Narrow-band Photometry Research Articles

Rotation and Hα Emission in a Young SMC Cluster: A Spectroscopic View of NGC 330

We present an analysis of high-resolution optical spectra recorded for 30 stars of the split extended main-sequence turnoff of the young (∼40 Myr) Small Magellanic Cloud globular cluster NGC 330. Spectra were obtained with the Michigan/Magellan Fiber System and Magellan Inamori Kyocera Echelle spectrographs located on the Magellan-Clay 6.5 m telescope. These spectra revealed the presence of Be stars, occupying primarily the cool side of the split main sequence. Rotational velocity ( vsini ) measurements for most of the targets are consistent with the presence of two populations of stars in the cluster: one made up of rapidly rotating Be stars ( 〈vsini〉≈200 km s−1) and the other consisting of warmer stars with slower rotation ( 〈vsini〉≈50 km s−1). Core emission in the Hδ photospheric lines was observed for most of the Hα emitters. The shell parameter computed for the targets in our sample indicates that most of the observed stars should have inclinations below 75°. These results confirm the detection of Be stars obtained through photometry but also reveal the presence of narrow Hα and Hδ features for some targets that cannot be detected with low-resolution spectroscopy or photometry. Asymmetry variability of Hα line profiles on the timescales of a few years is also observed and could provide information on the geometry of the decretion disks. Observations revealed the presence of nebular Hα emission, strong enough in faint targets to compromise the extraction of spectra and to impact narrow-band photometry used to assess the presence of Hα emission.

The PAU survey: photometric calibration of narrow band images

ABSTRACT The physics of the accelerating Universe (PAU) camera is an optical narrow band and broad band imaging instrument mounted at the prime focus of the William Herschel Telescope. We describe the image calibration procedure of the PAU survey data. We rely on an external photometric catalogue to calibrate our narrow band data using stars that have been observed by both data sets. We fit stellar templates to the stellar broad-band photometry of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and synthesize narrow band photometry that we compare to the PAUS narrow band data to determine their calibration. Consequently, the PAUS data are in the AB system as inherited from its reference calibrator. We do several tests to check the performance of the calibration. We find it self-consistent when comparing repeated observations of the same objects, with a good overall accuracy to the AB system which we estimate to be at the 2 per cent precision level and no significant trends as a function of narrow band filter or wavelength. Repeated observations allow us to build a spatial map of the illumination pattern of the system. We also check the wavelength dependence of the calibration comparing to stellar spectra. We find that using only blue stars reduces the effects of variations in the stellar template fitting to broad-band colours, improving the overall precision of the calibration to around 1 per cent and its wavelength uniformity. The photometric redshift performance obtained with the PAUS data attests to the validity of our calibration to reach the PAUS science goals.

The Quasar Catalogue for S-PLUS DR4 (QuCatS) and the estimation of photometric redshifts

ABSTRACT The advent of massive broad-band photometric surveys enabled photometric redshift estimates for unprecedented numbers of galaxies and quasars. These estimates can be improved using better algorithms or by obtaining complementary data such as narrow-band photometry, and broad-band photometry over an extended wavelength range. We investigate the impact of both approaches on photometric redshifts for quasars using data from Southern Photometric Local Universe Survey (S-PLUS) DR4, Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) DR6/7, and the unWISE catalog for the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) in three machine learning methods: Random Forest, Flexible Conditional Density Estimation (FlexCoDE), and Bayesian Mixture Density Network (BMDN). Including narrow-band photometry improves the root-mean-square error by 11 per cent in comparison to a model trained with only broad-band photometry. Narrow-band information only provided an improvement of 3.8 per cent when GALEX and WISE colours were included. Thus, narrow bands play a more important role for objects that do not have GALEX or WISE counterparts, which respectively makes 92 per cent and 25 per cent of S-PLUS data considered here. Nevertheless, the inclusion of narrow-band information provided better estimates of the probability density functions obtained with FlexCoDE and BMDN. We publicly release a value-added catalogue of photometrically selected quasars with the photo-z predictions from all methods studied here. The catalogue provided with this work covers the S-PLUS DR4 area (∼3000 square degrees), containing 645 980, 244 912, 144 991 sources with the probability of being a quasar higher than, 80 per cent, 90 per cent, 95 per cent up to r < 21.3 and good photometry quality in the detection image. More quasar candidates can be retrieved from the S-PLUS data base by considering less restrictive selection criteria.

The miniJPAS survey: Maximising the photo-z accuracy from multi-survey datasets with probability conflation

We present a new method for obtaining photometric redshifts (photo-z) for sources observed by multiple photometric surveys using a combination (conflation) of the redshift probability distributions (PDZs) obtained independently from each survey. The conflation of the PDZs has several advantages over the usual method of modelling all the photometry together, including the modularity, speed, and accuracy of the results. Using a sample of galaxies with narrow-band photometry in 56 bands from J-PAS and deeper grίzy photometry from the Hyper-SuprimeCam Subaru Strategic program (HSC-SSP), we show that PDZ conflation significantly improves photo-z accuracy compared to fitting all the photometry or using a weighted average of point estimates. The improvement over J-PAS alone is particularly strong for i≳22 sources, which have low signal-to-noise ratios in the J-PAS bands. For the entire i<22.5 sample, we obtain a 64% (45%) increase in the number of sources with redshift errors |Δz|<0.003, a factor of 3.3 (1.9) decrease in the normalised median absolute deviation of the errors (σNMAD), and a factor of 3.2 (1.3) decrease in the outlier rate (η) compared to J-PAS (HSC-SSP) alone. The photo-z accuracy gains from combining the PDZs of J-PAS with a deeper broad-band survey such as HSC-SSP are equivalent to increasing the depth of J-PAS observations by ~ 1.2–1.5 mag. These results demonstrate the potential of PDZ conflation and highlight the importance of including the full PDZs in photo-z catalogues.

Nature of the diffuse emission sources in the H i supershell in the galaxy IC 1613

ABSTRACT We present a study of the nearby low-metallicity dwarf galaxy IC 1613, focusing on the search for massive stars and related feedback processes, as well as for faint supernova remnants (SNR) in late stages of evolution. We obtained the deepest images of IC 1613 in the narrow-band H α, He ii and [S ii] emission lines and new long-slit spectroscopy observations using several facilities (6-m BTA, 2.5m SAI MSU, and 150RTT telescopes), in combination with the multiwavelength archival data from MUSE/VLT, VLA, XMM–Newton, and Swift/XRT. Our deep narrow-band photometry identifies several faint shells in the galaxy, and we further investigate their physical characteristics with the new long-slit spectroscopy observations and the archival multiwavelength data. Based on energy balance calculations and assumptions about their possible nature, we propose that one of the shells is a possible remnant of a supernova explosion. We study five out of eight Wolf–Rayet (WR) star candidates previously published for this galaxy using the He ii emission line mapping, MUSE/VLT archival spectra, and new long-slit spectra. Our analysis discards the considered WR candidates and finds no new ones. We found P Cyg profiles in H α line in two stars, which we classify as Luminous Blue Variable (LBV) star candidates. Overall, the galaxy IC 1613 may have a lower rate of WR star formation than previously suggested.

White dwarf spectral type-temperature distribution from Gaia DR3 and the Virtual Observatory

Context. The characterization of white dwarf atmospheres is crucial for accurately deriving stellar parameters such as effective temperature, mass, and age. However, the inclusion of physical processes such as convective mixing and convective dilution in current white dwarf atmospheric models offers a prediction of the spectral evolution of these objects. To constrain these models, accurate observational data and analyses are necessary. Aims. We aim to classify the population of white dwarfs up to 500 pc into hydrogen-rich or hydrogen-deficient atmospheres based on Gaia spectra and to derive an accurate spectral type-temperature distribution, namely, the ratio between the number of non-DAs to the total number of white dwarfs as a function of the effective temperature for the largest observed unbiased sample of these objects. Methods. We took advantage of the recent Gaia low-resolution spectra available for 76 657 white dwarfs up to 500 pc. We calculated the synthetic J-PAS narrow-band photometry and fit the spectral energy distribution of each object with up-to-date models for hydrogen-rich and helium-rich white dwarf atmospheres. We estimated the probability for a white dwarf to have a hydrogen-rich atmosphere and validated the results using the Montreal White Dwarf Database. Finally, precise effective temperature values were derived for each object using La Plata evolutionary models. Results. We successfully classified a total of 65 310 white dwarfs (57 155 newly classified objects) into DAs and non-DAs with an accuracy of 94%. An unbiased subsample of nearly 34 000 objects was built, from which we computed a precise spectral distribution spanning an effective temperature range from 5500 to 40 000 K, while accounting for potential selection effects. Conclusions. Some characteristic features of the spectral evolution, such as the deficit of helium-rich stars at Teff ≈ 35 000 − 40 000 K and in the range of 22 000 ≲ Teff ≲ 25 000 K, as well as a gradual increase from 18 000 K to Teff ≈ 7000 K, where the non-DA stars percentage reaches its maximum of 41%, followed by a decrease for cooler temperatures, are statistically significant. These findings will provide precise constraints for the proposed models of spectral evolution.

Time-series photometry and multiwavelength characterization of the young stellar cluster Mon R2

ABSTRACT Using the Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network (LCOGT), we have obtained multi-epoch photometry of the young cluster Mon R2. We have monitored over 6000 sources with i-band between 13 and 23 mag within a 26 × 26 arcmin2 field of view. For each star, we collected ∼1500 photometric points covering a temporal window of 23 d. Based on these data, we have measured rotation-modulated of 136 stars and identified around 90 additional variables, including 14 eclipsing binary candidates. Moreover, we found 298 other variables with photometric high-scatter. In addition, we have obtained r-band and Hα narrow-band photometry of the cluster with LCOGT and low-resolution optical spectroscopy of 229 stars with GMOS-Gemini. We used the Gaia data from the periodic stars and objects with Hα or IR-excesses, which are mostly low-mass pre-main sequence stars (<1 M⊙) in the cluster to estimate the distance (825 ± 51 pc) and the mean proper motions (μαcos(δ) = −2.75 mas yr−1 and μδ = 1.15 mas yr−1) of its members. This allows us to use the Gaia data to identify additional Mon R2 member candidates. We also used Pan-STARRS photometry from our LCOGT sources to construct a more precise H-R diagram, from which we estimate the mean age of the cluster and identify other possible members including eleven spectroscopy brown dwarf with M7 to M9 GMOS spectral types. Finally, we combined our membership lists with Spitzer infrared photometry to investigate the incidence of stars with discs and the effect these have on stellar rotation.

The PAU Survey and Euclid: Improving broadband photometric redshifts with multi-task learning

Current and future imaging surveys require photometric redshifts (photo-zs) to be estimated for millions of galaxies. Improving the photo-z quality is a major challenge but is needed to advance our understanding of cosmology. In this paper we explore how the synergies between narrow-band photometric data and large imaging surveys can be exploited to improve broadband photometric redshifts. We used a multi-task learning (MTL) network to improve broadband photo-z estimates by simultaneously predicting the broadband photo-z and the narrow-band photometry from the broadband photometry. The narrow-band photometry is only required in the training field, which also enables better photo-z predictions for the galaxies without narrow-band photometry in the wide field. This technique was tested with data from the Physics of the Accelerating Universe Survey (PAUS) in the COSMOS field. We find that the method predicts photo-zs that are 13% more precise down to magnitude iAB < 23; the outlier rate is also 40% lower when compared to the baseline network. Furthermore, MTL reduces the photo-z bias for high-redshift galaxies, improving the redshift distributions for tomographic bins with z > 1. Applying this technique to deeper samples is crucial for future surveys such as Euclid or LSST. For simulated data, training on a sample with iAB < 23, the method reduces the photo-z scatter by 16% for all galaxies with iAB < 25. We also studied the effects of extending the training sample with photometric galaxies using PAUS high-precision photo-zs, which reduces the photo-z scatter by 20% in the COSMOS field.

The Pristine survey – XX. GTC follow-up observations of extremely metal-poor stars identified from Pristine and LAMOST

ABSTRACT Ultra-metal-poor stars ($\rm {[Fe/H]} \lt -4.0$) are very rare, and finding them is a challenging task. Both narrow-band photometry and low-resolution spectroscopy have been useful tools for identifying candidates, and in this work, we combine both approaches. We cross-matched metallicity-sensitive photometry from the Pristine survey with the low-resolution spectroscopic Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fibre Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) data base, and re-analysed all LAMOST spectra with $\rm {[Fe/H]} _{\rm Pristine} \lt -2.5$. We find that ∼1/3rd of this sample (selected without $\rm {[Fe/H]} _{\rm Pristine}$ quality cuts) also have spectroscopic $\rm {[Fe/H]} \lt -2.5$. From this sample, containing many low signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) spectra, we selected 11 stars potentially having $\rm {[Fe/H]} \lt -4.0$ or $\rm {[Fe/H]} \lt -3.0$ with very high carbon abundances, and we performed higher S/N medium-resolution spectroscopic follow-up with the Optical System for Imaging and low Resolution Integrated Spectroscopy (OSIRIS) on the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC). We confirm their extremely low metallicities, with a mean of $\rm {[Fe/H]} = -3.4$, and the most metal-poor star having $\rm {[Fe/H]} = -3.8$. Three of these are clearly carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) stars with $+1.65 \lt \rm {[C/Fe]} \lt +2.45$. The two most carbon-rich stars are either among the most metal-poor CEMP-s stars or the most carbon-rich CEMP-no stars known, the third is likely a CEMP-no star. We derived orbital properties for the OSIRIS sample and find that only one of our targets can be confidently associated with known substructures/accretion events, and that three out of four inner halo stars have prograde orbits. Large spectroscopic surveys may contain many hidden extremely and ultra-metal-poor stars, and adding additional information from e.g. photometry as in this work can uncover them more efficiently and confidently.

Deep Narrowband Photometry of the M101 Group: Strong-line Abundances of 720 H ii Regions

We present deep, narrowband imaging of the nearby spiral galaxy M101 and its satellites to analyze the oxygen abundances of their H ii regions. Using Case Western Reserve University’s Burrell Schmidt telescope, we add to the narrowband data set of the M101 Group, consisting of Hα, Hβ, and [O iii] emission lines and the blue [O ii] λ3727 emission line for the first time. This allows for complete spatial coverage of the oxygen abundance of the entire M101 Group. We used the strong-line ratio R 23 to estimate oxygen abundances for the H ii regions in our sample, utilizing three different calibration techniques to provide a baseline estimate of the oxygen abundances. This results in ∼650 H ii regions for M101, 10 H ii regions for NGC 5477, and ∼60 H ii regions for NGC 5474, the largest sample for this Group to date. M101 shows a strong abundance gradient, while the satellite galaxies present little or no gradient. There is some evidence for a flattening of the gradient in M101 beyond R ∼ 14 kpc. Additionally, M101 shows signs of azimuthal abundance variations to the west and southwest. The radial and azimuthal abundance variations in M101 are likely explained by an interaction it had with its most massive satellite, NGC 5474, ∼300 Myr ago combined with internal dynamical effects such as corotation.

High-resolution Hubble Space Telescope Imaging Survey of Local Star-forming Galaxies. I. Spatially Resolved Obscured Star Formation with Hα and Paschen-β Recombination Lines

We present a sample of 24 local star-forming galaxies observed with broadband and narrowband photometry from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) that are part of the Great Observatories All-sky Luminous Infrared Galaxies Survey of local luminous and ultraluminous infrared galaxies. With narrowband filters around the emission lines Hα (and [N ii]) and Paβ, we obtain robust estimates of the dust attenuation affecting the gas in each galaxy, probing higher attenuation than can be traced by the optical Balmer decrement Hα/Hβ alone by a factor of >1 mag. We also infer the dust attenuation toward the stars via a spatially resolved spectral energy distribution fitting procedure that uses all available HST imaging filters. We use various indicators to obtain the star formation rate (SFR) per spatial bin and find that Paβ traces star-forming regions where the Hα and the optical stellar continuum are heavily obscured. The dust-corrected Paβ SFR recovers the 24 μm inferred SFR with a ratio of −0.14 ± 0.32 dex and the SFR inferred from the 8 to 1000 μm infrared luminosity at −0.04 ± 0.23 dex. Both in a spatially resolved and integrated sense, rest-frame near-infrared recombination lines can paint a more comprehensive picture of star formation across cosmic time, particularly with upcoming JWST observations of Paschen-series line emission in galaxies as early as the epoch of reionization.

Mining S-PLUS for Metal-poor Stars in the Milky Way

This work presents the medium-resolution (R ∼ 1500) spectroscopic follow-up of 522 low-metallicity star candidates from the Southern Photometric Local Universe Survey (S-PLUS). The objects were selected from narrowband photometry, taking advantage of the metallicity-sensitive S-PLUS colors. The follow-up observations were conducted with the Blanco and Gemini South telescopes, using the COSMOS and GMOS spectrographs, respectively. The stellar atmospheric parameters (T eff, , and [Fe/H]), as well as carbon and α-element abundances, were calculated for the program stars in order to assess the efficacy of the color selection. Results show that of the observed stars have [Fe/H] ≤ −1.0, have [Fe/H] ≤ −2.0, and have [Fe/H] ≤ −3.0, including two ultra metal-poor stars ([Fe/H] ≤ −4.0). The 80th percentile for the metallicity cumulative distribution function of the observed sample is [Fe/H] = −2.04. The sample also includes 68 carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars. Based on the calculated metallicities, further S-PLUS color cuts are proposed, which can increase the fractions of stars with [Fe/H] ≤ −1.0 and ≤ −2.0 to 98% and 88%, respectively. Such high success rates enable targeted high-resolution spectroscopic follow-up efforts, as well as provide selection criteria for fiber-fed multiplex spectroscopic surveys.

Comet 21P/Giacobini–Zinner: Narrowband Photometry of the Prototype of Carbon-chain Depleted Comets at Multiple Apparitions

We obtained extensive narrowband photoelectric photometry of Comet 21P/Giacobini–Zinner with observations spanning 33 yr. The original data from 1985 were re-reduced and are presented along with data from three additional apparitions, including 2018/19. The original conclusion regarding Giacobini–Zinner’s chemical composition remains unchanged, with it having a 4–6× depletion in the carbon-chain molecules C2 and C3 and in NH, as compared with both OH and CN. The comet continues to exhibit a large asymmetry in production rates as a function of time and heliocentric distance, with production reaching a peak 3–5 weeks prior to perihelion. All species, including dust, follow the same general production rate curve each apparition, and the carbon-bearing species are always very similar to one another. However, OH and NH each differ in detail from the carbon-bearing species, implying somewhat varied composition between source regions. Longer term, there are only small secular changes among the apparitions before and near perihelion, but larger changes are evident as the comet recedes from the Sun, suggestive of a progressive precession of the rotation axis.

S-PLUS: exploring wide field properties of multiple populations in galactic globular clusters at different metallicities

ABSTRACT Multiple stellar populations (MSPs) are a ubiquitous phenomenon in Galactic globular clusters (GCs). By probing different spectral ranges affected by different absorption lines using the multiband photometric survey S-PLUS, we study four GCs – NGC 104, NGC 288, NGC 3201, and NGC 7089 – that span a wide range of metallicities. With the combination of broad and narrow-band photometry in 12 different filters from 3485A (u) to 9114A (z), we identified MSPs along the rectified red-giant branch in colour–magnitude diagrams and separated them using a K-means clustering algorithm. Additionally, we take advantage of the large Field of View of the S-PLUS detector to investigate radial trends in our sample. We report on six colour combinations that can be used to successfully identify two stellar populations in all studied clusters and show that they can be characterized as Na-rich and Na-poor. For both NGC 288 and NGC 7089, their radial profiles show a clear concentration of 2P population. This directly supports the formation theories that propose an enrichment of the intra-cluster medium and subsequent star formation in the more dense central regions. However, in the case of NGC 3201, the trend is reversed. The 1P is more centrally concentrated, in direct contradiction with previous literature studies. NGC 104 shows a well-mixed population. We also constructed radial profiles up to 1 half-light radius of the clusters with HST data to highlight that radial differences are lost in the inner regions of the GCs and that wide-field studies are essential when studying this.

The PAU survey: measurements of the 4000 Å spectral break with narrow-band photometry

ABSTRACT The D4000 spectral break index is one of the most important features in the visible spectrum, as it is a proxy for stellar ages and is also used in galaxy classification. However, its direct measurement has always been reserved to spectroscopy. Here, we present a general method to directly measure the D4000 with narrow-band (NB) photometry; it has been validated using realistic simulations, and then evaluated with PAUS NBs, cross-matched with VIPERS spectra (iAB < 22.5, 0.562 < z < 0.967). We also reconstruct the D4000 with the SED-fitting code cigale; the use of PAUS NBs instead of broad-bands significantly improves the SED fitting results. For D4000n, the direct measurement has $\rm \langle SNR \rangle \sim 4$, but we find that for iAB < 21 all direct D4000 measurements have $\rm SNR\gt 3$. The cigale D4000n has $\rm \langle SNR \rangle \sim 20$, but underestimates the error by >50 per cent. Furthermore, the direct method recreates well the D4000–SFR relation, as well as the D4000–mass relation for blue galaxies (for red galaxies, selection effects impact the results). On the other hand, cigale accurately classifies galaxies into red and blue populations. We conclude that the direct measurement of D4000 with narrow-band photometry is a promising tool to determine average properties of galaxy samples, with results compatible with spectroscopy.

L-band Integral Field Spectroscopy of the HR 8799 Planetary System

Understanding the physical processes sculpting the appearance of young gas-giant planets is complicated by degeneracies confounding effective temperature, surface gravity, cloudiness, and chemistry. To enable more detailed studies, spectroscopic observations covering a wide range of wavelengths are required. Here we present the first L-band spectroscopic observations of HR 8799 d and e and the first low-resolution wide-bandwidth L-band spectroscopic measurements of HR 8799 c. These measurements were facilitated by an upgraded LMIRCam/ALES instrument at the Large Binocular Telescope, together with a new apodizing phase plate coronagraph. Our data are generally consistent with previous photometric observations covering similar wavelengths, yet there exists some tension with narrowband photometry for HR 8799 c. With the addition of our spectra, each of the three innermost observed planets in the HR 8799 system has had its spectral energy distribution measured with integral field spectroscopy covering ∼0.9–4.1 μm. We combine these spectra with measurements from the literature and fit synthetic model atmospheres. We demonstrate that the bolometric luminosity of the planets is not sensitive to the choice of model atmosphere used to interpolate between measurements and extrapolate beyond them. Combining luminosity with age and mass constraints, we show that the predictions of evolutionary models are narrowly peaked for effective temperature, surface gravity, and planetary radius. By holding these parameters at their predicted values, we show that more flexible cloud models can provide good fits to the data while being consistent with the expectations of evolutionary models.

Doppler-Shifted Alkali D Absorption as Indirect Evidence for Exomoons

Sodium and potassium signatures in transiting exoplanets can be challenging to isolate from the stellar absorption lines. Here, these challenges are discussed in the framework of Solar System observations, and transits of Mercury in particular. Radiation pressure is important for alkali gas dynamics in close-orbiting exoplanets since the D lines are efficient at resonant scattering. When the star-planet velocity is ≳10 km/s, eccentric exoplanets experience more than an order of magnitude higher radiation pressures, aiding atmospheric escape and producing a larger effective cross-section for absorbing starlight at the phase of transit. The Doppler shift also aids in isolating the planetary signature from the stellar photosphere’s absorption. Only one transiting exoplanet, HD 80606b, is presently thought to have both this requisite Doppler shift and alkali absorption. Radiation pressure on a planetary exosphere naturally produces blue-shifted absorption, but at levels insufficient to account for the extreme Doppler shifts that have been inferred from potassium transit measurements of this system. In the absence of clear mechanisms to generate such a strong wind, it is described how this characteristic could arise from an exomoon-magnetosphere interaction, analogous to Io-Jupiter. At low contrasts presented here, follow-up transit spectra of HD 80606b cannot rule out a potassium jet or atmospheric species with a broad absorption structure. However, it is evident that line absorption within the imaging passbands fails to explain the narrow-band photometry that has been reported in-transit. New observations of energetic alkalis produced by the Io-Jupiter interaction are also presented, which illustrate that energetic sodium Doppler structure offers a more valuable marker for the presence of an exomoon than potassium.

The PAU survey: measurement of narrow-band galaxy properties with approximate bayesian computation

Narrow-band imaging surveys allow the study of the spectral characteristics of galaxies without the need of performing their spectroscopic follow-up. In this work, we forward-model the Physics of the Accelerating Universe Survey (PAUS) narrow-band data. The aim is to improve the constraints on the spectral coefficients used to create the galaxy spectral energy distributions (SED) of the galaxy population model in Tortorelli et al. 2020. In that work, the model parameters were inferred from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey (CFHTLS) data using Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC). This led to stringent constraints on the B-band galaxy luminosity function parameters, but left the spectral coefficients only broadly constrained. To address that, we perform an ABC inference using CFHTLS and PAUS data. This is the first time our approach combining forward-modelling and ABC is applied simultaneously to multiple datasets. We test the results of the ABC inference by comparing the narrow-band magnitudes of the observed and simulated galaxies using Principal Component Analysis, finding a very good agreement. Furthermore, we prove the scientific potential of the constrained galaxy population model to provide realistic stellar population properties by measuring them with the SED fitting code CIGALE. We use CFHTLS broad-band and PAUS narrow-band photometry for a flux-limited (i < 22.5) sample of galaxies up to redshift z ∼ 0.8. We find that properties like stellar masses, star-formation rates, mass-weighted stellar ages and metallicities are in agreement within errors between observations and simulations. Overall, this work shows the ability of our galaxy population model to correctly forward-model a complex dataset such as PAUS and the ability to reproduce the diversity of galaxy properties at the redshift range spanned by CFHTLS and PAUS.

Clustering of low-mass stars around Herbig Be star IL Cep – evidence of ‘Rocket Effect’ using Gaia EDR3 ?

ABSTRACT We study the formation and the kinematic evolution of the early-type Herbig Be star IL Cep and its environment. The young star is a member of the Cep OB3 association, at a distance of 798 ± 9 pc, and has a ‘cavity’ associated with it. We found that the B0V star HD 216658, which is astrometrically associated with IL Cep, is at the centre of the cavity. From the evaluation of various pressure components created by HD 216658, it is established that the star is capable of creating the cavity. We identified 79 co-moving stars of IL Cep at 2-pc radius from the analysis of Gaia EDR3 astrometry. The transverse velocity analysis of the co-moving stars shows that they belong to two different populations associated with IL Cep and HD 216658, respectively. Further analysis confirms that all the stars in the IL Cep population are mostly coeval (∼0.1 Myr). Infrared photometry revealed that there are 26 Class II objects among the co-moving stars. The stars without circumstellar disc (Class III) are 65 per cent of all the co-moving stars. There are nine intense H α emission candidates identified among the co-moving stars using IPHAS H α narrow-band photometry. The dendrogram analysis on the Hydrogen column density map identified 11 molecular clump structures on the expanding cavity around IL Cep, making it an active star-forming region. The formation of the IL Cep stellar group due to the ‘rocket effect’ by HD 216658 is discussed.

Narrowband Observations of Comet 46P/Wirtanen during Its Exceptional Apparition of 2018/19. II. Photometry, Jet Morphology, and Modeling Results

Abstract We report on our extensive photometry and imaging of comet 46P/Wirtanen during its 2018/19 apparition and use these data to constrain the modeling of Wirtanen’s activity. Narrowband photometry was obtained in 9 epochs from 2018 October through 2019 March as well as 10 epochs during the 1991, 1997, and 2008 apparitions. The ensemble photometry reveals a typical composition and a secular decrease in activity since 1991. Production rates were roughly symmetric around perihelion for the carbon-bearing species (CN, C3, and C2), but steeper for OH and NH outbound. Our imaging program emphasized CN, whose coma morphology and lightcurve yielded rotation periods reported in a companion paper (Farnham et al. 2021). Here, we compare the gas and dust morphology on the 18 nights for which observations of additional species were obtained. The carbon-bearing species exhibited similar morphology that varied with rotation. OH and NH had broad, hemispheric brightness enhancements in the tailward direction that did not change significantly with rotation, which we attribute to their originating from a substantial icy grain component. We constructed a Monte Carlo model that replicates the shape, motion, and brightness distribution of the CN coma throughout the apparition with a single, self-consistent solution in principal axis rotation. Our model yields a pole having (R.A., decl.) = 319°, −5° (pole obliquity of 70°) and two large sources (radii of 50° and 40°) centered at near-equatorial latitudes and separated in longitude by ∼160°. Applications of the model to explain observed behaviors are discussed.