Peculiarities of galactic rotation in the solar neighborhood from the data on red clump giants

The three-dimensional Ogorodnikov-Milne model was used to investigate the local velocity field on the basis of the tangential velocities of more than 53 000 red giants which were identified as most probable Red Clump members from the Tycho-2 catalog. Galactic rotation parameters were determined for two star groups at the galactic latitudes |b| < 30° and |b| ≥ 30°. The galactic rotation of the first star group was found to have some peculiarities characterized by the statistically significant parameters of contraction (K = ?6.3 ± 1.1 km s^?1 kpc^?1) and phase shift (? = 6.9° ± 0.6°) in the Ogorodnikov-Miln model. The vertex deflection and the semiaxes of peculiar velocity ellipsoid were determined for both star groups together with the components of the Sun’s motion with respect to these groups. The greatest distinction between two groups manifests itself in the vertex deflection, which is equal to 5.9° ± 0.7° at |b| < 30° and 0.1° ± 0.6° at |b| ≥ 30°.     

Thick disk kinematics from data on red clump giants at the north galactic pole

The distribution of radial (U) and rotational (V) velocities of red clump giants was studied as a function of their heights above the galactic plane. The stars of this type were selected from the compiled catalogue of stellar proper motions and infrared photometry at the north galactic pole with the use of the diagram “color-reduced proper motion.” According to the data on 1800 red clump giants located at heights from 1 to 3 kpc (mostly thick disk stars), mean kinematic parameters of the thick disk were determined: U ₀ = −18 ± 2 km/s, V ₀ = −56 ± 1 km/s, σ _U = 72 ± 2 km/s, and σ _V = 58 ± 1 km/s. The velocity of asymmetric drift V ₀ and velocity variances σ _U , σ _V are shown to depend on heights above the galactic plane.     

Systematic error of the Gaia DR1 TGAS parallaxes from data for the red giant clump

Based on the Gaia DR1 TGAS parallaxes and photometry from the Tycho-2, Gaia, 2MASS, andWISE catalogues, we have produced a sample of ~100 000 clump red giants within ~800 pc of the Sun. The systematic variations of the mode of their absolute magnitude as a function of the distance, magnitude, and other parameters have been analyzed. We show that these variations reach 0.7 mag and cannot be explained by variations in the interstellar extinction or intrinsic properties of stars and by selection. The only explanation seems to be a systematic error of the Gaia DR1 TGAS parallax dependent on the square of the observed distance in kpc: 0.18R ² mas. Allowance for this error reduces significantly the systematic dependences of the absolute magnitude mode on all parameters. This error reaches 0.1 mas within 800 pc of the Sun and allows an upper limit for the accuracy of the TGAS parallaxes to be estimated as 0.2 mas. A careful allowance for such errors is needed to use clump red giants as “standard candles.” This eliminates all discrepancies between the theoretical and empirical estimates of the characteristics of these stars and allows us to obtain the first estimates of the modes of their absolute magnitudes from the Gaia parallaxes: mode(M _H ) = ?1.49 ^m ± 0.04 ^m , mode(M _Ks ) = ?1.63 ^m ± 0.03 ^m , mode(M _W1) = ?1.67 ^m ± 0.05 ^m mode(M _W2) = ?1.67 ^m ± 0.05 ^m , mode(M _W3) = ?1.66 ^m ± 0.02 ^m , mode(M _W4) = ?1.73 ^m ± 0.03 ^m , as well as the corresponding estimates of their de-reddened colors.     

Parameters of the local warp of the stellar-gaseous galactic disk from the kinematics of Tycho-2 nearby red giant clump stars

We analyze the three-dimensional kinematics of about 82 000 Tycho-2 stars belonging to the red giant clump (RGC). First, based on all of the currently available data, we have determined new, most probable components of the residual rotation vector of the optical realization of the ICRS/HIPPARCOS system relative to an inertial frame of reference, (ω _x , ω _y , ω _z ) = (−0.11, 0.24, −0.52) ± (0.14, 0.10, 0.16) mas yr⁻¹. The stellar proper motions in the form μ_α cos δ have then be corrected by applying the correction ω _z = −0.52 mas yr⁻¹. We show that, apart from their involvement in the general Galactic rotation described by the Oort constants A = 15.82 ± 0.21 km s⁻¹ kpc⁻¹ and B = −10.87 ± 0.15 km s⁻¹ kpc⁻¹, the RGC stars have kinematic peculiarities in the Galactic yz plane related to the kinematics of the warped stellar-gaseous Galactic disk. We show that the parameters of the linear Ogorodnikov-Milne model that describe the kinematics of RGC stars in the zx plane do not differ significantly from zero. The situation in the yz plane is different. For example, the component of the solid-body rotation vector of the local solar neighborhood around the Galactic x axis is M ₃₂⁻ = −2.6 ± 0.2 km s⁻¹ kpc⁻¹. Two parameters of the deformation tensor in this plane, namely M ₂₃⁺ = 1.0 ± 0.2 km s⁻¹ kpc⁻¹ and M ₃₃ − M ₂₂ = −1.3 ± 0.4 km s⁻¹ kpc⁻¹, also differ significantly from zero. On the whole, the kinematics of the warped stellar-gaseous Galactic disk in the local solar neighborhood can be described as a rotation around the Galactic x axis (close to the line of nodes of this structure) with an angular velocity −3.1 ± 0.5 km s⁻¹ kpc⁻¹ ≤ Ω_W ≤ −4.4 ± 0.5 km s⁻¹ kpc⁻¹.     

On the metallicity gradients of the Galactic disk as revealed by LSS-GAC red clump stars

Using a sample of over 70 000 red clump(RC) stars with 5%–10% distance accuracy selected from the LAMOST Spectroscopic Survey of the Galactic Anti-center(LSS-GAC), we study the radial and vertical gradients of the Galactic disk(s) mainly in the anti-center direction, covering a significant volume of the disk in the range of projected Galactocentric radius 7 ≤ RGC ≤ 14 kpc and height from the Galactic midplane 0 ≤ |Z | ≤ 3 kpc. Our analysis shows that both the radial and vertical metallicity gradients are negative across much of the volume of the disk that is probed, and they exhibit significant spatial variations. Near the solar circle(7 ≤ RGC ≤ 11.5 kpc), the radial gradient has a moderately steep, negative slope of-0.08 dex kpc-1near the midplane(|Z | 0.1 kpc), and the slope flattens with increasing |Z |. In the outer disk(11.5 RGC ≤ 14 kpc), the radial gradients have an essentially constant, much less steep slope of-0.01 dex kpc-1at all heights above the plane, suggesting that the outer disk may have experienced an evolutionary path different from that of the inner disk. The vertical gradients are found to flatten largely with increasing RGC. However, the vertical gradient of the lower disk(0 ≤ |Z | ≤ 1 kpc)is found to flatten with RGC quicker than that of the upper disk(1 |Z | ≤ 3 kpc).Our results should provide strong constraints on the theory of disk formation and evolution, as well as the underlying physical processes that shape the disk(e.g. gas flows,radial migration, and internal and external perturbations).     

Spectral analysis of red clump giants and their use as standard candles in the wavebands I and K

Using high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio observational data, we determined the stellar atmospheric parameters of 19 metal-poor red clump giants and their chemical abundances of the four α elements (i.e., O, Mg, Ca, Si). We discuss the variations, with the iron abundance, of the atmospheric parameters and of the α elements abundances. We examined the absolute stellar magnitudes of 58 red clump giants in the I and K wavebands as well as their relations with the iron abundance, and found that for the analysed range of iron abundance, the correlation with the iron abundance is weaker for the absolute magnitude in the K band than that in the I band, in agreement with theoretical expectations.     

Damage due to ultraviolet and ionizing radiation during the ejection of shielded micro-organisms from the vicinity of 1M ⊙ main sequence and red giant stars

We present the astrophysical conditions necessary for the ejection of shielded microorganisms from a solar system and the biological conditions involving ultraviolet and ionizing radiations to which they are subjected in space. The radiation dose for both UV and ionizing radiation from the host star, the destination star and interstellar space is calculated for three different micro-organisms. The time of transport and the survival of the micro-organisms are strongly dependent on the composition and thickness of any mantle encasing the micro-organism and on the mass/luminosity ratio of the two stars. The maximum size of grains that can be ejected from the vicinity of one solar mass main sequence and red giant stars ranges from 0.65-0.35µm and 2.1-1.2µm respectively, for a reasonable range of densities. We conclude that unshielded known micro-organisms are immediately killed by ultraviolet radiation, and that an ice mantle does not provide sufficient shielding for either type of star. However, micro-organisms shielded by a carbonaceous thin-film mantle can be ejected from the vicinity of a one solar-mass red-giant star, and such micro-organisms have a high probability of surviving damage from the ultraviolet and ionizing radiations to which they are exposed.