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At least 379 records · Page 21
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Four new deeply eclipsing white dwarfs in Zwicky Transient Facility

ABSTRACT We present the results of a search for deeply eclipsing white dwarfs in the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) Data Release 4 (DR4). We identify nine deeply eclipsing white dwarf candidates, four of which we followed up with high-cadence photometry and spectroscopy. Three of these systems show total eclipses in the ZTF data and our follow-up Apache Point Observatory 3.5 m telescope observations. Even though the eclipse duration is consistent with sub-stellar companions, our analysis shows that all four systems contain a white dwarf with low-mass stellar companions of ∼0.1 M⊙. We provide mass and radius constraints for both stars in each system based on our photometric and spectroscopic fitting. Finally, we present a list of 41 additional eclipsing WD+M candidates identified in a preliminary search of ZTF DR7, including 12 previously studied systems. We identify two new candidate short-period, eclipsing, white dwarf–brown dwarf binaries within our sample of 41 WD+M candidates based on Pan-STARRS colours.

Kosakowski, A. (ORCID:0000000298781647)↗
DOE OSTI2022

A machine learning approach to photometric metallicities of giant stars

ABSTRACT Despite the advances provided by large-scale photometric surveys, stellar features – such as metallicity – generally remain limited to spectroscopic observations often of bright, nearby low-extinction stars. To rectify this, we present a neural network approach for estimating the metallicities and distances of red giant stars with 8-band photometry and parallaxes from Gaia EDR3 and the 2MASS and WISE surveys. The algorithm accounts for uncertainties in the predictions arising from the range of possible outputs at each input and from the range of models compatible with the training set (through drop-out). A two-stage procedure is adopted where an initial network to estimate photoastrometric parallaxes is trained using a large sample of noisy parallax data from Gaia EDR3 and then a secondary network is trained using spectroscopic metallicities from the APOGEE and LAMOST surveys and an augmented feature space utilizing the first-stage parallax estimates. The algorithm produces metallicity predictions with an average uncertainty of $\pm 0.19\, \mathrm{dex}$. The methodology is applied to stars within the Galactic bar/bulge with particular focus on a sample of 1.69 million objects with Gaia radial velocities. We demonstrate the use and validity of our approach by inspecting both spatial and kinematic gradients with metallicity in the Galactic bar/bulge recovering previous results on the vertical metallicity gradient (−0.528 ± 0.002 dex kpc−1) and the vertex deviation of the bar ($-21.29\pm 2.74\, \mathrm{deg}$).

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1989

Old and new observations of V523 Saggitarii

The history of V523 Sgr is reviewed. New photoelectric timings of minimum light are used to improve the period of apsidal rotation and the orbital eccentricity. UBV photometry indicates that the mean spectral type is F0, and not A5. Blue and yellow light curves described here are the first photelectric ones ever obtained. Within satisfactory limits, the light curves have been solved for consistent stellar parameters with the code EBOP. With significant qualifications, a mean value of the stellar structural constant is given.

Koch, Robert H.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Dynamics of the intermediate-age elliptical LMC cluster NGC 1978

BV CCD images and echelle spectra of 35 giants are used to examine the internal dynamics of the elliptical LMC cluster NGC 1978. Projected radii for the giants range from 1.4 to 20.0, and the mean estimated stellar velocity uncertainty is 1.6 km/s; the mean cluster velocity is 293.3 +/-1.0 km/s. BV profiles were constructed to projected radii of greater than 100 pc. The single-mass models provided better agreement with the surface photometry. Among multimass models, there is slightly better agreement seen for the models with shallow mass functions. The nonrotating model was found to be in better agreement with the kinematic data, although the rotating models could not be completely ruled out. No morphological evidence for a merger was found.

Fischer, Philippe↗
NASA NTRS1985

Observations from 1 to 20 microns of low-luminosity active galaxies

The 1-20 micron photometry of Liners (Low Ionization Nuclear Emission-line Regions), star burst nuclei, and high-excitation (mostly Seyfert 2) nuclei are presented and discussed. Liners have strong, flattish 10-20 micron excesses but are dominated by a stellar population through 1-5 micron. By contrast, most type 2 Seyfert galaxies and all star-burst nuclei have flux distributions that are flat through 1-5 microns, and steeply rising through 10-20 microns. The 1-5 micron flux distributions of type 2 Seyfert galaxies and starburst nuclei can be explained by mixtures of stellar emission, recombination radiation, and hot dust, although a nonthermal component is likely in a few objects. One Liner, NGC 3079, was found to be extended to 10 microns. A map which shows the 10-micron and optical maxima to differ by 6 arcsec is presented.

Lawrence, A.↗
NASA NTRS1992

BV RI CCD photometry of 361,281 objects in the field of M 31

Deep BV RI CCD photometry was performed on a 1 sq deg region of M 31. A catalog of photometry and astrometry of a total of 361,281 stars is presented, with typical completion limits of BV RI = (22.3, 22.2, 22.2, 20.9). Photometric accuracy is about 2 percent at V = 19. This catalog allows detailed studies of stellar populations and reddening. The data are currently being used to assist in finding the optical counterparts of Einstein and ROSAT X-ray sources.

Magnier, E. A.↗
NASA NTRS2024

SOLES XII. The Aligned Orbit of TOI-2533 b, a Transiting Brown Dwarf Orbiting an F8-type Star

Brown dwarfs occupy a middle ground in mass space between gaseous giant planets and ultracool dwarf stars, and the characterisation of their orbital orientations may shed light on how these neighbouring objects form. We present an analysis of the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect across the transit of TOI-2533 b, a brown dwarf on a moderately eccentric (e b = 0.2476 ± 0.0090) and wide-separation (a b /R ⋆ = 13.34 ± 0.30) orbit around an F8-type star, using data from the NEID/WIYN spectrograph in combination with archival photometry and radial velocity observations. Spin-orbit analyses of brown dwarfs are relatively rare, and TOI-2533 stands out as the fifth brown dwarf system with a measured spin–orbit constraint. We derive a sky-projected stellar obliquity of λ = −7° ± 14° for TOI-2533 b, finding that the brown dwarf is consistent with spin–orbit alignment. Our joint model also indicates that TOI-2533 b falls near the lower bound of the hydrogen-burning minimum mass range (M b = 74.9 ± 5.3 M Jup ). Ultimately, we find that TOI-2533 b is consistent with formation from disc fragmentation in a primordially spin–orbit aligned orientation, although we cannot rule out the possibility that the system has been tidally realigned during its lifetime.

Thiago Ferreira dos Santos↗
DOE OSTI2020

Radial Star Formation Histories in 32 Nearby Galaxies

The spatially resolved star formation histories are studied for 32 normal star-forming galaxies drawn from the Spitzer Extended Disk Galaxy Exploration Science survey. At surface brightness sensitivities fainter than 28 mag arcsec{sup −2}, the new optical photometry is deep enough to complement archival ultraviolet and infrared imaging and to explore the properties of the emission well beyond the traditional optical extents of these nearby galaxies. Fits to the spectral energy distributions using a delayed star formation history model indicate a subtle but interesting average radial trend for the spiral galaxies: the inner stellar systems decrease in age with increasing radius, consistent with inside-out disk formation, but the trend reverses in the outermost regions with the stellar age nearly as old as the innermost stars. These results suggest an old stellar outer disk population formed through radial migration and/or the cumulative history of minor mergers and accretions of satellite dwarf galaxies. The subset of S0 galaxies studied here show the opposite trend compared to what is inferred for spirals: characteristic stellar ages that are increasingly older with radius for the inner portions of the galaxies, and increasingly younger stellar ages for the outer portions. This result suggests that either S0 galaxies are not well modeled by a delayed-τ model, and/or that S0 galaxies have a more complicated formation history than spiral galaxies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2014

A Classification Scheme for Young Stellar Objects Using the WIDE-FIELD INFRARED SURVEY EXPLORER ALLWISE Catalog: Revealing Low-Density Star Formation in the Outer Galaxy

We present an assessment of the performance of WISE and the AllWISE data release in a section of the Galactic Plane. We lay out an approach to increasing the reliability of point source photometry extracted from the AllWISE catalog in Galactic Plane regions using parameters provided in the catalog. We use the resulting catalog to construct a new, revised young star detection and classification scheme combining WISE and 2MASS near and mid-infrared colors and magnitudes and test it in a section of the Outer Milky Way. The clustering properties of the candidate Class I and II stars using a nearest neighbor density calculation and the two-point correlation function suggest that the majority of stars do form in massive star forming regions, and any isolated mode of star formation is at most a small fraction of the total star forming output of the Galaxy. We also show that the isolated component may be very small and could represent the tail end of a single mechanism of star formation in line with models of molecular cloud collapse with supersonic turbulence and not a separate mode all to itself.

WIDE-FIELD↗
DOE OSTI2022

Colour gradients of low-redshift galaxies in the DESI Legacy Imaging Survey

ABSTRACT Radial colour gradients within galaxies arise from gradients of stellar age, metallicity, and dust reddening. Large samples of colour gradients from wide-area imaging surveys can complement smaller integral-field spectroscopy data sets and can be used to constrain galaxy formation models. Here, we measure colour gradients for low-redshift galaxies (z < 0.1) using photometry from the DESI Legacy Imaging Survey DR9. Our sample comprises ∼93 000 galaxies with spectroscopic redshifts and ∼574 000 galaxies with photometric redshifts. We focus on gradients across a radial range 0.5Reff to Reff, which corresponds to the inner disc of typical late-type systems at low redshift. This region has been the focus of previous statistical studies of colour gradients and has recently been explored by spectroscopic surveys such as MaNGA. We find that the colour gradients of most galaxies in our sample are negative (redder towards the centre), consistent with the literature. We investigate empirical relationships between colour gradient, average g − r and r − z colour, Mr, M⋆, and sSFR. Trends of gradient strength with Mr (M⋆) show an inflection around Mr ∼ −21 ($\log _{10} \, M_\star /\mathrm{M_\odot }\sim 10.5$). Below this mass, colour gradients become steeper with increasing M⋆, whereas colour gradients in more massive galaxies become shallower. We find that positive gradients (bluer stars at smaller radii) are typical for galaxies of $M_{\star }\sim 10^{8}\, \mathrm{M_\odot }$. We compare our results to age and metallicity gradients in two data sets derived from fits of different stellar population libraries to MaNGA spectra, but find no clear consensus explanation for the trends we observe. Both MaNGA data sets seem to imply a significant contribution from dust reddening, in particular, to explain the flatness of colour gradients along the red sequence.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
NASA NTRS2015

The Application of New Optical Meteor Flux Routines to the 2014 May Camelopardalid Outburst

NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office (MEO) is charged with monitoring the meteoroid environment in near-Earth space for the protection of satellites and spacecraft. The MEO has recently established eight wide-field meteor cameras, four cameras each at two separate stations to calculate automated meteor fluxes in the millimeter size range. Each camera consists of a 17 mm focal length Schneider lens on a Watec 902H2 Ultimate CCD video camera, producing a 21.7 x 15.5 degree field of view. This configuration has a limiting meteor magnitude of about +5. One station is located at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama and the other is 31.8 kilometers away at a school in Decatur, Alabama. Both single-station and double-station fluxes are calculated every morning using data from the previous night. The flux algorithms employed here differ from others currently in use in that they do not assume a single height for all meteors observed in the common camera volume. In the MEO system, the volume is broken up into a set of height intervals, with the collecting areas determined by the position of the active shower or sporadic source radiant. The flux per height interval is calculated and summed to obtain the total meteor flux. As the mass is also computed from the photometry, a mass flux can also be calculated. First, a weather algorithm indicates if sky conditions are clear enough to calculate fluxes, at which point a limiting magnitude algorithm is employed. The limiting magnitude algorithm performs a fit of stellar magnitudes versus camera intensities. The stellar limiting magnitude is derived from this and converted to a limiting meteor magnitude for the active shower or sporadic source. The fluxes are scaled to an average limiting magnitude throughout the night and zenithal hourly rate (ZHR's) are output daily along with flux values. In addition to this process, results will be presented as applied to the 2014 May Camelopardalid outburst, using data from several different optical systems, which looked at May Camelopardalids in different size ranges.

Blaauw, Rhiannon↗
NASA NTRS2023

NEID Reveals That the Young Warm Neptune TOI-2076 b Has a Low Obliquity

TOI-2076 b is a sub-Neptune-sized planet (R = 2.39 ± 0.10 Rꚛ) that transits a young (204 ± 50 MYr) bright (V = 9.2) K-dwarf hosting a system of three transiting planets. Using spectroscopic observations obtained with the NEID spectrograph on the WIYN 3.5 m Telescope, we model the Rossiter–McLaughlin effect of TOI-2076 b, and derive a sky-projected obliquity of λ = -3 +16o −15 . Using the size of the star (R = 0.775 ± 0.015 Re), and the stellar rotation period (P rot = 7.27 ± 0.23 days), we estimate an obliquity of 𝜓=18 +10o −9 (𝜓 < 34° at 95% confidence), demonstrating that TOI-2076 b is in a well-aligned orbit. Simultaneous diffuser-assisted photometry from the 3.5 m telescope at Apache Point Observatory rules out flares during the transit. TOI-2076 b joins a small but growing sample of young planets in compact multi-planet systems with well-aligned orbits, and is the fourth planet with an age ≲300 Myr in a multi-transiting system with an obliquity measurement. The low obliquity of TOI-2076 b and the presence of transit timing variations in the system suggest the TOI-2076 system likely formed via convergent disk migration in an initially well-aligned disk.

Robert C Frazier↗
NASA NTRS1985

Surface photometry of comet P/Encke

A scheme to clean cometary digital images from offending background-star trails, and this technique has been applied to a pair of deep Kitt Peak 4-m plates of comet P/Encke, taken in October 1980. Simultaneous and subsequent digital spectra have been obtained at Lick Observatory. The non-polluted coma images show a strong asymmetric sunward-oriented fan/jet, and an extended and rounder (mostly gaseous) main coma, out to approximately 100,000 km radius. The stellar-trail point-spread function has a narrow width (sigma approximately 0.6 arcsec), so that spatial resolution better than approximately 300 km is achieved at the comet. The photometric gradient near the nucleus is very steep, strongly suggesting an icy-grain component which evaporates quickly (at radii equal to or less than 500 km) in the sunlight. Further from the nucleus, the profile becomes shallower, bluer, and more gas dominated. The effect of solar radiation pressure on C2, CN, and other molecules is probably responsible for the rounding of the outer, fainter isophotes. The source of the molecules is likely to be larger than the nucleus itself, and a substantial fraction may originate in the jet. The technique described here may also be applicable in surface photometry of galaxies, in cases where the heavy image pollution by foreground stars is present.

Djorgovski, S.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Stable accretion in young stars: the cases of EX Lupi and TW Hya

ABSTRACT We examine the long-term spectroscopic and photometric variability of EX Lupi and TW Hya, studying the presence of stable accretion and the role it plays in the observed variability. Analysing the velocity modulations of the emission lines with star-melt, we obtain information on the structure of the accretion columns and the disc–star connection. The emission-line radial velocities reveal that TW Hya, like EX Lupi, has a remarkably stable or slow-varying accretion column footprint, locked to the star for several years. The line-emitting regions are non-polar for both EX Lupi and TW Hya, and species with different energies differ in position. In contrast, the continuum emission as observed in the photometry is very variable and can be modelled by hotspot(s) that change over time in phase, shape, temperature, size, and location with respect to the emission-line region. The continuum emission region may not be limited to the stellar surface, especially during episodes of high accretion. The broad-line emission observed in EX Lupi during episodes of increased accretion reveals a further structure, which can be fitted by non-axisymmetric disc in Keplerian rotation inwards of the corotation radius. Since the radial velocity modulation due to accretion footprints is so stable, we used it to search for further velocity modulations. While no residual modulation (other than caused by stellar rotation) is found in these objects, a similar analysis could help to identify young planets/companions. Therefore, determining whether stable accretion footprints are common among young stars is a key to detect young planets.

Sicilia-Aguilar, A.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Documentation for the machine-readable version of the Absolute Calibration of Stellar Spectrophotometry

The machine-readable data file of The Absolute Calibration of Stellar Spectrophotometry as distributed by the Astronomical Data Center is described. The data file contains the absolute fluxes for 16 stars published in Tables 1 and 2 of Johnson (1980). The absolute calibrations were accomplished by combining the 13-color photometry calibrations of Johnson and Mitchell (1975) with spectra obtained with a Michelson spectrophotometer and covering the wavelength range 4000 to 10300 A (Johnson 1977). The agreement between this absolute calibration and another recent one based upon data for a Lyr and 109 Vir by Tug, White and Lockwood (1977) is shown by Johnson (1980) to be quite good.

Warren, W. H., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Spectral irradiance calibration in the infrared. I - Ground-based and IRAS broadband calibrations

Absolutely calibrated versions of realistic model atmosphere calculations for Sirius and Vega by Kurucz (1991) are presented and used as a basis to offer a new absolute calibration of infrared broad and narrow filters. In-band fluxes for Vega are obtained and defined to be zero magnitude at all wavelengths shortward of 20 microns. Existing infrared photometry is used differentially to establish an absolute scale of the new Sirius model, yielding an angular diameter within 1 sigma of the mean determined interferometrically by Hanbury Brown et al. (1974). The use of Sirius as a primary infrared stellar standard beyond the 20 micron region is suggested. Isophotal wavelengths and monochromatic flux densities for both Vega and Sirius are tabulated.

Cohen, Martin↗
NASA NTRS1993

Solar-Stellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment 1. II - Instrument calibrations

The science objective for the Solar-Stellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment (SOLSTICE) is to accurately measure the full disk solar spectral irradiance in the ultraviolet (UV) spectral region over a long time period. The SOLSTICE design was driven by the requirement for long-term, precise solar photometry conducted from space. The SOLSTICE 1 is on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), launched in September 1991 with the possibility for a 10-year operational mission. The in-flight calibration for SOLSTICE to meet its primary objective is the routine measurements of the UV radiation from a set of early-type stars, using the identical optical elements employed for the solar observations. The extensive preflight calibrations of the instrument have yielded a precise characterization of the three SOLSTICE channels. Details of the preflight and in-flight SOLSTICE calibrations are discussed in this paper.

Woods, Thomas N.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Neutral hydrogen associated with shells and other fine structure in NGC 2865: A dynamically young elliptical?

We report the discovery of neutral hydrogen in a second elliptical galaxy with shells, NGC 2865. Very Large Array (VLA) images reveal an association between the neutral hydrogen (H I) and the fine structure (shells, tails, and loops) in the galaxy. Similar to what we previously observed in NGC 5128 (Centaurus A), most of the 6 x 10(exp 8)/h(exp 2) solar mass of cold gas is found in a broken ring in the outer regions of NGC 2865 (beyond 0.5D(sub 25)) and is displaced to the outside of the shells and loops. The measured velocities cover a range of 500 km/s around the systematic velocity. The velocity field of the outer H I has the same sense and magnitude (and line of nodes) as that of the stars in the elliptical body. Although NGC 2865 appears to be a relaxed elliptical galaxy, deep images, photometry, and spectroscopy suggest that the galaxy might be the recent (less than 7 Gyr) product of a major disk-disk merger -- a 'dynamically young elliptical.' Our H I data support this hypothesis. Nevertheless, the association between gas and stellar fine structure, with gas displaced outward from the stars in projected position, implies gas motions not predicted by any of the current merger scenarios. Using the H I ring and assuming nearly circular motion, we measure M/L(sub B) at large radii (4 x 0.5D(sub 25)). We find M/L(sub B) = 33 +/- 4 h, a factor of 5 greater than the value of M/L(sub B) found for the central regions, indicating the presence of a dark halo.

Schiminovich, D.↗