Erratum to: Globular Cluster as Indicators of Galactic Evolution

Astronomy Reports - An Erratum to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063772922330010     

A Search for a Globular Cluster whose Passage Through the Galactic Disk Could Induce the Formation of the Gould Belt

The distribution of sites where globular clusters have crossed the Galactic disk during the last 100 million years has been analyzed using the most recent kinematic data for 133 globular clusters (GCs). ThreeGCs (NGC 6341, NGC 7078, and ω Cen) whose distances between the positions where they crossed the Galactic disk and trajectories of the Gould Belt are less than 20% of their heliocentric distances at the crossing time (82, 98, and 96 million years ago, respectively) have been identified. For each of the clusters, this was their next to last, rather than their last, crossing of the Galactic disk. The passage of any one of these three GCs through the disk could potentially have initiated the formation of the Gould Belt.     

Properties of Stellar Populations of Eight Galactic Global Clusters with Low Central Surface Brightness

Astronomy Reports - This paper presents the results of the analysis of the integrated-light spectra of eight Galactic globular clusters with a relatively low luminosity and stellar density: Palomar...     

Galactic orbits of globular clusters in the region of the Galactic bulge

Galactic orbits have been constructed over long time intervals for ten globular clusters located near the Galactic center. A model with an axially symmetric gravitational potential for the Galaxy was initially applied, after which a non-axially symmetric potential corresponding to the central bar was added. Variations in the trajectories of all these globular clusters in the XY plane due to the influence of the bar were detected. These were greatest for the cluster Terzan 4 in the meridional (RZ) plane. The globular clusters Terzan 1, Terzan 2, Terzan 4, Terzan 9, NGC 6522, and NGC 6558 always remained within the Galactic bulge, no farther than 4 kpc from the Galactic center.     

Absolute Proper Motions and the Kinematics of Globular Clusters

Astronomy Reports - Position data for stars in the vicinities of 119 Galactic globular clusters from the USNOB1, 2MASS, URAT1, and ALLWISE catalogs have been reduced in the system of the UCAC5...     

The wavelet-smoothed distribution of young stellar objects in the Galactic plane

We have analyzed the distribution of young objects (open clusters, classical Cepheids, and HII regions) projected onto the plane of the Galaxy using wavelet smoothing. This smoothing technique enables investigation of the large-scale structure of the distribution of young objects. All the studied objects display a similar spiral structure, whose appearance essentially corresponds to a regular alternation of young and older stellar complexes along sections of the spiral arms. A four-arm spiral structure with its arms originating at the Galactic center is obtained if the major arms are taken to be the Carina-Sagittarius arm and an outer arm behind the Perseus arm. If all the observed arms are taken to be major arms, we obtain a 12-arm structure, in contradiction with the size of the region in which the structure is observed in the Galaxy. This discrepancy can be removed if the arms originate from a ring formed by a sufficiently long bar-like structure, rather then from the Galactic center.     

Stellar subsystems of the galaxy NGC 2366

Hubble Space Telescope archive data are used to perform photometry of stars in seven fields at the center and periphery of the galaxy NGC 2366. The variation of the number density of stars of various ages with galactocentric radius and along the minor axis of the galaxy are determined. The boundaries of the thin and thick disks of the galaxy are found. The inferred sizes of the subsystems of NGC 2366 (Z _thin = 4 kpc and Z _thick = 8 kpc for the thin and thick disks, respectively) are more typical for spiral galaxies. Evidence for a stellar halo is found at the periphery of NGC 2366 beyond the thick disk of the galaxy.     

Structure and Features of the Galactic Magnetic-Field Reversals Formation

At the present time, the induction of several microgauss in large-scale fields of the Galaxy has been repeatedly confirmed. There are numerous arguments in favor of the fact that the magnetic field exhibits so-called reversals associated with a direction change from one region to another. Such configurations are allowed in the nonlinear equations context of the dynamo theory, which describes the large-scale magnetic-field evolution. In the present study, reversals are modeled using the so-called no-z approximation based on the fact that the galactic disk is sufficiently thin. The magnetic field generation that exhibit both single and double sign changes with distance from the center is observed. From an observational point of view, one of the main methods for studying magnetic fields is to gauge the Faraday rotation measure of radio waves coming from pulsars. Its value can characterize the integral magnitude of the magnetic field, and the sign indicates its direction. A study of the pulsar distribution with large Faraday rotation measures ($$\left| {RM} \right| > 200$$ rad/m2) is presented. The results indicate that there is a region of $$4.8\;{\text{kpc}} < r < 7.3\;{\text{kpc}}$$ in the Galaxy in which the magnetic field is oriented counterclockwise. At the ring edges, the magnetic field reverses its direction. These results are in close agreement both with theoretical concepts and other studies dedicated to the structure observations of the magnetic field in the Galaxy.     

The Chemical Composition of Globular Clusters of Different Nature in Our Galaxy

A catalog of Galactic globular clusters has been compiled and used to analyze relations between the chemical and kinematic parameters of the clusters. The catalog contains positions, distances, luminosities, metallicites, and horizontal-branch morphology indices for 157 globular clusters, as well as space velocities for 72 globular clusters. For 69 globular clusters, these data are suppleented with the relative abundances of 28 chemical elements produced in various nuclear-synthesis processes, taken from 101 papers published between 1986 and 2018. The tendency for redder horizontal branches in lowmetallicity accreted globular clusters is discussed. The discrepancy between the criteria for cluster membership in the thick-disk and halo subsystems based on chemical and kinematic properties is considered. This is manifest through the fact that all metal-rich ([Fe/H] > ?1.0) clusters are located close to the center and plane of the Galaxy, regardless of their kinematic membership in particular Galaxy subsystems. An exception is three accreted clusters lost by a dwarf galaxy in Sagittarius. At the same time, the fraction of more distant clusters is high among metal-poorer clusters in any kinematically selected Galactic subsystem. In addition, all metal-rich clusters whose origins are related to the same protogalactic cloud are located in the [Fe/H]–[α/Fe] diagram considerably higher than the strip populated with field stars. All metal-poor clusters (most of them accreted) populate the entire width of the strip formed by high-velocity (i.e., presumably accreted) field stars. Stars of dwarf satellite galaxies (all of them being metal-poor) are located in this diagram much lower than accreted field stars. These facts suggest that all stellar objects in the accreted halo are remnants of galaxies with higher masses than those in the current environment of the Galaxy. Differences in the relative abundances of α-process elements among stellar objects of the Galaxy and surrounding dwarf satellite galaxies confirmthat the latter have left no appreciable stellar traces in the Galaxy, with the possible exception of the low-metallicity cluster Rup 106, which has low relative abundances of α-process elements.

     

Circumsolar Stellar Streams and Meteors in the Earth Atmosphere

Astronomy Reports - On the basis of the Gaia data, we analyze the formation pattern of peripherical structures of planetary systems, the elements of which are dust, asteroids, comets, and unbound...     

Comparison of the Orbital Properties of the Milky Way Globular Clusters from the Data of the Gaia DR2 and EDR3 Catalogs

Astronomy Reports - We provide new values of the orbital parameters of 152 globular clusters, which are calculated using the new mean proper motions obtained from the Gaia EDR3 catalog data. The...     

球状晶质铀矿形成条件的模拟实验

球状晶质铀矿是我国主要的工业铀矿物之一,也是核工业的主要原料之一。因此研究球状晶质铀矿的形成条件、成矿机制有着重要意义。球状晶质铀矿的水热合成是进行上述研究的重要手段。人们已从不同的角度进行了大量实验,实验的数据曾为解决铀成矿     

Formation of the white-dwarf population of the Galactic halo

Microlensing events detected in the MACHO project are sometimes interpreted as evidence for the presence of a rich population of white dwarfs in the halo of the Galaxy, containing up to 10¹² objects. In this connection, we study the possible formation of this population in the Galaxy via the accretion of gaseous or gaseous-stellar systems. The accumulation of a large number of white dwarfs in the Galactic halo is possible only if several specific conditions are simultaneously satisfied. We conclude that the presence of a rich white-dwarf population in the halo is unlikely.     

Initial Galactic Magnetic Fields and the Biermann Battery Mechanism

Astronomy Reports - There are regular magnetic fields with inductions of several microgauss observed in numerous galaxies. The generation of these fields is explained by the dynamo associated with...     

Spectroscopy of Globular Clusters in the Spheroidal Dwarf Galaxy IKN

Astronomy Reports - Moderate resolution spectra of four globular clusters in the dwarf spheroidal galaxy IKN obtained with the 6-m telescope of the Special Astrophysical Observatory have been used...     

The Individual Thicknesses of Stellar Disks of Galaxies Viewed at Arbitrary Angles

A method for determining the thickness of the stellar disk of a galaxy from a photometric image of the galaxy in the plane of the sky is proposed and justified. The method can be applied to determine the thickness of plane-parallel exponential disks with an arbitrary, radius-independent, luminosity distribution perpendicular to the plane of the disk J(r, z) = exp(-r/h)f(z). A special feature and advantage of the method is that it enables determination of the thicknesses of disks viewed at arbitrary angles to the plane of the sky (but not strictly edge-on or face-on). The key idea of the method is finding the true inclinations of galaxies viewed at arbitrary angles not from their isophotes, but instead from the azimuthal distribution of the exponential parameter h. The difference between the inclination determined in the traditional way using the isophotes and the true inclination enables estimation of the thickness of the disk. The effectiveness of the method for determining the inclinations of plane-parallel disks is confirmed using a sample of model isothermal galactic disks: I(r, z) = I₀ exp(-r/h)sech²(z/z₀). The inclinations of the planes of the model galaxies to the line of sight and the relative thicknesses in the model sample vary arbitrarily, making it possible to determine the limits of applicability of the method: z₀/h < 0.7 and 10° <i < 75°.A sample of 44 piecewise-exponential disks of galaxies of the southern sky clusters is used to illustrate the application of the technique to observational data. Comparing the distribution of inclinations calculated using the new method and the traditional isophote method shows that the new method yields a more uniform distribution of inclinations to the plane of the sky for the sample galaxies. The derived average disk thicknesses and the disk-thickness distributions are consistent with statistical estimates and observational data from the literature for samples of galaxies viewed edge-on

     

Galactic orbits of selected companions of the Milky Way

High-accuracy absolute proper motions, radial velocities, and distances have now been measured for a number of dwarf-galaxy companions of the Milky Way, making it possible to study their 3D dynamics. Galactic orbits for 11 such galaxies (Fornax, Sagittarius, Ursa Minor, LMC, SMC, Sculptor, Sextans, Carina, Draco, Leo I, Leo II) have been derived using two previously refined models for the Galactic potential with the Navarro–Frenk–White and Allen–Santillán expressions for the potential of the dark-matter halo, and two different masses for the Galaxy within 200 kpc—0.75 × 10¹² M _⊙ and 1.45 × 10¹² M _⊙. The character of the orbits of most of these galaxies indicates that they are tightly gravitationally bound to the Milky Way, even with the lower-mass model for the gravitational potential. One exception is the most distant galaxy in the list, Leo I, whose orbit demonstrates that it is only weakly gravitationally bound, even using the higher-mass model of the gravitational potential.     

Stellar sources of the short-lived radionuclides in the early solar system

We discuss the possible stellar sources of short-lived radionuclides (SLRs) known to have been present in the early solar system (²⁶Al, ³⁶Cl, ⁴¹Ca, ⁵³Mn, ⁶⁰Fe, ¹⁰⁷Pd, ¹²⁹I, ¹⁸²Hf, ²⁴⁴Pu). SLRs produced primarily by irradiation (⁷Be, ¹⁰Be) are not discussed in this paper. We evaluate the role of the galactic background in explaining the inventory of SLRs in the early solar system. We review the nucleosynthetic processes that produce the different SLRs and place the processes in the context of stellar evolution of stars from 1 to 120 M_⊙. The ejection of newly synthesized SLRs from these stars is also discussed. We then examine the extent to which each stellar source can, by itself, explain the relative abundances of the different SLRs in the early solar system, and the probability that each source would have been in the right place at the right time to provide the SLRs. We conclude that intermediate-mass AGB stars and massive stars in the range from ∼20 to ∼60 M_⊙ are the most plausible sources. Low-mass AGB stars fail to produce enough ⁶⁰Fe. Core-collapse Type II supernovae from stars with initial masses of <20 M_⊙ produce too much ⁶⁰Fe and ⁵³Mn. Sources such as novae, Type Ia supernovae, and core-collapse supernovae of O-Ne-Mg white dwarfs do not appear to provide the SLRs in the correct proportions. However, intermediate-mass AGB stars cannot provide ⁵³Mn or the r-process elements, so if an AGB star provided the ⁴¹Ca, ³⁶Cl, ²⁶Al, ⁶⁰Fe, and ¹⁰⁷Pd, and if a late stellar source is required for ⁵³Mn and the r-process elements, then two types of sources would be required. A separate discussion of the production of r-process elements highlights the difficulties in modeling their production. There appear to be two sources of r-process elements, one that produces the heavy r-process elements, including the actinides, and one that produces the elements from N to Ge and the elements ∼110 < A < ∼130. These can be assigned to SNII explosions of stars of ?11 M_⊙ and stars of 12-25 M_⊙, respectively. More-massive stars, which leave black holes as supernova remnants, apparently do not produce r-process elements.     

Sizes of Stellar Subsystems of Disk Galaxies and the Metallicities of Red Giants

Stellar photometry of 53 low-mass spiral and irregular galaxies has been carried out using archival frames obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope. Young and old stars (blue supergiants and red giants) are distinguished on the resulting Hertzsprung–Russell diagrams, and the spatial sizes of the subsystems formed by these stars are determined. A correlation is found between the metallicities of red giants and the difference between the linear sizes of stellar systems of different ages. This dependence can be explained if the sizes of stellar subsystems expand over the lifetimes of galaxies, as well as the influence of the relationship between the mass of a galaxy and the metallicity of its stars.     

Study of Cooling Processes during the Decay Phase of Solar and Stellar Flares

Astronomy Reports - The work is devoted to the study of cooling processes and energy loss during the decay phase of flare. During this phase, various wave processes can occur simultaneously with...