent updates, improvements, and additional tools. TAPAS is interpolating in location in the atmospheric profiles of temperature, pressure, H$_2$O, O$_2$ and O$_3$ extracted from the ECMWF and produced by Arletty, a Data Terra/AERIS/ESPRI product, supplemented by auxiliary climatological models for additional species. The transmittance spectra are computed with the LBLRTM code. The resolution is chosen to ensure that the shapes of all absorption lines are reproduced for each species. Major improvements are: $\bullet$ the extension of the wavelength range in the near-UV down to 300 nm; in the near-IR up to 3500 nm; $\bullet$ the use of HITRAN2020; $\bullet$ the addition of NO$_2$, to complement H$_2$O, O$_2$, O$_3$, N$_2$O, CO$_2$ and CH$_4$; $\bullet$ an increased accessibility; $\bullet$ the possibility to force the total H$_2$O column to match the one measured at the observatory. We show O3 absorption in the near-UV and near-IR and NO2 absorption in the visible. We illustrate the quality of TAPAS by means of comparisons between models and ESO/VLT/CRIRES recorded spectra of a hot star with spectral resolution 130,000, in two intervals with strong H$_2$O, NO$_2$, CO$_2$ and CH$_4$ absorption. We describe the measurement of an instrumental Line Spread Function (LSF) based on TAPAS O$_2$ lines and a method using the Singular Value Decomposition technique that can be made entirely automated. TAPAS can be used to improve the wavelength and to measure the LSF in regions where telluric features are present. The extended wavelength range will be particularly useful for future or recent spectrographs in the near-UV and in the near-infrared.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2025

Diffuse Interstellar bands and ultraviolet extinction bump: a Milky Way perspective on distant galaxies

The spectral width wB and the center wavelength lB of the UV absorption bump uvB measured for two z=7 galaxies were found to differ from Milky Way (MW) values. A decrease of wB by 45% and a positive shift of lB by 70-80 Ang were measured. In the MW, the uvB amplitude hB and wB do vary; however, such a narrow bump has never been observed and no variability of lB has been convincingly found. Recently, links have been found between both hB and wB and the strength of several Diffuse Interstellar absorption Bands (DIBs). They were found to be limited to the sigma-type DIBs and their detection to be strongly favored if the data were limited to monocloud-type lines-of-sight, selected based on 3D dust maps. We extended the study of the links between MW DIBs and uvB to the lB value and to the hB to continuum ratio, and compared MW variations of the bump parameters to high z values. We used the 5780 and 6284 A sigma, and 5797 and 5850 A zeta DIBs. Similarly to hB and wB, lB reacts to the abundance of sigma carriers and is insensitive to the abundance of zeta DIB carriers, which dominate in dense cloud cores. A strong abundance of sigma carriers induces a shift of lB to longer wavelengths and a decrease of wB. The MW lB and wB variability range is about half the difference between average MW values and values in the distant galaxies. These results reinforce the hypothesis of the existence of individual types of hydrocarbon molecules responsible for both DIBs and part of the UV bump. They show that the majority of species responsible for narrow and positively shifted bumps in distant galaxies have a link with or are those producing the sigma DIBs and the long-wavelength part of the bump in the MW, and that species producing the short-wavelength part of the bump in the MW are of a different nature and absent along the paths to regions of those distant galaxies that contribute most to the UV emission.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

The EDIBLES survey. X. The 6196 {\AA} diffuse interstellar band: Identification of side DIBs as an indication of a small carrier molecule

Context: Numerous studies of diffuse interstellar band (DIB) profiles have detected substructures, which in turn suggests that large molecules are acting as their carriers. However, some of the narrowest DIBs generally do not show such substructures, suggesting the possibility of very small carriers. Aims: Based on the previously found tight correlation of the three narrow DIBs at 6196, 6440 and 6623 A and the present detection of weaker side DIBs to each of them in the extensive data set from the ESO Diffuse Interstellar Bands Large Exploration Survey, we investigated whether they may stem from small linear carrier molecules. This approach can lead to concrete DIB carrier suggestions, which can be tested in laboratory measurements in future studies. Methods: We suggest that the DIBs we studied here represent individual rotational transitions of a small molecule. We determined the molecular constants from observations and compared them with data from a large set of quantum-chemical calculations to constrain possible carrier candidates. Furthermore, we determined the rotational temperatures by fitting line ratios using the fitted molecular models. Results: We determined molecular constants for three DIB systems and the corresponding transition types. The fitted rotational temperatures lie within the range of known interstellar diatomic molecules. We identified several DIB carrier candidates, almost all of them molecular ions. Some of them are metastable species, indicating the possibility of collision complexes as DIB carriers. Conclusions: If our hypothesis holds, this would be a major step towards the identification of a carrier molecule of the 6196 A DIB, the strongest among the narrow DIBs.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

MINCE III. Detailed chemical analysis of the UVES sample

Context. The MINCE (Measuring at Intermediate Metallicity Neutron-Capture Elements) project aims to provide high quality neutron-capture abundances measurements in several hundred stars at intermediate metallicity,-2.5 < [Fe/H] < -1.5. This project will shed light on the origin of the neutron-capture elements and the chemical enrichment of the Milky Way. Aims. The goal of this work is to chemically characterize the second sample of the MINCE project and compare the abundances with the galactic chemical evolution model at our disposal. Methods. We performed a standard abundance analysis based on 1D LTE model atmospheres on high-resolution and high-signal-to-noise-ratio UVES spectra. Results. We provide the kinematic classification (i.e., thin disk, thick disk, thin-to-thick disk, halo, Gaia Sausage Enceladus, Sequoia) of 99 stars and the atmospheric parameters for almost all stars. We derive the abundances for light elements (from Na to Zn) and neutron-capture elements (Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Ba, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu) in a subsample of 32 stars in the metallicity range -2.5 < Fe/H] < -1.00. In the subsample of 32 stars, we identify 8 active stars exhibiting (inverse) P-Cygni profile and one Li-rich star, CD 28-11039. We find a general agreement between the chemical abundances and the stochastic model computed for the chemical evolution of the Milky Way halo for the elements Mg, Ca, Si, Ti, Sc, Mn, Co, Ni, Zn, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Ba, La, and Eu . Conclusions. The MINCE project has already significantly increased the number of neutron-capture elements measurements in the intermediate metallicity range. The results from this sample are in perfect agreement with the previous MINCE sample. The good agreement between the chemical abundances and the chemical evolution model of the Galaxy supports the nucleosynthetic processes adopted to describe the origin of the n-capture elements.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

Diffuse interstellar bands as dust indicators: the contribution from 3D maps

We used 3D maps of 862nm DIB equivalent width (EW) and extinction, DIB catalogues, and measured parameters of dust extinction law and dust emission to study relationships between DIB and extinction level, total-to-selective extinction ratio Rv, dust emission spectral index beta. We revisited the link between several DIBs and the 220nm absorption bump. The ratio, DIBn862, between the 862nm DIB carrier density and the extinction density is increasing in low density clouds, confirming with local values the line-of-sight data. A fitted power law ranks this DIB in the high increase range among the 20 bands measured toward SDSS targets. Using map-integrated 862nm DIB EWs and extinctions along the paths to APOGEE targets with proxies R'v for Rv, we found that DIBn862 increases with R'v for low to moderate extinctions (Av<2-3 mag). Based on stars outside the thin disk, DIBn862 is found to be globally anti-correlated with the Planck opacity spectral index beta. In the light of a recent result on the variability of the carbon/silicate ratio in dust grains as a source of the Rv-beta anti-correlation, it suggests that DIBn862 increases with this ratio, in agreement with the carbonaceous nature of carriers and recent evidences for a spatial correlation between DIBn862 and carbon-rich ejecta of AGBs. At higher Av, both trends disappear. We found that two factors explain the absence of clear results on the link between the UV absorption bump height and DIBs: the correlation disappears when we move from sigma- to zeta-type DIBs and/or from single-cloud lines of sight to paths crossing multiple clouds distant from each other. We show examples of simple models of the bump height based on DIBs. We found an anti-correlation between DIBn and the bump width, similarly disappearing from sigma- to zeta-type DIBs. This suggests that a fraction of the bump is generated outside the dense molecular clouds.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

Volume density maps of the 862nm DIB carrier and interstellar dust: a hint for the role of carbon-rich ejecta from AGB stars?

The carbonaceous macromolecules imprinting in astronomical spectra the numerous absorptions called Diffuse Interstellar Bands (DIBs) are omnipresent in the Galaxy and beyond and represent a considerable reservoir of organic matter. However, their chemical formulae, formation and destruction sites remain open questions. Their spatial distribution and the local relation to other interstellar species is paramount to unravel their role in the lifecycle of organic matter. Volume density maps bring local instead of line-of-sight distributed information, and allow for new diagnostics. We present the first large-scale volume (3D) density map of a DIB carrier and compare it with an equivalent map of interstellar dust. The DIB carrier map is obtained through hierarchical inversion of about 202,000 measurements of the 8621 nm DIB obtained with the Gaia-RVS instrument. It covers about 4000 pc around the Sun in the Galactic plane. A dedicated interstellar dust map is built based on extinction towards the same target stars. At the 50 pc resolution of the maps, the 3D DIB distribution is found remarkably similar in shape to the 3D distribution of dust. On the other hand, the DIB-to-dust local density ratio increases in low-dust areas. It is also increasing away from the disk, however, the minimum ratio is found to be shifted above the Plane to Z = +50pc. Finally, the average ratio is also surprisingly found to increase away from the Galactic Center. We suggest that the three latter trends may be indications of a dominant contribution of material from the carbon-rich category of dying giant stars to the formation of the carriers. Our suggestion is based on recent catalogues of AGB stars and estimates of their mass fluxes of C-rich and O-rich ejecta.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

MINCE II. Neutron capture elements

The MINCE (Measuring at Intermediate metallicity Neutron-Capture Elements) project aims to gather the abundances of neutron-capture elements but also of light elements and iron peak elements in a large sample of giant stars in this metallicity range. T The aim of this work is to study the chemical evolution of galactic sub-components recently identified (i.e. Gaia Sausage Enceladus (GSE), Sequoia). We used high signal-to-noise ratios, high-resolution spectra and standard 1D LTE spectrum synthesis to determine the detailed abundances. We could determine the abundances for up to 10 neutron-capture elements (Sr, Y, Zr, Ba, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm and Eu) in 33 stars. The general trends of abundance ratios [n-capture element/Fe] versus [Fe/H] are in agreement with the results found in the literature. When our sample is divided in sub-groups depending on their kinematics, we found that the run of [Sr/Ba] vs [Ba/H] for the stars belonging to the GSE accretion event shows a tight anti-correlation. The results for the Sequoia stars, although based on a very limited sample, shows a [Sr/Ba] systematically higher than the [Sr/Ba] found in the GSE stars at a given [Ba/H] hinting at a different nucleosynthetic history. Stochastic chemical evolution models have been computed to understand the evolution of the GSE chemical composition of Sr and Ba. The first conclusions are that the GSE chemical evolution is similar to the evolution of a dwarf galaxy with galactic winds and inefficient star formation. Detailed abundances of neutron-capture elements have been measured in high-resolution, high signal-to-noise spectra of intermediate metal-poor stars, the metallicity range covered by the MINCE project. These abundances have been compared to detailed stochastic models of galactic chemical evolution.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2024

The EDIBLES Survey. VIII. Band profile alignment of diffuse interstellar bands

Context: There have been many attempts to identify families of diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) with perfectly correlating band strengths. Although major efforts have been made to classify broadly based DIB families and important insights have been gained, no family has been identified with sufficient accuracy or statistical significance to prove that a series of selected DIBs originates from the same carrier. This can be attributed in part to the exclusive use of equivalent widths to establish DIB families. Aims: In a change of strategy, we search for DIBs that are highly correlated in both band strength and profile shape. This approach increases the chance of correlating DIBs being members of one family and originating from the same carrier molecule. We also search for correlations between DIB profile families and atomic interstellar lines, with the goal of further chemically constraining possible DIB carriers. Methods: We adapted the well-known method of time-series alignment to perform a spectral alignment; that is, DIB alignment. In a second step, we analysed the alignment results using a clustering analysis. This method required a statistically significant data set of DIB sight lines. The ESO Diffuse Interstellar Bands Large Exploration Survey (EDIBLES) data were perfectly suited for this application. Results: We report eight DIB families with correlating strengths and profiles, as well as four previously unreported DIBs in the visual range, found using DIB alignment. All profile family members show Pearson correlation coefficients in band strength higher than 0.9. In particular, we report the 6614 - 6521 AA DIB pair, in which both DIBs show the same triple-peak substructure and an unprecedented band strength Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.9935. The presented approach opens up new perspectives that can guide the laboratory search for DIB carriers.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

The Gaia RVS benchmark stars II. A sample of stars selected for their Gaia high radial velocity

The Gaia satellite has already provided the astronomical community with three data releases, and the Radial Velocity Spectrometer (RVS) on board Gaia has provided the radial velocity for 33 million stars. When deriving the radial velocity from the RVS spectra, several stars are measured to have large values. To verify the credibility of these measurements, we selected some bright stars with the modulus of radial velocity in excess of 500\ to be observed with SOPHIE at OHP and UVES at VLT. This paper is devoted to investigating the chemical composition of the stars observed with UVES. We derived atmospheric parameters using Gaia photometry and parallaxes, and we performed a chemical analysis using the code. We find that the sample consists of metal-poor stars, although none have extremely low metallicities. The abundance patterns match what has been found in other samples of metal-poor stars selected irrespective of their radial velocities. We highlight the presence of three stars with low Cu and Zn abundances that are likely descendants of pair-instability supernovae. Two stars are apparently younger than 1\,Ga, and their masses exceed twice the turn-off mass of metal-poor populations. This makes it unlikely that they are blue stragglers because it would imply they formed from triple or multiple systems. We suggest instead that they are young metal-poor stars accreted from a dwarf galaxy. Finally, we find that the star RVS721 is associated with the Gjoll stream, which itself is associated with the Globular Cluster NGC\,3201.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2023

Toward a 3D kinetic tomography of Taurus clouds: II. A new automated technique and its validation

Three-dimensional (3D) kinetic maps of the Milky Way interstellar medium are an essential tool in studies of its structure and of star formation. We aim to assign radial velocities to Galactic interstellar clouds now spatially localized based on starlight extinction and star distances from Gaia and stellar surveys. We developed an automated search for coherent projections on the sky of clouds isolated in 3D extinction density maps on the one hand, and regions responsible for CO radio emissions at specific Doppler shifts on the other hand. The discrete dust structures were obtained by application of the Fellwalker algorithm to a recent 3D extinction density map. For each extinction cloud, a technique using a narrow sliding spectral window moved along the contour-bounded CO spectrum and geometrical criteria was used to select the most likely velocity interval. We applied the new contour-based technique to the 3D extinction density distribution within the volume encompassing the Taurus, Auriga, Perseus and California molecular complexes. From the 45 clouds issued from the decomposition, 42 were assigned a velocity. The remaining structures correspond to very weak CO emission or extinction. We used the non-automated assignments of radial velocities to clouds of the same region presented in paper I and based on KI absorption spectra as a validation test. The new fully automated determinations were found in good agreement with these previous measurements. Our results show that an automated search based on cloud contour morphology can be efficient and that this novel technique may be extended to wider regions of the Milky Way and at larger distance. We discuss its limitations and potential improvements after combination with other techniques.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2023

Improved precision of radial velocity measurements after correction for telluric absorption

The detection of planets around other stars by the measurement of the stellar Radial Velocity (RV) variations benefits from improvements of dedicated spectrographs, allowing to achieve a precision of 1 ms$^{-1}$ or better. Spectral intervals within which stellar lines are contaminated by telluric lines are classically excluded from the RV processing. We aim at estimating the potential improvement of telluric absorption removal and subsequent extension of the useful spectral domain on the precision of radial velocity measurements. We developed a correction method based on the on-line web service TAPAS, allowing to determine a synthetic atmospheric transmission spectrum for the time and location of observations. This method was applied to the telluric H$_{2}$O and O$_2$ absorption removal from a series of 200 ESPRESSO consecutive exposures of the K2.5V star HD40307, available in ESO archives. We calculated the radial velocity using the standard Cross-Correlation Function (CCF) method and Gaussian fit of the CCF, with uncorrected spectra and the ESPRESSO standard stellar binary mask on one hand, and telluric-corrected spectra and an augmented binary mask with 696 additional lines on the other hand. We find that the precision of radial velocity measurements is improved in the second case, with a reduction of the average formal error from 1.04 ms$^{-1}$ down to 0.78 ms$^{-1}$ in the case of these ESPRESSO data and this stellar type for the red arm. Using an estimator of the minimal error based on photon noise limit applied to the full CCF, the error is reduced from 0.89 ms$^{-1}$ down to 0.78 ms$^{-1}$. This corresponds to a significant decrease of about 35\% of observing time to reach the same precision in the red part.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2022

A high resolution study of near-IR diffuse interstellar bands, search for small scale structure, time variability and stellar features

Diffuse interstellar bands comprise hundreds of absorption features in the ISM. Most DIBs are observed in the optical, but some are in the IR. We observed 76 early-type stars at R=50,000 and S/N ratios of several hundreds using CRIRES. We measure DIBs around 1318, 1527, 1561, 1565, 1567, 1574 and/or 1624 nm. We detect a total of 6 DIB features and 17 likely stellar features assisted by a CMFGEN model. We also measured the DIBs at 1318 and 1527 nm using X-shooter towards ten Ceph. variables with 3.2 < E(B-V) < 6.5 and 4 stars at low values of water vapour. Correlation coeffs. of 0.73-0.96 are found comparing NIRDIB eq. width vs. E(B-V) and with r > 0.8 when comparing the NIR and optical DIBs 5705, 5780, 6203, 6283 and 6269 A. The 5797 A DIB is less well correlated with the NIDIBs. The "C60+" DIB at 9632 A is not well correlated with the 1318 nm DIB. Partial correlation coefficients using E(B-V) as the covariate were also determined. For stars earlier than B2, the 1318 nm DIB is affected by an emission line on its blue wing, likely stellar in nature, although we cannot rule out interstellar/circumstellar origin for example caused by by a DIB in emission. The 1318 nm DIB has a red wing and is reasonably well fitted by two gaussians. Neither the component ratios nor separation are correlated with 5780/5797 or E(B-V). EW(1318 nm) correlates with HI with EW(1318 nm)/E(B-V) decreasing with f(H2). Five pairs of stars within 1 am show similar 1318 nm DIB profiles. Variation in 1318 nm is seen in HD 145501/145502 and HD 168607/168625 pairs. CRIRES data for 17 stars separated by 6-14 months and 2 X-shooter sightlines separated by 9.9 yr were analysed. No time-variability is detected in the 5780, 5797 A, 1318 nm or 1527 nm DIBs. Tentative time variation is observed in the C60+ DIBs at 9577 and 9632 A towards HD 183143 although very close to the noise level with confirmation required.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2022

MINCE I. Presentation of the project and of the first year sample

In recent years, Galactic archaeology has become a particularly vibrant field of astronomy, with its main focus set on the oldest stars of our Galaxy. In most cases, these stars have been identified as the most metal-poor. However, the struggle to find these ancient fossils has produced an important bias in the observations - in particular, the intermediate metal-poor stars (-2.5<[Fe/H]< -1.5) have been frequently overlooked. The missing information has consequences for the precise study of the chemical enrichment of our Galaxy, in particular for what concerns neutron-capture elements and it will be only partially covered by future multi-object spectroscopic surveys such as WEAVE and 4MOST. Measuring at Intermediate Metallicity Neutron Capture Elements (MINCE) is gathering the first high-quality spectra (high S/N ratio and high resolution) for several hundreds of bright and metal-poor stars, mainly located in our Galactic halo. We compiled our selection mainly on the basis of Gaia data and determined the stellar atmospheres of our sample and the chemical abundances of each star. In this paper, we present the first sample of 59 spectra of 46 stars. We measured the radial velocities and computed the Galactic orbits for all stars. We found that 8 stars belong to the thin disc, 15 to disrupted satellites, and the remaining cannot be associated to the mentioned structures, and we call them halo stars. For 33 of these stars, we provide abundances for the elements up to zinc. We also show the chemical evolution results for eleven chemical elements, based on recent models. Our observational strategy of using multiple telescopes and spectrographs to acquire high S/N and high-resolution spectra has proven to be very efficient since the present sample was acquired over only about one year of observations. Finally, our target selection strategy proved satisfactory for our purposes.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2022

Backscattered solar Lyman-alpha emission as a tool for the heliospheric boundary exploration

This review summarizes our current understanding of the outer heliosphere and local interstellar medium (LISM) inferred from observations and modeling of interplanetary Lyman-$α$ emission. The emission is produced by solar Lyman-alpha photons (121.567 nm) backscattered by interstellar H atoms inflowing to the heliosphere from the LISM. Studies of Lyman-alpha radiation determined the parameters of interstellar hydrogen within a few astronomical units from the Sun. The interstellar hydrogen atoms appeared to be decelerated, heated, and shifted compared to the helium atoms. The detected deceleration and heating proved the existence of secondary hydrogen atoms created near the heliopause. This finding supports the discovery of a Hydrogen Wall beyond the heliosphere consisting of heated hydrogen observed in HST/GHRS Lyman-alpha absorption spectra toward nearby stars. The shift of the interstellar hydrogen bulk velocity was the first observational evidence of the global heliosphere asymmetry confirmed later by Voyager in situ measurements. SOHO/SWAN all-sky maps of the backscattered Lyman-alpha intensity identified variations of the solar wind mass flux with heliolatitude and time. In particular, two maxima at mid-latitudes were discovered during solar activity maximum, which Ulysses missed due to its specific trajectory. Finally, Voyager/UVS and New Horizons/Alice UV spectrographs discovered extra-heliospheric Lyman-alpha emission. We review these scientific breakthroughs, outline open science questions, and discuss potential future heliospheric Lyman-alpha experiments.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2022

Three-dimensional extinction maps: Inverting inter-calibrated extinction catalogues

3D maps of the extinction density in the Galaxy can be built through the inversion of catalogues of distance-extinction pairs for individual target stars. The spatial resolution of the maps that can be achieved increases with the spatial density of the targets, and subsequently with the combination of catalogues. However, this requires their careful inter-calibration. Our aim is to develop methods of inter-calibration of two different catalogues. We used as reference a spectrophotometric catalogue. A principal component analysis was performed in G,GB,GR,J,H,K multi-colour space for the second catalog. The subspace constituted by the two first components was split into cells in which we estimated deviations from the reference. The deviations were computed using all targets from the reference located at a short spatial distance of each secondary target. Corrections and filtering were deduced for each cell in the multi-colour space. We applied the technique to two different datasets: on the one hand, the spectrophotometric catalogue, and, on the other hand, a catalogue of extinctions based on photometry of Gaia eDR3 and 2MASS. After calibration, the dispersion of the extinction among neighbouring points in the second catalogue is reduced, regardless of whether reference targets are present locally. Weak structures are then more apparent. The extinction of high Galactic latitude targets is more tightly correlated with the dust emission, a property acquired from the first catalogue. A hierarchical inversion technique was applied to the two merged inter-calibrated catalogues to produce 3D extinction density maps corresponding to different volumes and maximum spatial resolution. The maximum resolution is 10pc for a 3000x3000x800pc3 volume around the Sun, and the maximum size of the maps is 10x10x0.8 kpc3 for a resolution of 50pc. Maps can be downloaded or used by means of on-line tools.

astro-ph.GA↗