GALAH Survey Research Articles

The GALAH survey: A census of lithium-rich giant stars

Abstract We investigate the properties of 1262 red giant stars with high photospheric abundances of lithium observed by the GALAH and K2-HERMES surveys, and discuss them in the context of proposed mechanisms for lithium enrichment and re-depletion in giant stars. We confirm that Li-rich giants are rare, making up only 1.2 per cent of our giant star sample. We use stellar parameters from the third public data release from the GALAH survey and a Bayesian isochrone analysis to divide the sample into first-ascent red giant branch and red clump stars, and confirm these classifications using asteroseismic data from K2. We find that red clump stars are 2.5 times as likely to be lithium-rich as red giant branch stars, in agreement with other recent work. The probability for a star to be lithium-rich is affected by a number of factors, though the causality in those correlations is not entirely clear. We show for the first time that primary and secondary red clump stars have distinctly different lithium enrichment patterns. The data set discussed here is large and heterogeneous in terms of evolutionary phase, metallicity, rotation rate and mass. We expect that if the various mechanisms that have been proposed for lithium enrichment in evolved stars are in fact active, they should all contribute to this sample of lithium-rich giants at some level.

The behaviour of lithium at high metallicity in the Milky Way

Aims. We revisit large spectroscopic data sets for field stars from the literature to derive the upper Li envelope in the high metallicity regime in our Galaxy. Methods. We take advantage of Gaia EDR3 data and state-of-the-art stellar models to precisely determine the position of the sample dwarf stars in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. Results. The highest Li abundances are found in field metal-rich warm dwarfs from the GALAH survey, located on the hot side of the Li-dip. Their mean Li value agrees with what was recently derived for warm dwarfs in metal-rich clusters, pointing towards a continuous increase of Li up to super-solar metallicity. However, if only cool dwarfs are considered in GALAH, as done in the other literature surveys, it is found that the upper Li envelope decreases at super-solar metallicities, blurring the actual Li evolution picture. We confirm the suggestion that field and open cluster surveys that found opposite Li behaviour in the high metallicity regime do not sample the same types of stars: The first ones, with the exception of GALAH, miss warm dwarfs that can potentially preserve their original Li content. Conclusions. Although we can discard the bending of the Li upper envelope at high metallicity derived from the analysis of cool star samples, we still need to evaluate the effects of atomic diffusion on warm, metal-rich early-F and late-A type dwarfs before deriving the actual Li abundance at high metallicity.

Stellar Spins in the Open Cluster NGC 2516

Abstract Measuring the distribution of stellar spin axis orientations in a coeval group of stars probes the physical processes underlying the stars’ formation. In this paper, we use spectrophotometric observations of the open cluster NGC 2516 to determine the degree of spin alignment among its stars. We combine TESS light curves, ground-based spectroscopy from the Gaia-ESO and GALAH surveys, broadband stellar magnitudes from several surveys, and Gaia astrometry to measure 33 stellar inclinations and quantify overall cluster rotation. Our measurements suggest that stellar spins in this cluster are isotropically oriented, while allowing for the possibility that they are moderately aligned. An isotropic distribution of NGC 2516 spins would imply a star-forming environment in which turbulence dominated ordered motion, while a moderately aligned distribution would suggest a more substantial contribution from rotation. We also perform a three-dimensional analysis of the cluster’s internal kinematics, finding no significant signatures of overall rotation. Stemming from this analysis, we identify evidence of cluster contraction, suggesting possible ongoing mass segregation in NGC 2516.

Abundances in the Milky Way across Five Nucleosynthetic Channels from 4 Million LAMOST Stars

Abstract Large stellar surveys are revealing the chemodynamical structure of the Galaxy across a vast spatial extent. However, the many millions of low-resolution spectra observed to date are yet to be fully exploited. We employ The Cannon, a data-driven approach for estimating chemical abundances, to obtain detailed abundances from low-resolution (R = 1800) LAMOST spectra, using the GALAH survey as our reference. We deliver five (for dwarfs) or six (for giants) estimated abundances representing five different nucleosynthetic channels, for 3.9 million stars, to a precision of 0.05–0.23 dex. Using wide binary pairs, we demonstrate that our abundance estimates provide chemical discriminating power beyond metallicity alone. We show the coverage of our catalog with radial, azimuthal and dynamical abundance maps and examine the neutron capture abundances across the disk and halo, which indicate different origins for the in situ and accreted halo populations. LAMOST has near-complete Gaia coverage and provides an unprecedented perspective on chemistry across the Milky Way.

The GALAH survey: multiple stars and our Galaxy

Context. Binary stellar systems form a large fraction of the Galaxy’s stars. They are useful as laboratories for studying the physical processes taking place within stars, and must be correctly taken into account when observations of stars are used to study the structure and evolution of the Galaxy. The advent of large-scale spectroscopic and photometric surveys allows us to obtain large samples of binaries that permit characterising their populations. Aims. We aim to obtain a large sample of double-lined spectroscopic binaries (SB2s) by analysis of spectra from the GALAH survey in combination with photometric and astrometric data. A combined analysis will provide stellar parameters of thousands of binary stars that can be combined to form statistical observables of a given population. We aim to produce a catalogue of well-characterised systems, which can in turn be compared to models of populations of binary stars, or to follow-up individual systems of interest. Methods. We obtained a list of candidate SB2 systems from a t-distributed stochastic neighbour embedding (t-SNE) classification and a cross-correlation analysis of GALAH spectra. To compute parameters of the primary and secondary star, we used a Bayesian approach that includes a parallax prior from Gaia DR2, spectra from GALAH, and apparent magnitudes from APASS, Gaia DR2, 2MASS, and WISE. We used a Markov chain Monte Carlo approach to sample the posterior distributions of the following model parameters for the two stars: Teff[1,2], logg[1,2], [Fe/H], Vr[1,2], vmic[1,2], vbroad[1,2], R[1,2], and E(B−V). Results. We present results for 12 760 binary stars detected as SB2s. We construct the statistical observables T1∕T2, ΔVr, and R1∕R2, which demonstrate that our sample mostly consists of dwarfs, with a significant fraction of evolved stars and several dozen members of the giant branch. The majority of these binary stars is concentrated at the lower boundary of the ΔVr distribution, and the R1∕R2 ratio is mostly close to unity. The derived metallicity of our binary stars is statistically lower than that of single dwarf stars from the same magnitude-limited sample. Conclusions. Our sample of binary stars represents a large population of well-characterised double-lined spectroscopic binaries that are appropriate for statistical studies of the binary populations. The derived stellar properties and their distributions show trends that are expected for a population of close binary stars (a < 10 AU) detected through double lines in their spectra. Our detection technique allows us to probe binary systems with mass ratios 0.5 ≤q ≤ 1.

The HR 1614 moving group is not a dissolving cluster

Context. The HR 1614 is an overdensity in velocity space and has for a long time been known as an old (∼2 Gyr) and metal-rich ([Fe/H] ≈ +0.2) nearby moving group that has a dissolving open cluster origin. The existence of such old and metal-rich groups in the solar vicinity is quite unexpected since the vast majority of nearby moving groups are known to be young. Aims. In the light of new and significantly larger data sets than ever before (astrometric, photometric, and spectroscopic), we aim to re-investigate the properties and origin of the HR 1614 moving group. If the HR 1614 overdensity is a dissolving cluster, its stars should represent a single-age and single-elemental abundance population. Methods. To identify and characterise the HR 1614 moving group we use astrometric data from Gaia DR2; distances, extinction, and reddening corrections from the StarHorse code; elemental abundances from the GALAH and APOGEE spectroscopic surveys; and photometric metallicities from the SkyMapper survey. Bayesian ages were estimated for the SkyMapper stars. Since the Hercules stream is the closest kinematical structure to the HR 1614 moving group in velocity space and as its origin is believed to be well-understood, we use the Hercules stream for comparison purposes. Stars that are likely to be members of the two groups were selected based on their space velocities. Results. The HR 1614 moving group is located mainly at negative U velocities, does not form an arch of constant energy in the U − V space, and is tilted in V. We find that the HR 1614 overdensity is not chemically homogeneous, but that its stars exist at a wide range of metallicities, ages, and elemental abundance ratios. They are essentially similar to what is observed in the Galactic thin and thick discs, a younger population (around 3 Gyr) that is metal-rich (−0.2 ≤ [Fe/H] ≤ 0.4) and alpha-poor. These findings are very similar to what is seen for the Hercules stream, which is believed to have a dynamical origin and consists of regular stars from the Galactic discs. Conclusions. The HR 1614 overdensity has a wide spread in metallicity, [Mg/Fe], and age distributions resembling the general properties of the Galactic disc. It should therefore not be considered a dissolving open cluster, or an accreted population. Based on the kinematic and chemical properties of the HR 1614 overdensity we suggest that it has a complex origin that could be explained by combining several different mechanisms such as resonances with the Galactic bar and spiral structure, phase mixing of dissolving spiral structure, and phase mixing due to an external perturbation.

Abundance analyses of Li-enriched and normal giants in the GALAH survey

Abstract Compositions of lithium-enriched and normal giants among the GALAH survey are compared. Except for Li, the only detectable abundance difference between lithium-enriched and normal giants among the investigated elements from carbon to europium occurs for carbon. Among Li-rich giants with A(Li) = 1.8 to 3.1, the C deficiency is very similar to that reported for the normal giants (with A(Li) < 1.8) where the slight C deficiency arises from the first dredge-up. Carbon is slightly under abundant relative to normal giants among the super Li-rich giants where the Li abundance exceeds A(Li) = 3.2. The C abundance as well as the 12C/13C ratios from the literature suggest that addition of Li to create a Li-rich giant may occur independently of the abundance changes wrought by the first dredge-up. Creation of a super Li-rich giant, however, appears to occur with additional CN-cycle conversion of C to N. The probability of becoming a Li-rich giant is approximately independent of a star’s mass, although the majority of the Li-rich giants are found to be low mass (M ≤ 2 M⊙). The frequency of occurrence of Li-enriched giants among normal giants is about one percent and slightly dependent on metallicity ([Fe/H]). Li-enriched and normal giants are found to have similar projected rotational velocity which suggest that Li-enrichment in giants is not linked to scenarios such as mergers and tidal interaction between binary stars.

Influence of sub- and super-solar metallicities on the composition of solid planetary building blocks

The composition of the protoplanetary disc is thought to be linked to the composition of the host star, where a higher overall metallicity provides the building blocks for planets. However, most of the planet formation simulations only link the stellar iron abundance [Fe/H] to planet formation and the iron abundance in itself is used as a proxy to scale all elements. On the other hand, large surveys of stellar abundances show that this is not true. Here we use stellar abundances from the GALAH surveys to determine the average detailed abundances of Fe, Si, Mg, O, and C for a broad range of host star metallicities with [Fe/H] spanning from −0.4 to +0.4. Using an equilibrium chemical model that features the most important rock-forming compounds as well as volatile contributions of H2O, CO2, CH4, and CO, we calculate the chemical composition of solid planetary building blocks around stars with different metallicities. Solid building blocks that are formed entirely interior to the water ice line (T > 150 K) only show an increase in Mg2SiO4 and a decrease in MgSiO3 for increasing host star metallicity, which is related to the increase of [Mg/Si] for higher [Fe/H]. Solid planetary building blocks forming exterior to the water ice line (T < 150 K), on the other hand, show dramatic changes in their composition. In particular, the water ice content decreases from around ~50% at [Fe/H] = −0.4 to ~6% at [Fe/H] = 0.4 in our chemical model. This is mainly caused by the increasing C/O ratio with increasing [Fe/H], which binds most of the oxygen in gaseous CO and CO2, resulting in a small water ice fraction. Planet formation simulations coupled with the chemical model confirm these results by showing that the water ice content of super-Earths decreases with increasing host star metallicity due to the increased C/O ratio. This decrease of the water ice fraction has important consequences for planet formation, planetary composition, and the eventual habitability of planetary systems formed around these high-metallicity stars.

The GALAH Survey: Chemically tagging the Fimbulthul stream to the globular cluster ω Centauri

ABSTRACT Using kinematics from Gaia and the large elemental abundance space of the second data release of the GALAH survey, we identify two new members of the Fimbulthul stellar stream, and chemically tag them to massive, multimetallic globular cluster ω Centauri. Recent analysis of the second data release of Gaia had revealed the Fimbulthul stellar stream in the halo of the Milky Way. It had been proposed that the stream is associated with the ω Cen, but this proposition relied exclusively upon the kinematics and metallicities of the stars to make the association. In this work, we find our two new members of the stream to be metal-poor stars that are enhanced in sodium and aluminium, typical of second population globular cluster stars, but not otherwise seen in field stars. Furthermore, the stars share the s-process abundance pattern seen in ω Cen, which is rare in field stars. Apart from one star within 1.5 deg of ω Cen, we find no other stars observed by GALAH spatially near ω Cen or the Fimbulthul stream that could be kinematically and chemically linked to the cluster. Chemically tagging stars in the Fimbulthul stream to ω Cen confirms the earlier work, and further links this tidal feature in the Milky Way halo to ω Cen.

Discovery of a 21 Myr old stellar population in the Orion complex

Context. The Orion complex is arguably the most studied star-forming region in the Galaxy. While stars are still being born in the Orion nebula, the oldest part was believed to be no more than 13 Myr old. Aims. In order to study the full hierarchy of star formation across the Orion complex, we perform a clustering analysis of the Ori OB1a region using new stellar surveys and derive robust ages for each identified stellar aggregate. Methods. We use Gaia DR2 parameters supplemented with radial velocities from the GALAH and APOGEE surveys to perform clustering of the Ori OB1a association. Five overdensities are resolved in a six-dimensional parameter space (positions, distance, proper motions, and radial velocity). Most correspond to previously known structures (ASCC 16, 25 Orionis, ASCC 20, ASCC 21). We use Gaia DR2, Pan-STARRS1 and 2MASS photometry to fit isochrones to the colour-magnitude diagrams of the identified clusters. The ages of the clusters can thus be measured with ∼10% precision. Results. While four of the clusters have ages between 11 and 13 Myr, the ASCC 20 cluster stands out at an age of 21 ± 3 Myr. This is significantly greater than the age of any previously known component of the Orion complex. To some degree, all clusters overlap in at least one of the six phase-space dimensions. Conclusions. We argue that the formation history of the Orion complex, and its relation to the Gould belt, must be reconsidered. A significant challenge in reconstructing the history of the Ori OB1a association is to understand the impact of the newly discovered 21 Myr old population on the younger parts of the complex, including their formation.

Disentangling the Arcturus stream

Context. The Arcturus stream is an over-density of stars in velocity space and its origin has been much debated recently without any clear conclusion. The (classical) dissolved open cluster origin is essentially refuted; instead the discussions try to distinguish between an accretion, a resonant, or an external-perturbation origin for the stream. As kinematic structures are observational footprints of ongoing and past dynamical processes in disc galaxies, resolving the nature of the Arcturus stream may provide clues to the formation history of the Milky Way and its stellar populations. Aims. We aim to characterise the kinematical and chemical properties of the Arcturus stream in order to resolve its origin. Methods. The space velocities, angular momenta, and actions for a sample of more than 5.8 million stars, composed from Gaia DR2 were analysed with a wavelet transform method to characterise kinematic over-densities in the Galactic disc. The kinematic characteristics of each identified group is used to select possible members of the groups from the GALAH and APOGEE spectroscopic surveys to further study and constrain their chemical properties. Results. In the velocity and angular momentum spaces the already known Sirius, Pleiades, Hyades, Hercules, AF06, Arcturus and KFR08 streams are clearly identified. The Hercules stream appears to be a mixture of thin and thick disc stars. The Arcturus stream, as well as the AF06 and KFR08 streams, are high-velocity and low-angular momentum structures with chemical compositions similar to the thick disc. These three groups extend further from the Galactic plane compared to the Hercules stream. The detections of all the groups were spaced by approximately 20 − 30 km s−1 in azimuthal velocity. Conclusions. A wide spread of chemical abundances within the Arcturus stream indicates that the group is not a dissolved open cluster. Instead the Arcturus stream, together with the AF06 and KFR08 streams, are more likely to be part of a phase-space wave, that could have been caused by a merger event. This conclusion is based on that the different structures are detected in steps of 20 − 30 km s−1 in azimuthal velocity, that the kinematic and chemical features are different from what is expected for bar-originated structures, and that the higher-velocity streams extend further from the disc than bar-originated structures.

The K2-HERMES Survey: age and metallicity of the thick disc

ABSTRACT Asteroseismology is a promising tool to study Galactic structure and evolution because it can probe the ages of stars. Earlier attempts comparing seismic data from the Kepler satellite with predictions from Galaxy models found that the models predicted more low-mass stars compared to the observed distribution of masses. It was unclear if the mismatch was due to inaccuracies in the Galactic models, or the unknown aspects of the selection function of the stars. Using new data from the K2 mission, which has a well-defined selection function, we find that an old metal-poor thick disc, as used in previous Galactic models, is incompatible with the asteroseismic information. We use an importance-sampling framework, which takes the selection function into account, to fit for the metallicities of a population synthesis model using spectroscopic data. We show that spectroscopic measurements of [Fe/H] and [α/Fe] elemental abundances from the GALAH survey indicate a mean metallicity of log (Z/Z⊙) = −0.16 for the thick disc. Here Z is the effective solar-scaled metallicity, which is a function of [Fe/H] and [α/Fe]. With the revised disc metallicities, for the first time, the theoretically predicted distribution of seismic masses show excellent agreement with the observed distribution of masses. This indirectly verifies that the asteroseismic mass scaling relation is good to within five per cent. Assuming the asteroseismic scaling relations are correct, we estimate the mean age of the thick disc to be about 10 Gyr, in agreement with the traditional idea of an old α-enhanced thick disc.

The GALAH survey and Gaia DR2: Linking ridges, arches, and vertical waves in the kinematics of the Milky Way

ABSTRACT Gaia DR2 has revealed new small-scale and large-scale patterns in the phase-space distribution of stars in the Milky Way. In cylindrical Galactic coordinates $(R,\phi ,z)$, ridge-like structures can be seen in the $(R,V_\phi)$ plane and asymmetric arch-like structures in the $(V_R,V_\phi)$ plane. We show that the ridges are also clearly present when the third dimension of the $(R,V_\phi)$ plane is represented by $\langle z \rangle$, $\langle V_z \rangle$, $\langle V_R \rangle$, $\langle$[Fe/H]$\rangle$, and $\langle [\alpha /{\rm Fe}]\rangle$. The maps suggest that stars along the ridges lie preferentially close to the Galactic mid-plane ($|z|\lt 0.2$ kpc), and have metallicity and $\alpha$ elemental abundance similar to that of the Sun. We show that phase mixing of disrupting spiral arms can generate both the ridges and the arches. It also generates discrete groupings in orbital energy – the ridges and arches are simply surfaces of constant energy. We identify eight distinct ridges in the Gaia DR2 data: six of them have constant energy while two have constant angular momentum. Given that the signature is strongest for stars close to the plane, the presence of ridges in $\langle z \rangle$ and $\langle V_z \rangle$ suggests a coupling between planar and vertical directions. We demonstrate, using N-body simulations that such coupling can be generated both in isolated discs and in discs perturbed by an orbiting satellite like the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy.

Lithium enrichment in the Galaxy: A study using the GALAH and Gaia surveys

AbstractHere, we explore the enrichment of Lithium in the Galaxy using a large sample of stars common among large spectroscopic surveys such as the GALAH and astrometric survey by the Gaia satellite. For this study we used about 60,000 low mass (M⩽ 2M⊙) dwarfs from the GALAH survey. Further, we discuss Li enrichment among giant stars based on a sample of 52,000 low mass giants, of which 335 are Li-rich with A(Li) ⩾ 1.80 ± 0.14 dex, culled from the GALAH survey. These low mass giants appears to be one of the promising source of Li enrichment in the Galaxy as their atmospheric Li can be added to the ISM through mass loss.

The GALAH survey: unresolved triple Sun-like stars discovered by the Gaia mission

Abstract The latest Gaia data release enables us to accurately identify stars that are more luminous than would be expected on the basis of their spectral type and distance. During an investigation of the 329 best solar twin candidates uncovered among the spectra acquired by the GALAH survey, we identified 64 such overluminous stars. In order to investigate their exact composition, we developed a data-driven methodology that can generate a synthetic photometric signature and spectrum of a single star. By combining multiple such synthetic stars into an unresolved binary or triple system and comparing the results to the actual photometric and spectroscopic observations, we uncovered 6 definitive triple stellar system candidates and an additional 14 potential candidates whose combined spectrum mimics the solar spectrum. Considering the volume correction factor for a magnitude-limited survey, the fraction of probable unresolved triple stars with long orbital periods is ∼2 per cent. Possible orbital configurations of the candidates were investigated using the selection and observational limits. To validate the discovered multiplicity fraction, the same procedure was used to evaluate the multiplicity fraction of other stellar types.

Blind chemical tagging with DBSCAN: prospects for spectroscopic surveys

AbstractChemical tagging has great promise as a technique to unveil our Galaxy’s history. Grouping stars based on their similar chemistry can establish details of the star formation and merger history of the Milky Way. With precise measurements of stellar chemistry, chemical tagging may be able to group together stars born from the same gas cloud, regardless of their current positions and kinematics. Successfully tagging these birth clusters requires high-quality chemical space information and a good cluster-finding algorithm. To test the feasibility of chemical tagging on data from current and upcoming spectroscopic surveys, we construct a realistic set of synthetic clusters, creating both observed spectra and derived chemical abundances for each star. We use Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise (DBSCAN) to group stars based on their spectra or abundances; these groups are matched to input clusters and are found to be highly homogeneous and complete. The percentage of clusters with more than 10 members recovered is 40 per cent when tagging on abundances with uncertainties achievable with current techniques. Based on our fiducial model for the Milky Way, we predict recovering over 600 clusters with at least 10 observed members and 70 per cent membership homogeneity in a sample similar to the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment survey. Tagging larger surveys like the GALAH survey and the future Milky Way Mapper in Sloan Digital Sky Survey V could recover tens of thousands of clusters at high homogeneity. Access to so many unique co-eval clusters will transform how we understand the star formation history and chemical evolution of our Galaxy.

HERBS I: Metallicity and alpha enhancement along the Galactic bulge minor axis

ABSTRACT To better understand the origin and evolution of the Milky Way bulge, we have conducted a survey of bulge red giant branch and clump stars using the High Efficiency and Resolution Multi-Element Spectrograph on the Anglo–Australian Telescope. We targeted ARGOS survey stars with predetermined bulge memberships, covering the full metallicity distribution function. The spectra have signal-to-noise ratios comparable to, and were analysed using the same methods as the GALAH survey. In this work, we present the survey design, stellar parameters, distribution of metallicity, and alpha-element abundances along the minor bulge axis at latitudes b = −10°, − 7.5°, and −5°. Our analysis of ARGOS stars indicates that the centroids of ARGOS metallicity components should be located ≈0.09 dex closer together. The vertical distribution of α-element abundances is consistent with the varying contributions of the different metallicity components. Closer to the plane, alpha abundance ratios are lower as the metal-rich population dominates. At higher latitudes, the alpha abundance ratios increase as the number of metal-poor stars increases. However, we find that the trend of alpha-enrichment with respect to metallicity is independent of latitude. Comparison of our results with those of GALAH DR2 revealed that for [Fe/H] ≈ −0.8, the bulge shares the same abundance trend as the high-α disc population. However, the metal-poor bulge population ([Fe/H] ≲ −0.8) show enhanced alpha abundance ratios compared to the disc/halo. These observations point to fairly rapid chemical evolution in the bulge, and that the metal-poor bulge population does not share the same similarity with the disc as the more metal-rich populations.

The GALAH Survey: lithium-strong KM dwarfs

Identifying and characterizing young stars in the Solar neighbourhood is essential to find and describe planets in the early stages of their evolution. This work seeks to identify nearby young stars showing a Lithium 6707.78$\,\AA$ absorption line in the GALAH survey. A robust, data-driven approach is used to search for corresponding templates in the pool of 434,215 measured dwarf spectra in the survey. It enables a model-free search for best-matching spectral templates for all stars, including M dwarfs with strong molecular absorption bands. 3147 stars have been found to have measurable Lithium: 1408 G and 892 K0-K5 dwarfs (EW(Li)$>$0.1$\,$\AA), 335 K5-K9 ($>$0.07$\,$\AA) and 512 M0$\sim$M4 dwarfs ($>$0.05$\,$\AA). Stars with such Lithium features are used to investigate the possibility of searching for young stars above the main sequence based merely on their parallaxes and broad-band photometry. Selection of young stars above the main sequence is highly effective for M dwarfs, moderately effective for K dwarfs and ineffective for G dwarfs. Using a combination of the Lithium information and the complete 6D kinematics from Gaia and GALAH, 305 new candidate moving group members have been found, 123 of which belong to the Scorpius-Centaurus association, 36 to the Pleiades and 25 to the Hyades clusters.

The GALAH survey and Gaia DR2: dissecting the stellar disc’s phase space by age, action, chemistry, and location

We use the second data releases of the ESA Gaia astrometric survey and the high-resolution GALAH spectroscopic survey to analyse the structure of our Galaxy's disc components. With GALAH, we separate the alpha-rich and alpha-poor discs (with respect to Fe), which are superposed in both position and velocity space, and examine their distributions in action space. We study the distribution of stars in the zV_z phase plane, for both V_phi and V_R, and recover the remarkable "phase spiral" discovered by Gaia. We identify the anticipated quadrupole signature in zV_z of a tilted velocity ellipsoid for stars above and below the Galactic plane. By connecting our work with earlier studies, we show that the phase spiral is likely to extend well beyond the narrow solar neighbourhood cylinder in which it was found. The phase spiral is a signature of corrugated waves that propagate through the disc, and the associated non-equilibrium phase mixing. The radially asymmetric distribution of stars involved in the phase spiral reveals that the corrugation, which is mostly confined to the alpha-poor disc, grows in z-amplitude with increasing radius. We present new simulations of tidal disturbance of the Galactic disc by the Sagittarius (Sgr) dwarf. The effect on the zV_z phase plane lasts >2 Gyr but a subsequent disc crossing wipes out the coherent structure. We find that the phase spiral was excited < 0.5 Gyr ago by an object like Sgr with total mass 3 x 10^10 Msun (stripped down from 5 x 10^10 Msun when it first entered the halo) passing through the plane.

Study of Lithium Rich Giants with the GALAH Spectroscopic Survey

In this article, we speculate on the possible mechanisms for Li enhancement origin in RGB stars based on a large data set of around 340,299 stars collected from the GALAH survey combined with the Gaia astrometry. Data has 51,982 low mass (M$\leq$ 2M$_{\odot}$) RGB stars with reliable atmospheric parameters. The data set shows a well populated RGB with well-defined luminosity bump and red clump with significant number of stars at each of these two key phases. We found 335 new Li-rich RGB stars with Li abundance, A(Li) $\geq$ 1.80 $\pm$ 0.14 dex, of which 20 are super Li-rich with A(Li) $\geq$ 3.20~dex. Most of them appear to be in the red clump region which, when combined with stellar evolutionary timescales on RGB, indicates that the Li enhancement origin may lie at RGB tip during He-flash rather than by external source of merging of sub-stellar objects or during luminosity bump evolution. Kinematic properties of sample stars suggest that Li-rich giants are relatively more prevalent among giants of thin disk compared to thick disk and halo.