Fiber-fed Extended Range Optical Spectrograph Research Articles

Asteroseismology of the young open cluster NGC 2516

Context. Asteroseismic modelling of isolated stars presents significant challenges due to the difficulty in accurately determining stellar parameters, particularly the stellar age. These challenges can be overcome by observing stars in open clusters whose coeval members share an initial chemical composition. The light curves from the all-sky survey by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) allow us to investigate and analyse stellar variations in clusters with an unprecedented level of detail for the first time. Aims. We aim to detect gravity-mode oscillations in the early-type main-sequence members of the young open cluster NGC 2516 to deduce their internal rotation rates. Methods. We selected the 301 member stars with no more than mild contamination as our sample. We analysed the full-frame image light curves, which provide nearly continuous observations in the first and third years of TESS monitoring. We also collected high-resolution spectra using the Fiber-fed Extended Range Optical Spectrograph for the g-mode pulsators, with the aim of assessing the Gaia effective temperatures and gravities and preparing for future seismic modelling. Results. By fitting the theoretical isochrones to the colour-magnitude diagram of a cluster, we determined an age of 102 ± 15 Myr and inferred that the extinction at 550 nm (A0) is 0.53 ± 0.04 mag. We identified 147 stars with surface-brightness modulations: 24 with gravity (g-)mode pulsations (γ Doradus or slowly pulsating B-type stars) and 35 with pressure (p-)mode pulsations (δ Sct stars). When sorted by colour index, the amplitude spectra of the δ Sct stars show a distinct ordering and reveal a discernible frequency-temperature relationship. The near-core rotation rates, measured from period spacing patterns in two slowly pulsating B-type (SPB) stars and nine γ Dor stars, reach up to 3 d−1. This is at the high end of the values found from Kepler data of field stars of similar variability type. The γ Dor stars of NGC 2516 have internal rotation rates as high as 50% of their critical value, whereas the SPB stars exhibit rotation rates close to their critical rate. Although the B-type stars are rotating rapidly, we did not find long-term brightness and colour variations in the mid-infrared, which suggests that there are no disc or shell formation events in our sample. We also discussed the results of our spectroscopic observations for the g-mode pulsators.

Caught in the Act: A Metal-rich High-velocity Cloud in the Inner Galaxy

We characterize the chemical and physical conditions in an outflowing high-velocity cloud (HVC) in the inner Galaxy. We report a supersolar metallicity of [O/H] = +0.36 ± 0.12 for the HVC at v LSR = 125.6 km s−1 toward the star HD 156359 (l = 328.°7, b = −14.°5, d = 9 kpc, z = −2.3 kpc). Using archival observations from the Far-Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE), the Hubble Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, and the European Southern Observatory Fiber-fed Extended Range Optical Spectrograph we measure high-velocity absorption in H i, O i, C ii, N ii, Si ii, Ca ii, Si iii, Fe iii, C iv, Si iv, N v, and O vi. We measure a low H i column density of log N(H i) = 15.54 ± 0.05 in the HVC from multiple unsaturated H i Lyman series lines in the FUSE data. We determine a low dust depletion level in the HVC from the relative strength of silicon, iron, and calcium absorption relative to oxygen, with [Si/O] = −0.33 ± 0.14, [Fe/O] = −0.30 ± 0.20, and [Ca/O] = −0.56 ± 0.16. Analysis of the high-ion absorption using collisional ionization models indicates that the hot plasma is multiphase, with the C iv and Si iv tracing 104.9 K gas and N v and O vi tracing 105.4 K gas. The cloud’s metallicity, dust content, kinematics, and close proximity to the disk are all consistent with a Galactic wind origin. As the HD 156359 line of sight probes the inner Galaxy, the HVC appears to be a young cloud caught in the act of being entrained in a multiphase Galactic outflow and driven out into the halo.

Revisiting the evolved hypergiants in the Magellanic Clouds

Abstract The massive stars that survive the phase of red supergiants (RSGs) spend the rest of their life in extremity. Their unstable atmospheres facilitate the formation and episodic ejection of shells that alter the stellar appearance and surroundings. In the present study, we revise the evolutionary state of eight hypergiants in the Magellanic Clouds, four of early-A type and four of FG type, and complement the short list of the eruptive post-RSGs termed as yellow hypergiants. We refine the outdated temperatures and luminosities of the stars by means of high-resolution spectroscopy with the Fiber-fed Extended Range Optical Spectrograph (FEROS). The A-type stars are suggested to be in their early, post-main-sequence phase, showing spectrophotometric characteristics of redward evolving supergiants. On the other hand, the FG-type stars manifest themselves through the enhanced atmospheric activity that is traced by emission filling in H α and the dynamical modulation of the low-excitation Ba ii line. Of these stars, the dusty HD269723 is suggested to have recently departed from a cool phase. We identify double-peaked emission in the FEROS data of HD269953 that emerges from an orbiting disc-hosting companion. The highlight of the study is an episode of enhanced mass-loss of HD271182 that manifests as a dimming event in the light curve and renders the star ‘modest’ analogue to ρ Cas. The luminosity log (L/L⊙) = 5.6 of HD271182 can serve as an updated threshold for the luminosity of stars exhibiting a post-RSG evolution in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

Raman-scattered O vi Features in the Symbiotic Nova RR Telescopii

Abstract RR Telescopii (RR Tel) is an interacting binary system in which a hot white dwarf (WD) accretes matter from a Mira-type variable star via gravitational capture of its stellar wind. This symbiotic nova shows intense Raman-scattered O vi 1032 and 1038 features at 6825 and 7082 Å. We present high-resolution optical spectra of RR Tel taken in 2016 and 2017 with the Magellan Inamori Kyocera Echelle (MIKE) spectrograph at the Magellan-Clay telescope, Chile. We aim to study the stellar wind accretion in RR Tel from the profile analysis of Raman O vi features. With an asymmetric O vi disk model, we derive a representative Keplerian speed of >35 km s−1, and the corresponding scale <0.8 au. The best fit for the Raman profiles is obtained with a mass-loss rate of the Mira M ̇ ∼ 2 × 10 − 6 M ⊙ yr − 1 and a wind terminal velocity v ∞ ∼ 20 km s−1. We compare the MIKE data with an archival spectrum taken in 2003 with the Fiber-fed Extended Range Optical Spectrograph at the MPG/ESO 2.2 m telescope. It allows us to highlight the profile variation of the Raman O vi features, indicative of a change in the density distribution of the O vi disk in the last two decades. We also report the detection of O vi recombination lines at 3811 and 3834 Å, which are blended with other emission lines. Our profile decomposition suggests that the recombination of O vii takes place nearer to the WD than the O vi 1032 and 1038 emission region.

A Highly Eccentric Warm Jupiter Orbiting TIC 237913194

Abstract The orbital parameters of warm Jupiters serve as a record of their formation history, providing constraints on formation scenarios for giant planets on close and intermediate orbits. Here, we report the discovery of TIC 237913194b, detected in full-frame images from Sectors 1 and 2 of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), ground-based photometry (Chilean–Hungarian Automated Telescope, Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope), and Fiber-fed Extended Range Optical Spectrograph radial velocity time series. We constrain its mass to = and its radius to = , implying a bulk density similar to Neptune’s. It orbits a G-type star ( = , V = 12.1 mag) with a period of 15.17 days on one of the most eccentric orbits of all known warm giants (e ≈ 0.58). This extreme dynamical state points to a past interaction with an additional, undetected massive companion. A tidal evolution analysis showed a large tidal dissipation timescale, suggesting that the planet is not a progenitor for a hot Jupiter caught during its high-eccentricity migration. TIC 237913194b further represents an attractive opportunity to study the energy deposition and redistribution in the atmosphere of a warm Jupiter with high eccentricity.

Detection Limits of Exoplanetary Atmospheres with 2-m Class Telescopes**Based on observations made with ESO Telescopes at the La Silla Paranal Observatory under program ID 098.A-9039(C).

Transmission spectroscopy is an important technique to probe the atmospheres of exoplanets. With the advent of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and, in the future, of the PLAnetary Transits and Oscillations of stars (PLATO), more and more transiting planets around bright stars will be found and the observing time of current large telescopes used to apply these techniques will not suffice. We demonstrate here that 2-m class telescopes equipped with spectrographs with high resolving power may be used for a certain number of potential targets. We obtained a timeseries of high-resolution Fiber-fed Extended Range Optical Spectrograph (FEROS) spectra at the 2.2-m telescope at La Silla of the very hot-Jupiter hosting planet, WASP-18b, and show that our upper limit is consistent with the expectations. This is the first analysis of its kind using 2-m class telescopes, and it serves to highlight their potential. In this context, we then proceed to discuss the suitability of this class of telescopes for the upcoming flood of scientifically interesting targets from the TESS space mission, and propose a methodology to select the most promising targets. This is of particular significance given that observing time on 2-m class telescopes is more readily available than on large 8-m class facilities.

A FEROS Survey of Hot Subdwarf Stars

Abstract We have completed a survey of twenty-two ultraviolet-selected hot subdwarfs using the Fiber-fed Extended Range Optical Spectrograph (FEROS) and the 2.2-m telescope at La Silla. The sample includes apparently single objects as well as hot subdwarfs paired with a bright, unresolved companion. The sample was extracted from our GALEX catalogue of hot subdwarf stars. We identified three new short-period systems (P = 3.5 hours to 5 days) and determined the orbital parameters of a long-period (P = 62d.66) sdO plus G III system. This particular system should evolve into a close double degenerate system following a second common envelope phase.We also conducted a chemical abundance study of the subdwarfs: Some objects show nitrogen and argon abundance excess with respect to oxygen. We present key results of this programme.

Solar analogues and solar twins in the HARPS archive★

We present 63 solar analogues and twins for which high signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) archival data are available for the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) high-resolution spectrograph at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) 3.6-m telescope. We perform a differential analysis of these stellar spectra relative to the solar spectrum, similar to previous work using ESO 2.2-m/fiber-fed extended range optical spectrograph (FEROS) data, and expand our analysis by introducing a new method to test the temperature and metallicity calibration of Sun-like stars in the Geneva–Copenhagen Survey (GCS). The HARPS data are significantly better than the FEROS data, with improvements in S/N, spectral resolution and number of lines we can analyse. We confirm the offsets to the photometric scale found in our FEROS study. We confirm three solar twins found in the FEROS data as solar twins in the HARPS data, as well as identify six new twins.

FEROS Abundance Analysis of 21 Bulgelike SMR Stars

AbstractWe analyze a sample of 21 super-metal-rich (SMR) stars, using high-resolution échelle spectra obtained with the Fiber-fed Extended Range Optical Spectrograph at the 1.5m ESO telescope. The metallicities are in the range 0.07 ≤ [Fe/H] ≤ 0.45, 3 of them in common with Pompéia et al. (2009). Geneva photometry, astrometric data from Hipparcos, and radial velocities from CORAVEL are available for these stars. The peculiar kinematics suggests the thin disk close to the bulge as the probable birthplace of these stars (Grenon 1999). From Hipparcos data, it appears that the turnoff of this population indicates an age of 10-11 Gyr (Grenon 1999). Detailed analysis of the sample stars is carried out, and atmospheric parameters are derived from spectroscopic and photometric determinations. Oxygen abundances of these stars are derived, and [O/Fe] overabundances up to +0.35 are found.

Iron abundances from optical Fe iii absorption lines in B-type stellar spectra

Abstract The role of optical Fe iii absorption lines in B-type stars as iron abundance diagnostics is considered. To date, ultraviolet Fe lines have been widely used in B-type stars, although line blending can severely hinder their diagnostic power. Using optical spectra, covering a wavelength range ∼3560–9200 Å, a sample of Galactic B-type main-sequence and supergiant stars of spectral types B0.5 to B7 are investigated. A comparison of the observed Fe iii spectra of supergiants, and those predicted from the model atmosphere codes tlusty[plane-parallel, non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE)], with spectra generated using synspec (LTE), and cmfgen (spherical, non-LTE), reveal that non-LTE effects appear small. In addition, a sample of main-sequence and supergiant objects, observed with the Fiber-fed Extended Range Optical Spectrograph (FEROS), reveal LTE abundance estimates consistent with the Galactic environment and previous optical studies. Based on the present study, we list a number of Fe iii transitions which we recommend for estimating the iron abundance from early B-type stellar spectra.

A high spectral resolution atlas and catalogue of emission lines of the comet C/2000 WM1 (LINEAR)

Using five high-resolution spectra of comet C/2000 WM1 (LINEAR) obtained on December 1 and 2, 2001 (UT) with the fiber fed extended range optical spectrograph (FEROS) installed on the 1.52-m reflector of the ESO (Chile, La Silla), we have constructed a high spectral resolution atlas and catalogue of cometary emission lines of this comet. Many emission lines of the molecules C 2, C 3, CN, CH, CH +, NH 2, CO +, H 2O +, and presumably CO and C 2 − were identified in the spectral range λλ 4000–9000 Å in the comet spectra. The total number of identified emission lines is 4537: C 2 – 2734, NH 2 – 1195, CN – 289, C 3 – 158, CO – 60, H 2O + – 51, CH – 50, CO + – 16, CH + – 8, C 2 − – 5. Also there are many unidentified emission lines in the comet spectrum.

Keck NIRSPEC Infrared OH Lines: Oxygen Abundances in Metal‐poor Stars down to [Fe/H] = −2.9

Infrared OH lines at 1.5-1.7 μm in the H band were obtained with the NIRSPEC high-resolution spectrograph at the 10 m Keck Telescope for a sample of seven metal-poor stars. Detailed analyses have been carried out, based on optical high-resolution data obtained with the Fiber-fed Extended Range Optical Spectrograph at ESO. Stellar parameters were derived by adopting infrared flux method effective temperatures, trigonometric and/or evolutionary gravities, and metallicities from Fe II lines. We obtain that the sample stars with metallicities [Fe/H] < -2.2 show a mean oxygen abundance [O/Fe] ≈ 0.54 for a solar oxygen abundance of (O) = 8.87, or [O/Fe] ≈ 0.64 if (O) = 8.77 is assumed.

Detailed Analysis of Nearby Bulgelike Dwarf Stars. I. Stellar Parameters, Kinematics, and Oxygen Abundances

High-resolution echelle spectra were obtained with the Fiber-fed Extended Range Optical Spectrograph at the 1.5 m ESO telescope for 35 nearby bulgelike stars with metallicities in the range -0.8 ≤ [Fe/H] ≤ +0.4. Geneva photometry, astrometric data from Hipparcos, and radial velocities from CORAVEL are available for these stars. From Hipparcos data, it appears that the turnoff of this population indicates an age of 10-11 Gyr (as stated by Grenon in 1999). Detailed analysis of the sample stars is carried out, and atmospheric parameters derived from spectroscopic and photometric determinations are presented. Oxygen abundances are derived based on the forbidden [O I] 6300.3 A line. The results show an oxygen overabundance pattern for most of the sample stars when compared to their disk counterparts.

Peculiar J-type Carbon Stars and Li

We determined the carbon and lithium abundances and carbon isotopic ratios for 4 peculiar carbon stars by means of spectral synthesis method. Li abundances were derived using Li resonance line at λ6707.8 Â. For carbon abundance determinations we used the lines of the red system of CN molecule. Spectral region of λλ7994 — 8030 Â containing the lines of molecules 12CN and 13CN was used also for 12C/13C ratio measuring. The high-resolution spectra were obtained on the 1.52m telescope of ESO with the Fiber-fed Extended Range Optical Spectrograph (FEROS). These observations were obtained under the agreement between the CNPq-Observatório Nacional, Brazil, and ESO.