Multi-epoch radial velocity measurements of stars can be used to identify stellar, substellar, and planetary-mass companions. Even a small number of observation epochs can be informative about ...companions, though there can be multiple qualitatively different orbital solutions that fit the data. We have custom-built a Monte Carlo sampler (The Joker) that delivers reliable (and often highly multimodal) posterior samplings for companion orbital parameters given sparse radial velocity data. Here we use The Joker to perform a search for companions to 96,231 red giant stars observed in the APOGEE survey (DR14) with ≥3 spectroscopic epochs. We select stars with probable companions by making a cut on our posterior belief about the amplitude of the variation in stellar radial velocity induced by the orbit. We provide (1) a catalog of 320 companions for which the stellar companion's properties can be confidently determined, (2) a catalog of 4898 stars that likely have companions, but would require more observations to uniquely determine the orbital properties, and (3) posterior samplings for the full orbital parameters for all stars in the parent sample. We show the characteristics of systems with confidently determined companion properties and highlight interesting systems with candidate compact object companions.
The spectral analysis and data products in Data Release 16 (DR16; 2019 December) from the high-resolution near-infrared Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE)-2/Sloan Digital ...Sky Survey (SDSS)-IV survey are described. Compared to the previous APOGEE data release (DR14; 2017 July), APOGEE DR16 includes about 200,000 new stellar spectra, of which 100,000 are from a new southern APOGEE instrument mounted on the 2.5 m du Pont telescope at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. DR16 includes all data taken up to 2018 August, including data released in previous data releases. All of the data have been re-reduced and re-analyzed using the latest pipelines, resulting in a total of 473,307 spectra of 437,445 stars. Changes to the analysis methods for this release include, but are not limited to, the use of MARCS model atmospheres for calculation of the entire main grid of synthetic spectra used in the analysis, a new method for filling "holes" in the grids due to unconverged model atmospheres, and a new scheme for continuum normalization. Abundances of the neutron-capture element Ce are included for the first time. A new scheme for estimating uncertainties of the derived quantities using stars with multiple observations has been applied, and calibrated values of surface gravities for dwarf stars are now supplied. Compared to DR14, the radial velocities derived for this release more closely match those in the Gaia DR2 database, and a clear improvement in the spectral analysis of the coolest giants can be seen. The reduced spectra as well as the result of the analysis can be downloaded using links provided on the SDSS DR16 web page.
We present an analysis of spectroscopic and astrometric data from APOGEE-2 and Gaia DR2 to identify structures toward the Orion Complex. By applying a hierarchical clustering algorithm to the ...six-dimensional stellar data, we identify spatially and/or kinematically distinct groups of young stellar objects with ages ranging from 1 to 12 Myr. We also investigate the star-forming history within the Orion Complex and identify peculiar subclusters. With this method we reconstruct the older populations in the regions that are currently largely devoid of molecular gas, such as Orion C (which includes the Ori cluster) and Orion D (the population that traces Ori OB1a, OB1b, and Orion X). We report on the distances, kinematics, and ages of the groups within the Complex. The Orion D group is in the process of expanding. On the other hand, Orion B is still in the process of contraction. In λ Ori the proper motions are consistent with a radial expansion due to an explosion from a supernova; the traceback age from the expansion exceeds the age of the youngest stars formed near the outer edges of the region, and their formation would have been triggered when they were halfway from the cluster center to their current positions. We also present a comparison between the parallax and proper-motion solutions obtained by Gaia DR2 and those obtained toward star-forming regions by the Very Long Baseline Array.
The data and analysis methodology used for the SDSS/APOGEE Data Releases 13 and 14 are described, highlighting differences from the DR12 analysis presented in Holtzman et al. Some improvement in the ...handling of telluric absorption and persistence is demonstrated. The derivation and calibration of stellar parameters, chemical abundances, and respective uncertainties are described, along with the ranges over which calibration was performed. Some known issues with the public data related to the calibration of the effective temperatures (DR13), surface gravity (DR13 and DR14), and C and N abundances for dwarfs (DR13 and DR14) are highlighted. We discuss how results from a data-driven technique, The Cannon, are included in DR14 and compare those with results from the APOGEE Stellar Parameters and Chemical Abundances Pipeline. We describe how using The Cannon in a mode that restricts the abundance analysis of each element to regions of the spectrum with known features from that element leads to Cannon abundances can lead to significantly different results for some elements than when all regions of the spectrum are used to derive abundances.
ABSTRACT Using a sample of 69,919 red giants from the SDSS-III/APOGEE Data Release 12, we measure the distribution of stars in the /Fe versus Fe/H plane and the metallicity distribution functions ...(MDFs) across an unprecedented volume of the Milky Way disk, with radius 3 < R < 15 kpc and height kpc. Stars in the inner disk (R < 5 kpc) lie along a single track in /Fe versus Fe/H, starting with -enhanced, metal-poor stars and ending at /Fe ∼ 0 and Fe/H ∼ +0.4. At larger radii we find two distinct sequences in /Fe versus Fe/H space, with a roughly solar- sequence that spans a decade in metallicity and a high- sequence that merges with the low- sequence at super-solar Fe/H. The location of the high- sequence is nearly constant across the disk; however, there are very few high- stars at R > 11 kpc. The peak of the midplane MDF shifts to lower metallicity at larger R, reflecting the Galactic metallicity gradient. Most strikingly, the shape of the midplane MDF changes systematically with radius, from a negatively skewed distribution at 3 < R < 7 kpc, to a roughly Gaussian distribution at the solar annulus, to a positively skewed shape in the outer Galaxy. For stars with kpc or /Fe > 0.18, the MDF shows little dependence on R. The positive skewness of the outer-disk MDF may be a signature of radial migration; we show that blurring of stellar populations by orbital eccentricities is not enough to explain the reversal of MDF shape, but a simple model of radial migration can do so.
ABSTRACT The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) has built the largest moderately high-resolution (R 22,500) spectroscopic map of the stars across the Milky Way, and ...including dust-obscured areas. The APOGEE Stellar Parameter and Chemical Abundances Pipeline (ASPCAP) is the software developed for the automated analysis of these spectra. ASPCAP determines atmospheric parameters and chemical abundances from observed spectra by comparing observed spectra to libraries of theoretical spectra, using χ2 minimization in a multidimensional parameter space. The package consists of a fortran90 code that does the actual minimization and a wrapper IDL code for book-keeping and data handling. This paper explains in detail the ASPCAP components and functionality, and presents results from a number of tests designed to check its performance. ASPCAP provides stellar effective temperatures, surface gravities, and metallicities precise to 2%, 0.1 dex, and 0.05 dex, respectively, for most APOGEE stars, which are predominantly giants. It also provides abundances for up to 15 chemical elements with various levels of precision, typically under 0.1 dex. The final data release (DR12) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III contains an APOGEE database of more than 150,000 stars. ASPCAP development continues in the SDSS-IV APOGEE-2 survey.
ABSTRACT The SDSS-III/Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) survey operated from 2011-2014 using the APOGEE spectrograph, which collects high-resolution (R ∼ 22,500), ...near-IR (1.51-1.70 m) spectra with a multiplexing (300 fiber-fed objects) capability. We describe the survey data products that are publicly available, which include catalogs with radial velocity, stellar parameters, and 15 elemental abundances for over 150,000 stars, as well as the more than 500,000 spectra from which these quantities are derived. Calibration relations for the stellar parameters ( , , M/H, /M) and abundances (C, N, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, S, K, Ca, Ti, V, Mn, Fe, Ni) are presented and discussed. The internal scatter of the abundances within clusters indicates that abundance precision is generally between 0.05 and 0.09 dex across a broad temperature range; it is smaller for some elemental abundances within more limited ranges and at high signal-to-noise ratio. We assess the accuracy of the abundances using comparison of mean cluster metallicities with literature values, APOGEE observations of the solar spectrum and of Arcturus, comparison of individual star abundances with other measurements, and consideration of the locus of derived parameters and abundances of the entire sample, and find that it is challenging to determine the absolute abundance scale; external accuracy may be good to 0.1-0.2 dex. Uncertainties may be larger at cooler temperatures ( ). Access to the public data release and data products is described, and some guidance for using the data products is provided.
We present the first APOKASC catalog of spectroscopic and asteroseismic data for dwarfs and subgiants. Asteroseismic data for our sample of 415 objects have been obtained by the Kepler mission in ...short (58.5 s) cadence, and light curves span from 30 up to more than 1000 days. The spectroscopic parameters are based on spectra taken as part of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment and correspond to Data Release 13 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We analyze our data using two independent scales, the spectroscopic values from DR13 and those derived from SDSS griz photometry. We use the differences in our results arising from these choices as a test of systematic temperature uncertainties and find that they can lead to significant differences in the derived stellar properties. Determinations of surface gravity ( ), mean density ( ), radius (R), mass (M), and age (τ) for the whole sample have been carried out by means of (stellar) grid-based modeling. We have thoroughly assessed random and systematic error sources in the spectroscopic and asteroseismic data, as well as in the grid-based modeling determination of the stellar quantities provided in the catalog. We provide stellar properties determined for each of the two scales. The median combined (random and systematic) uncertainties are 2% (0.01 dex; ), 3.4% ( ), 2.6% (R), 5.1% (M), and 19% (τ) for the photometric scale and 2% ( ), 3.5% ( ), 2.7% (R), 6.3% (M), and 23% (τ) for the spectroscopic scale. We present comparisons with stellar quantities in the asteroseismic catalog by Chaplin et al. that highlight the importance of having metallicity measurements for determining stellar parameters accurately. Finally, we compare our results with those coming from a variety of sources, including stellar radii determined from TGAS parallaxes and asteroseismic analyses based on individual frequencies. We find a very good agreement for all inferred quantities. The latter comparison, in particular, gives strong support to the determination of stellar quantities based on global seismology, a relevant result for future missions such as TESS and PLATO.
Internal mixing on the giant branch is an important process which affects the evolution of stars and the chemical evolution of the galaxy. While several mechanisms have been proposed to explain this ...mixing, better empirical constraints are necessary. Here, we use C/N abundances in 26,097 evolved stars from the SDSS-IV/APOGEE-2 Data Release 14 to trace mixing and extra mixing in old field giants with −1.7 < Fe/H < 0.1. We show that the APOGEE C/N ratios before any dredge-up occurs are metallicity dependent, but that the change in C/N at the first dredge-up is metallicity independent for stars above Fe/H ∼ −1. We identify the position of the red giant branch (RGB) bump as a function of metallicity, note that a metallicity-dependent extra mixing episode takes place for low-metallicity stars (Fe/H < −0.4) 0.14 dex in log g above the bump, and confirm that this extra mixing is stronger at low metallicity, reaching ΔC/N = 0.58 dex at Fe/H = −1.4. We show evidence for further extra mixing on the upper giant branch, well above the bump, among the stars with Fe/H < −1.0. This upper giant branch mixing is stronger in the more metal-poor stars, reaching 0.38 dex in C/N for each 1.0 dex in log g. The APOGEE C/N ratios for red clump (RC) stars are significantly higher than for stars at the tip of the RGB, suggesting additional mixing processes occur during the helium flash or that unknown abundance zero points for C and N may exist among the RC sample. Finally, because of extra mixing, we note that current empirical calibrations between C/N ratios and ages cannot be naively extrapolated for use in low-metallicity stars specifically for those above the bump in the luminosity function.
Purple flesh cultivated potato (PP) is a foodstuff scarcely cultivated in the world but with high potential because of its anthocyanin content. Moreover, it has been little explored as a source of ...anthocyanins (AT) for further applications in formulated food products. The main goal of this research was to study the effect of maltodextrin (MD) and spray drying conditions on the encapsulation efficiency (EE) and bioaccesibility of AT from purple flesh cultivated potato extract (PPE). The anthocyanin-rich extract was obtained from PP and microencapsulated by spray-drying, using MD as the encapsulating agent. A statistical optimization approach was used to obtain optimal microencapsulation conditions. The PPE microparticles obtained under optimal conditions showed 86% of EE. The protector effect of microencapsulation on AT was observed to be stable during storage and in vitro digestion. The AT degradation rate constant was significantly lower for the PPE-MD than for the PPE. The assessed bioaccesibility of AT from the PPE-MD was 20% higher than that of the PPE, which could be explained by the protective effect of encapsulation against environmental conditions. In conclusion, microencapsulation is an effective strategy to protect AT from PP, suggesting that AT may be an alternative as a stable colorant for use in the food industry.