Color-color Diagrams Research Articles

Mass Loss History of Evolved Stars (MLHES) Excavated by AKARI

AbstractWe performed a far-IR imaging survey of the circumstellar dust shells of 144 evolved stars as a mission program of the AKARI infrared astronomical satellite. Our objectives were to characterize the far-IR surface brightness distributions of the cold dust component in the circumstellar dust shells. We found that (1) far-IR emission was detected from all but one object, (2) roughly 60–70 % of the target sources showed some extension, (3) 29 sources were newly resolved in the far-IR in the vicinity of the target sources, (4) the results of photometry measurements were reasonable with respect to the entries in the AKARI/FIS Bright Source Catalogue, and (5) an IR two-color diagram would place the target sources in a roughly linear distribution that may correlate with the age of the circumstellar dust shell.

A Catalog of Spectra, Albedos, and Colors of Solar System Bodies for Exoplanet Comparison.

We present a catalog of spectra and geometric albedos, representative of the different types of solar system bodies, from 0.45 to 2.5 μm. We analyzed published calibrated, uncalibrated spectra, and albedos for solar system objects and derived a set of reference spectra and reference albedos for 19 objects that are representative of the diversity of bodies in our solar system. We also identified previously published data that appear contaminated. Our catalog provides a baseline for comparison of exoplanet observations to 19 bodies in our own solar system, which can assist in the prioritization of exoplanets for time intensive follow-up with next-generation extremely large telescopes and space-based direct observation missions. Using high- and low-resolution spectra of these solar system objects, we also derive colors for these bodies and explore how a color-color diagram could be used to initially distinguish between rocky, icy, and gaseous exoplanets. We explore how the colors of solar system analog bodies would change when orbiting different host stars. This catalog of solar system reference spectra and albedos is available for download through the Carl Sagan Institute.

Primeval very low-mass stars and brown dwarfs – IV. New L subdwarfs, Gaia astrometry, population properties, and a blue brown dwarf binary

We present 27 new L subdwarfs and classify five of them as esdL and 22 as sdL. Our L subdwarf candidates were selected with the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey and Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Spectroscopic follow-up was carried out primarily with the OSIRIS spectrograph on the Gran Telescopio Canarias. Some of these new objects were followed up with the X-shooter instrument on the Very Large Telescope. We studied the photometric properties of the population of known L subdwarfs using colour-spectral type diagrams and colour-colour diagrams, by comparison with L dwarfs and main-sequence stars, and identified new colour spaces for L subdwarf selection/study in current and future surveys. We further discussed the brown dwarf transition-zone and the observational stellar/substellar boundary. We found that about one-third of 66 known L subdwarfs are substellar objects, with two-thirds being very low-mass stars. We also present the Hertzsprung-Russell diagrams, spectral type-absolute magnitude corrections, and tangential velocities of 20 known L subdwarfs observed by the Gaia astrometry satellite. One of our L subdwarf candidates, ULAS J233227.03+123452.0, is a mildly metal-poor spectroscopic binary brown dwarf: a ~L6p dwarf and a ~T4p dwarf. This binary is likely a thick disc member according to its kinematics.

A Study of the Hα Variability of Be Stars

Abstract This paper presents the results of 4 years of high-resolution spectral observations of 69 emission-line stars, 54 of them being newly discovered sources. We classified the stars on the basis of their position in the two-color IR diagram and some additional criteria: shape and width of the Hα profile, presence of He lines, proper motion and parallax, membership to open cluster and associations. Sixty of our targets turned out to be Be stars. We also found four late giants, four pre-MS stars, and one late dwarf. The Hα emission profiles of our Be stars range from single peaked to typical shell profiles that can also be highly asymmetric or single-peaked profiles with a narrow absorption core. The emission profiles appear almost constant with time or highly variable in intensity and in their V/R ratio. The detected long-term variability of the Hα emission is important for investigating the on/off switch phenomenon of Be stars. Our study led to an increase of the number of the emission-line stars of 16 open clusters.

Far Ultraviolet Photometry of F and G Dwarfs in the Hyades, Coma Berenices, and NGC 2281 Open Clusters as Obtained by GALEX

A two-color diagram formed from GALEX FUV and Johnson BV photometry is presented for F and early G dwarfs in three open clusters: the Hyades, Coma Berenices, and NGC 2281. Denoted as (mFUV − B) versus B − V, the position of dwarf stars in such a diagram has been shown by previous work to vary with the level of chromospheric and coronal activity. The upper main sequences of the Hyades and Coma Ber clusters match quite well in this two-color diagram, consistent with their similar ages and metallicities, and effectively zero reddening. While the upper main sequence of NGC 2281 is also fairly well defined, there is some uncertainty in the reddening of this cluster, which hinders an attempt to compare it with the other two. The results of this work suggest that it may become feasible to define isochrones for Population I dwarf stars in a (mFUV − B) versus B − V diagram if a sufficient sample of stars of well-known ages can be used as calibrating sources. However, the utility of such a diagram for age-dating purposes will depend upon the additional availability of accurate reddening measurements.

The Stripe 82 1–2 GHz Very Large Array Snapshot Survey: multiwavelength counterparts

We have combined spectrosopic and photometric data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) with $1.4$ GHz radio observations, conducted as part of the Stripe 82 $1-2$ GHz Snapshot Survey using the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), which covers $\sim100$ sq degrees, to a flux limit of 88 $\mu$Jy rms. Cross-matching the $11\,768$ radio source components with optical data via visual inspection results in a final sample of $4\,795$ cross-matched objects, of which $1\,996$ have spectroscopic redshifts and $2\,799$ objects have photometric redshifts. Three previously undiscovered Giant Radio Galaxies (GRGs) were found during the cross-matching process, which would have been missed using automated techniques. For the objects with spectroscopy we separate radio-loud Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) and star-forming galaxies (SFGs) using three diagnostics and then further divide our radio-loud AGN into the HERG and LERG populations. A control matched sample of HERGs and LERGs, matched on stellar mass, redshift and radio luminosity, reveals that the host galaxies of LERGs are redder and more concentrated than HERGs. By combining with near-infrared data, we demonstrate that LERGs also follow a tight $K-z$ relationship. These results imply the LERG population are hosted by population of massive, passively evolving early-type galaxies. We go on to show that HERGs, LERGs, QSOs and star-forming galaxies in our sample all reside in different regions of a WISE colour-colour diagram. This cross-matched sample bridges the gap between previous `wide but shallow' and `deep but narrow' samples and will be useful for a number of future investigations.

The low-mass pre-main sequence population of Scorpius OB1

Context. The low-mass members of OB associations, expected to be a major component of their total population, are in most cases poorly studied because of the difficulty of selecting these faint stars in crowded sky regions. Our knowledge of many OB associations relies on only a relatively small number of massive members. Aims. We study here the Sco OB1 association, with the aim of a better characterization of its properties, such as global size and shape, member clusters and their morphology, age and formation history, and total mass. Methods. We use deep optical and near-infrared (NIR) photometry from the VPHAS+ and VVV surveys, over a wide area (2.6° × 2.6°), complemented by Spitzer infrared (IR) data, and Chandra and XMM-Newton X-ray data. A new technique is developed to find clusters of pre-main sequence M-type stars using suitable color-color diagrams, complementing existing selection techniques using narrow-band Hα photometry or NIR and ultraviolet (UV) excesses, and X-ray data. Results. We find a large population of approximately 4000 candidate low-mass Sco OB1 members whose spatial properties correlate well with those of Hα-emission, NIR-excess, UV-excess, and X-ray detected members, and unresolved X-ray emission. The low-mass population is spread among several interconnected subgroups: they coincide with the HII regions G345.45+1.50 and IC4628, and the rich clusters NGC 6231 and Trumpler 24, with an additional subcluster intermediate between these two. The total mass of Sco OB1 is estimated to be ~ 8500 M⊙. Indication of a sequence of star-formation events is found, from South (NGC 6231) to North (G345.45+1.50). We suggest that the diluted appearance of Trumpler 24 indicates that the cluster is now dissolving into the field, and that tidal stripping by NGC 6231 nearby contributes to the process.

On the use of logistic regression for stellar classification

We are totally immersed in the Big Data era and reliable algorithms and methods for data classification are instrumental for astronomical research. Random Forest and Support Vector Machines algorithms have become popular over the last few years and they are widely used for different stellar classification problems. In this article, we explore an alternative supervised classification method scarcely exploited in astronomy, Logistic Regression, that has been applied successfully in other scientific areas, particularly biostatistics. We have applied this method in order to derive membership probabilities for potential T Tauri star candidates from ultraviolet-infrared colour-colour diagrams.

VISION - Vienna Survey in Orion

We have investigated the shape of the extinction curve in the infrared up to ~25μm for the Orion A star-forming complex. The basis of this work is near-infrared data acquired with the Visual and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy, in combination with Pan-STARRS and mid-infrared Spitzer photometry. We obtain colour excess ratios for eight passbands by fitting a series of colour-colour diagrams. The fits are performed using Markov chain Monte Carlo methods, together with a linear model under a Bayesian formalism. The resulting colour excess ratios are directly interpreted as a measure of the extinction law. We show that the Orion A molecular cloud is characterized by flat mid-infrared extinction, similar to many other recently studied sightlines. Moreover, we find statistically significant evidence that the extinction law from ~1μm to at least ~6μm varies across the cloud. In particular, we find a gradient along galactic longitude, where regions near the Orion Nebula Cluster show a different extinction law compared to L1641 and L1647, the low-mass star-forming sites in the cloud complex. These variations are of the order of only 3% and are most likely caused by the influence of the massive stars on their surrounding medium. While the observed general trends in our measurements are in agreement with model predictions, both well-established and new dust grain models are not able to fully reproduce our infrared extinction curve. We also present a new extinction map featuring a resolution of 1′ and revisit the correlation between extinction and dust optical depth. This analysis shows that cloud substructure, which is not sampled by background sources, affects the conversion factor between these two measures. In conclusion, we argue that specific characteristics of the infrared extinction law are still not well understood, but Orion A can serve as an unbiased template for future studies.

Enhanced dust emissivity power-law index along the western H α filament of NGC 1569

We used a data set from AKARI and Herschel images at wavelengths from 7 $\mu$m to 500 $\mu$m to catch the evidence of dust processing in galactic winds in NGC 1569. Images show a diffuse infrared (IR) emission extending from the galactic disk into the halo region. The most prominent filamentary structure seen in the diffuse IR emission is spatially in good agreement with the western H$\alpha$ filament (western arm). The spatial distribution of the $F_\mathrm{350}/F_\mathrm{500}$ map shows high values in regions around the super-star clusters (SSCs) and towards the western arm, which are not found in the $F_\mathrm{250}/F_\mathrm{350}$ map. The color-color diagram of $F_\mathrm{250}/F_\mathrm{350}$-$F_\mathrm{350}/F_\mathrm{500}$ indicates high values of the emissivity power-law index ($\beta_\mathrm{c}$) of the cold dust component in those regions. From a spectral decomposition analysis on a pixel-by-pixel basis, a $\beta_\mathrm{c}$ map shows values ranging from $\sim1$ to $\sim2$ over the whole galaxy. In particular, high $\beta_\mathrm{c}$ values of $\sim2$ are only observed in the regions indicated by the color-color diagram. Since the average cold dust temperature in NGC 1569 is $\sim30$ K, $\beta_\mathrm{c}<2.0$ in the far-IR and sub-mm region theoretically suggests emission from amorphous grains, while $\beta_\mathrm{c}=2.0$ suggests that from crystal grains. Given that the enhanced $\beta_\mathrm{c}$ regions are spatially confined by the HI ridge that is considered to be a birthplace of the SSCs, the spatial coincidences may indicate that dust grains around the SSCs are grains of relatively high crystallinity injected by massive stars originating from starburst activities and that those grains are blown away along the HI ridge and thus the western arm.

Spectral energy distributions and colours of hot subluminous stars

Abstract Photometric surveys at optical, ultraviolet, and infrared wavelengths provide ever-growing datasets as major surveys proceed. Colour-colour diagrams are useful tools to identify classes of star and provide large samples. However, combining all photometric measurements of a star into a spectral energy distribution will allow quantitative analyses to be carried out. We demonstrate how to construct and exploit spectral energy distributions and colours for sublumious B (sdB) stars. The aim is to identify cool companions to hot subdwarfs and to determine atmospheric parameters of apparently single sdB stars as well as composite spectrum sdB binaries.We analyse two sdB stars with high-quality photometric data which serve as our benchmarks, the apparently single sdB HD205805 and the sdB + K5 binary PG 0749+658, briefly present preliminary results for the sample of 142 sdB binaries with known orbits, and discuss future prospects from ongoing all-sky optical space- (Gaia) and ground-based (e.g. SkyMapper) as well as NIR surveys.

A novel approach for characterizing broad-band radio spectral energy distributions

We present a new broadband radio frequency catalogue across 0.12 GHz $\le \nu \le$ 20 GHz created by combining data from the Murchison Widefield Array Commissioning Survey, the Australia Telescope 20 Gigahertz survey, and the literature. Our catalogue consists of 1285 sources limited by $S_{20\,\rm{GHz}} >$ 40 mJy at $5\sigma$, and contains flux density measurements (or estimates) and uncertainties at 0.074, 0.080, 0.119, 0.150, 0.180, 0.408, 0.843, 1.4, 4.8, 8.6, and 20 GHz. We fit a second-order polynomial in log-log space to the spectral energy distributions of all these sources in order to characterise their broadband emission. For the 994 sources which are well-described by a linear or quadratic model we present a new diagnostic plot arranging sources by the linear and curvature terms. We demonstrate the advantages of such a plot over the traditional radio colour-colour diagram. We also present astrophysical descriptions of the sources found in each segment of this new parameter space and discuss the utility of these plots in the upcoming era of large area, deep, broadband radio surveys.

Near-infrared study of new embedded clusters in the Carina complex

We analyse the nature of a sample of stellar overdensities that we found projected on the Carina complex. This study is based on 2MASS photometry and involves the photometry decontamination of field stars, elaboration of intrinsic colour-magnitude diagrams J$\times$(J-Ks), colour-colour diagrams (J-H)$\times$(H-Ks) and radial density profiles, in order to determine the structure and the main astrophysical parameters of the best candidates. The verification of an overdensity as an embedded cluster requires a CMD consistent with a PMS content and MS stars, if any. From these results, we are able to verify if they are, in fact, embedded clusters. The results were, in general, rewarding: in a sample of 101 overdensities, the analysis provided 15 candidates, of which three were previously catalogued as clusters (CCCP-Cl$\,$16, Treasure Chest and FSR$\,$1555), and the 12 remaining are discoveries that provided significant results, with ages not above 4.5$\,$Myr and distances compatible with the studied complex. The resulting values for the differential reddening of most candidates were relatively high, confirming that these clusters are still (partially or fully) embedded in the surrounding gas and dust, as a rule within a shell. Histograms with the distribution of the masses, ages and distances were also produced, to give an overview of the results. We conclude that all the 12 newly found embedded clusters are related to the Carina complex.

Chasing the observational signatures of seed black holes at z &gt; 7: candidate observability

Observing the light emitted by the first accreting black holes (BHs) would dramatically improve our understanding of the formation of quasars at z > 6, possibly unveiling the nature of their supermassive black hole (SMBH) seeds. In previous works we explored the relative role of the two main competing BH seed formation channels, Population III remnants (low-mass seeds) and direct collapse BHs (high-mass seeds), investigating the properties of their host galaxies in a cosmological context. Building on this analysis, we predict here the spectral energy distribution and observational features of low- and high-mass BH seeds selected among the progenitors of a z~6 SMBH. We derive the processed emission from both accreting BHs and stars by using the photo-ionization code Cloudy, accounting for the evolution of metallicity and dust-to-gas mass ratio in the interstellar medium of the host galaxies, as predicted by the cosmological data- constrained model GAMETE/QSOdust. We show how future missions like JWST and ATHENA will be able to detect the light coming from SMBH progenitors already at z~16. We build upon previous complementary studies and propose a method based on the combined analysis of near infrared (NIR) colors, IR excess (IRX) and UV continuum slopes (i.e. color-color and IRX-Beta diagrams) to distinguish growing seed BH host galaxies from starburst-dominated systems in JWST surveys. Sources selected through this criterion would be the best target for follow-up X-ray observations.

Gamma-Ray-emitting Narrow-line Seyfert 1 Galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

Abstract The detection of significant γ-ray emission from radio-loud narrow-line Seyfert 1 (NLSy1s) galaxies enables us to study jets in environments different than those in blazars. However, due to the small number of known γ-ray-emitting NLSy1 (γ-NLSy1) galaxies, a comprehensive study could not be performed. Here, we report the first detection of significant γ-ray emission from four active galactic nuclei (AGNs), recently classified as NLSy1 from their Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) optical spectrum. Three flat-spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs) present in the third Large Area Telescope AGN catalog (3LAC) are also found as γ-NLSy1 galaxies. Comparing the γ-ray properties of these objects with 3LAC blazars reveals their spectral shapes to be similar to FSRQs, however, with low γ-ray luminosity (≲1046–47 erg s−1). In the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer color–color diagram, these objects occupy a region mainly populated by FSRQs. Using the H β emission line parameters, we find that on average γ-NLSy1 have smaller black hole masses than FSRQs at similar redshifts. In the low-resolution SDSS image of one of the γ-NLSy1 source, we find the evidence of an extended structure. We conclude by noting that overall many observational properties of γ-NLSy1 sources are similar to FSRQs, and therefore these objects could be their low black hole mass counterparts, as predicted in the literature.

Color-color diagrams in near infrared: (J-H)/(H-K). II.

In the paper the color-color diagrams (J-H)/(H-K) for all stars with visible magnitudes B&lt;11m (for which in the existing catalogs the magnitudes of J, H, K, and also their spectral types and luminosity classes are given) are presented. In the preceding paper the data for luminosity classes I, Ia, Ib, II and III were given. In this paper the data on luminosity classes IV (sub giants) and V (main sequence stars) are given. Among the diagrams of luminosity classes the most interesting are the diagrams for GII and GIV stars, each of these diagrams have two centers of concentrations. For stars of spectral class M the minimal amount of stars is at luminosity class IV, the maximal –at class III, which is not so for other spectral classes: for other classes the maximal amount is at class V. There is a tendency (seen in all diagrams)of increasing of the values of J-H and H-K along the sequence O-B-A-F-G-K-M.

Study of II Galactic quadrant of Milky Way Galaxy using open clusters

We have made UBV I CCD observations for the open clusters Teutsch 1, Riddle 4 and Czernik 6 using 1.04-m Sampurnanand telescope located at the ARIES observatory (Manora peak, Nainital, India). We have used 2MASS JHKS data for the clusters Teutsch 126, Teutsch 54 and Czernik 3. For the estimation of fundamental parameters, we have plotted radial density profiles, colour-magnitude and colour-colour diagrams. Using these inputs, we have studied the structure of Milky Way Galaxy in the second Galactic quadrant. We have considered the open clusters that are younger than 1 Gyrs and lay in the longitude range from 90 to 180 deg. Our study shows that up to 3.5 Kpc, the Galactic disc bends towards the southern hemisphere while after 3.5 Kpc it bends towards the northern hemisphere. The distribution of reddening with longitude and age shows a decreasing trend with the longitude and age of the clusters. Our study also indicates that younger clusters have more reddening than older ones.

Discovery of new bright ULIRGs from the IRAS PSC/FSC Combined Catalogue

High-luminosity IR galaxies (LIRGs, ULIRGs, and HLIRGs) are important for studies related to star-formation processes in the early Universe, as their luminosity allows to detect them at large distances. High IR indicates active star-formation and often starburst processes, which is typical to HII (starburst, SB) and AGN. An interesting question is whether the starburst triggers AGN or vice versa or there is no direct impact. Considering that very often such objects manifest double and multiple structure, it is also interesting to investigate the interrelationship between the SB, nuclear activity and interactions or merging. We have analyzed the IRAS PSC/FSC Combined Catalogue for search for new bright ULIRGs. By means of the SDSS DR14 data, namely redshifts for those objects having spectroscopy, we have calculated the IR luminosities and have found 114 very high-luminosity IR galaxies; 107 ULIRGs and 7 HLIRGs. Among them, 48 new ULIRGs and 7 new HLIRGs have been discovered. These objects have been studied by SDSS color-color, luminosity-redshift and other diagrams. Further studies will include the content of the sample for activity types and other available data.

Astrophysical parameters of open star clusters using 2MASS JHKs data

In the present analysis we have estimated the fundamental parameters of two poorly studied open star clusters, namely Teutsch 61 and Czernik 3, using 2MASS JHKs data. We have used the color-magnitude and colour-colour diagrams to determine their fundamental parameters.

Perspectives of observing the color indices of optical afterglows of gamma-ray bursts with ESA Gaia

We propose a strategy for detecting and analyzing optical afterglows (OAs) of long gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) without the need to obtain their light curves. This approach is useful for the Gaia satellite, which provides sampled optical ultra-low-dispersion spectroscopic observations of the sky. For this purpose, we show that most OAs of long GRBs display specific values of some of their color indices, representing synchrotron emission of the jet. They are stable in time during the event. These indices, which can be determined from the spectra, are very similar for the ensemble of OAs with redshift z < 3.5 and display a strong clustering in some color-color diagrams. These indices also enable to constrain the properties of the local interstellar medium of GRBs. The long-lasting mapping of the sky with the Gaia instruments also gives us a hope to search for the so-called orphan afterglows, which, according to some authors, can be considerably more numerous than OAs of the observed GRBs. We also show how to resolve OAs from other transients in the Gaia data. The color indices and the properties of the quiescent sources (host galaxies of OAs detectable later by the large ground-based telescopes at the co-ordinates of the OA determined by Gaia) would tell us which one, among transients detected by Gaia, is a GRB OA.