Red Clump Giant Stars Research Articles

The chemistry of stars in the bar of the Milky Way

We use a sample of 938 red clump giant stars located in the direction of the Galactic long bar to study the chemistry of Milky Way bar stars. Kinematically separating stars on bar orbits from stars with inner disc orbits, we find that stars on bar-like orbits are more metal rich with a mean iron abundance of ⟨[Fe/H]⟩ = +0.30 compared to ⟨[Fe/H]⟩ = +0.03 for the inner disc. Spatially selecting bar stars is complicated by a strong vertical metallicity gradient of −1.1 dex kpc−1, but we find the metallicity distribution varies in a manner consistent with our orbital selection. Our results have two possible interpretations. The first is that the most metal rich stars in the inner Galaxy pre-existed the bar, but were kinematically cold at the time of bar formation and therefore more easily captured onto bar orbits when the bar formed. The second is that the most metal rich stars formed after the bar, either directly onto the bar following orbits or were captured by the bar after their formation.

Mapping the Galactic disc with the LAMOST and Gaia red clump sample: II. 3D asymmetrical kinematics of mono-age populations in the disc between 6–14 kpc

ABSTRACT We perform analysis of the 3D kinematics of Milky Way disc stars in mono-age populations. We focus on stars between Galactocentric distances of R = 6 and 14 kpc, selected from the combined LAMOST Data Release 4 (DR4) red clump giant stars and Gaia DR2 proper motion catalogue. We confirm the 3D asymmetrical motions of recent works and provide time tagging of the Galactic outer disc asymmetrical motions near the anticentre direction out to Galactocentric distances of 14 kpc. Radial Galactocentric motions reach values up to 10 km s−1, depending on the age of the population, and present a north–south asymmetry in the region corresponding to density and velocity substructures that were sensitive to the perturbations in the early 6 Gyr. After that time, the disc stars in this asymmetrical structure have become kinematically hotter, and are thus not sensitive to perturbations, and we find the structure is a relatively younger population. With quantitative analysis, we find stars both above and below the plane at R ≳ 9 kpc that exhibit bending mode motions of which the sensitive duration is around 8 Gyr. We speculate that the in-plane asymmetries might not be mainly caused by a fast rotating bar, intrinsically elliptical outer disc, secular expansion of the disc, or streams. Spiral arm dynamics, out-of-equilibrium models, minor mergers or others are important contributors. Vertical motions might be dominated by bending and breathing modes induced by complicated inner or external perturbers. It is likely that many of these mechanisms are coupled together.

3D asymmetrical kinematics of mono-age populations from LAMOST and Gaia common red clump stars

AbstractWith the LAMOST DR4 and Gaia DR2 common red clump giant stars, we investigate the three-dimensional kinematics of Milky Way disk stars in mono-age populations between Galactocentric distances of R = 6 and 15 kpc. We confirm the 3D asymmetrical motions of recent works, and provide time tagging of the Galactic outer disk asymmetrical motions. Radial motions present a north-south asymmetry in the region corresponding to recent density and velocity substructures that were sensitive to the perturbations in the early 6 Gyr. What’s more, we discover a new velocity substructure in the north side corresponding to density dip found recently (“south-middle opposite”) in the radial and azimuthal velocity. Meanwhile, the vertical velocity with clear vertical bulk motions or bending mode motions has no clear asymmetry corresponding to the in-plane asymmetrical features.

Revisiting the Tale of Hercules: How Stars Orbiting the Lagrange Points Visit the Sun

Abstract We propose a novel explanation for the Hercules stream consistent with recent measurements of the extent and pattern speed of the Galactic bar. We have adapted a made-to-measure dynamical model tailored for the Milky Way to investigate the kinematics of the solar neighborhood (SNd). The model matches the 3D density of the red clump giant stars (RCGs) in the bulge and bar as well as stellar kinematics in the inner Galaxy, with a pattern speed of 39 km s−1 kpc−1. Cross-matching this model with the Gaia DR1 TGAS data combined with RAVE and LAMOST radial velocities, we find that the model naturally predicts a bimodality in the U–V-velocity distribution for nearby stars which is in good agreement with the Hercules stream. In the model, the Hercules stream is made of stars orbiting the Lagrange points of the bar which move outward from the bar’s corotation radius to visit the SNd. While the model is not yet a quantitative fit of the velocity distribution, the new picture naturally predicts that the Hercules stream is more prominent inward from the Sun and nearly absent only a few 100 pc outward of the Sun, and plausibly explains that Hercules is prominent in old and metal-rich stars.

Distance moduli of open cluster NGC 6819 from Red Giant Clump stars

In this paper we study Kepler open cluster NGC 6819 using Kepler data of Red Giant Clump (RGC) single member (SM) stars. The Kepler data spans a period of 4 years starting in 2009. In particular, we derive distance moduli for each individual RGC star, from which we get the mean distance modulus of μ0 = 11.520 ± 0.105 mag for the cluster when we use reddening from the Kepler Input Catalogue (KIC) for each RGC star. A value of μ0 = 11.747 ± 0.086 mag is obtained when uniform reddening value E(B−V)=0.15 is used for the cluster. The values of μ0 obtained with RGC stars are in agreement with the values in the literature with other methods. We report for the case of Kepler open cluster NGC 6819 that RGC stars can be used as ‘distance candles’ as has been done in the literature with other open clusters.

THE ORIGIN OF THE SPLIT RED CLUMP IN THE GALACTIC BULGE OF THE MILKY WAY

Near the minor axis of the Galactic bulge, at latitudes b < -5 degrees, the red giant clump stars are split into two components along the line of sight. We investigate this split using the three fields from the ARGOS survey that lie on the minor axis at (l,b) = (0,-5), (0,-7.5), (0,-10) degrees. The separation is evident for stars with [Fe/H] > -0.5 in the two higher-latitude fields, but not in the field at b = -5 degrees. Stars with [Fe/H] < -0.5 do not show the split. We compare the spatial distribution and kinematics of the clump stars with predictions from an evolutionary N-body model of a bulge that grew from a disk via bar-related instabilities. The density distribution of the peanut-shaped model is depressed near its minor axis. This produces a bimodal distribution of stars along the line of sight through the bulge near its minor axis, very much as seen in our observations. The observed and modelled kinematics of the two groups of stars are also similar. We conclude that the split red clump of the bulge is probably a generic feature of boxy/peanut bulges that grew from disks, and that the disk from which the bulge grew had relatively few stars with [Fe/H] < -0.5

Local stellar kinematics from RAVE data - III. Radial and vertical metallicity gradients based on red clump stars

We investigate radial and vertical metallicity gradients for a sample of red clump stars from the RAdial Velocity Experiment (RAVE) Data Release 3. We select a total of 6781 stars, using a selection of colour, surface gravity and uncertainty in the derived space motion, and calculate for each star a probabilistic (kinematic) population assignment to a thin or thick disc using space motion and additionally another (dynamical) assignment using stellar vertical orbital eccentricity. We derive almost equal metallicity gradients as a function of Galactocentric distance for the high probability thin disc stars and for stars with vertical orbital eccentricities consistent with being dynamically young, e_v<=0.07, i.e. d[M/H]/dR_m = -0.041(0.003) and d[M/H]/dR_m = -0.041(0.007) dex/kpc. Metallicity gradients as a function of distance from the Galactic plane for the same populations are steeper, i.e. d[M/H]/dz_{max} = -0.109(0.008) and d[M/H]/dz_{max} = -0.260(0.031) dex/kpc, respectively. R_m and z_{max} are the arithmetic mean of the perigalactic and apogalactic distances, and the maximum distance to the Galactic plane, respectively. Samples including more thick disc red clump giant stars show systematically shallower abundance gradients. These findings can be used to distinguish between different formation scenarios of the thick and thin discs.

Red giants from the Pennsylvania – Toruń Planet Search

The main goal of the Pennsylvania - Torun Planet Search (PTPS) is detection and characterization of planets around evolved stars using the high-accuracy radial velocity (RV) technique. The project is performed with the 9.2 m Hobby-Eberly Telescope. To determine stellar parameters and evolutionary status for targets observed within the survey complete spectral analysis of all objects is required. In this paper we present the atmospheric parameters (effective temperatures, surface gravities, microturbulent velocities and metallicities) of a subsample of Red Giant Clump stars using strictly spectroscopic methods based on analysis of equivalent widths of Fe I and Fe II lines. It is shown that our spectroscopic approach brings reliable and consistent results.

NEAR-INFRARED PHOTOMETRIC STUDY OF THE OLD OPEN CLUSTER TRUMPLER 5

We present JHK near-infrared photometric study for the old open cluster (OC) Trumpler 5 (Tr 5), based on the 2MASS data. From the color-magnitude diagrams of Tr 5, we have located the position of the red giant clump (RGC) stars, and used the mean magnitude of the RGC stars in K-band to estimate the distance to Tr 5, d = 3.1 +/- 0.1 kpc ((m-M)_0 = 12.46 +/- 0.04). From fitting the theoretical isochrones of Padova group, we have estimated the reddening, metallicity, and age : E(B-V) = 0.64 +/- 0.05, [Fe/H] = -0.4 +/- 0.1 dex, and t =2.8 +/- 0.2 Gyr (log t=9.45 +/- 0.04), respectively. These parameters generally agree well with those obtained from the previous studies on Tr 5 and confirms that this cluster is an old OC with metallicity being metal-poorer than solar abundance, located in the anti-Galactic center region.

Kinematics of Tycho-2 red giant clump stars

Based on the Ogorodnikov-Milne model, we analyze the proper motions of 95 633 red giant clump (RGC) stars from the Tycho-2 Catalogue. The following Oort constants have been found: A = 15.9 ± 0.2 km s−1 kpc−1 and B = −12.0±0.2 km s−1 kpc−1. Using 3632 RGC stars with known proper motions, radial velocities, and photometric distances, we show that, apart from the star centroid velocity components relative to the Sun, only the model parameters that describe the stellar motions in the XY plane differ significantly from zero. We have studied the contraction (a negative K effect) of the system of RGC stars as a function of their heliocentric distance and elevation above the Galactic plane. For a sample of distant (500–1000 pc) RGC stars located near the Galactic plane (|z| < 200 pc) with an average distance of d = 0.7 kpc, the contraction velocity is shown to be Kd = −3.5 ±0.9 km s−1; a noticeable vertex deviation, l xy = 9 o· 1 ± 0 o· 5, is also observed for them. For stars located well above the Galactic plane (|z| ≥200 pc), these effects are less pronounced, Kd = −1.7 ± 0.5 km s−1 and l xy = 4 o· 9 ± 0 o· 6. Using RGC stars, we have found a rotation around the Galactic X axis directed toward the Galactic center with an angular velocity of −2.5 ± 0.3 km s−1 kpc−1, which we associate with the warp of the Galactic stellar-gaseous disk.

LIFTING THE DUSTY VEIL WITH NEAR- AND MID-INFRARED PHOTOMETRY. II. A LARGE-SCALE STUDY OF THE GALACTIC INFRARED EXTINCTION LAW

We combine near-infrared (2MASS) and mid-infrared (Spitzer-IRAC) photometry to characterize the IR extinction law (1.2-8 microns) over nearly 150 degrees of contiguous Milky Way midplane longitude. The relative extinctions in 5 passbands across these wavelength and longitude ranges are derived by calculating color excess ratios for G and K giant red clump stars in contiguous midplane regions and deriving the wavelength dependence of extinction in each one. Strong, monotonic variations in the extinction law shape are found as a function of angle from the Galactic center, symmetric on either side of it. These longitudinal variations persist even when dense interstellar regions, known a priori to have a shallower extinction curve, are removed. The increasingly steep extinction curves towards the outer Galaxy indicate a steady decrease in the absolute-to-selective extinction ratio (R_V) and in the mean dust grain size at greater Galactocentric angles. We note an increasing strength of the 8 micron extinction inflection at high Galactocentric angles and, using theoretical dust models, show that this behavior is consistent with the trend in R_V. Along several lines of sight where the solution is most feasible, A_lambda/A_Ks as a function of Galactic radius is estimated and shown to have a Galactic radial dependence. Our analyses suggest that the observed relationship between extinction curve shape and Galactic longitude is due to an intrinsic dependence of the extinction law on Galactocentric radius.

Red clump giant stars as tracers of Galactic structure

AbstractBy isolating the red clump giant population in the color-magnitude diagrams and inverting their star counts, we can obtain directly the density distribution of the old stellar population along the line of sight. We have applied this method to several near infrared surveys and obtained information on the disc, bulge and long bar. The disc is well fitted by an exponential distribution in both the galactocentric distance and height, flared and warped in the outer parts, and with a deficit of stars in the inner in-plane regions. The long bar occupies these in-plane regions within R &lt; 3.9 kpc, with approximate dimensions of 7.8 kpc × 1.2 kpc × 0.2 kpc and a position angle of 40-45 deg. The bulge is a triaxial structure, possibly boxy, thicker and shorter than the long bar and with position angle of 10-30 deg.

What is the closest black hole to the Sun?

We examine the distance of the two galactic microquasars GRO J1655–40 and A 0620–00 which are potentially the two closest black holes to the Sun. We aim to provide a picture as wide and complete as possible of the problem of measuring the distance of microquasars in our Galaxy. The purpose of this work is to fairly and critically review in great detail every distance method used for these two microquasars in order to show that the distances of probably all microquasars in our Galaxy are much more uncertain than currently admitted. Moreover, we show that many confirmations of quantitative results are often entangled and rely on very uncertain measurements. We also present a new determination of the maximum distance of GRO J1655–40 using red clump giant stars, and show that it confirms our earlier result of a distance less than 2 kpc instead of 3.2 kpc. Because, it then becomes more likely that GRO J1655–40 could originate from the stellar cluster NGC 6242, located at 1.0 kpc, we review the distance estimations of A 0620–00, which is so far the closest black hole with an average distance of about 1.0 kpc. We show that the distance methods used for A 0620–00 are also problematic. Finally, we present a new analysis of spectroscopic and astrometric archival data on this microquasar, and apply the maximum distance method of Foellmi et al. [Foellmi, C., Depagne, E., Dall, T.H., Mirabel, I.F., 2006b. A&A 457, 249]. It appears that A 0620–00 could indeed be even closer to the Sun than currently estimated, and consequently would be the closest known black hole to the Sun.

Red giant clump in the Tycho-2 catalogue

The Tycho-2 proper motions and Tycho-2 and 2MASS photometry are used to select 97348 red giant clump (RGC) stars. The interstellar extinction and photometric distance are calculated for each of the stars. The selected stars are shown to form a selection-unbiased sample of RGC stars within about 350 pc of the Sun with the addition of more distant stars. The distribution of the selected stars in space and their motion are consistent with the assumption that the RGC contains Galactic disk stars with various ages and metallicities, including a significant fraction of stars younger than 1 Gyr with masses of more than 2M ⊙. These young stars show differences of their statistical characteristics from those of older RGC stars, including differences in the variations of their distribution density with distance from the Galactic plane and in the dispersion of their velocities found using radial velocities and proper motions. The Sun has been found to rise above the Galactic plane by 13 ± 1 pc. The distribution density of the stars under consideration in space is probably determined by the Local Spiral Arm and the distribution of absorbing matter in the plane of the Gould Belt.

Modelling the Galactic bar using OGLE-II red clump giant stars

Red clump giant stars can be used as distance indicators to trace the mass distribution of the Galactic bar. We use RCG stars from 44 bulge fields from the OGLE-II microlensing collaboration database to constrain analytic tri-axial models for the Galactic bar. We find the bar major axis is oriented at an angle of 24 - 27 degrees to the Sun-Galactic centre line-of-sight. The ratio of semi-major and semi-minor bar axis scale lengths in the Galactic plane x_0, y_0, and vertical bar scale length z_0, is x_0 : y_0 : z_0 = 10 : 3.5 : 2.6, suggesting a slightly more prolate bar structure than the working model of Gerhard (2002) which gives the scale length ratios as x_0 : y_0 : z_0 = 10 : 4 : 3 .

The thick disc component of the Galaxy from near infrared colour–magnitude diagrams

The vertical distribution of K giants stars is analyzed using 2MASS data and a semiempirical method of extracting stellar densities from the K/J − K colour-magnitude diagrams. The vertical density distribution of red clump giant stars can be described by a double exponential, with scaleheights of 268.81 ± 12.65 pc and 1061.9 ± 52.16 pc. These values are in agreement with the expected values for the thin and thick disc components of the Milky Way. For the thick disc, the radial scalelength is also obtained, with a value of hR = 3.04 ± 0.11 kpc.

PHYSICAL PARAMETERS OF THE OLD OPEN CLUSTER TRUMPLER 5

We present a study of the old open cluster Trumpler 5 (Tr 5), based on the CDS archival data. From the color-magnitude diagrams of Tr 5, we have found the positions of main-sequence turn-off (MSTO) and red giant clump (RGC) stars. Using the mean magnitude of the RGC stars, we have estimated the reddening toward Tr 5, E(B - V) = 0.60 <TEX>$\pm$</TEX> 0.10. Using the stars common in two data sets and the theoretical isochrones of Padova group, we have estimated the distance modulus <TEX>$V_o - M_v = 12.64 {\pm} 0.20 (d = 3.4 {\pm} 0.3 kpc)$</TEX>, the metallicity [Fe/H) = -0.30 <TEX>$\pm$</TEX> 0.10, and the age of 2.4 <TEX>$\pm$</TEX> 0.2 Gyr (log t = 9.38). These metallicity and distance values are consistent with the relation between the metallicity and the Galactocentric distance of other old open clusters, for which we obtain the slope of <TEX>${\Delta}[Fe/H]/ R_{gc} = -0.064 {\pm} 0.010\;dex\;kpc^{-1}$</TEX>.

UBVI CCD PHOTOMETRY OF OPEN CLUSTER NGC 2324

UBVI CCD photometry of open cluster NGC 2324 is presented. C-M diagrams of this cluster show well-defined main sequence with a red giant clump centered at B - V =1.05, V =13.45. We derived the major cluster characteristics; E(B - V)=0.170.12 from color-color diagram and mean color of red giant clump stars, (m - M)o=13.10.1 from zero age main sequence fitting, and [Fe/H]-0.32 from comparison the theoretical model developed by Bertelli et al. (1994) to the observed C-M diagrams. We estimate the age of NGC 2324 to be log t8.8 by applying isochrone fitting and morphological age index method.

The RR Lyrae Population of the Galactic Bulge from the MACHO Database: Mean Colors and Magnitudes

Mean colors and magnitudes of RR Lyrae stars in 24 fields toward the Galactic bulge from the MACHO database are presented. Accurate mean reddenings are computed for these fields on the basis of the mean colors. The distribution along the line of sight of the RR Lyrae population is examined on the basis of the mean magnitudes, and it is shown that the bulk of the RR Lyrae population is not barred. Only the RR Lyrae stars in the inner fields closer to the Galactic center (l{lt}4{degree}, b{gt}{minus}4{degree}) show evidence for a bar. The red giant clump stars in the MACHO fields, however, clearly show a barred distribution, confirming the results of previous studies. Given the different spatial distribution, the RR Lyrae stars and the clump giants trace two different populations. The RR Lyrae variables would represent the inner extension of the Galactic halo in these fields. {copyright} {ital 1998} {ital The American Astronomical Society}