Galactic Disk Population Research Articles

Mapping the Galactic Disk with the LAMOST and Gaia Red Clump Sample. VIII. Mapping the Kinematics of the Galactic Disk Using Mono-age and Mono-abundance Stellar Populations

We present a comprehensive study of the kinematic properties of the different Galactic disk populations, as defined by the chemical abundance ratios and stellar ages, across a large disk volume (4.5 ≤ R ≤ 15.0 kpc and ∣Z∣ ≤ 3.0 kpc), by using the LAMOST-Gaia red clump sample stars. We determine the median velocities for various spatial and population bins, finding large-scale bulk motions; for example, the wave-like behavior in radial velocity, the north–south discrepancy in azimuthal velocity and the warp signal in vertical velocity, and the amplitudes and spatial dependences of these bulk motions show significant variations for different mono-age and mono-abundance populations. The global spatial behaviors of the velocity dispersions clearly show a signal of spiral arms and a signal of the disk perturbation event within 4 Gyr, as well as disk flaring in the outer region (i.e., R ≥ 12 kpc), mostly for young or alpha-poor stellar populations. Our detailed measurements of age/[α/Fe]-velocity dispersion relations for different disk volumes indicate that young/α-poor populations are likely to originate from dynamic heating by both giant molecular clouds and spiral arms, while old/α-enhanced populations require an obvious contribution from other heating mechanisms, such as merger and accretion, or are born in the chaotic mergers of gas-rich systems and/or turbulent interstellar medium.

Nonextensive Behavior of Stellar Rotation in the Galactic Disk Components

The solar neighborhood is a unique stellar astrophysical laboratory formed by a variety of stars from different origins. In particular, two of the most notable populations known are the thick and thin disk stars, each characterized by distinct chemical compositions, ages, kinematics, and origins. Based on Tsallis nonextensive statistics, we investigate the observed distribution of the projected rotational velocity of the thin and thick disk component stars. Through Bayesian inference, our results show that the distributions of the Galactic disk populations selected from both kinematic and chemical criteria follow a nonextensive behavior, where non-Gaussian statistics provide a more accurate representation. We also observed an anticorrelation between the entropic index q and the age of disk components confirming the interpretation of initial angular momentum memory loss scaled by the parameter q. In contrast, a subextensivity case with q > 1 was found for the old high-α metal-rich subgroup hαmr, and due to their distinguished rotational behavior and atypical subextensive regime, we infer that thick disk and hαmr stars are, in fact, distinct objects. Our results also suggest that the rotational velocities of stars are defined not only by their evolutionary spin-down processes but also by their birth sites.

The Tilt of the Velocity Ellipsoid of Different Galactic Disk Populations

The tilt of the velocity ellipsoid is a helpful tracer of the gravitational potential of the Milky Way. In this paper, we use nearly 140,000 red clump (RC) stars selected from LAMOST and Gaia to make a detailed analysis of the tilt of the velocity ellipsoid for various populations, as defined by stellar ages and chemical information, within 4.5 ≤ R ≤ 15.0 kpc and ∣Z∣ ≤ 3.0 kpc, respectively. The tilt angle of the velocity ellipsoid of the RC sample stars is accurately described as α = α 0 (Z/R) with α 0 = (0.68 ± 0.05). This indicates the alignment of the velocity ellipsoid is between cylindrical and spherical, implying that any deviation from the spherical alignment of the velocity ellipsoid may be caused by the gravitational potential of the baryonic disk. The results of various populations suggest that α 0 displays an age and population dependence, with values α 0 = (0.72 ± 0.08) and α 0 = (0.64 ± 0.07) for the thin and thick disks, respectively, and α 0 displays a decreasing trend as age (and [α/Fe]) increases, meaning that the velocity ellipsoids of the kinematically relaxed stars are mainly dominated by the gravitational potential of the baryonic disk. We determine the α 0 –R relation for various populations, finding that α 0 displays oscillations with R for the different populations. The oscillations in α 0 appear in both kinematically hot and cold populations, indicating that resonances with the Galactic bar are the most likely origin for these oscillations.

The sdBV+dM close-to-synchronization binary TIC 137608661: inclination and thin disk population

TIC 137608661 is a new sdBV+dM reflection-effect binary discovered by the TESS space mission with an orbital period of 7.21 hours. In addition to the detailed study of this system that was recently published (Silvotti et al., 2022), this article contains a further discussion on its inclination. Moreover, from the 3D space velocities of the binary obtained from the system’s radial velocity and from the Gaia DR3 proper motion, it is shown that TIC 137608661 belongs to the galactic thin disk population.

Constraining the Planet Occurrence Rate around Halo Stars of Potentially Extragalactic Origin

The search for planets orbiting other stars has recently expanded to include stars from galaxies outside the Milky Way. With the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and Gaia surveys, photometric and kinematic information can be combined to identify transiting planet candidates of extragalactic origin. Here, 1080 low-luminosity red-giant branch stars observed by Gaia and TESS with kinematics suggesting a high likelihood of extragalactic origin were searched for planet transits. Transit injection-recovery tests were performed to measure the sensitivity of the TESS data and completeness of the transit search. Injected signals of planets larger than Jupiter with orbital periods of 10 days or less were recovered in ≈44% of cases. Although no planet transits were detected in this sample, we find an upper limit on planet occurrence of 0.52% for hot Jupiters, consistent with previous studies of planet occurrence around similar host stars. As stars in the halo tend to be lower metallicity, and short-period giant planet occurrence tends to be strongly correlated with stellar metallicity, we predict that relative to the Galactic disk population, a smaller fraction of halo stars will host planets detectable by transit surveys. Thus, applying the known planet occurrence trends to potential planet detection around halo stars, we predict ≳13,000 stars must be searched with similar cadence and precision as the stars studied here before a detection of a planet of extragalactic origin is likely. This may be possible with future data releases from the TESS and Gaia missions.

Rubidium abundances of galactic disk stars

Spectroscopic determinations of rubidium abundances were made by applying the spectrum‐fitting method to the Rb(i) 7800 line for an extensive sample of ∼500 late‐type dwarfs as well as giants (including Hyades cluster stars) belonging to the galactic disk population, with the aim of establishing the behavior of [Rb/Fe] ratio for disk stars in the metallicity range of −0.6 ≲ [Fe/H] ≲ +0.3. An inspection of the resulting Rb abundances for Hyades dwarfs revealed that they show a systematic Teff‐dependent trend at ≳ 5,500 K; this means that the results for mid‐G to F stars (including the Sun) are not reliable (i.e., more or less overestimated), which might be due to some imperfect treatment of surface convection in classical model atmospheres. As such, it was decided to confine only to late‐G and K stars at Teff ≲ 5,500 K and adopt the solar‐system (meteoritic) value as the reference Rb abundance. The [Rb/Fe] versus [Fe/H] relations derived for field dwarfs and giants turned out to be consistent with each other, showing a gradual increase of [Rb/Fe] with a decrease in [Fe/H] (with d[Rb/Fe]/d[Fe/H] gradient of ∼ −0.4 around the solar metallicity), which compares favorably with the theoretical prediction of chemical evolution models. Accordingly, this study could not confirm the anomalous behavior of [Rb/Fe] ratio (tending to be subsolar but steeply increasing towards supersolar metallicity) recently reported for M dwarf stars of −0.3 ≲ [Fe/H] ≲ +0.3.

A Population of Compact Radio Variables and Transients in the Radio-bright Zone at the Galactic Center Observed with the Jansky Very Large Array

Abstract Using Jansky Very Large Array data obtained from high-resolution observations at 5.5 GHz at multiple epochs in 2014 and 2019, we have detected a population of radio variables and transients in the radio-bright zone at the Galactic center. With observations covering a sky area of 180 arcmin2 at an angular resolution of 0.″4, we report new detections of 110 Galactic center compact radio (GCCR) sources with a size of <1″. The flux densities of GCCR sources exceed 70 μJy, with at least 10σ significance. Among these sources, 82 are variable or transient and 28 are nonvariable. About 10% of them are expected to be extragalactic background sources. We discuss the possible astrophysical nature of the detected sources. As compared to the Galactic disk (GD) population of normal pulsars (NPs) and millisecond pulsars (MSPs), a majority (80%) of the GCCR sources appear to fall within the high flux density tail of the pulsar distribution, as extrapolated from a sample of NPs in the GD. However, MSPs extrapolated from the GD population are too weak to have contributed significantly to the GCCR population that has been detected. We also cross-correlated the GCCR sources with X-ray sources in Chandra X-ray catalogs and found that 42 GCCR sources have candidate X-ray counterparts. Most of the GCCR sources having X-ray counterparts are likely to be associated with unresolved or slightly resolved radio jets launched from X-ray binaries with a compact object, either a black hole or a neutron star.

Multiwavelength Absolute Magnitudes and Colors of Red Clump Stars in the Gaia Era

Abstract This study presents the multiwavelength investigation of the absolute magnitudes and colors of the red clump (RC) stars selected from APOGEE and GALAH DR2 combined catalog which is complemented with Gaia DR2 astrometric data and multiwavelength photometric data of GALEX GR6/7, SDSS DR7, Gaia DR2, 2MASS, and WISE sky surveys. The analyses are centered on the different distance estimation methods using Gaia trigonometric parallaxes, (1/ϖ) and Bayes statistics, and chemically defined Galactic disk populations on [α/Fe] × [Fe/H] plane. This investigation questions the long-studied problem of the population effects on RC luminosity. Using two different distance estimation approaches, (i) chemical thin and chemical thick disk RC stars are shown to have different absolute magnitudes, while colors remain the same in all photometric bands. Absolute magnitudes vary between −0.12 and +0.13 mag for the 1/ϖ with the change of the Galactic population. This variation in absolute magnitudes is found to be larger for the other method, (ii) the Besançon population synthesis model of Galaxy for 2MASS photometry, in which the absolute magnitude difference between chemical populations were found between −0.35 and −0.40 mag from thin disk to thick disk. When results compared with each other, differences of absolute magnitudes are about three times larger in the model than in the observations. We confirm that the RC absolute magnitudes depend on α-element abundances of Galactic populations.

Chemical Properties of the Local Galactic Disk and Halo. I. Fundamental Properties of 1544 Nearby, High Proper-motion M Dwarfs and Subdwarfs

Abstract Due to their ubiquity and very long main-sequence lifetimes, M dwarfs provide an excellent tool to study the formation and chemical enrichment history of our Galaxy. However, owing to their intrinsic faintness, the acquisition of high-resolution, high signal-to-noise spectra of low-mass stars has been limited to small numbers of very nearby stars, mostly from the Galactic disk population. On the other hand, large numbers of low- to medium-resolution spectra of M-type dwarf stars from both the local Galactic disk and halo are available from various surveys. In order to fully exploit these data, we develop a template-fit method using a set of empirically assembled M dwarf/subdwarf classification templates, based on the measurements of the TiO and CaH molecular bands near 7000 Å, which are used to classify M dwarfs/subdwarfs by spectral type and metallicity class. We further present a pipeline to automatically determine the effective temperature T eff, metallicity [M/H], α-element to iron abundance ratio [α/Fe], and surface gravity log g of M dwarfs/subdwarfs using the latest version of BT-Settl model atmospheres. We apply these methods to a set of low- to medium-resolution spectra of 1544 high proper-motion (μ ≥ 0.″4 yr−1) M dwarfs/subdwarfs, collected at the MDM observatory, Lick Observatory, Kitt-Peak National Observatory, and Cerro-Tololo Interamerican Observatory. Our metallicity estimates appear to be consistent with the expected color–magnitude variation of stars relative to the atmospheric composition, as our sample shows a clear stratification with respect to metallicity in the Hertzsprung–Russel diagram constructed from their Gaia DR2 parallaxes and optical magnitudes. Furthermore, the measured chemical parameters of the two components in 48 binary systems are in good agreement with each other, which suggest a precision of ±0.22 dex in [M/H], ±0.08 dex in [α/Fe], and ±0.16 dex in the combined index [α/Fe] + [M/H]. We find that the relationship between color and spectral subtype depends on metallicity class, as the color G BP − G RP is more sensitive to subtype for metal-rich M dwarfs in comparison to metal-poor M subdwarfs. We also demonstrate that effective temperature as a function of spectral subtype has a steeper slope for metal-rich M dwarfs than metal-poor M subdwarfs. There is also a good consistency between “metallicity class,” obtained from the empirical classification templates, and the index [α/Fe] + [M/H] (∼[α/H]), obtained from BT-Settl model fitting, which means that the more easily measured “metallicity class” can be used as a relatively reliable indicator of absolute α-element abundance, [α/H], in low-mass stars. Finally, we examine the distribution of our stars in the [α/Fe] versus [M/H] diagram, which shows evidence of clustering in chemical abundance makeup, suggestive of discrete populations among the local disk and halo stars. We predict that analyses of larger samples of spectra of nearby M-type stars will uncover a complex structure of our Galaxy.

Characterizing the companion AGBs using surface chemical composition of barium stars

ABSTRACT Barium stars are one of the important probes to understand the origin and evolution of slow neutron-capture process elements in the Galaxy. These are extrinsic stars, where the observed s-process element abundances are believed to have an origin in the now invisible companions that produced these elements at their asymptotic giant branch (AGB) phase of evolution. We have attempted to understand the s-process nucleosynthesis, as well as the physical properties of the companion stars through a detailed comparison of observed elemental abundances of 10 barium stars with the predictions from AGB nucleosynthesis models, FRUITY. For these stars, we have presented estimates of abundances of several elements, C, N, O, Na, Al, α-elements, Fe-peak elements, and neutron-capture elements Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Ba, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, and Eu. The abundance estimates are based on high resolution spectral analysis. Observations of Rb in four of these stars have allowed us to put a limit to the mass of the companion AGB stars. Our analysis clearly shows that the former companions responsible for the surface abundance peculiarities of these stars are low-mass AGB stars. Kinematic analysis has shown the stars to be members of Galactic disc population.

Comparison of the Asteroseismic Mass Scale of Red Clump Giants with Photometric Mass Estimates

Abstract Asteroseismology can provide joint constraints on masses and radii of individual stars. While this approach has been extensively tested for red giant branch (RGB) stars, it has been more difficult to test for helium core–burning red clump (RC) giants because of the lack of fundamental calibrators. To provide independent mass estimates, we utilize a number of widely used horizontal-branch models in the literature and derive photometric masses from a comparison with photometry. Our selected models disagree with each other on the predicted mass–luminosity–temperature relation. We adopt first-order corrections on colors and magnitudes to minimize the dispersion between different models by forcing models to match the observed location in the solar-metallicity cluster M67. Even for these calibrated models, however, the internal consistency between models deteriorates at higher metallicities, and photometric masses become smaller than asteroseismic masses, as seen from metal-rich field RC stars with Gaia parallaxes. Similarly, the average photometric mass for metal-rich NGC 6791 stars ranges from 0.7 to 1.1 M ⊙, depending on the specific set of models employed. An ensemble average of the photometric masses (0.88 ± 0.16 M ⊙) in NGC 6791 is marginally consistent with the asteroseismic mass (1.16 ± 0.04 M ⊙). There is a clear tension between the masses that one would predict from photometry for metal-rich field RC stars, asteroseismic masses, and those that would be expected from the ages of stars in the Galactic disk populations and canonical RGB mass loss. We conclude that standard RC models need to be reexamined in light of these powerful new data sets.

A Census of Symbiotic Stars in the 2MASS, WISE , and Gaia Surveys

We present a new census of Galactic and extragalactic symbiotic stars (SySts). This compilation contains 323 known and 87 candidate SySts. Of the confirmed SySts, 257 are Galactic and 66 extragalactic. The spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of 348 sources have been constructed using 2MASS and AllWISE data. Regarding the Galactic SySts, 74% are S-types, 13% D and 3.5% D$^{\prime}$. S-types show an SED peak between 0.8 and 1.7 $\mu$m, whereas D-type show a peak at longer wavelengths between 2 and 4 $\mu$m. D$^{\prime}$-type, on the other hand, display a nearly flat profile. Gaia distances and effective temperatures are also presented. According to their Gaia distances, S-type are found to be members of both thin and thick Galactic disk populations, while S+IR- and D-types are mainly thin disk sources. Gaia temperatures show a reasonable agreement with the temperatures derived from SEDs within their uncertainties. A new census of the OVI $\lambda$6830 Raman-scattered line in SySts is also presented. From a sample of 298 SySts with available optical spectra, 55% are found to emit the line. No significant preference is found among the different types. The report of the OVI $\lambda$6830 Raman-scattered line in non-SySts is also discussed as well as the correlation between the Raman-scattered OVI line and X-ray emission. We conclude that the presence of the OVI Raman-scattered line still provides a strong criterion for identifying a source as a SySt.

Bayesian model comparison and analysis of the Galactic disc population of gamma-ray millisecond pulsars

Pulsed emission from almost one hundred millisecond pulsars (MSPs) has been detected in $\gamma$-rays by the Fermi Large-Area Telescope. The global properties of this population remain relatively unconstrained despite many attempts to model their spatial and luminosity distributions. We perform here a self-consistent Bayesian analysis of both the spatial distribution and luminosity function simultaneously. Distance uncertainties, arising from errors in the parallax measurement or Galactic electron-density model, are marginalized over. We provide a public Python package for calculating distance uncertainties to pulsars derived using the dispersion measure by accounting for the uncertainties in Galactic electron-density model YMW16. Finally, we use multiple parameterizations for the MSP population and perform Bayesian model comparison, finding that a broken power law luminosity function with Lorimer spatial profile are preferred over multiple other parameterizations used in the past. The best-fit spatial distribution and number of $\gamma$-ray MSPs is consistent with results for the radio population of MSPs.

Constraining the thin disc initial mass function using Galactic classical Cepheids

Context: The Initial Mass Function (IMF) plays a crucial role on galaxy evolution and its implications on star formation theory make it a milestone for the next decade. It is in the intermediate and high mass ranges where the uncertainties of the IMF are larger. This is a major subject of debate and analysis both for Galactic and extragalactic science. Aims: Our goal is to constrain the IMF of the Galactic thin disc population using both Galactic Classical Cepheids and Tycho-2 data. Methods: For the first time the Besan\c{c}on Galaxy Model (BGM) has been used to characterise the Galactic population of the Classical Cepheids. We have modified the age configuration in the youngest populations of the BGM thin disc model to avoid artificial discontinuities in the age distribution of the simulated Cepheids. Three statistical methods, optimized for different mass ranges, have been developed and applied to search for the best IMF that fits the observations. This strategy allows us to quantify variations in the Star Formation History (SFH), the stellar density at Sun position and the thin disc radial scale length. A rigorous treatment of unresolved multiple stellar systems has been undertaken adopting a spatial resolution according to the catalogues used. Results: For intermediate masses, our study favours a composite field-star IMF slope of $\alpha=3.2$ for the local thin disc, excluding flatter values such as the Salpeter IMF ($\alpha=2.35$). Moreover, a constant Star Formation History is definitively excluded, the three statistical methods considered here show that it is inconsistent with the observational data. Conclusions: Using field stars and Galactic Classical Cepheids, we have found, above $1M_\odot$, an IMF steeper than the canonical stellar IMF of associations and young clusters. This result is consistent with the predictions of the Integrated Galactic IMF.

COMPACT GALACTIC PLANETARY NEBULAE: AN HST/WFC3 MORPHOLOGICAL CATALOG, AND A STUDY OF THEIR ROLE IN THE GALAXY

ABSTRACT We present the images of a Hubble Space Telescope (HST/WFC3) snapshot program of angularly compact Galactic planetary nebulae (PNe), acquired with the aim of studying their size, evolutionary status, and morphology. PNe that are smaller than ∼4″ are underrepresented in most morphological studies, and today they are less well studied than their immediate evolutionary predecessors, the pre-planetary nebulae. The images have been acquired in the light of [O iii]λ5007, which is commonly used to classify the PN morphology, in the UV continuum with the aim of detecting the central star unambiguously, and in the I-band to detect a cool stellar companion, if present. The sample of 51 confirmed PNe exhibits nearly the full range of primary morphological classes, with the distribution more heavily weighted toward bipolar PNe, but with the total of aspherical PNe almost identical to that of the general Galactic sample. A large range of microstructures is evident in our sample as well, with many nebulae displaying attached shells, halos, ansae, and internal structure in the form of arcs, rings, and spirals. Various aspherical structures in a few PNe, including detached arcs, suggest an interaction with the ISM. We studied the observed sample of compact Galactic PNe in the context of the general Galactic PN population, and explore whether their physical size, spatial distribution, reddening, radial metallicity gradient, and possible progenitors are peculiar within the population of Galactic PNe. We found that these compact Galactic PNe, which have been selected based on apparent dimensions, constitute a diverse Galactic PN population that is relatively uniformly distributed across the Galactic disk, including the outskirts of our Galaxy. This unique sample will be used in the future to probe the old Galactic disk population.

HD 16771: A lithium-rich giant in the red-clump stage

Aims: We report the discovery of a young lithium rich giant, HD 16771, in the core-helium burning phase that does not seem to fit existing proposals of Li synthesis near the luminosity function bump or during He-core flash. We aim to understand the nature of Li enrichment in the atmosphere of HD 16771 by exploring various Li enhancement scenarios. Methods: We have collected high-resolution echelle spectra of HD 16771 and derived stellar parameters and chemical abundances for 27 elements by either line equivalent widths or synthetic spectrum analyses. Results: HD 16771 is a Li-rich (log(n(Li))=+2.67+/-0.10 dex) intermediate mass giant star (M=2.4+/-0.1 Msun) with age=0.76+/-0.13 Gyr and located at the red giant clump. Kinematics and chemical compositions are consistent with HD 16771 being a member of the Galactic thin disk population. The non-detection of 6Li(< 3%), a low carbon isotopic ratio (12C/13C=12+/-2), and the slow rotation (vsini=2.8 km/s) all suggest that lithium might have been synthesized in this star. On the contrary, HD 16771 with a mass of 2.4 Msun has no chance of encountering luminosity function bump and He-core flash where the possibility of fast deep-mixing for Li enrichment in K giants has been suggested previously. Conclusions: Based of the evolutionary status of this star, we discuss the possibility that 7Li synthesis in HD 16771 is triggered by the engulfment of close-in planet(s) during the RGB phase.

THE NANOGRAV NINE-YEAR DATA SET: ASTROMETRIC MEASUREMENTS OF 37 MILLISECOND PULSARS

ABSTRACT Using the nine-year radio-pulsar timing data set from the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav), collected at Arecibo Observatory and the Green Bank Telescope, we have measured the positions, proper motions, and parallaxes for 37 millisecond pulsars. We report twelve significant parallax measurements and distance measurements, and eighteen lower limits on distance. We compare these measurements to distances predicted by the NE2001 interstellar electron density model and find them to be in general agreement. We use measured orbital-decay rates and spin-down rates to confirm two of the parallax distances and to place distance upper limits on other sources; these distance limits agree with the parallax distances with one exception, PSR J1024–0719, which we discuss at length. Using the proper motions of the 37 NANOGrav pulsars in combination with other published measurements, we calculate the velocity dispersion of the millisecond pulsar population in Galactocentric coordinates. We find the radial, azimuthal, and perpendicular dispersions to be 46, 40, and 24 km s - 1 ?> , respectively, in a model that allows for high-velocity outliers; or 81, 58, and 62 km s - 1 ?> for the full population. These velocity dispersions are far smaller than those of the canonical pulsar population, and are similar to older Galactic disk populations. This suggests that millisecond pulsar velocities are largely attributable to their being an old population rather than being artifacts of their birth and evolution as neutron star binary systems. The components of these velocity dispersions follow similar proportions to other Galactic populations, suggesting that our results are not biased by selection effects.

WISEA J064750.85-154616.4: a new nearby L/T transition dwarf

Aims: Our aim is to detect and classify previously overlooked brown dwarfs in the solar neighbourhood. Methods: We performed a proper motion search among bright sources observed with the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) that are also seen in the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS). Our candidates appear according to their red $J$$-$$K_s$ colours as nearby late-L dwarf candidates. Low-resolution near-infrared (NIR) classification spectroscopy in the $HK$ band allowed us to get spectroscopic distance and tangential velocity estimates. Results: We have discovered a new L9.5 dwarf, WISEA J064750.85-154616.4, at a spectroscopic distance of about 14 pc and with a tangential velocity of about 11 km/s, typical of the Galactic thin disc population. We have confirmed another recently found L/T transition object at about 10 pc, WISEA J140533.13+835030.7, which we classified as L8 (NIR).

The effects of metallicity on the Galactic disk population of white dwarfs

It has been known for a long time that stellar metallicity plays a significant role in the determination of the ages of the different Galactic stellar populations, when main sequence evolutionary tracks are employed. Here we analyze the role that metallicity plays on the white dwarf luminosity function of the Galactic disk, which is often used to determine its age. We employ a Monte Carlo population synthesis code that accounts for the properties of the population of Galactic disk white dwarfs. Our code incorporates the most up-to-date evolutionary cooling sequences for white dwarfs with hydrogen-rich and hydrogen-deficient atmospheres for both carbon-oxygen and oxygen-neon cores. We use two different models to assess the evolution of the metallicity, one in which the adopted metallicity is constant with time, but with a moderate dispersion, and a second one in which the metallicity increases with time. We found that our theoretical results are in a very satisfactory agreement with the observational luminosity functions obtained from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and from the SuperCOSMOS Sky Survey (SSS), independently of the adopted age-metallicity law. In particular, we found that the age-metallicity law has no noticeable impact in shaping the bright branch of the white dwarf luminosity function, and that the position of its cut-off is almost insensitive to the adopoted age-metallicity relationship. Because the shape of the bright branch of the white dwarf luminosity function is insensitive to the age-metallicity law, it can be safely employed to test the theoretical evolutionary sequences, while due to the limited sensitivity of the position of the drop-off to the distribution of metallicities, its location provides a robust indicator of the age of the Galactic disk.

Cataclysmic variables from the Catalina Real-time Transient Survey

We present 855 cataclysmic variable candidates detected by the Catalina Real-time Transient Survey (CRTS) of which at least 137 have been spectroscopically confirmed and 705 are new discoveries. The sources were identified from the analysis of five years of data, and come from an area covering three quarters of the sky. We study the amplitude distribution of the dwarf novae CVs discovered by CRTS during outburst, and find that in quiescence they are typically two magnitudes fainter compared to the spectroscopic CV sample identified by SDSS. However, almost all CRTS CVs in the SDSS footprint have ugriz photometry. We analyse the spatial distribution of the CVs and find evidence that many of the systems lie at scale heights beyond those expected for a Galactic thin disc population. We compare the outburst rates of newly discovered CRTS CVs with the previously known CV population, and find no evidence for a difference between them. However, we find that significant evidence for a systematic difference in orbital period distribution. We discuss the CVs found below the orbital period minimum and argue that many more are yet to be identified among the full CRTS CV sample. We cross-match the CVs with archival X-ray catalogs and find that most of the systems are dwarf novae rather than magnetic CVs.