We used deep wide-field photometric observations to derive the fraction of binary systems in a sample of five high-latitude Galactic open clusters. By analysing the colour distribution of ...main-sequence stars, we derived the minimum fraction of binary systems required to reproduce the observed colour–magnitude diagram morphologies. We found that all the analysed clusters contain a minimum binary fraction larger than 11 per cent within the core radius. The estimated global fractions of binary systems range from 35 to 70 per cent depending on the cluster. The comparison with homogeneous estimates performed in globular clusters indicates that open clusters hold a significantly higher fraction of binary systems, as predicted by theoretical models and N-body simulations. A dependence of the relative fraction of binary systems on the cluster mass has been detected, suggesting that the binary disruption within the cluster core is the dominant process that drives the fraction of binaries in stellar systems.
ABSTRACT
The study of gamma-ray blazars is usually hindered due to the lack of information on their redshifts and on their low-energy photon fields. This information is key to understand the effect ...on the gamma-ray absorption due to either extragalactic background light and/or intrinsic absorption and emission processes. All this information has also an impact on the determination of the location of the emitting region within the relativistic jets. In this work, a new optical spectroscopic characterization is presented for three gamma-ray blazars: S4 0954+65, TXS 1515−273, and RX J0812.0+0237. For all the three targets, the redshift determination is successful, and for the first time in the case of TXS 1515−273 and RX J0812.0+0237. Their classification as BL Lac type is confirmed based on these new optical spectra. For S4 0954+65 (z = 0.3694 ± 0.0011), an estimation on the disc, broad-line region, and torus luminosities is performed based on the observed optical emission lines. The results from this study are compatible with the nature of S4 0954+65 as a transitional blazar. In the case of TXS 1515−273 (z = 0.1281 ± 0.0004), although its optical spectrum is dominated by the continuum emission from the jet, applying the pPXF technique, the stellar population can be unveiled and is compatible with an old and metallic population. It is also the case of RX J0812.0+0237 (z = 0.1721 ± 0.0002). Moreover, this work confirms that the optical spectrum from RX J0812.0+0237 is compatible with an extreme blazar classification.
Aims.
We aim to measure the proper motion along the Sagittarius stream, which is the missing piece in determining its full 6D phase space coordinates.
Methods.
We conduct a blind search of ...over-densities in proper motion from the
Gaia
second data release in a broad region around the Sagittarius stream by applying wavelet transform techniques.
Results.
We find that for most of the sky patches, the highest intensity peaks delineate the path of the Sagittarius stream. The 1500 peaks identified depict a continuous sequence spanning almost 2
π
in the sky, only obscured when the stream crosses the Galactic disk. Altogether, around 100 000 stars potentially belong to the stream as indicated by a coarse inspection of the color-magnitude diagrams. From these stars, we determine the proper motion along the Sagittarius stream, making it the proper-motion sequence with the largest span and continuity ever measured for a stream. A first comparison with existing
N
-body models of the stream reveals some discrepancies, especially near the pericenter of the trailing arm and an underestimation of the total proper motion for the leading arm.
Conclusions.
Our study provides a starting point for determining the variation of the population of stars along the stream, the distance to the stream from the red clump stars, and the solar motion. It also permits much more accurate measurement of the Milky Way potential.
Abstract
We present a spectroscopic analysis of Eridanus IV (Eri IV) and Centaurus I (Cen I), two ultrafaint dwarf galaxies of the Milky Way. Using IMACS/Magellan spectroscopy, we identify 28 member ...stars of Eri IV and 34 member stars of Cen I. For Eri IV, we measure a systemic velocity of
v
sys
=
−
31.5
−
1.2
+
1.3
km
s
−
1
, and velocity dispersion
σ
v
=
6.1
−
0.9
+
1.2
km
s
−
1
. Additionally, we measure the metallicities of 16 member stars of Eri IV. We find a metallicity of
Fe
/
H
=
−
2.87
−
0.07
+
0.08
, and resolve a dispersion of
σ
Fe/H
=0.20 ± 0.09. The mean metallicity is marginally lower than all other known ultrafaint dwarf galaxies, making it one of the most metal-poor galaxies discovered thus far. Eri IV also has a somewhat unusual right-skewed metallicity distribution. For Cen I, we find a velocity
v
sys
= 44.9 ± 0.8 km s
−1
, and velocity dispersion
σ
v
=
4.2
−
0.5
+
0.6
km
s
−
1
. We measure the metallicities of 27 member stars of Cen I, and find a mean metallicity Fe/H = −2.57 ± 0.08, and metallicity dispersion
σ
Fe
/
H
=
0.38
−
0.05
+
0.07
. We calculate the systemic proper motion, orbit, and the astrophysical J-factor for each system, the latter of which indicates that Eri IV is a good target for indirect dark matter detection. We also find no strong evidence for tidal stripping of Cen I or Eri IV. Overall, our measurements confirm that Eri IV and Cen I are dark-matter-dominated galaxies with properties largely consistent with other known ultrafaint dwarf galaxies. The low metallicity, right-skewed metallicity distribution, and high J-factor make Eri IV an especially interesting candidate for further follow-up.
Abstract
We present the discovery of DELVE 6, an ultra-faint stellar system identified in the second data release of the DECam Local Volume Exploration (DELVE) survey. Based on a maximum-likelihood ...fit to its structure and stellar population, we find that DELVE 6 is an old (
τ
> 9.8 Gyr at 95% confidence) and metal-poor (Fe/H < −1.17 dex at 95% confidence) stellar system with an absolute magnitude of
M
V
=
−
1.5
−
0.6
+
0.4
mag and an azimuthally averaged half-light radius of
r
1
/
2
=
10
−
3
+
4
pc. These properties are consistent with the population of ultra-faint star clusters uncovered by recent surveys. Interestingly, DELVE 6 is located at an angular separation of ∼10° from the center of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), corresponding to a 3D physical separation of ∼20 kpc given the system’s observed distance (
D
⊙
= 80 kpc). This also places the system ∼35 kpc from the center of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), lying within recent constraints on the size of the LMC’s dark matter halo. We tentatively measure the proper motion of DELVE 6 using data from Gaia, which we find supports a potential association between the system and the LMC/SMC. Although future kinematic measurements will be necessary to determine its origins, we highlight that DELVE 6 may represent only the second or third ancient (
τ
> 9 Gyr) star cluster associated with the SMC, or one of fewer than two dozen ancient clusters associated with the LMC. Nonetheless, we cannot currently rule out the possibility that the system is a distant Milky Way halo star cluster.
Context. Thanks to the recent wide-area photometric surveys, the number of star cluster candidates have risen exponentially in the last few years. Most detections, however, are based only on the ...presence of an overdensity of stars in a given region or an overdensity of variable stars, regardless of their distance. As candidates, their detection has not been dynamically confirmed. Therefore, it is currently unknown how many and which of the published candidates are true clusters and which are chance alignments. Aims. We present a method to detect and confirm star clusters based on the spatial distribution, coherence in motion, and appearance on the color-magnitude diagram. We explain and apply this approach to one new star cluster and several candidate star clusters published in the literature. Methods. The presented method is based on data from the second data release of Gaia complemented with data from the VISTA Variables in the Vía Láctea survey for the innermost bulge regions. This method consists of a nearest neighbors algorithm applied simultaneously over spatial coordinates, star color, and proper motions to detect groups of stars that are close in the sky, move coherently, and define narrow sequences in the color-magnitude diagram, such as a young main sequence or a red giant branch. Results. When tested in the bulge area (−10 < ℓ (deg) < +10; −10 < b (deg) < +10) the method successfully recovered several known young and old star clusters. We report in this work the detection of one new, likely old star cluster, while deferring the others to a forthcoming paper. Additionally, the code has been applied to the position of 93 candidate star clusters published in the literature. As a result, only two of these clusters are confirmed as coherently moving groups of stars at their nominal positions.
ABSTRACT
Recent wide-area surveys have enabled us to study the Milky Way with unprecedented detail. Its inner regions, hidden behind dust and gas, have been partially unveiled with the arrival of ...near-infrared (IR) photometric and spectroscopic data sets. Among recent discoveries, there is a population of low-mass globular clusters, known to be missing, especially towards the Galactic bulge. In this work, five new low-luminosity globular clusters located towards the bulge area are presented. They were discovered by searching for groups in the multidimensional space of coordinates, colours, and proper motions from the Gaia EDR3 catalogue and later confirmed with deeper VVV survey near-IR photometry. The clusters show well-defined red giant branches and, in some cases, horizontal branches with their members forming a dynamically coherent structure in proper motion space. Four of them were confirmed by spectroscopic follow-up with the MUSE instrument on the ESO VLT. Photometric parameters were derived, and when available, metallicities, radial velocities, and orbits were determined. The new clusters Gran 1 and 5 are bulge globular clusters, while Gran 2, 3 and 4 present halo-like properties. Preliminary orbits indicate that Gran 1 might be related to the Main Progenitor, or the so-called ‘low-energy’ group, while Gran 2, 3 and 5 appears to follow the Gaia-Enceladus/Sausage structure. This study demonstrates that the Gaia proper motions, combined with the spectroscopic follow-up and colour–magnitude diagrams, are required to confirm the nature of cluster candidates towards the inner Galaxy. High stellar crowding and differential extinction may hide other low-luminosity clusters.
Context. The Gaia astrometric sample allows us to study the outermost Galactic disc, the halo, and their interface. It is precisely at the very edge of the disc where the effects of external ...perturbations are expected to be the most noticeable. Aims. Our goal is to detect the kinematic substructure present in the halo and at the edge of the Milky Way (MW) disc and provide observational constraints on their phase-space distribution. Methods. We download, one HEALpix at a time, the proper motion histogram of distant stars, to which we apply a wavelet transformation to reveal the significant overdensities. We then analyse the large coherent structures that appear in the sky. Results. We reveal a sharp yet complex anticentre dominated by Monoceros (MNC) and the Anticentre Stream (ACS) in the north – which we find have intensities comparable to the Magellanic Clouds and the Sagittarius stream – and by MNC South and TriAnd at negative latitudes. Our method allows us to perform a morphological analysis of MNC and the ACS, both of which span more than 100° in longitude, and to provide a high purity sample of giants with which we track MNC down to latitudes as low as ∼5°. Their colour-magnitude diagram is consistent with extended structures at a distance of ∼10−11 kpc that originated in the disc, with a very low ratio of RR Lyrae over M giants, and with kinematics compatible with the rotation curve at those distances or slightly slower. Conclusions. We present a precise characterisation of MNC and the ACS, two previously known structures that our method reveals naturally, allowing us to detect them without limiting ourselves to a particular stellar type and, for the first time, using only kinematics. Our results will allow future studies to model their chemo-dynamics and evolution, thus constraining some of the most influential processes that shaped the MW.
ABSTRACT
We present the results of a spectroscopic survey performed in the outskirts of the globular cluster NGC 1851 with VIsible MultiObject Spectrograph (VIMOS)/Very Large Telescope (VLT). The ...radial velocities of 107 stars in a region between 12 and 33 arcmin around the cluster have been derived. We clearly identify the cluster stellar population over the entire field of view, indicating the presence of a significant fraction of stars outside the tidal radius predicted by King models. We also find tentative evidence of a cold (σv ≤ 20 km s−1) peak in the distribution of velocities at vr ∼ 180 km s−1 constituted mainly by main‐sequence stars whose location in the colour–magnitude diagram is compatible with a stream at a similar distance to this cluster. If confirmed, this evidence would strongly support the extragalactic origin of this feature.
ABSTRACT
The current and next observation seasons will detect hundreds of gravitational waves (GWs) from compact binary systems coalescence at cosmological distances. When combined with independent ...electromagnetic measurements, the source redshift will be known, and we will be able to obtain precise measurements of the Hubble constant H0 via the distance–redshift relation. However, most observed mergers are not expected to have electromagnetic counterparts, which prevents a direct redshift measurement. In this scenario, one possibility is to use the dark sirens method that statistically marginalizes over all the potential host galaxies within the GW location volume to provide a probabilistic source redshift. Here we presented H0 measurements using two new dark sirens compared to previous analyses using DECam data: GW190924$\_$021846 and GW200202$\_$154313. The photometric redshifts of the possible host galaxies of these two events are acquired from the DECam Local Volume Exploration Survey (DELVE) carried out on the Blanco telescope at Cerro Tololo. The combination of the H0 posterior from GW190924$\_$021846 and GW200202$\_$154313 together with the bright siren GW170817 leads to $H_{0} = 68.84^{+15.51}_{-7.74}\, \rm {km\, s^{-1}\, Mpc^{-1}}$. Including these two dark sirens improves the 68 per cent confidence interval (CI) by 7 per cent over GW170817 alone. This demonstrates that the addition of well-localized dark sirens in such analysis improves the precision of cosmological measurements. Using a sample containing 10 well-localized dark sirens observed during the third LIGO/Virgo observation run, without the inclusion of GW170817, we determine a measurement of $H_{0} = 76.00^{+17.64}_{-13.45}\, \rm {km\, s^{-1}\, Mpc^{-1}}$.
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