The results of a combined astrometric, photometric, and spectroscopic program to identify members of the open cluster IC 4665 are presented. Numerous new proper motion/photometric candidate members and at least 23 M dwarfs with H-alpha emission have been identified. A reanalysis of IC 4665's age using different methods yields conflicting results ranging from approx. 3x10^7^ yr to the age of the Pleiades. This study provides a list of candidate cluster members in the intermediate and low-mass regime of this cluster. Future spectroscopic observations of these candidates should eventually identify true cluster members. The results of new echelle observations of some candidates and the photometric monitoring of one apparent cluster member are given in an appendix.
The results of a UBV CCD photometric study of the cluster IC 4996 are presented. We obtain new values for the cluster parameters: E(B-V)=0.71+/-0.08, V_0_-M_V_=11.9+/-0.1, and age=(7.5+/-3)x10^6^yr. The combined evidence from the photometric diagrams suggests the presence of a number of premain-sequence (PMS) cluster members with spectral types ~A0 to F5. The interpretation of these objects as PMS candidates is further supported by independent results from CCD uvbyH{beta} observations. If confirmed, these stars would bridge the existing gap in the sample of PMS stars, between the coolest Herbig AeBe stars (HAeBe), and the hottest T Tauri stars. These PMS candidates are located some 0.5 and 1 mag above the main sequence in the V-(B-V) diagram, around the location of spectral types AF. This feature, together with their locations in the (U-B)-(B-V) diagram and the interpretation that they are PMS members, suggest an additional reddening law with a slope {alpha}=E(U-B)/E(B-V)~0.55, probably caused by circumstellar material.
UBV photoelectric photometry for 204 stars in the field of the southern open cluster IC 2714 supplemented by DDO and Washington photometry and Coravel radial velocities of 14 probable red giants, are presented. The analysis of the photometric and kinematical data yielded 132 probable members and 13 possible members. IC 2714 contains one variable star and 11 red giant members, one of them being a spectroscopic binary. Two red giants are either binaries or non-members. The reddening across the cluster is slightly variable, the mean value is E(B-V)=0.36. The cluster distance-modulus is 11.68, corresponding to a distance of 1320(+/-120)pc and the mean radial velocity is -14.1+/-0.3km/s. The age, determined by fitting isochrones with core overshooting turned out to be log(t)=8.5, corresponding to 3.2 10^8 yr. A metal abundance [Fe/H]=-0.12+/-0.09 relative to the Sun and other fundamental parameters are determined. The luminosity function of the bright members of IC 2714 in good agreement with that determined by Taff (1974AJ.....79.1280T). For a description of the UBV, DDO and Washington photometric system, see e.g. <GCPD/01>, <GCPD/12> and <GCPD/45>
Many studies have shown that RR Lyrae variable stars (RRL) are powerful stellar tracers of Galactic halo structure and satellite galaxies. The Dark Energy Survey (DES), with its deep and wide coverage (g~23.5 mag in a single exposure; over 5000 deg^2^) provides a rich opportunity to search for substructures out to the edge of the Milky Way halo. However, the sparse and unevenly sampled multiband light curves from the DES wide-field survey (a median of four observations in each of grizY over the first three years) pose a challenge for traditional techniques used to detect RRL. We present an empirically motivated and computationally efficient template-fitting method to identify these variable stars using three years of DES data. When tested on DES light curves of previously classified objects in SDSS stripe 82, our algorithm recovers 89% of RRL periods to within 1% of their true value with 85% purity and 76% completeness. Using this method, we identify 5783 RRL candidates, ~28% of which are previously undiscovered. This method will be useful for identifying RRL in other sparse multiband data sets.
We report six new inflated hot Jupiters (HATS-25b through HATS-30b) discovered using the HATSouth global network of automated telescopes. The planets orbit stars with V magnitudes in the range of ~12-14 and have masses in the largely populated 0.5M_J_--0.7M_J_ region of parameter space but span a wide variety of radii, from 1.17R_J_ to 1.75R_J_. HATS-25b, HATS-28b, HATS-29b, and HATS-30b are typical inflated hot Jupiters (R_p_=1.17--1.26R_J_) orbiting G-type stars in short period (P=3.2-4.6 days) orbits. However, HATS-26b (R_p_=1.75R_J_, P=3.3024days) and HATS-27b (R_p_=1.50R_J_, P=4.6370days) stand out as highly inflated planets orbiting slightly evolved F stars just after and in the turn-off points, respectively, which are among the least dense hot Jupiters, with densities of 0.153g/cm^3^ and 0.180g/cm^3^, respectively. All the presented exoplanets but HATS-27b are good targets for future atmospheric characterization studies, while HATS-27b is a prime target for Rossiter-McLaughlin monitoring in order to determine its spin-orbit alignment given the brightness (V=12.8) and stellar rotational velocity (vsini~9.3km/s) of the host star. These discoveries significantly increase the number of inflated hot Jupiters known, contributing to our understanding of the mechanism(s) responsible for hot Jupiter inflation.
We present the spectroscopic and photometric study of five intermediate-luminosity red transients (ILRTs), namely AT 2010dn, AT 2012jc, AT 2013la, AT 2013lb, and AT 2018aes. They share common observational properties and belong to a family of objects similar to the prototypical ILRT SN 2008S. These events have a rise time that is less than 15 days and absolute peak magnitudes of between -11:5 and -14:5mag. Their pseudo-bolometric light curves peak in the range 0.5-9.0*10^40^erg/s and their total radiated energies are on the order of (0.3-3)*10^47^erg. After maximum brightness, the light curves show a monotonic decline or a plateau, resembling those of faint supernovae IIL or IIP, respectively. At late phases, the light curves flatten, roughly following the slope of the ^56^Co decay. If the late-time power source is indeed radioactive decay, these transients produce ^56^Ni masses on the order of 10^-4^ to 10^-3^M_{sun}_. The spectral energy distribution of our ILRT sample, extending from the optical to the mid-infrared (MIR) domain, reveals a clear IR excess soon after explosion and non-negligible MIR emission at very late phases. The spectra show prominent H lines in emission with a typical velocity of a few hundred km/s, along with CaII features. In particular, the [CaII]7291,7324 doublet is visible at all times, which is a characteristic feature for this family of transients. The identified progenitor of SN 2008S, which is luminous in archival Spitzer MIR images, suggests an intermediate-mass precursor star embedded in a dusty cocoon. We propose the explosion of a super-asymptotic giant branch star forming an electron-capture supernova as a plausible explanation for these events.
We present an analysis of stellar populations and evolutionary history of galaxies in three similarly rich galaxy clusters MS0451.6-0305 (z=0.54), RXJ0152.7-1357 (z=0.83), and RXJ1226.9+3332 (z=0.89). Our analysis is based on high signal-to-noise ground-based optical spectroscopy and Hubble Space Telescope imaging for a total of 17-34 members in each cluster. Using the dynamical masses together with the effective radii and the velocity dispersions, we find no indication of evolution of sizes or velocity dispersions with redshift at a given galaxy mass. We establish the Fundamental Plane (FP) and scaling relations between absorption line indices and velocity dispersions. We confirm that the FP is steeper at z~0.86 compared to the low-redshift FP, indicating that under the assumption of passive evolution the formation redshift, z_form_, depends on the galaxy velocity dispersion (or alternatively mass). At a velocity dispersion of {sigma}=125km/s (Mass=10^10.55^M_{sun}_) we find z_form_=1.24+/-0.05, while at {sigma}=225km/s (Mass=10^11.36^M_{sun}_) the formation redshift is z_form_=1.95^+0.3^_-0.2_, for a Salpeter initial mass function. The three clusters follow similar scaling relations between absorption line indices and velocity dispersions as those found for low-redshift galaxies. The zero point offsets for the Balmer lines depend on cluster redshifts. However, the offsets indicate a slower evolution, and therefore higher formation redshift, than the zero point differences found from the FP, if interpreting the data using a passive evolution model. Specifically, the strength of the higher order Balmer lines H{delta} and H{gamma} implies z_form_>2.8. The scaling relations for the metal indices in general show small and in some cases insignificant zero point offsets, favoring high formation redshifts for a passive evolution model.
We present imaging and spectroscopy of a hydrogen-poor superluminous supernova (SLSN) discovered by the intermediate Palomar Transient Factory, iPTF 13ajg. At a redshift of z=0.7403, derived from narrow absorption lines, iPTF 13ajg peaked at an absolute magnitude of M_u,AB_=-22.5, one of the most luminous supernovae to date. The observed bolometric peak luminosity of iPTF 13ajg is 3.2x10^44^ erg/s, while the estimated total radiated energy is 1.3x10^51^ erg. We detect narrow absorption lines of Mg I, Mg II, and Fe II, associated with the cold interstellar medium in the host galaxy, at two different epochs with X-shooter at the Very Large Telescope. From Voigt profile fitting, we derive the column densities log N(Mg I)=11.94+/-0.06, log N(Mg II)=14.7+/-0.3, and log N(Fe II)=14.25+/-0.10. These column densities, as well as the Mg I and Mg II equivalent widths of a sample of hydrogen-poor SLSNe taken from the literature, are at the low end of those derived for gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) whose progenitors are also thought to be massive stars. This suggests that the environments of hydrogen-poor SLSNe and GRBs are different. From the nondetection of Fe II fine-structure absorption lines, we derive a lower limit on the distance between the supernova and the narrow-line absorbing gas of 50 pc. The neutral gas responsible for the absorption in iPTF 13ajg exhibits a single narrow component with a low velocity width, {Delta}V=76 km/s, indicating a low-mass host galaxy. No host galaxy emission lines are detected, leading to an upper limit on the unobscured star formation rate (SFR) of SFR_[OII]_<0.07 M_{sun}_/yr. Late-time imaging shows the iPTF 13ajg host galaxy to be faint, with g_AB_~27.0 and R_AB_>=26.0 mag, corresponding to M_B,Vega_>~-17.7 mag.
We present results of our intermediate-band optical imaging survey for high-z Ly{alpha} emitters (LAEs) using the prime focus camera, Suprime-Cam, on the 8.2m Subaru telescope. In our survey, we used eleven filters: four broad-band filters (B, R_C_, i', and z') and seven intermediate-band filters covering from 500nm to 720nm. We call this imaging program the Mahoroba-11. The seven intermediate-band filters were selected from a series of IA filters, which is the Suprime-Cam intermediate-band filter system, whose spectral resolution is R=23. Our survey was made in a 34'x27' sky area in the Subaru XMM-Newton Deep Survey Field. We found 409 IA-excess objects, which provided us with a large photometric sample of strong emission-line objects. Applying the photometric redshift method to this sample, we obtained a new sample of 198 LAE candidates at 3<z<5. We found no evidence for evolutions of the number density and the star-formation rate density (SFRD) for LAEs with logL(Ly{alpha})(erg/s)>42.67 between z~3 and z~5.
We present a new compilation of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), a new data set of low-redshift nearby-Hubble-flow SNe, and new analysis procedures to work with these heterogeneous compilations. This "Union" compilation of 414 SNe Ia, which reduces to 307 SNe after selection cuts, includes the recent large samples of SNe Ia from the Supernova Legacy Survey and ESSENCE Survey, the older data sets, as well as the recently extended data set of distant supernovae observed with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). A single, consistent, and blind analysis procedure is used for all the various SN Ia subsamples, and a new procedure is implemented that consistently weights the heterogeneous data sets and rejects outliers. We present the latest results from this Union compilation and discuss the cosmological constraints from this new compilation and its combination with other cosmological measurements (CMB and BAO).
