Globular Clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud: An Impact from GAIA Photometry

The goal of this work is to assess the expected scientific output from the photometric studies of globular clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud with ESA's astrometric space mission GAIA. For this purpose we simulate GAIA photometry of individual stars in synthetic cluster populations, covering a large range of cluster ages and metallicities. We find that accurate effective temperatures (Δ T _eff<10%) can be obtained from GAIA photometry down to V ∼ 18 for stars in populations within the studied metallicity range ([M/H] = -0.4 ... -1.7). GAIA will also provide photometric metallicities (Δ [M/H] ≲ 0.3 dex) for the cluster giants brighter than V ∼ 17.5. The knowledge of the effective temperature sand metallicities will allow to obtain accurate ages of stellar populations younger than about 1 Gyr using the usual procedure of main sequence turn-off point fitting. Ages of older stellar populations (≳ 1 Gyr) may be constrained from the isochrone fits to the giant branches in the observed CMDs. We conclude that GAIA will provide excellent opportunities for studying star formation histories far beyond the Milky Way, providing means for better understanding of stellar and galactic evolution in different astrophysical environments. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

GAIA: An Astrometric and Photometric Survey of our Galaxy

In October 2000, the GAIA astrometric mission was approved as one of the next two `cornerstones' of ESA's science programme, with a launch date target of 2010–12. GAIA will provide positional, radial velocity, and photometric measurements with the accuracies needed to produce a stereoscopic and kinematic census of about one billion stars throughout our Galaxy (and into the Local Group), amounting to about 1 per cent of the Galactic stellar population. GAIA's main scientific goal is to clarify the origin and history of our Galaxy, from a quantitative census of the stellar populations. It will advance questions such as when the stars in our Galaxy formed, when and how it was assembled, and its distribution of dark matter. The survey aims for completeness toV =20 mag, with accuracies of 10 μas at 15 mag. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

GAIA Photometric System: Evaluation of Performance

We present a method and results of evaluation of the photometric systems (PSs) proposed for the GAIA mission. The method, however, can be applied for the analysis of virtually any multicolour PS designed for the global investigation of the Galactic stellar populations. Performance of the 1F, 2A and 3G PSs is evaluated taking into account their ability to simultaneously determine the main stellar parameters,T _eff, log g, [M/H] and E _B-V, for a large variety of stars down to G ∼ 20. The representative Galactic stellar populations were constructed and employed for evaluation of the PSs. Despite the fact that the 2A and 3G PSs perform significantly better than the 1F (presently adopted as a baseline PS for GAIA), we conclude that still there is no photometric system proposed to date, which would allow to achieve the scientific objectives of the GAIA mission. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

3-D Structure of the Galactic Interstellar Matter: A Contribution from GAIA

We investigate the possibilities for tracing interstellar extinction with the ESA's astrometric space mission GAIA. The analysis is based on detailed simulations of the GAIA photometry, which are used to derive the distribution of interstellar matter in a modelled Galaxy. We find that `small' diffuse clouds (diameter D = 4 pc, E <sub>B-V</sub> = 0.06) will be easily traced with GAIA up to the distances of ∼ 800 pc. `Large' diffuse interstellar clouds (D = 10 pc, E _B-V = 0.13) will be located up to the distances of ∼ 2.5 kpc. This holds for the reddening tracers of spectral types O – K2 brighter than V = 17. Inmost cases, due to their low spatial density, the early type stars (O– A2) cannot provide reliable information about the distribution of interstellar matter. None of the reddening tracers measured by GAIA will provide reliable identification of the individual interstellar clouds beyond the distances of ∼ 3 kpc. Therefore, we conclude that the information available from photometric observations will be not sufficient for the detailed reconstruction of the 3-D distribution of Galactic interstellar matter. It is therefore extremely important to define the new strategies which would allow to combine all the available information, including the earlier space- and/or ground-based investigations, together with the information which will be provided by GAIA itself (parallaxes, E _B-V etc.). This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Studying young stellar populations in G345.5+1.5 molecular cloud

Using different sky surveys, we studied IRAS sources and embedded clusters located in the G345.5+1.5 region. Our analysis comprises multi-wavelength (optical to radio) data, exploited using various methods: photometry, near-infrared spectroscopy for ten stars in the embedded cluster DBS-114, and astrometry. We estimated the main parameters of the embedded stellar populations in the G345.5+1.5 molecular cloud, such as their extent, reddening, age, and mass. We also found a consistent distance value using different approaches. For each studied population, we classified several point objects as early main sequence stars, stars with infrared excess, and class I/II YSOs. For the particular case of DBS 114, our spectral classification revealed four B-type stars, and we used astrometric information from GAIA EDR3. The combination of optical and infrared information revealed an abnormal reddening law in some embedded clusters. Our analysis favored a scenario with a Lyman continuum emission excess at some of the studied stellar populations.     

Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars as Tracers of Star Formation Histories: the GAIA Context

We discuss a possible use of the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars for tracing star formation histories on the Galactic and extragalactic distance scales with the ESA's astrometric space mission GAIA. Extensive numerical simulations demonstrate that metallicities (Δ [M/H] ≲ 0.3) can be obtained for the AGB stars with GAIA up to the distances of ∼ 200 kpc, if no interstellar extinction is present. Reliable population ages can be also obtained from the AGB stars if their T _eff are constrained precisely. We show that precise effective temperatures can be obtained by fitting observed spectral energy distributions of the AGB stars with theoretical fluxes calculated from the synthetic spectra. A combination of the derived effective temperatures with the bolometric luminosities allows to derive precise population ages for a wide range of ages and metallicities over the large distance scales. This demonstrates that AGB stars can be employed very effectively for tracing star formation histories with GAIA, allowing to refine the global evolutionary scenarios of stellar populations in the Milky Way and the galaxies beyond. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Recent advances in modeling stellar interiors

Advances in stellar interior modeling are being driven by new data from large-scale surveys and high-precision photometric and spectroscopic observations. Here we focus on single stars in normal evolutionary phases; we will not discuss the many advances in modeling star formation, interacting binaries, supernovae, or neutron stars. We review briefly: (1) updates to input physics of stellar models; (2) progress in two and three-dimensional evolution and hydrodynamic models; (3) insights from oscillation data used to infer stellar interior structure and validate model predictions (asteroseismology). We close by highlighting a few outstanding problems, e.g., the driving mechanisms for hybrid γ Dor/δ Sct star pulsations, the cause of giant eruptions seen in luminous blue variables such as η Car and P Cyg, and the solar abundance problem.     

α-process Elements in the Galaxy: A Possible GAIA Contribution

The sensitivity of stellar spectra to α/Fe abundance changes is investigated with the aim to be detected photometrically and employed for the scientific goals of the GAIA mission. A grid of plane parallel, line blanketed, flux constant, LTE model atmospheres with different [α/Fe] ratios was calculated. As a first step, the modeled stellar energy fluxes for solar-type stars and giants were computed and intercompared. The spectral sensitivity to α/Fe abundance changes is noticeable and has to be taken into account when selecting photometric filters for GAIA. The Ca II H and K lines and Mg I b triplet are the most sensitive direct indicators ofα/Fe abundance changes. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Non-thermal emission processes in massive binaries

In this paper, I present a general discussion of several astrophysical processes likely to play a role in the production of non-thermal emission in massive stars, with emphasis on massive binaries. Even though the discussion will start in the radio domain where the non-thermal emission was first detected, the census of physical processes involved in the non-thermal emission from massive stars shows that many spectral domains are concerned, from the radio to the very high energies. First, the theoretical aspects of the non-thermal emission from early-type stars will be addressed. The main topics that will be discussed are respectively the physics of individual stellar winds and their interaction in binary systems, the acceleration of relativistic electrons, the magnetic field of massive stars, and finally the non-thermal emission processes relevant to the case of massive stars. Second, this general qualitative discussion will be followed by a more quantitative one, devoted to the most probable scenario where non-thermal radio emitters are massive binaries. I will show how several stellar, wind and orbital parameters can be combined in order to make some semi-quantitative predictions on the high-energy counterpart to the non-thermal emission detected in the radio domain. These theoretical considerations will be followed by a census of results obtained so far, and related to this topic. These results concern the radio, the visible, the X-ray and the γ-ray domains. Prospects for the very high energy γ-ray emission from massive stars will also be addressed. Two particularly interesting examples—one O-type and one Wolf-Rayet binary—will be considered in details. Finally, strategies for future developments in this field will be discussed.     

Observational Evidence for Grain Growth

Discs around young stars are the sites of planet formation. The first step in this process is the growth of submicron grains to larger sized grains. I will review evidence for dust growth in CS discs, based on ISO and Spitzer infrared spectroscopic observations. Intermediate-mass stars, solar-type stars and even brown dwarfs will be discussed in the context of dust evolution. Furthermore, I will compare objects of several star-forming regions of different ages, and discuss the influence of the stellar parameters and environment on dust evolution, as witnessed by the observed dust characteristics. The main focus lies on what one can learn from 10 micron spectroscopy, the region where most astronomical dust species have important spectral features.     

Intrinsic properties of carbon stars. II. Spectra,colours, and HR diagram of cool carbon stars

On the basis of the effective temperature scale proposed previously for cool carbon stars (Paper I), other intrinsic properties of them are examined in detail. It is shown that the major spectroscopic properties of cool carbon stars, including those of molecular bands due to polyatomic species (SiC₂, HCN, C₂H₂ etc.), can most consistently be understood on the basis of our new effective temperature scale and the theoretical prediction of chemical equilibrium. Various photometric indices of cool carbon stars also appear to be well correlated with the new effective temperatures. Furthermore, as effective temperatures of some 30 carbon stars are now obtained, the calibration of any photometric index is straightforward, and some examples of such a calibration are given. In general, colour index-effective temperature calibrations for carbon stars are quite different from those for K-M giant stars. It is found that the intrinsic (R —I)₀ colour is nearly the same for N-irregular variables in spite of a considerable spread in effective temperatures, and this fact is used to estimate the interstellar reddening of carbon stars. An observational HR diagram of red giant stars, including carbon stars as well as K-M giant stars, is obtained on the basis of our colour index-effective temperature calibrations and the best estimations of luminosities. It is shown that carbon stars and M giant stars are sharply divided in the HR diagram by a nearly vertical line at aboutT _eff = 3200 K (logT _eff = 3.50) and the carbon stars occupy the upper right region of M giant stars (except for some high luminosity, high temperature J-type stars in the Magellanic Clouds; also Mira variables are not considered). Such an observational HR diagram of red giant stars shows rather a poor agreement with the current stellar evolution models. Especially, a more efficient mixing process in red giant stars, as compared with those ever proposed, is required to explain the formation of carbon stars.     

Stellar science from a blue wavelength range

From stellar spectra, a variety of physical properties of stars can be derived. In particular, the chemical composition of stellar atmospheres can be inferred from absorption line analyses. These provide key information on large scales, such as the formation of our Galaxy, down to the small‐scale nucleosynthesis processes that take place in stars and supernovae. By extending the observed wavelength range toward bluer wavelengths, we optimize such studies to also include critical absorption lines in metal‐poor stars, and allow for studies of heavy elements (Z ≥ 38) whose formation processes remain poorly constrained. In this context, spectrographs optimized for observing blue wavelength ranges are essential, since many absorption lines at redder wavelengths are too weak to be detected in metal‐poor stars. This means that some elements cannot be studied in the visual‐redder regions, and important scientific tracers and science cases are lost. The present era of large public surveys will target millions of stars. It is therefore important that the next generation of spectrographs are designed such that they cover a wide wavelength range and can observe a large number of stars simultaneously. Only then, we can gain the full information from stellar spectra, from both metal‐poor to metal‐rich ones, that will allow us to understand the aforementioned formation scenarios in greater detail. Here we describe the requirements driving the design of the forthcoming survey instrument 4MOST, a multi‐object spectrograph commissioned for the ESO VISTA 4 m‐telescope. While 4MOST is also intended for studies of active galactic nuclei, baryonic acoustic oscillations, weak lensing, cosmological constants, supernovae and other transients, we focus here on high‐density, wide‐area survey of stars and the science that can be achieved with high‐resolution stellar spectroscopy. Scientific and technical requirements that governed the design are described along with a thorough line blending analysis. For the high‐resolution spectrograph, we find that a sampling of ≥2.5 (pixels per resolving element), spectral resolution of 18000 or higher, and a wavelength range covering 393–436 nm, is the most well‐balanced solution for the instrument. A spectrograph with these characteristics will enable accurate abundance analysis (±0.1 dex) in the blue and allow us to confront the outlined scientific questions. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Halo streams in the solar neighborhood

The phase-space structure of our Galaxy holds the key to understand and reconstruct its formation. The ΛCDM model predicts a richly structured phase-space distribution of dark matter and (halo) stars, consisting of streams of particles torn from their progenitors during the process of hierarchical merging. While such streams quickly loose their spatial coherence in the process of phase mixing, the individual stars keep their common origin imprinted into their kinematic and chemical properties, allowing the recovery of the Galaxy’s individual “building blocks”. The field of Galactic Archeology has witnessed a dramatic boost over the last decade, thanks to the increasing quality and size of available data sets. This is especially true for the solar neighborhood, a volume of 1–2 kpc around the sun, where large scale surveys like SDSS/SEGUE continue to reveal the full 6D phase-space information of thousands of halo stars. In this review, I summarize the discoveries of stellar halo streams made so far and give a theoretical overview over the search strategies imployed. This article is intended as an introduction to researchers new to the field, but also as a reference illustrating the achievements made so far. I conclude that disentangling the individual fragments from which the Milky Way was built requires more precise data that will ultimately be delivered by the Gaia mission.     

Synthetic stellar and SSP libraries as templates for Gaia simulations

ESA’s Gaia mission will collect low resolution spectroscopy in the optical range for ～10⁹ objects. Complete and up-to-date libraries of synthetic stellar spectra are needed to built algorithms aimed to automatically derive the classification and the parametrization of this huge amount of data. In addition, libraries of stellar spectra are one of the main ingredients of stellar population synthesis models, aiming to derive the properties of unresolved stellar populations from their integrated light. We present (a) the newly computed libraries of synthetic spectra built by the Gaia community, covering the whole optical range (300–1100 nm) at medium-high resolution of (0.3 nm) for stars spanning the most different types, from M to O, from A-peculiar to Emission lines to White Dwarfs, and (b) the implementation of those libraries in our SSP code (Tantalo in The Initial Mass Function 50 Years Later, 327:235 2005), exploring different stellar evolution models.     

Detection of Extra-Solar Planets by GAIA Photometry

The transit of exoplanets across a stellar disk will often occur in GAIA observations. A safe detection of the slight dimming of the star can be made many hundred times, i.e. in cases where the star is sufficiently constant in intensity, and the photometry is very precise. When combined with the simultaneous GAIA astrometry or ground-based radial velocities the scientific harvest is orbit, mass and mass density for hundreds of exoplanets. We have typically considered Jupiter-size planets at Earth-like distances from the stars. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

GAIA and the Extragalactic Distance Scale

The local expansion field (v ₂₂₀ <1200 km s^-1) and the cosmic expansion field out to 30 000 km s^-1 are characterized by H ₀ = 58 [km s^-1 Mpc^-1]. While the random error of this determination is small (± 2 units), it may still be affected by systematic errors as large as ±10%>. The local expansion is outlined by Cepheids and by Cepheid-calibrated TF distances of a complete sample of field galaxies and by nearby groups and clusters; the cosmic expansion is defined by Cepheid-calibrated SNe Ia. The main source of systematic errors are therefore the shape and the zero point of the P-L relation of Cepheids and its possible dependence on metallicity. GAIA will essentially eliminate these systematic error sources. Another source of systematic error is due to the homogenization of SNe Ia as to decline rate Δm ₁₅ and color (B-V). GAIA will discover most of the 1100 SNe Ia within 10 000 km s^-1, which will occur during its four-year lifetime. If their photometric parameters can be determined from the ground, they will fix the dependence of the SNe Ia luminosity on Δ m ₁₅ and (B-V) with high accuracy. At the same time they will yield exquisite distances to an equal number of field galaxies. – GAIA will also revolutionize the very local distance scale by determining fundamental distances of the companion galaxies of the Milky Way and even of some spirals in- and possibly outside the Local Group from their rotation curves seen in radial velocities and proper motions. Moreover, GAIA will obtain trigonometric parallaxes of RR Lyrae stars, of red giants defining the TRGB, of stars on the ZAMS, of White Dwarf defining their cooling sequence, and of globular clusters, and determine the metallicity dependence of these distance indicators. It will thus establish a self-controlling network of distance indicators within the Local Group and beyond. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A near-infrared survey of IRAS sources in the South Galactic Cap

The paper describes the JHK colours of late-type stars which were investigated as part of a survey of South Galactic Cap (b < -30°) IRAS sources selected on the basis of their 12/25µm flux ratios as high mass-loss candidates. Near-infrared two-colour diagrams provide an effective technique for distinguishing between various groups of late-type stars. Such diagrams are also useful in indicating which stars are likely to be peculiar and worthy of more detailed study. The late-type stars isolated by this survey comprise: 61 Mira variables (3 of which are carbon stars with very thick shells), 3 young stellar objects, 4 interacting binaries, 2 semi-regular carbon variables and 154 oxygen-rich giants.     

VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV): The public ESO near-IR variability survey of the Milky Way

We describe the public ESO near-IR variability survey (VVV) scanning the Milky Way bulge and an adjacent section of the mid-plane where star formation activity is high. The survey will take 1929 h of observations with the 4-m VISTA telescope during 5 years (2010–2014), covering ～10⁹ point sources across an area of 520 deg², including 33 known globular clusters and ～350 open clusters. The final product will be a deep near-IR atlas in five passbands (0.9–2.5 μm) and a catalogue of more than 10⁶ variable point sources. Unlike single-epoch surveys that, in most cases, only produce 2-D maps, the VVV variable star survey will enable the construction of a 3-D map of the surveyed region using well-understood distance indicators such as RR Lyrae stars, and Cepheids. It will yield important information on the ages of the populations. The observations will be combined with data from MACHO, OGLE, EROS, VST, Spitzer, HST, Chandra, INTEGRAL, WISE, Fermi LAT, XMM-Newton, GAIA and ALMA for a complete understanding of the variable sources in the inner Milky Way. This public survey will provide data available to the whole community and therefore will enable further studies of the history of the Milky Way, its globular cluster evolution, and the population census of the Galactic Bulge and center, as well as the investigations of the star forming regions in the disk. The combined variable star catalogues will have important implications for theoretical investigations of pulsation properties of stars.     

Extended dust shells around carbon stars resolved by “HIRAS”

We have examined forty-two carbon stars which show excess emission at 60 and/or 100µm by applying maximum-entropy image reconstruction techniques to the IRAS 60µm survey data. Thirteen stars are found to be extended in the reconstructed images. Four of them show a detached ring centered on the stellar position. In particular, U Ant may have a double detached dust shell. The implications of our results are discussed concerning the variation of mass loss on the AGB evolution.     

Unresolved Binaries and the Initial Mass Function

In the area of binary stars the important contribution of GAIA will be towards statistical studies of the binary star distribution functions. On the other hand, from the GAIA observations, more than 10 000 masses accurate to 1% can be expected. This improves accuracy of the stellar initial mass function (IMF) still poorly known, particularly for the low-mass stars. A goal of the present study is to simulate a solar vicinity model with 100% binaries for predicting observational distributions. Under the assumption that star formation rate is constant, a random pairing of objects drawn from a pre-assumed single star power-law IMF is generated. Stellar evolution and selection effects are taken into account. Orbital parameters are assumed to be spread according to the common distributions. It is shown that under given assumptions the power-law IMF does lead to quasi-lognormal turnovers for the resulting observational mass function. The described model can be used to estimate, under reasonable assumptions on the IMF shape, the number of binaries of the different types that can be observed with GAIA. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.