Abstract
Stellar streams produced from dwarf galaxies provide direct evidence of the hierarchical formation of the Milky Way. Here, we present the first comprehensive study of the
LMS-1
stellar ...stream, that we detect by searching for wide streams in the Gaia EDR3 data set using the
STREAMFINDER
algorithm. This stream was recently discovered by Yuan et al. We detect LMS-1 as a 60° long stream to the north of the galactic bulge, at a distance of ∼20 kpc from the Sun, together with additional components that suggest that the overall stream is completely wrapped around the inner Galaxy. Using spectroscopic measurements from the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, and the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment, we infer that the stream is very metal-poor (〈Fe/H〉 = −2.1) with a significant metallicity dispersion (
σ
Fe/H
= 0.4), and it possesses a large radial velocity dispersion (
σ
v
= 20 ± 4 km s
−1
). These estimates together imply that LMS-1 is a dwarf galaxy stream. The orbit of LMS-1 is close to polar, with an inclination of 75° to the galactic plane. Both the orbit and metallicity of LMS-1 are remarkably similar to the globular clusters NGC 5053, NGC 5024, and the stellar stream
Indus
. These findings make LMS-1 an important contributor to the stellar population of the inner Milky Way halo.
Abstract
We present the Pristine survey, a new narrow-band photometric survey focused on the metallicity-sensitive Ca H&K lines and conducted in the Northern hemisphere with the wide-field imager ...MegaCam on the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope. This paper reviews our overall survey strategy and discusses the data processing and metallicity calibration. Additionally we review the application of these data to the main aims of the survey, which are to gather a large sample of the most metal-poor stars in the Galaxy, to further characterize the faintest Milky Way satellites, and to map the (metal-poor) substructure in the Galactic halo. The current Pristine footprint comprises over 1000 deg2 in the Galactic halo ranging from b ∼ 30° to ∼78° and covers many known stellar substructures. We demonstrate that, for Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) stellar objects, we can calibrate the photometry at the 0.02-mag level. The comparison with existing spectroscopic metallicities from SDSS/Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (SEGUE) and Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope shows that, when combined with SDSS broad-band g and i photometry, we can use the CaHK photometry to infer photometric metallicities with an accuracy of ∼0.2 dex from Fe/H = −0.5 down to the extremely metal-poor regime (Fe/H < −3.0). After the removal of various contaminants, we can efficiently select metal-poor stars and build a very complete sample with high purity. The success rate of uncovering Fe/HSEGUE < −3.0 stars among Fe/HPristine < −3.0 selected stars is 24 per cent, and 85 per cent of the remaining candidates are still very metal poor (Fe/H<−2.0). We further demonstrate that Pristine is well suited to identify the very rare and pristine Galactic stars with Fe/H < −4.0, which can teach us valuable lessons about the early Universe.
ABSTRACT
Carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) stars are a unique resource for Galactic archaeology because they probe the properties of the First Stars, early chemical evolution, and binary interactions ...at very low metallicity. Comparing the fractions and properties of CEMP stars in different Galactic environments can provide us with unique insights into the formation and evolution of the Milky Way halo and its building blocks. In this work, we investigate whether directly comparing fractions of CEMP stars from different literature samples of very metal-poor ($\rm {Fe/H}\,\lt\, -2.0$) stars is valid. We compiled published CEMP fractions and samples of Galactic halo stars from the past 25 years, and find that they are not all consistent with each other. Focusing on giant stars, we find significant differences between various surveys when comparing their trends of Fe/H versus C/Fe and their distributions of CEMP stars. To test the role of the analysis pipelines for low-resolution spectroscopic samples, we re-analysed giant stars from various surveys with the sspp and ferre pipelines. We found systematic differences in C/Fe of ∼0.1−0.4 dex, partly independent of degeneracies with the stellar atmospheric parameters. These systematics are likely due to the different pipeline approaches, different assumptions in the employed synthetic grids, and/or the comparison of different evolutionary phases. We conclude that current biases in (the analysis of) very metal-poor samples limit the conclusions one can draw from comparing different surveys. We provide some recommendations and suggestions that will hopefully aid the community to unlock the full potential of CEMP stars for Galactic archaeology.
We present a detailed study of the faint Milky Way satellite Draco II (Dra II) from deep CFHT/MegaCam broad-band g and i photometry and narrow-band metallicity-sensitive CaHK observations, along with ...follow-up Keck II/DEIMOS multi-object spectroscopy. Forward modelling of the deep photometry allows us to refine the structural and photometric properties of Dra II: the distribution of stars in colour-magnitude space implies Dra II is old (13.5 ± 0.5 Gyr), very metal-poor, very faint (L_V = 180 ^{+124}_{-72} { L_⊙}), and at a distance d = 21.5 ± 0.4 { kpc}. The narrow-band, metallicity-sensitive CaHK Pristine photometry confirms this very low metallicity (Fe/H = -2.7 ± 0.1 dex). Even though our study benefits from a doubling of the spectroscopic sample size compared to previous investigations, the velocity dispersion of the system is still only marginally resolved (σ _{vr}< 5.9 { km s^{-1}} at the 95 per cent confidence level) and confirms that Dra II is a dynamically cold stellar system with a large recessional velocity (< vr> = -342.5^{+1.1}_{-1.2}{ km s^{-1}}). We further show that the spectroscopically confirmed members of Dra II have a mean proper motion of (μ _α ^*,μ _δ)=(1.26 ± 0.27,0.94 ± 0.28) { mas/yr} in the Gaia DR2 data, which translates to an orbit with a pericentre and an apocentre of 21.3 ^{+0.7}_{-1.0} and 153.8 ^{+56.7}_{-34.7} { kpc}, respectively. Taken altogether, these properties favour the scenario of Dra II being a potentially disrupting dwarf galaxy. The low-significance extra-tidal features we map around the satellite tentatively support this scenario.
ABSTRACT
A chemo-dynamical analysis of 115 metal-poor candidate stars selected from the narrow-band Pristine photometric survey is presented based on CFHT high-resolution ESPaDOnS spectroscopy. We ...have discovered 28 new bright (V < 15) stars with Fe/H < −2.5 and 5 with Fe/H < −3.0 for success rates of 40 (28/70) and 19 per cent (5/27), respectively. A detailed model atmosphere analysis is carried out for the 28 new metal-poor stars. Stellar parameters were determined from SDSS photometric colours, Gaia DR2 parallaxes, MESA/MIST stellar isochrones, and the initial Pristine survey metallicities, following a Bayesian inference method. Chemical abundances are determined for 10 elements (Na, Mg, Ca, Sc, Ti, Cr, Fe, Ni, Y, and Ba). Most stars show chemical abundance patterns that are similar to the normal metal-poor stars in the Galactic halo; however, we also report the discoveries of a new r-process-rich star, a new CEMP-s candidate with Y/Ba > 0, and a metal-poor star with very low Mg/Fe. The kinematics and orbits for all of the highly probable metal-poor candidates are determined by combining our precision radial velocities with Gaia DR2 proper motions. Some stars show unusual kinematics for their chemistries, including planar orbits, unbound orbits, and highly elliptical orbits that plunge deeply into the Galactic bulge (Rperi < 0.5 kpc); also, eight stars have orbital energies and actions consistent with the Gaia-Enceladus accretion event. This paper contributes to our understanding of the complex chemo-dynamics of the metal-poor Galaxy, and increases the number of known bright metal-poor stars available for detailed nucleosynthetic studies.
ABSTRACT
Metal-poor stars are important tools for tracing the early history of the Milky Way, and for learning about the first generations of stars. Simulations suggest that the oldest metal-poor ...stars are to be found in the inner Galaxy. Typical bulge surveys, however, lack low metallicity ($\rm {Fe/H} \lt -1.0$) stars because the inner Galaxy is predominantly metal-rich. The aim of the Pristine Inner Galaxy Survey (PIGS) is to study the metal-poor and very metal-poor (VMP, $\rm {Fe/H} \lt -2.0$) stars in this region. In PIGS, metal-poor targets for spectroscopic follow-up are selected from metallicity-sensitive CaHK photometry from the CFHT. This work presents the ∼250 deg2 photometric survey as well as intermediate-resolution spectroscopic follow-up observations for ∼8000 stars using AAOmega on the AAT. The spectra are analysed using two independent tools: ULySS with an empirical spectral library, and FERRE with a library of synthetic spectra. The comparison between the two methods enables a robust determination of the stellar parameters and their uncertainties. We present a sample of 1300 VMP stars – the largest sample of VMP stars in the inner Galaxy to date. Additionally, our spectroscopic data set includes ∼1700 horizontal branch stars, which are useful metal-poor standard candles. We furthermore show that PIGS photometry selects VMP stars with unprecedented efficiency: 86 per cent/80 per cent (lower/higher extinction) of the best candidates satisfy $\rm {Fe/H} \lt -2.0$, as do 80 per cent/63 per cent of a larger, less strictly selected sample. We discuss future applications of this unique data set that will further our understanding of the chemical and dynamical evolution of the innermost regions of our Galaxy.
Abstract
We combine the power of two stream-searching tools,
STREAMFINDER
and
StarGO
applied to the Gaia EDR3 data, to detect stellar debris belonging to the Cetus stream system that forms a complex, ...nearly polar structure around the Milky Way. In this work, we find the southern extensions of the northern Cetus stream as the Palca stream and a new southern stream, which overlap on the sky but have different distances. These two stream wraps extend over more than ∼100° on the sky (−60° <
δ
< +40°). The current
N
-body model of the system reproduces both as two wraps in the trailing arm. We also show that the Cetus system is confidently associated with the Triangulum/Pisces, Willka Yaku, and the recently discovered C-20 streams. The association with the ATLAS-Aliqa Uma stream is much weaker. All of these stellar debris are very metal-poor, comparable to the average metallicity of the southern Cetus stream with Fe/H = −2.17 ± 0.20. The estimated stellar mass of the Cetus progenitor is at least 10
5.6
M
⊙
, compatible with Ursa Minor or Draco dwarf galaxies. The associated globular cluster with similar stellar mass, NGC 5824 very possibly was accreted in the same group infall. The multi-wrap Cetus stream is a perfect example of a dwarf galaxy that has undergone several periods of stripping, leaving behind debris at multiple locations in the halo. The full characterization of such systems is crucial to unravel the history of the assembly of the Milky Way, and importantly, to provide nearby fossils to study ancient low-mass dwarf galaxies.
ABSTRACT
We present an extensive study of the Sagittarius II (Sgr II) stellar system using MegaCam g and i photometry, narrow-band, metallicity-sensitive calcium H&K doublet photometry and Keck ...II/DEIMOS multiobject spectroscopy. We derive and refine the Sgr II structural and stellar properties inferred at the time of its discovery. The colour–magnitude diagram implies Sgr II is old (12.0 ± 0.5 Gyr) and metal poor. The CaHK photometry confirms the metal-poor nature of the satellite (Fe/H CaHK = −2.32 ± 0.04 dex) and suggests that Sgr II hosts more than one single stellar population ($\sigma _\mathrm{FeH}^\mathrm{CaHK} = 0.11^{+0.05}_{-0.03}$ dex). Using the Ca infrared triplet measured from our highest signal-to-noise spectra, we confirm the metallicity and dispersion inferred from the Pristine photometric metallicities (Fe/Hspectro = −2.23 ± 0.05 dex, $\sigma _\mathrm{Fe/H}^\mathrm{spectro} = 0.10 ^{+0.06}_{-0.04}$ dex). The velocity dispersion of the system is found to be $\sigma _{v} = 2.7^{+1.3}_{-1.0} {\rm \, km \,\, s^{-1}}$ after excluding two potential binary stars. Sgr II’s metallicity and absolute magnitude (MV = −5.7 ± 0.1 mag) place the system on the luminosity–metallicity relation of the Milky Way dwarf galaxies despite its small size. The low but resolved metallicity and velocity dispersions paint the picture of a slightly dark-matter-dominated satellite ($M/L = 23.0^{+32.8}_{-23.0}$ M⊙ L$^{-1}_{\odot }$). Furthermore, using the Gaia Data Release 2, we constrain the orbit of the satellite and find an apocentre of $118.4 ^{+28.4}_{-23.7} {\rm \, kpc}$ and a pericentre of $54.8 ^{+3.3}_{-6.1} {\rm \, kpc}$. The orbit of Sgr II is consistent with the trailing arm of the Sgr stream and indicates that it is possibly a satellite of the Sgr dSph that was tidally stripped from the dwarf’s influence.
Abstract We present an atlas and follow-up spectroscopic observations of 87 thin stream-like structures detected with the STREAMFINDER algorithm in Gaia DR3, of which 28 are new discoveries. Here, we ...focus on using these streams to refine mass models of the Galaxy. Fits with a double-power-law halo with the outer power-law slope set to − β h = −3 yield an inner power-law slope of − γ h = - ( 0.97 − 0.21 + 0.17 ) , a scale radius of r 0 , h = 14.7 − 1.0 + 4.7 kpc , a halo density flattening q m , h = 0.75 ± 0.03, and a local dark matter density of ρ h ,⊙ = 0.0114 ± 0.0007 M ⊙ pc −3 . Freeing β yields β = 2.53 − 0.16 + 0.42 , but this value is heavily influenced by our chosen virial mass limit. The stellar disks are found to have a combined mass of 4.20 − 0.53 + 0.44 × 10 10 M ⊙ , with the thick disk contributing 12.4% ± 0.7% to the local stellar surface density. The scale lengths of the thin and thick disks are 2.17 − 0.08 + 0.18 and 1.62 − 0.13 + 0.72 kpc , respectively, while their scale heights are 0.347 − 0.010 + 0.007 and 0.86 − 0.02 + 0.03 kpc , respectively. The virial mass of the favored model is M 200 = 1.09 − 0.14 + 0.19 × 10 12 M ⊙ , while the mass inside of 50 kpc is M R <50 = 0.46 ± 0.03 × 10 12 M ⊙ . We introduce the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) into the derived potential models, and fit the Orphan stream therein, finding a mass for the LMC that is consistent with recent estimates. Some salient highlights include the nearby trailing arm of ω Cen, and a nearby very metal-poor stream that was once a satellite of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy. Finally, we unambiguously detect a hot component around the GD-1 stream, consistent with it having been tidally preprocessed within its own dark matter subhalo.
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