We describe the construction of MegaZ-LRG, a photometric redshift catalogue of over one million luminous red galaxies (LRGs) in the redshift range 0.4<z<0.7 with limiting magnitude i<20. The catalogue is selected from the imaging data of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 4. The 2dF-SDSS LRG and Quasar (2SLAQ) spectroscopic redshift catalogue of 13000 intermediate-redshift LRGs provides a photometric redshift training set, allowing use of ANNZ, a neural network-based photometric-redshift estimator. The rms photometric redshift accuracy obtained for an evaluation set selected from the 2SLAQ sample is z=0.049 averaged over all galaxies, and z=0.040 for a brighter subsample (i<19.0). The catalogue is expected to contain ~5 per cent stellar contamination. The ANNZ code is used to compute a refined star/galaxy probability based on a range of photometric parameters; this allows the contamination fraction to be reduced to 2 per cent with negligible loss of genuine galaxies. The MegaZ-LRG catalogue is publicly available on the World Wide Web from http://www.2slaq.info .
A CCD study of the peculiar open cluster, Melotte 66, on the vbyHbeta system is presented. The V,(b-y) color-magnitude diagram of this metal-deficient, old disk cluster confirms the anomalous features found in photographic BV studies and extends the main sequence to V=20. The main sequence exhibits a (b-y) color range significantly larger than expected from photometric errors alone; the (b-y) colors are correlated with Hbeta implying that the dispersion is real and is not the result of variable reddening across the cluster. The m1 indices for the turnoff stars imply a spread in [Fe/H] too small to explain the color range. Though the subgiant region is poorly defined, the region above the turnoff in the Hertzsprung gap is richly populated by a group of "yellow stragglers" whose membership is confirmed by radial star counts and radial velocities. The giant branch is richly populated but shows a smaller spread in color at a given V than one would expect from the turnoff region. More important, the giants exhibit a large scatter in m1, in contradiction with the turnoff observations. Various explanations for these observations are discussed, including CN variations among the giants triggered by either binary evolution or rapid rotation among the main-sequence stars.
Photoelectric and photographic photometry of the open cluster Melotte 66 is presented. The CM diagram shows most of the characteristics of an old cluster. The giant branch is broad with its blue edge populated preferentially by stars from the outer parts of the cluster. There is no detectable horizontal subgiant sequence. The main sequence turn-off colour, two-colour diagram and the colour difference between the turn-off and the subgiants are used to estimate the age and composition. Melotte 66 appears to have reddening E(B-V)=0.17mag and ultraviolet excess d(U-B)~0.1mag corresponding to [Fe/H]=-0.3. The cluster is probably between 6 and 7x10^9^yr old. A distance modulus (m-M)o=12.4mag is derived, which implies that the cluster lies about 750pc from the galactic plane.
It is now well known that pre-main sequence models with inflated radii should be taken into account to simultaneously reproduce the colour-magnitude diagram and the lithium depletion pattern observed in young open star clusters. We test a new set of pre-main sequence models including radius inflation due to the presence of starspots or to magnetic inhibition of convection, using five clusters observed by the Gaia-ESO Survey, spanning the age range ~10-100Myr where such effects could be important. The Gaia-ESO Survey radial velocities are combined with astrometry from Gaia EDR3 to obtain clean lists of high-probability members for the five clusters. A Bayesian maximum likelihood method is adopted to fit the observed cluster sequences to theoretical predictions to derive the best model parameters and the cluster reddening and age. Models are calculated with different values of the mixing length parameter ({alpha}_ML_=2.0, 1.5 and 1.0), for the cases with no spots or with effective spot coverage {beta}_spot_=0.2 and 0.4. The models are also compared with the observed lithium depletion patterns. To reproduce the colour-magnitude diagram and the observed lithium depletion pattern in Gamma Vel A and B and in 25 Ori one needs to assume both a reduced convection efficiency, with {alpha}_ML_=1.0, and an effective surface spot coverage of about 20%. We obtained ages of 18^+1.5^_-4.0_ Myr and 21^+3.5^_-3.0_ Myr for Gamma Vel A and B, respectively, and 19^+1.5^_-7.0_ Myr for 25 Ori. However, a single isochrone is not sufficient to account for the lithium dispersion, and an increasing level of spot coverage as mass decreases seems to be required. On the other hand, the older clusters (NGC 2451B at 30^+3.0^_-5.0_Myr, NGC 2547 at 35^+4.0^_-4.0_Myr, and NGC 2516 at 138^+48^_-42_Myr) are consistent with standard models, with {alpha}_ML_=2.0 and no spots, except at low masses: a 20% spot coverage appears to better reproduce the sequence of M-type stars and might explain the observed spread in lithium abundances. The quality of Gaia-ESO data combined with Gaia allows us to gain important insights on pre-main sequence evolution. Models including starspots can provide a consistent explanation of the cluster sequences and lithium abundances observed in young clusters, although a range of starspot coverage is required to fully reproduce the data.
Young open clusters provide important clues to the interface between the main sequence and pre-main-sequence phases of stellar evolution. The young and nearby open cluster IC 2391 is well-suited to studies of these two evolutionary phases. We establish a bona fide set of cluster members and then analyze this set in terms of binary frequency, projected rotational velocities, [Fe/H], and lithium abundance. In the wake of the Hipparcos distance controversy for the Pleiades, we compare the main-sequence fitting distance modulus to the Hipparcos mean parallax for IC 2391.
Using astrometric techniques developed by Anderson et al., we determine proper motions (PMs) in the ~14.60x16.53arcmin^2^ area of the kinematically "thick-disk" globular cluster M12. The cluster's proximity and sparse nature makes it a suitable target for ground-based telescopes. Archive images with time gap of ~11.1-years were observed with the wide-field imager (WFI) mosaic camera mounted on the ESO 2.2m telescope. The median value of PM error in both components is ~0.7mas/yr for the stars having V<=20mag. PMs are used to determine membership probabilities and to separate field stars from the cluster sample. In electronic form, a membership catalog of 3725 stars with precise coordinates, PMs and BV RI photometry is being provided. One of the possible applications of the catalog is demonstrated by gathering the membership information of the variable stars, blue stragglers and X-ray sources reported earlier in the cluster's region.
The dense clusters within the Serpens Molecular Cloud are among the most active regions of nearby star formation. In this paper, we use Gaia DR2 parallaxes and proper motions to statistically measure ~1167 kinematic members of Serpens, few of which have been previously identified, to evaluate the star formation history of the complex. The optical members of Serpens are concentrated in three distinct groups located at 380-480pc; the densest clusters are still highly obscured by optically thick dust and have few optical members. The total population of young stars and protostars in Serpens is at least 2000 stars, including past surveys that were most sensitive to protostars and disks, and may be much higher. Distances to dark clouds measured from deficits in star counts are consistent with the distances to the optical star clusters. The Serpens Molecular Cloud is seen in the foreground of the Aquila Rift, dark clouds located at 600-700pc, and behind patchy extinction, here called the Serpens Cirrus, located at ~250pc. Based on the lack of a distributed population of older stars, the star formation rate throughout the Serpens Molecular Cloud increased by at least a factor of 20 within the past ~5Myr. The optically bright stars in Serpens Northeast are visible because their natal molecular cloud has been eroded, not because they were flung outwards from a central factory of star formation. The separation between subclusters of 20-100pc and the absence of an older population together lead to speculation that an external forcing was needed to trigger the active star formation.
New 4-colour BV(RI)_KC_ CCD photometry to a limiting magnitude of V=~19 is presented for 1428 objects observed towards the direction of the young, open cluster IC 2391. We observed 36 (2'x3') fields within 17arcmin of the nominal cluster core. By fitting the theoretical isochrones of D'Antona & Mazzitelli (1994ApJS...90..467D) to a combination of colour-magnitude and colour-colour diagrams, we have identified 17 stars as probable cluster members with a further 85 stars as possible members. The brightness distribution of low-mass members is compared with the luminosity function observed for the Pleiades and we estimate that the contamination due to background giants should be small.
The results of a wide-field survey of the Sculptor dwarf spheroidal galaxy are presented. Our aims were to obtain an accurate map of the outer structure of Sculptor and to determine the level of interaction between this system and the Galaxy. Photometry was obtained in two colors down to the magnitude limits of V=20 and I=19, covering a 3.1{deg}x3.1{deg} area centered on Sculptor.
We present new deep UBVRI images and high-resolution multi-object optical spectroscopy of the young (~6-10Myr old), relatively nearby (800pc) open cluster IC 2395. We identify nearly 300 cluster members and use the photometry to estimate their spectral types, which extend from early B to middle M. We also present an infrared imaging survey of the central region using the IRAC and MIPS instruments on board the Spitzer Space Telescope, covering the wavelength range from 3.6 to 24{mu}m. Our infrared observations allow us to detect dust in circumstellar disks originating over a typical range of radii from ~0.1 to ~10 au from the central star. We identify 18 Class II, 8 transitional disk, and 23 debris disk candidates, respectively, 6.5%, 2.9%, and 8.3% of the cluster members with appropriate data. We apply the same criteria for transitional disk identification to 19 other stellar clusters and associations spanning ages from ~1 to ~18Myr. We find that the number of disks in the transitional phase as a fraction of the total with strong 24{mu}m excesses ([8]-[24]>=1.5) increases from (8.4+/-1.3)% at ~3Myr to (46+/-5)% at ~10Myr. Alternative definitions of transitional disks will yield different percentages but should show the same trend.
