Context.
Over its history, the Milky Way has accreted several smaller satellite galaxies. These mergers added stars and gas to the Galaxy and affected the properties of the pre-existing stellar ...populations. Stellar chemical abundances and ages are needed to establish the chronological order of events that occur before, during, and after such mergers.
Aims.
We report the precise ages (∼6.5%) and chemical abundances for the T
ITANS
, a sample of old metal-poor dwarfs and subgiants with accurate atmospheric parameters. We also obtain ages with an average precision of 10% for a selected sample of dwarf stars from the GALAH survey. We use these stars, located within ∼1 kiloparsec of the Sun, to analyse the chronology of the chemical evolution of in situ and accreted metal-poor stellar populations.
Methods.
We determined ages via isochrone fitting. For the T
ITANS
, we determined Mg, Si, Ca, Ti, Ni, Ba, and Eu abundances using spectrum synthesis. The Mg/Fe abundances of the GALAH stars were re-scaled to be consistent with the abundances of the T
ITANS
. We separated stellar populations by primarily employing chemical abundances and orbits.
Results.
We find that star formation in the so-called Gaia-Enceladus or Gaia-Sausage galaxy, the last major system to merge with the Milky Way, lasted at least 3 billion years and got truncated 9.6 ± 0.2 billion years ago. This marks with a very high level of precision the last stage of its merging process. We also identified stars of a heated metal-poor in-situ population with virtually null net rotation, probably disturbed by several of the early Milky Way mergers. We show that this population is more metal-rich than Gaia-Enceladus at any moment in time.
Conclusions.
The sequence of events uncovered in our analysis supports the hypothesis that Gaia-Enceladus truncated the formation of the high-
α
disc and caused the gas infall that forms the low-
α
disc.
Context.
Abundances of beryllium in metal-poor stars scale linearly with metallicity down to Fe/H ∼ −3.0. In the stars where Be has been detected at this extremely metal-poor regime, an increased ...abundance scatter has been previously reported in the literature. This scatter could indicate a flattening of the relation between Be abundances and metallicity.
Aims.
Our aim is to perform a new investigation of Be abundances in extremely metal-poor stars and try to clarify whether a Be abundance plateau exists. We revisited the Be abundances in a sample of nine dwarfs with metallicities close to Fe/H ∼ −3.0. Additionally, we analysed the Be lines in the spectra of stars BPS BS 16968-0061 and CD-33 1173 for the first time.
Methods.
We took advantage of
Gaia
DR2 parallaxes to refine values of the surface gravity of the stars. Updated values of surface gravity can have a significant impact on the determination of Be abundances. The other atmospheric parameters were computed using photometric and spectroscopic data. Abundances of Be were determined using spectrum synthesis and model atmospheres.
Results.
Some of the stars indeed suggest a flattening. Over about a 0.5 dex range in metallicity, between Fe/H ∼ −2.70 and −3.26, the Be abundances stay mostly constant at about log(Be/H) ∼ −13.2 dex. Nevertheless, for several stars, we could only place upper limits that are below that level. Most of the sample stars are consistent with having been formed at the progenitor of the so-called
Gaia
-Enceladus merger. Two out of the three stars likely formed in-situ are the ones that deviate the most from the linear relation.
Conclusions.
The mixed origin of these extremely metal-poor stars offers a clue to understanding the flattening. We suggest that our observations can be naturally understood as a consequence of the inhomogeneous star forming conditions in the early Galaxy. Without efficient mixing, the early interstellar medium would be characterised by a large scatter in Fe abundances at a given moment. Beryllium, on the other hand, because of its origins in cosmic-ray spallation, would have more homogeneous abundances (in a Galaxy-wide sense). We therefore suggest that the observed flattening of the Be-versus-metallicity relation reflects a stronger scatter in the Galactic Fe abundances at a given age.
Stellar abundances of beryllium are useful in different areas of astrophysics, including studies of the Galactic chemical evolution, of stellar evolution, and of the formation of globular clusters. ...Determining Be abundances in stars is, however, a challenging endeavor. The two Be II resonance lines useful for abundance analyses are in the near UV, a region strongly affected by atmospheric extinction. CUBES is a new spectrograph planned for the VLT that will be more sensitive than current instruments in the near UV spectral region. It will allow the observation of fainter stars, expanding the number of targets where Be abundances can be determined. Here, a brief review of stellar abundances of Be is presented together with a discussion of science cases for CUBES. In particular, preliminary simulations of CUBES spectra are presented, highlighting its possible impact in investigations of Be abundances of extremely metal-poor stars and of stars in globular clusters.
Context.
We describe the atomic and molecular data that were used for the abundance analyses of FGK-type stars carried out within the
Gaia
-ESO Public Spectroscopic Survey in the years 2012 to 2019. ...The
Gaia
-ESO Survey is one among several current and future stellar spectroscopic surveys producing abundances for Milky-Way stars on an industrial scale.
Aims.
We present an unprecedented effort to create a homogeneous common line list, which was used by several abundance analysis groups using different radiative transfer codes to calculate synthetic spectra and equivalent widths. The atomic data are accompanied by quality indicators and detailed references to the sources. The atomic and molecular data are made publicly available at the CDS.
Methods.
In general, experimental transition probabilities were preferred but theoretical values were also used. Astrophysical
gf
-values were avoided due to the model-dependence of such a procedure. For elements whose lines are significantly affected by a hyperfine structure or isotopic splitting, a concerted effort has been made to collate the necessary data for the individual line components. Synthetic stellar spectra calculated for the Sun and Arcturus were used to assess the blending properties of the lines. We also performed adetailed investigation of available data for line broadening due to collisions with neutral hydrogen atoms.
Results.
Among a subset of over 1300 lines of 35 elements in the wavelength ranges from 475 to 685 nm and from 850 to 895 nm, we identified about 200 lines of 24 species which have accurate
gf
-values and are free of blends in the spectra of the Sun and Arcturus. For the broadening due to collisions with neutral hydrogen, we recommend data based on Anstee-Barklem-O’Mara theory, where possible. We recommend avoiding lines of neutral species for which these are not available. Theoretical broadening data by R.L. Kurucz should be used for Sc
II
, Ti
II
, and Y
II
lines; additionally, for ionised rare-earth species, the Unsöld approximation with an enhancement factor of 1.5 for the line width can be used.
Conclusions.
The line list has proven to be a useful tool for abundance determinations based on the spectra obtained within the
Gaia
-ESO Survey, as well as other spectroscopic projects. Accuracies below 0.2 dex are regularly achieved, where part of the uncertainties are due to differences in the employed analysis methods. Desirable improvements in atomic data were identified for a number of species, most importantly Al
I
, S
I
, and Cr
II
, but also Na
I
, Si
I
, Ca
II
, and Ni
I
.
Aims. We report 20 new lithium-rich giants discovered within the Gaia-ESO Survey, including the first Li-rich giant with an evolutionary stage confirmed by CoRoT (Convection, Rotation and planetary ...Transits) data. We present a detailed overview of the properties of these 20 stars. Methods. Atmospheric parameters and abundances were derived in model atmosphere analyses using medium-resolution GIRAFFE or high-resolution UVES (Ultraviolet and Visual Echelle Spectrograph) spectra. These results are part of the fifth internal data release of the Gaia-ESO Survey. The Li abundances were corrected for non-local thermodynamical equilibrium effects. Other stellar properties were investigated for additional peculiarities (the core of strong lines for signs of magnetic activity, infrared magnitudes, rotational velocities, chemical abundances, and Galactic velocities). We used Gaia DR2 parallaxes to estimate distances and luminosities. Results. The giants have A(Li) > 2.2 dex. The majority of them (14 of 20 stars) are in the CoRoT fields. Four giants are located in the field of three open clusters, but are not members. Two giants were observed in fields towards the Galactic bulge, but likely lie in the inner disc. One of the bulge field giants is super Li-rich with A(Li) = 4.0 dex. Conclusions. We identified one giant with infrared excess at 22 μm. Two other giants, with large v sin i, might be Li-rich because of planet engulfment. Another giant is found to be barium enhanced and thus could have accreted material from a former asymptotic giant branch companion. Otherwise, in addition to the Li enrichment, the evolutionary stages are the only other connection between these new Li-rich giants. The CoRoT data confirm that one Li-rich giant is at the core-He burning stage. The other giants are concentrated in close proximity to the red giant branch luminosity bump, the core-He burning stages, or the early-asymptotic giant branch. This is very clear from the Gaia-based luminosities of the Li-rich giants. This is also seen when the CoRoT Li-rich giants are compared to a larger sample of 2252 giants observed in the CoRoT fields by the Gaia-ESO Survey, which are distributed throughout the red giant branch in the Teff-log g diagram. These observations show that the evolutionary stage is a major factor for the Li enrichment in giants. Other processes, such as planet accretion, contribute at a smaller scale.
In several instances chemical abundances of main-sequence and giant stars are used simultaneously under the assumption that they share the same abundance scale. It is therefore crucial to understand ...whether the metallicity or abundance differences among dwarfs and giants are real or are produced by systematic errors in the analysis. We aim to ascertain a methodology capable of producing a consistent metallicity scale for giants and dwarfs. To achieve that, we analyzed giants and dwarfs in the Hyades open cluster, under the assumption that they share the same chemical composition. All the stars in this cluster have archival high-resolution spectroscopic data obtained with HARPS and UVES. We analyzed the sample with two methods. The first method constrains the atmospheric parameters independently from spectroscopic method. We show that it is possible to obtain a consistent metallicity scale between dwarfs and giants. In our test, the metallicities derived with the well-constrained set of stellar parameters are consistent independent of the line list used.
Context.
Li is extensively known to be a good tracer of non-standard mixing processes occurring in stellar interiors.
Aims.
We present the results of a new large Li survey in red giant stars and ...combine it with surveys from the literature to probe the impact of rotation-induced mixing and thermohaline double-diffusive instability along stellar evolution.
Methods.
We determined the surface Li abundance for a sample of 829 giant stars with accurate
Gaia
parallaxes for a large sub-sample (810 stars) complemented with accurate H
IPPARCOS
parallaxes (19 stars). The spectra of our sample of northern and southern giant stars were obtained in three ground-based observatories (Observatoire de Haute-Provence, ESO-La Silla, and the Mc Donald Observatory). We determined the atmospheric parameters (
T
eff
, log(
g
) and Fe/H), and the Li abundance. We used
Gaia
parallaxes and photometry to determine the luminosity of our objects and we estimated the mass and evolution status of each sample star with a maximum-likelihood technique using stellar evolution models computed with the STAREVOL code. We compared the observed Li behaviour with predictions from stellar models, including rotation and thermohaline mixing. The same approach was used for stars from selected Li surveys from the literature.
Results.
Rotation-induced mixing accounts nicely for the Li behaviour in stars warmer than about 4200 K, independently of the mass domain. For stars with masses lower than 2
M
⊙
thermohaline mixing leads to further Li depletion below the
T
eff
of the RGB bump (about 4000 K), and on the early asymptotic giant branch, as observed. Depending on the definition we adopt, we find between 0.8 and 2.2% of Li-rich giants in our new sample.
Conclusions.
Gaia
puts a new spin on the understanding of mixing processes in stars, and our study confirms the importance of rotation-induced processes and of thermohaline mixing. However asteroseismology is required to definitively pinpoint the actual evolution status of Li-rich giants.
ABSTRACT
A growing disquiet has emerged in recent years that standard stellar models are at odds with observations of the colour–magnitude diagrams (CMDs) and lithium depletion patterns of pre-main ...sequence stars in clusters. In this work we select 1246 high probability K/M-type constituent members of five young open clusters (5–125 Myr) in the Gaia-ESO Survey to test a series of models that use standard input physics and others that incorporate surface magnetic fields or cool starspots. We find that: standard models provide systematically under-luminous isochrones for low-mass stars in the CMD and fail to predict Li-depletion of the right strength at the right colour; magnetic models provide better CMD fits with isochrones that are ∼1.5–2 times older, and provide better matches to Li depletion patterns. We investigate how rotation periods, most of which are determined here for the first time from Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite data, correlate with CMD position and Li. Among the K-stars in the older clusters we find the brightest and least Li-depleted are the fastest rotators, demonstrating the classic ‘Li-rotation connection’ for the first time at ∼35 Myr in NGC 2547, and finding some evidence that it exists in the early M-stars of NGC 2264 at $\lt 10\,$ Myr. However, the wide dispersion in Li depletion observed in fully convective M-dwarfs in the γ Vel cluster at ∼20 Myr appears not to be correlated with rotation and is challenging to explain without a very large (>10 Myr) age spread.
Context.
In the era of large spectroscopic surveys, massive databases of high-quality spectra coupled with the products of the
Gaia
satellite provide tools to outline a new picture of our Galaxy. In ...this framework, an important piece of information is provided by our ability to infer stellar ages, and consequently to sketch a Galactic timeline.
Aims.
We aim to provide empirical relations between stellar ages and abundance ratios for a sample of stars with very similar stellar parameters to those of the Sun, namely the so-called solar-like stars. We investigate the dependence on metallicity, and we apply our relations to independent samples, that is, the
Gaia
-ESO samples of open clusters and of field stars.
Methods.
We analyse high-resolution and high-signal-to-noise-ratio HARPS spectra of a sample of solar-like stars to obtain precise determinations of their atmospheric parameters and abundances for 25 elements and/or ions belonging to the main nucleosynthesis channels through differential spectral analysis, and of their ages through isochrone fitting.
Results.
We investigate the relations between stellar ages and several abundance ratios. For the abundance ratios with a steeper dependence on age, we perform multivariate linear regressions, in which we include the dependence on metallicity, Fe/H. We apply our best relations to a sample of open clusters located from the inner to the outer regions of the Galactic disc. Using our relations, we are able to recover the literature ages only for clusters located at
R
GC
> 7 kpc. The values that we obtain for the ages of the inner-disc clusters are much greater than the literature ones. In these clusters, the content of neutron capture elements, such as Y and Zr, is indeed lower than expected from chemical evolution models, and consequently their Y/Mg and Y/Al are lower than in clusters of the same age located in the solar neighbourhood. With our chemical evolution model and a set of empirical yields, we suggest that a strong dependence on the star formation history and metallicity-dependent stellar yields of
s
-process elements can substantially modify the slope of the
s
/
α
–Fe/H–age relation in different regions of the Galaxy.
Conclusions.
Our results point towards a non-universal relation
s
/
α
–Fe/H–age, indicating the existence of relations with different slopes and intercepts at different Galactocentric distances or for different star formation histories. Therefore, relations between ages and abundance ratios obtained from samples of stars located in a limited region of the Galaxy cannot be translated into general relations valid for the whole disc. A better understanding of the
s
-process at high metallicity is necessary to fully understand the origin of these variations.
Context. The spatial distribution of elemental abundances in the disc of our Galaxy gives insights both on its assembly process and subsequent evolution, and on the stellar nucleogenesis of the ...different elements. Gradients can be traced using several types of objects as, for instance, (young and old) stars, open clusters, HII regions, planetary nebulae. Aims. We aim to trace the radial distributions of abundances of elements produced through different nucleosynthetic channels – the α-elements O, Mg, Si, Ca and Ti, and the iron-peak elements Fe, Cr, Ni and Sc – by use of the Gaia-ESO IDR4 results for open clusters and young-field stars. Methods. From the UVES spectra of member stars, we have determined the average composition of clusters with ages > 0.1 Gyr. We derived statistical ages and distances of field stars. We traced the abundance gradients using the cluster and field populations and compared them with a chemo-dynamical Galactic evolutionary model. Results. The adopted chemo-dynamical model, with the new generation of metallicity-dependent stellar yields for massive stars, is able to reproduce the observed spatial distributions of abundance ratios, in particular the abundance ratios of O/Fe and Mg/Fe in the inner disc (5 kpc <RGC< 7 kpc), with their differences, that were usually poorly explained by chemical evolution models. Conclusions. Oxygen and magnesium are often considered to be equivalent in tracing α-element abundances and in deducing, for example, the formation timescales of different Galactic stellar populations. In addition, often α/Fe is computed combining several α-elements. Our results indicate, as expected, a complex and diverse nucleosynthesis of the various α-elements, in particular in the high metallicity regimes, pointing towards a different origin of these elements and highlighting the risk of considering them as a single class with common features.
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