- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/838/107
- Title:
- Distances to RRab stars from WISE and Gaia
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/838/107
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Pulsating stars, such as Cepheids, Miras, and RR Lyrae stars, are important distance indicators and calibrators of the "cosmic distance ladder," and yet their period-luminosity-metallicity (PLZ) relations are still constrained using simple statistical methods that cannot take full advantage of available data. To enable optimal usage of data provided by the Gaia mission, we present a probabilistic approach that simultaneously constrains parameters of PLZ relations and uncertainties in Gaia parallax measurements. We demonstrate this approach by constraining PLZ relations of type ab RR Lyrae stars in near-infrared W1 and W2 bands, using Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution (TGAS) parallax measurements for a sample of ~100 type ab RR Lyrae stars located within 2.5kpc of the Sun. The fitted PLZ relations are consistent with previous studies, and in combination with other data, deliver distances precise to 6% (once various sources of uncertainty are taken into account). To a precision of 0.05mas (1{sigma}), we do not find a statistically significant offset in TGAS parallaxes for this sample of distant RR Lyrae stars (median parallax of 0.8mas and distance of 1.4kpc). With only minor modifications, our probabilistic approach can be used to constrain PLZ relations of other pulsating stars, and we intend to apply it to Cepheid and Mira stars in the near future.
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- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/486/191
- Title:
- Distances towards 6.7GHz methanol masers
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/486/191
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Distances to most star forming regions are determined using kinematics, through the assumption that the observed radial velocity arises from the motion of the source with respect to the Sun resulting from the differential rotation of Galaxy. The primary challenge associated with the application of this technique in the inner Galaxy is the kinematic distance ambiguity. In this work, we aim to resolve the kinematic distance ambiguity towards a sample of 6.7GHz methanol masers, which are signposts of the early stages of massive star formation. We measured 21cm HI absorption spectra using the Very Large Array in C and CnB configurations. A comparison of the maximum velocity of HI absorption with the source velocity and tangent point velocity was used to resolve the kinematic distance ambiguity.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/747/50
- Title:
- Distance to Cepheids using the Wesenheit function
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/747/50
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- In this paper, we explore the possibility of using the Wesenheit function to derive individual distances to Galactic Cepheids, as the dispersion of the reddening-free Wesenheit function is smaller than the optical period-luminosity (P-L) relation. When compared to the distances from various methods, the averaged differences between our results and published distances range from -0.061 to 0.009, suggesting that the Wesenheit function can be used to derive individual Cepheid distances. We have also constructed Galactic P-L relations and selected Wesenheit functions based on the derived distances. A by-product from this work is the derivation of Large Magellanic Cloud distance modulus when calibrating the Wesenheit function. It is found to be 18.531+/-0.043 mag.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/610/A64
- Title:
- Distance to the clouds in Chamaeleon complex
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/610/A64
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- The determination of the distance to dark star-forming clouds is a key parameter to derive the properties of the cloud itself, and of its stellar content. This parameter is still loosely constrained even in nearby star- forming regions. We want to determine the distances to the clouds in the Chamaeleon-Musca complex and to explore the connection between these clouds and the large scale cloud structures in the galaxy. We use the newly estimated distances obtained from the parallaxes measured by the Gaia satellite and included in the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution catalog. When known members of a region are included in this catalog we use their parallaxes to infer the distance to the cloud. Otherwise, we analyze the dependence of the color excess on the distance of the stars and look for a turn-on of this excess, which is a proxy of the position of the front-edge of the star-forming cloud. We are able to measure the distance to the three Chamaeleon clouds. The distance to Chamaeleon I is 179^+11+11^_-10-10_pc, where the quoted uncertainties are statistical and systematic uncertainties, respectively, 20 pc further away than previously assumed. The Chamaeleon II cloud is located at the distance of 181^+6+11^_-5-10_pc, which agrees with previous estimates. We are able to measure for the first time a distance to the Chamaeleon III cloud of 199^+8+12^_-7-11_pc. Finally, the distance of the Musca cloud is smaller than 603^+91+133^_-70-92_pc. These estimates do not allow us to distinguish between the possibility that the Chamaeleon clouds are part of a sheet of clouds parallel to the galactic plane, or perpendicular to it. We have measured a larger distance to the Chamaeleon I cloud than assumed in the past, confirmed the distance to the Chamaeleon II region, and measured for the first time the distance to the Chamaleon III cloud. These values are consistent with the scenario where the three clouds are part of a single large scale structure. Gaia Data Release 2 will allow us to put more stringent constraints on the distances to these clouds by giving us access to parallax measurements for a larger number of members of these regions.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/PASP/105/1465
- Title:
- Distant OB Stars in the Galaxy
- Short Name:
- J/PASP/105/1465
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Distances and reddenings have been computed from UBVbeta photometry for 1044 stars in the Stephenson and Sanduleak (1971) "Catalog of Luminous Stars in the Southern Milky Way".
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/855/43
- Title:
- Distant RR Lyrae stars discovered with HiTS
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/855/43
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We report the discovery of distant RR Lyrae stars, including the most distant known in the Milky Way, using data taken in the g-band with the Dark Energy Camera as part of the High cadence Transient Survey (HiTS; 2014 campaign). We detect a total of 173 RR Lyrae stars over a ~120deg^2^ area, including both known RR Lyrae and new detections. The heliocentric distances dH of the full sample range from 9 to >200kpc, with 18 of them beyond 90kpc. We identify three sub-groups of RR Lyrae as members of known systems: the Sextans dwarf spheroidal galaxy, for which we report 46 new discoveries, and the ultra-faint dwarf galaxies Leo IV and Leo V. Following an MCMC methodology, we fit spherical and ellipsoidal profiles of the form {rho}(R)~Rn to the radial density distribution of RR Lyrae in the Galactic halo. The best fit corresponds to the spherical case, for which we obtain a simple power-law index of n=-4.17_-0.20_^+0.18^, consistent with recent studies made with samples covering shorter distances. The pulsational properties of the outermost RR Lyrae in the sample (dH>90kpc) differ from the ones in the halo population at closer distances. The distribution of the stars in a period-amplitude diagram suggest they belong to Oosterhoff-intermediate or Oosterhoff II groups, similar to what is found in the ultra-faint dwarf satellites around the Milky Way. The new distant stars discovered represent an important addition to the few existing tracers of the Milky Way potential in the outer halo.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/647/A19
- Title:
- 3D Kinematics and age of OCs
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/647/A19
- Date:
- 17 Dec 2021 13:05:11
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Open Clusters (OCs) can trace with a great accuracy the evolution of the Galactic disk. The aim of this work is to study the kinematical behavior of the OC population over time. We take advantage of the latest age determinations of OCs to investigate the correlations of the 6D phase space coordinates and orbital properties with age. We also investigate the rotation curve of the Milky Way traced by OCs and we compare it to that of other observational or theoretical studies. We gathered nearly 30000 Radial Velocity (RV) measurements of OC members from both Gaia-RVS data and ground based surveys and catalogues. We computed the weighted mean RV, Galactic velocities and orbital parameters of 1382 OCs. We investigated their distributions as a function of age, and by comparison to field stars. We provide the largest RV catalogue available for OCs, half of it based on at least 3 members. Compared to field stars, we note that OCs are not exactly on the same arches in the radial-azimuthal velocity plane, while they seem to follow the same diagonal ridges in the Galactic radial distribution of azimuthal velocities. Velocity ellipsoids in different age bins all show a clear anisotropy. The heating rate of the OC population is similar to that of field stars for the radial and azimuthal components but significantly lower for the vertical component. The rotation curve drawn by our sample of clusters shows several dips, which match the wiggles derived from non-axisymmetric models of the Galaxy. From the computation of orbits, we obtain a clear dependence of the maximum height and eccentricity with age. Finally, the orbital characteristics of the sample of clusters as shown by the action variables, follow the distribution of field stars. The additional age information of the clusters points towards some (weak) age dependence of the known moving groups.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/447/173
- Title:
- 3D-kinematics of white dwarfs from SPY project. II.
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/447/173
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present the kinematics of a sample of 398 DA white dwarfs from the SPY project (ESO SN Ia Progenitor surveY) and discuss kinematic criteria for distinguishing of thin-disk, thick-disk, and halo populations. This is the largest homogeneous sample of white dwarfs for which 3D space motions have been determined. Since the percentage of old stars among white dwarfs is higher than among main-sequence stars, they are presumably valuable tools in studies of old populations, such as the halo and the thick disk. Studies of white-dwarf kinematics can help to determine the fraction of the total mass of our Galaxy contained in the form of thick-disk and halo white dwarfs, an issue which is still under discussion. Radial velocities and spectroscopic distances obtained by the SPY project were combined with our measurements of proper motions to derive 3D space motions. Galactic orbits and further kinematic parameters were computed. We calculated individual errors of kinematic parameters by means of a Monte Carlo error propagation code. Our kinematic criteria for assigning population membership were deduced from a sample of F and G stars taken from the literature, for which chemical criteria can be used to distinguish between a thin-disk, a thick-disk and a halo star. Our kinematic population classification scheme is based on the position in the U-V-velocity diagram, the position in the J_z_-eccentricity diagram, and the Galactic orbit. We combined this with age information and found seven halo and 23 thick-disk white dwarfs in this brightness limited sample. Another four rather cool white dwarfs probably also belong to the thick disk. Correspondingly 2% of the white dwarfs belong to the halo and 7% to the thick disk. The mass contribution of the thick-disk white dwarfs is found to be substantial, but is insufficient to account for the missing dark matter.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/619/A106
- Title:
- 3D shape of Orion A from Gaia DR2
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/619/A106
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We use the Gaia DR2 distances of about 700 mid-infrared selected young stellar objects in the benchmark giant molecular cloud Orion A to infer its 3D shape and orientation. We find that Orion A is not the fairly straight filamentary cloud that we see in (2D) projection, but instead a cometary-like cloud oriented toward the Galactic plane, with two distinct components: a denser and enhanced star-forming (bent) Head, and a lower density and star-formation quieter ~75pc long Tail. The true extent of Orion A is not the projected ~40pc but ~90pc, making it by far the largest molecular cloud in the local neighborhood. Its aspect ratio (~30:1) and high column-density fraction (~45%) make it similar to large-scale Milky Way filaments ("bones"), despite its distance to the galactic mid-plane being an order of magnitude larger than typically found for these structures.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/869/L41
- Title:
- DSHARP I. Sample, ALMA obs. log and overview
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/869/L41
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We introduce the Disk Substructures at High Angular Resolution Project (DSHARP), one of the initial large programs conducted with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The primary goal of DSHARP is to find and characterize substructures in the spatial distributions of solid particles for a sample of 20 nearby protoplanetary disks, using very high resolution (~0.035", or 5au, Full width half maximum (FWHM)) observations of their 240GHz (1.25mm) continuum emission. These data provide a first homogeneous look at the small-scale features in disks that are directly relevant to the planet formation process, quantifying their prevalence, morphologies, spatial scales, spacings, symmetry, and amplitudes, for targets with a variety of disk and stellar host properties. We find that these substructures are ubiquitous in this sample of large, bright disks. They are most frequently manifested as concentric, narrow emission rings and depleted gaps, although large-scale spiral patterns and small arc-shaped azimuthal asymmetries are also present in some cases. These substructures are found at a wide range of disk radii (from a few astronomical units to more than 100au), are usually compact (<=10au), and show a wide range of amplitudes (brightness contrasts). Here we discuss the motivation for the project, describe the survey design and the sample properties, detail the observations and data calibration, highlight some basic results, and provide a general overview of the key conclusions that are presented in more detail in a series of accompanying articles.
