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Sulphur abundances in halo stars from multiplet 3 at 1045 nm
Sulphur is a volatile alpha-element which is not locked into dust grainsin the interstellar medium (ISM). Hence, its abundance does not need tobe corrected for dust depletion when comparing the ISM to the stellaratmospheres. The abundance of sulphur in the photosphere of metal-poorstars is a matter of debate: according to some authors, [S/Fe] versus[Fe/H] forms a plateau at low metallicity, while, according to otherstudies, there is a large scatter or perhaps a bimodal distribution. Inmetal-poor stars sulphur is detectable by its lines of Mult.1 at 920 nm,but this range is heavily contaminated by telluric absorptions, and oneline of the multiplet is blended by the hydrogen Paschen zeta line. Westudy the possibility of using Mult. 3 (at 1045 nm) for deriving thesulphur abundance because this range, now observable at the VLT with theinfra-red spectrograph CRIRES, is little contaminated by telluricabsorption and not affected by blends at least in metal-poor stars. Wecompare the abundances derived from Multiplets 1 and 3, taking intoaccount NLTE corrections and 3D effects. Here we present the results fora sample of four stars, although the scatter is less pronounced than inprevious analysis, we cannot find a plateau in [S/Fe], and confirm thescatter of the sulphur abundance at low metallicity.
| Observational evidence for a broken Li Spite plateau and mass-dependent Li depletion
We present NLTE Li abundances for 88 stars in the metallicity range -3.5< [Fe/H] < -1.0. The effective temperatures are based on theinfrared flux method with improved E(B-V) values obtained mostly frominterstellar Na I D lines. The Li abundances were derived through MARCSmodels and high-quality UVES+VLT, HIRES+Keck and FIES+NOT spectra, andcomplemented with reliable equivalent widths from the literature. Theless-depleted stars with [Fe/H] < -2.5 and [Fe/H] > -2.5 fall intotwo well-defined plateaus of ALi = 2.18 (? = 0.04) andALi = 2.27 (? = 0.05), respectively. We show that thetwo plateaus are flat, unlike previous claims for a steep monotonicdecrease in Li abundances with decreasing metallicities. At allmetallicities we uncover a fine-structure in the Li abundances of Spiteplateau stars, which we trace to Li depletion that depends on bothmetallicity and mass. Models including atomic diffusion and turbulentmixing seem to reproduce the observed Li depletion assuming a primordialLi abundance ALi = 2.64, which agrees well with currentpredictions (ALi = 2.72) from standard Big Bangnucleosynthesis. Adopting the Kurucz overshooting model atmospheresincreases the Li abundance by +0.08 dex to ALi = 2.72, whichperfectly agrees with BBN+WMAP.Based in part on observations obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory,the Nordic Optical Telescope on La Palma, and on data from theHIRES/Keck archive and the European Southern Observatory ESO/ST-ECFScience Archive Facility.Table 1 is only available in electronic form athttp://www.aanda.org
| An absolutely calibrated Teff scale from the infrared flux method. Dwarfs and subgiants
Various effective temperature scales have been proposed over the years.Despite much work and the high internal precision usually achieved,systematic differences of order 100 K (or more) among various scales arestill present. We present an investigation based on the infrared fluxmethod aimed at assessing the source of such discrepancies and pin downtheir origin. We break the impasse among different scales by using alarge set of solar twins, stars which are spectroscopically andphotometrically identical to the Sun, to set the absolute zero point ofthe effective temperature scale to within few degrees. Our newlycalibrated, accurate and precise temperature scale applies to dwarfs andsubgiants, from super-solar metallicities to the most metal-poor starscurrently known. At solar metallicities our results validatespectroscopic effective temperature scales, whereas for [Fe/H]? -2.5our temperatures are roughly 100 K hotter than those determined frommodel fits to the Balmer lines and 200 K hotter than those obtained fromthe excitation equilibrium of Fe lines. Empirical bolometric correctionsand useful relations linking photometric indices to effectivetemperatures and angular diameters have been derived. Our results takefull advantage of the high accuracy reached in absolute calibration inrecent years and are further validated by interferometric angulardiameters and space based spectrophotometry over a wide range ofeffective temperatures and metallicities.Table 8 is only available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymousftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/512/A54
| Evidence of Tidal Debris from ? Cen in the Kapteyn Group
This paper presents a detailed kinematic and chemical analysis of 16members of the Kapteyn moving group. The group does not appear to bechemically homogenous. However, the kinematics and the chemicalabundance patterns seen in 14 of the stars in this group are similar tothose observed in the well-studied cluster, ? Centauri (?Cen). Some members of this moving group may be remnants of the tidaldebris of ? Cen, left in the Galactic disk during the merger eventthat deposited ? Cen into the Milky Way.
| The C/O ratio at low metallicity: constraints on early chemical evolution from observations of Galactic halo stars
Aims: We present new measurements of the abundances of carbon and oxygenderived from high-excitation C i and O i absorption lines in metal-poorhalo stars, with the aim of clarifying the main sources of these twoelements in the early stages of the chemical enrichment of the Galaxy.Methods: We target 15 new stars compared to our previous study,with an emphasis on additional C/O determinations in the crucialmetallicity range -3 ⪉ [Fe/H]⪉ -2. The stellar effectivetemperatures were estimated from the profile of the Hβ line.Departures from local thermodynamic equilibrium were accounted for inthe line formation for both carbon and oxygen. The non-LTE effects arevery strong at the lowest metallicities but, contrary to what hassometimes been assumed in the past due to a simplified assessment, ofdifferent degrees for the two elements. In addition, for the 28 starswith [Fe/H] < -1 previously analysed, stellar parameters werere-derived and non-LTE corrections applied in the same fashion as forthe rest of our sample, giving consistent abundances for 43 halo starsin total. Results: The new observations and non-LTE calculationsstrengthen previous suggestions of an upturn in C/O towards lowermetallicity (particularly for [O/H] ⪉ -2). The C/O values derivedfor these very metal-poor stars are, however, sensitive to excitationvia the still poorly quantified inelastic H collisions. While these donot significantly affect the non-LTE results for C i, they greatlymodify the O i outcome. Adopting the H collisional cross-sectionsestimated from the classical Drawin formula leads to [C/O] ≈ 0 at[O/H] ≈ -3. To remove the upturn in C/O, near-LTE formation for O ilines would be required, which could only happen if the H collisionalefficiency with the Drawin recipe is underestimated by factors of up toseveral tens of times, a possibility which we consider unlikely. Conclusions: The high C/O values derived at the lowest metallicitiesmay be revealing the fingerprints of Population III stars or may signalrotationally-aided nucleosynthesis in more normal Population II stars.Based on data collected with the European Southern Observatory's VeryLarge Telescope (VLT) at the Paranal, Chile (programmes No. 67.D-0106and 73.D-0024) and with the Magellan Telescope at Las CampanasObservatory, Chile.
| Calibration of Strömgren uvby-H? photometry for late-type stars - a model atmosphere approach
Context: The use of model atmospheres for deriving stellar fundamentalparameters, such as T_eff, log g, and [Fe/H], will increase as we findand explore extreme stellar populations where empirical calibrations arenot yet available. Moreover, calibrations for upcoming large satellitemissions of new spectrophotometric indices, similar to the uvby-H?system, will be needed. Aims: We aim to test the power oftheoretical calibrations based on a new generation of MARCS models bycomparisons with observational photomteric data. Methods: Wecalculated synthetic uvby-H? colour indices from synthetic spectra.A sample of 367 field stars, as well as stars in globular clusters, isused for a direct comparison of the synthetic indices versus empiricaldata and for scrutinizing the possibilities of theoretical calibrationsfor temperature, metallicity, and gravity. Results: We show thatthe temperature sensitivity of the synthetic (b-y) colour is very closeto its empirical counterpart, whereas the temperature scale based uponH? shows a slight offset. The theoretical metallicity sensitivityof the m1 index (and for G-type stars its combination withc_1) is somewhat higher than the empirical one, based upon spectroscopicdeterminations. The gravity sensitivity of the synthetic c1index shows satisfactory behaviour when compared to obervations of Fstars. For stars cooler than the sun, a deviation is significant in thec1-(b-y) diagram. The theoretical calibrations of (b-y),(v-y), and c1 seem to work well for Pop II stars and lead toeffective temperatures for globular cluster stars supporting recentclaims that atomic diffusion occurs in stars near the turnoff point ofNGC 6397. Conclusions: Synthetic colours of stellar atmospherescan indeed be used, in many cases, to derive reliable fundamentalstellar parameters. The deviations seen when compared to observationaldata could be due to incomplete linelists but are possibly also due tothe effects of assuming plane-parallell or spherical geometry and LTE.Model colours are only available in electronic form at the CDS viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/498/527
| Sulphur and zinc abundances in Galactic halo stars revisited
Aims.Based on a new set of sulphur abundances in very metal-poor starsand an improved analysis of previous data, we aim at resolving currentdiscrepancies on the trend of S/Fe vs. Fe/H and thereby gain betterinsight into the nucleosynthesis of sulphur. The trends of Zn/Fe andS/Zn will also be studied. Methods: High resolution VLT/UVES spectra of40 main-sequence stars with -3.3 < [Fe/H] < -1.0 are used toderive S abundances from the weak λ 8694.6 S I line and thestronger λ λ 9212.9,9237.5 pair of S I lines. For onestar, the S abundance is also derived from the S I triplet at 1.046μm recently observed with the VLT infrared echelle spectrographCRIRES. Fe and Zn abundances are derived from lines in the blue part ofthe UVES spectra, and effective temperatures are obtained from theprofile of the Hβ line. Results: Comparison of sulphur abundancesfrom the weak and strong S I lines provides important constraints onnon-LTE effects. The high sulphur abundances reported by others for somemetal-poor stars are not confirmed; instead, when taking non-LTEcorrections into account, the Galactic halo stars distribute around aplateau at [S/Fe] ~ +0.2 dex with a scatter of 0.07 dex only. [Zn/Fe] isclose to zero for metallicities in the range -2.0 < [Fe/H] < -1.0but increases to a level of [Zn/Fe] ~ +0.1 to +0.2 dex in the range -2.7< [Fe/H] < -2.0. At still lower metallicities [Zn/Fe] risessteeply to a value of [Zn/Fe] ~ +0.5 dex at [Fe/H] = -3.2. Conclusions:The trend of S/Fe vs. Fe/H corresponds to the trends of Mg/Fe, Si/Fe,and Ca/Fe and indicates that sulphur in Galactic halo stars has beenmade by α-capture processes in massive SNe. The observed scatterin S/Fe is much smaller than predicted from current stochastic models ofthe chemical evolution of the early Galaxy, suggesting that either themodels or the calculated yields of massive SNe should be revised. Wealso examine the behaviour of S/Zn and find that departures from thesolar ratio are significantly reduced at all metallicities if non-LTEcorrections to the abundances of these two elements are adopted. Thiseffect, if confirmed, would reduce the usefulness of the S/Zn ratio as adiagnostic of past star-formation activity, but would bring closertogether the values measured in damped Lyman-alpha systems and inGalactic stars.Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory atParanal, Chile (programmes No. 67.D-0106, 73.D-0024 and CRIRES scienceverification program 60.A-9072). Table 1 and Appendices are onlyavailable in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org
| Pulkovo compilation of radial velocities for 35495 stars in a common system.
Not Available
| The non-LTE line formation of neutral carbon in late-type stars
Aims.We investigate the non-Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium (non-LTE)line formation of neutral carbon in late-type stars in order to removesome of the potential systematic errors in stellar abundance analysesemploying C i features. Methods: .The statistical equilibrium codeMULTI was used on a grid of plane-parallel 1D MARCS atmosphericmodels. Results: .Within the parameter space explored, thehigh-excitation C i lines studied are stronger in non-LTE due to thecombined effect of line source function drop and increased line opacitydue to overpopulation of the lower level for the transitions considered;the relative importance of the two effects depends on the particularcombination of T{eff}, log g, [Fe/H] and [C/Fe] and on theanalysed C i line. As a consequence, the non-LTE abundance correctionsare negative and can be substantially so, for example -0.4 dex inhalo turn-off stars at [Fe/H] -3. The magnitude of the non-LTEcorrections is rather insensitive to whether inelastic H collisions areincluded or not. Conclusions: .Our results have implications onstudies of nucleosynthetic processes and on Galactic chemical evolutionmodels. When applying our calculated corrections to recent observationaldata, the upturn in [C/O] at low metallicity might still be present(thus apparently still necessitating contributions from massive Pop. IIIstars for the carbon production), but at a lower level and possibly witha rather shallow trend of -0.2 dex/dex below [O/H] -1.
| Permitted Oxygen Abundances and the Temperature Scale of Metal-poor Turnoff Stars
We use high-quality VLT/UVES published data of the permitted O I tripletand Fe II lines to determine oxygen and iron abundances in unevolved(dwarfs, turnoff, subgiants) metal-poor halo stars. The calculationshave been performed both in LTE and non-LTE (NLTE), employing effectivetemperatures obtained with the new infrared flux method (IRFM)temperature scale by Ramírez & Meléndez, and surfacegravities from Hipparcos parallaxes and theoretical isochrones. A newlist of accurate transition probabilities for Fe II lines, tied to theabsolute scale defined by laboratory measurements, has been used.Interstellar absorption has been carefully taken into account byemploying reddening maps, stellar energy distributions andStrömgren photometry. We find a plateau in the oxygen-to-iron ratioover more than 2 orders of magnitude in iron abundance(-3.2<[Fe/H]<-0.7), with a mean [O/Fe]=0.5 dex (σ=0.1 dex),independent of metallicity, temperature, and surface gravity. The flat[O/Fe] ratio is mainly due to the use of adequate NLTE corrections andthe new IRFM temperature scale, which, for metal-poor F/early G dwarfsis hotter than most Teff scales used in previous studies ofthe O I triplet. According to the new IRFM Teff scale, thetemperatures of turnoff halo stars strongly depend on metallicity, aresult that is in excellent qualitative and quantitative agreement withstellar evolution calculations, which predict that the Teffof the turnoff at [Fe/H]=-3 is about 600-700 K higher than that at[Fe/H]=-1. Recent determinations of Hα temperatures in turnoffstars are in excellent relative agreement with the new IRFMTeff scale in the metallicity range -2.7<[Fe/H]<-1,with a zero-point difference of only 61 K.
| Effective temperature scale and bolometric corrections from 2MASS photometry
We present a method to determine effective temperatures, angularsemi-diameters and bolometric corrections for population I and II FGKtype stars based on V and 2MASS IR photometry. Accurate calibration isaccomplished by using a sample of solar analogues, whose averagetemperature is assumed to be equal to the solar effective temperature of5777 K. By taking into account all possible sources of error we estimateassociated uncertainties to better than 1% in effective temperature andin the range 1.0-2.5% in angular semi-diameter for unreddened stars.Comparison of our new temperatures with other determinations extractedfrom the literature indicates, in general, remarkably good agreement.These results suggest that the effective temperaure scale of FGK starsis currently established with an accuracy better than 0.5%-1%. Theapplication of the method to a sample of 10 999 dwarfs in the Hipparcoscatalogue allows us to define temperature and bolometric correction (Kband) calibrations as a function of (V-K), [m/H] and log g. Bolometriccorrections in the V and K bands as a function of T_eff, [m/H] and log gare also given. We provide effective temperatures, angularsemi-diameters, radii and bolometric corrections in the V and K bandsfor the 10 999 FGK stars in our sample with the correspondinguncertainties.
| Galactic model parameters for field giants separated from field dwarfs by their 2MASS and V apparent magnitudes
We present a method which separates field dwarfs and field giants bytheir 2MASS and V apparent magnitudes. This method is based onspectroscopically selected standards and is hence reliable. We appliedit to stars in two fields, SA 54 and SA 82, and we estimated a full setof Galactic model parameters for giants including their total localspace density. Our results are in agreement with the ones given in therecent literature.
| The lithium content of the Galactic Halo stars
Thanks to the accurate determination of the baryon density of theuniverse by the recent cosmic microwave background experiments, updatedpredictions of the standard model of Big Bang nucleosynthesis now yieldthe initial abundance of the primordial light elements withunprecedented precision. In the case of ^7Li, the CMB+SBBN value issignificantly higher than the generally reported abundances for Pop IIstars along the so-called Spite plateau. In view of the crucialimportance of this disagreement, which has cosmological, galactic andstellar implications, we decided to tackle the most critical issues ofthe problem by revisiting a large sample of literature Li data in halostars that we assembled following some strict selection criteria on thequality of the original analyses. In the first part of the paper wefocus on the systematic uncertainties affecting the determination of theLi abundances, one of our main goal being to look for the "highestobservational accuracy achievable" for one of the largest sets of Liabundances ever assembled. We explore in great detail the temperaturescale issue with a special emphasis on reddening. We derive four sets ofeffective temperatures by applying the same colour {T}_eff calibrationbut making four different assumptions about reddening and determine theLTE lithium values for each of them. We compute the NLTE corrections andapply them to the LTE lithium abundances. We then focus on our "best"(i.e. most consistent) set of temperatures in order to discuss theinferred mean Li value and dispersion in several {T}_eff and metallicityintervals. The resulting mean Li values along the plateau for [Fe/H]≤ 1.5 are A(Li)_NLTE = 2.214±0.093 and 2.224±0.075when the lowest effective temperature considered is taken equal to 5700K and 6000 K respectively. This is a factor of 2.48 to 2.81 (dependingon the adopted SBBN model and on the effective temperature range chosento delimit the plateau) lower than the CMB+SBBN determination. We findno evidence of intrinsic dispersion. Assuming the correctness of theCMB+SBBN prediction, we are then left with the conclusion that the Liabundance along the plateau is not the pristine one, but that halo starshave undergone surface depletion during their evolution. In the secondpart of the paper we further dissect our sample in search of newconstraints on Li depletion in halo stars. By means of the Hipparcosparallaxes, we derive the evolutionary status of each of our samplestars, and re-discuss our derived Li abundances. A very surprisingresult emerges for the first time from this examination. Namely, themean Li value as well as the dispersion appear to be lower (althoughfully compatible within the errors) for the dwarfs than for the turnoffand subgiant stars. For our most homogeneous dwarfs-only sample with[Fe/H] ≤ 1.5, the mean Li abundances are A(L)_NLTE = 2.177±0.071 and 2.215±0.074 when the lowest effective temperatureconsidered is taken equal to 5700 K and 6000 K respectively. This is afactor of 2.52 to 3.06 (depending on the selected range in {T}_eff forthe plateau and on the SBBN predictions we compare to) lower than theCMB+SBBN primordial value. Instead, for the post-main sequence stars thecorresponding values are 2.260±0.1 and 2.235±0.077, whichcorrespond to a depletion factor of 2.28 to 2.52. These results,together with the finding that all the stars with Li abnormalities(strong deficiency or high content) lie on or originate from the hotside of the plateau, lead us to suggest that the most massive of thehalo stars have had a slightly different Li history than their lessmassive contemporaries. In turn, this puts strong new constraints on thepossible depletion mechanisms and reinforces Li as a stellartomographer.
| Sulphur abundance in Galactic stars
We investigate sulphur abundance in 74 Galactic stars by using highresolution spectra obtained at ESO VLT and NTT telescopes. For the firsttime the abundances are derived, where possible, from three opticalmultiplets: Mult. 1, 6, and 8. By combining our own measurements withdata in the literature we assemble a sample of 253 stars in themetallicity range -3.2 [Fe/H] +0.5. Two important features,which could hardly be detected in smaller samples, are obvious from thislarge sample: 1) a sizeable scatter in [S/Fe] ratios around [Fe/H]-1; 2) at low metallicities we observe stars with [S/Fe] 0.4, aswell as stars with higher [S/Fe] ratios. The latter do not seem to bekinematically different from the former ones. Whether the latter findingstems from a distinct population of metal-poor stars or simply from anincreased scatter in sulphur abundances remains an open question.
| Heavy elements and chemical enrichment in globular clusters
High resolution (R 40 000) and high S/N spectra have been acquiredwith UVES on the VLT-Kueyen (Paranal Observatory, ESO Chile) for severalmain sequence turnoff stars (V 17 mag) and subgiants at the baseof the Red Giant Branch (V 16 mag) in three globular clusters (NGC6397, NGC 6752 and 47 Tuc/NGC 104) at different metallicities(respectively [Fe/H] ≃ -2.0; -1.5; -0.7). Spectra for a sample of25 field halo subdwarves have also been taken with equal resolution, buthigher S/N. These data have been used to determine the abundances ofseveral neutron-capture elements in these three clusters: strontium,yttrium, barium and europium. This is the first abundance determinationof these heavy elements for such unevolved stars in these three globularclusters. These values, together with the [Ba/Eu] and [Sr/Ba] abundanceratios, have been used to test the self-enrichment scenario. Acomparison is done with field halo stars and other well known Galacticglobular clusters in which heavy elements have already been measured inthe past, at least in bright giants (V 11-12 mag). Our resultsshow clearly that globular clusters have been uniformly enriched by r-and s-process syntheses, and that most of them seem to follow exactlythe same abundance patterns as field halo stars, which discards the``classical'' self-enrichment scenario for the origin of metallicitiesand heavy elements in globular clusters.Based on data collected at the European Southern Observatory with theVLT-UT2, Paranal, Chile (ESO-LP 165.L-0263).
| Reappraising the Spite Lithium Plateau: Extremely Thin and Marginally Consistent with WMAP Data
The lithium abundance in 62 halo dwarfs is determined from accurateequivalent widths reported in the literature and an improved infraredflux method temperature scale. The Li abundance of 41 plateau stars(those with Teff>6000 K) is found to be independent oftemperature and metallicity, with a star-to-star scatter of only 0.06dex over a broad range of temperatures (6000K
| Sulphur and zinc abundances in Galactic stars and damped Lyα systems
High resolution spectra of 34 halo population dwarf and subgiant starshave been obtained with VLT/UVES and used to derive sulphur abundancesfrom the λ λ 8694.0, 8694.6 and λ λ 9212.9,9237.5 S I lines. In addition, iron abundances have been determined from19 Fe II lines and zinc abundances from the λ λ 4722.2,4810.5 lines. The abundances are based on a classical 1D, LTE modelatmosphere analysis, but effects of 3D hydrodynamical modelling on the[S/Fe], [Zn/Fe] and [S/Zn] ratios are shown to be small. We find thatmost halo stars with metallicities in the range -3.2 < [Fe/H] <-0.8 have a near-constant [S/Fe] ≃ +0.3; a least square fit to[S/Fe] vs. [Fe/H] shows a slope of only -0.04 ± 0.01. Among halostars with -1.2 < [Fe/H] < -0.8 the majority have [S/Fe] ≃+0.3, but two stars (previously shown to have low α/Fe ratios)have [S/Fe] ≃ 0.0. For disk stars with [Fe/H] > -1, [S/Fe]decreases with increasing [Fe/H] . Hence, sulphur behaves like othertypical α-capture elements, Mg, Si and Ca. Zinc, on the otherhand, traces iron over three orders of magnitude in [Fe/H], althoughthere is some evidence for a small systematic Zn overabundance ([Zn/Fe]≃ +0.1) among metal-poor disk stars and for halo stars with [Fe/H]< -2.0. Recent measurements of S and Zn in ten damped Lyαsystems (DLAs) with redshifts between 1.9 and 3.4 and zinc abundances inthe range -2.1 < [Zn/H] < -0.15 show an offset relative to the[S/Zn] - [Zn/H] relation in Galactic stars. Possible reasons for thisoffset are discussed, including low and intermittent star formationrates in DLAs.Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory,Chile (ESO No. 67.D-0106).Table A1 is only available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymousftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/415/993
| The evolution of the C/O ratio in metal-poor halo stars
We report new measurements of carbon and oxygen abundances in 34 F and Gdwarf and subgiant stars belonging to the halo population and spanning arange of metallicity from [Fe/H] = -0.7 to -3.2 . The survey is based onobservations of four permitted lines of C I near 9100 Å and the OI,λ 7774 triplet, all recorded at high signal-to-noise ratioswith the UVES echelle spectrograph on the ESO VLT. The line equivalentwidths were analysed with the 1D, LTE, MARCS model atmosphere code todeduce C and O abundances; corrections due to non-LTE and 3D effects arediscussed. When combined with similar published data for disk stars, ourresults confirm the metallicity dependence of the C/O ratio known fromprevious stellar and interstellar studies: C/O drops by a factor of3-4 as O/H decreases from solar to 1/10 solar. Analysed withinthe context of standard models for the chemical evolution of the solarvicinity, this drop results from the metallicity dependence of the Cyields from massive stars with mass loss, augmented by the delayedrelease of C from stars of low and intermediate mass. The former is,however, always the dominant factor. Our survey has also uncoveredtentative evidence to suggest that, as the oxygen abundance decreasesbelow [O/H] = -1, [C/O] may not remain constant at [C/O] = -0.5, aspreviously thought, but increase again, possibly approaching near-solarvalues at the lowest metallicities ([O/H] ≲ -3). With the currentdataset this is no more than a 3σ effect and it may be due tometallicity-dependent non-LTE corrections to the [C/O] ratio which havenot been taken into account. However, its potential importance as awindow on the nucleosynthesis by Population III stars is a strongincentive for future work, both observational and theoretical, to verifyits reality.Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory,Chile (ESO No. 67.D-0106).
| Abundances for metal-poor stars with accurate parallaxes. I. Basic data
We present element-to-element abundance ratios measured from highdispersion spectra for 150 field subdwarfs and early subgiants withaccurate Hipparcos parallaxes (errors <20%). For 50 stars new spectrawere obtained with the UVES on Kueyen (VLT UT2), the McDonald 2.7 mtelescope, and SARG at TNG. Additionally, literature equivalent widthswere taken from the works by Nissen & Schuster, Fulbright, andProchaska et al. to complement our data. The whole sample includes boththick disk and halo stars (and a few thin disk stars); most stars havemetallicities in the range -2<[Fe/H]<-0.6. We found our data, thatof Nissen & Schuster, and that of Prochaska to be of comparablequality; results from Fulbright scatter a bit more, but they are stillof very good quality and are extremely useful due to the large size ofhis sample. The results of the present analysis will be used inforthcoming papers to discuss the chemical properties of thedissipational collapse and accretion components of our Galaxy.Based in part on data collected at the European Southern Observatory,Chile, at the MacDonald Observatory, Texas, USA, and at the TelescopioNazionale Galileo, Canary Island, INAF,Italy-Spain.}\fnmsep\thanks{Table 1 is only available in electronic format the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) orvia\resizebox{8.8cm}{2.2mm}htpp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/404/187}
| Improved Astrometry and Photometry for the Luyten Catalog. II. Faint Stars and the Revised Catalog
We complete construction of a catalog containing improved astrometry andnew optical/infrared photometry for the vast majority of NLTT starslying in the overlap of regions covered by POSS I and by the secondincremental Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) release, approximately 44%of the sky. The epoch 2000 positions are typically accurate to 130 mas,the proper motions to 5.5 mas yr-1, and the V-J colors to0.25 mag. Relative proper motions of binary components are measured to 3mas yr-1. The false-identification rate is ~1% for11<~V<~18 and substantially less at brighter magnitudes. Theseimprovements permit the construction of a reduced proper-motion diagramthat, for the first time, allows one to classify NLTT stars intomain-sequence (MS) stars, subdwarfs (SDs), and white dwarfs (WDs). We inturn use this diagram to analyze the properties of both our catalog andthe NLTT catalog on which it is based. In sharp contrast to popularbelief, we find that NLTT incompleteness in the plane is almostcompletely concentrated in MS stars, and that SDs and WDs are detectedalmost uniformly over the sky δ>-33deg. Our catalogwill therefore provide a powerful tool to probe these populationsstatistically, as well as to reliably identify individual SDs and WDs.
| New Metallicity Calibration Down to [Fe/H] = -2.75 dex
We have taken 88 dwarfs, covering the colour-index interval 0.37 <=(B-V)0 <= 1.07mag, with metallicities -2.70 <= [Fe/H]<= +0.26dex, from three different sources for new metallicitycalibration. The catalogue of Cayrel de Stroble et al. (2001), whichincludes 65% of the stars in our sample, supplies detailed informationon abundances for stars with determination based on high-resolutionspectroscopy. In constructing the new calibration we have used as`corner stones' 77 stars which supply at least one of the followingconditions: (i) the parallax is larger than 10mas (distance relative tothe Sun less than 100pc) and the galactic latitude is absolutely higherthan 30° (ii) the parallax is rather large, if the galactic latitudeis absolutely low and vice versa. Contrary to previous investigations, athird-degree polynomial is fitted for the new calibration: [Fe/H]=0.10 -2.76δ - 24.04δ2 + 30.00δ3. Thecoefficients were evaluated by the least-squares method, without regardto the metallicity of Hyades. However, the constant term is in the rangeof metallicity determined for this cluster, i.e.0.08<=[Fe/H]<=0.11dex. The mean deviation and the mean error inour work are equal to those of Carney (1979), for [Fe/H] >= -1.75dexwhere Carney's calibration is valid
| Revised Coordinates and Proper Motions of the Stars in the Luyten Half-Second Catalog
We present refined coordinates and proper-motion data for the highproper-motion (HPM) stars in the Luyten Half-Second (LHS) catalog. Thepositional uncertainty in the original Luyten catalog is typicallygreater than 10" and is often greater than 30". We have used the digitalscans of the POSS I and POSS II plates to derive more accurate positionsand proper motions of the objects. Out of the 4470 candidates in the LHScatalog, 4323 objects were manually reidentified in the POSS I and POSSII scans. A small fraction of the stars were not found because of thelack of finder charts and digitized POSS II scans. The uncertainties inthe revised positions are typically ~2" but can be as high as ~8" in afew cases, which is a large improvement over the original data.Cross-correlation with the Tycho-2 and Hipparcos catalogs yielded 819candidates (with mR<~12). For these brighter sources, theposition and proper-motion data were replaced with the more accurateTycho-2/Hipparcos data. In total, we have revised proper-motionmeasurements and coordinates for 4040 stars and revised coordinates for4330 stars. The electronic version of the paper5 contains the updated information on all 4470stars in the LHS catalog.
| The lithium content of the globular cluster NGC 6397
We make use of high resolution, high signal-to-noise ratio spectra of 12turn-off stars in the metal-poor globular cluster NGC 6397 to measureits lithium content. We conclude that they all have the same lithiumabundance A(Li) = 2.34 with a standard deviation of 0.056 dex. We usethis result, together with Monte Carlo simulations, to estimate that themaximum allowed intrinsic scatter is of the order of 0.035 dex. This isa new stringent constraint to be fulfilled by stellar models whichpredict Li depletion. We argue that although a mild depletion of 0.1-0.2dex, as predicted by recent models, cannot be ruled out, there is nocompelling reason for it. This fact, together with the good agreementwith the Li abundance observed in field stars, supports the primordialorigin of lithium in metal-poor stars. Taking the above value as theprimordial lithium abundance implies a cosmic baryonic density which iseither Omegab h2 = 0.016 +/- 0.004 orOmegab h2 = 0.005+0.0026-0.0006, from the predictions of standardbig bang nucleosynthesis. The high baryonic density solution is inagreement with recent results on the primordial abundance of deuteriumand 3He and on the estimates derived from the fluctuations ofthe cosmic microwave background. Based on observations made with the ESOVLT-Kueyen telescope at the Paranal Observatory, Chile, in the course ofthe ESO-Large program 165.L-0263.
| Three-dimensional Spectral Classification of Low-Metallicity Stars Using Artificial Neural Networks
We explore the application of artificial neural networks (ANNs) for theestimation of atmospheric parameters (Teff, logg, and [Fe/H])for Galactic F- and G-type stars. The ANNs are fed withmedium-resolution (Δλ~1-2 Å) non-flux-calibratedspectroscopic observations. From a sample of 279 stars with previoushigh-resolution determinations of metallicity and a set of (external)estimates of temperature and surface gravity, our ANNs are able topredict Teff with an accuracy ofσ(Teff)=135-150 K over the range4250<=Teff<=6500 K, logg with an accuracy ofσ(logg)=0.25-0.30 dex over the range 1.0<=logg<=5.0 dex, and[Fe/H] with an accuracy σ([Fe/H])=0.15-0.20 dex over the range-4.0<=[Fe/H]<=0.3. Such accuracies are competitive with theresults obtained by fine analysis of high-resolution spectra. It isnoteworthy that the ANNs are able to obtain these results withoutconsideration of photometric information for these stars. We have alsoexplored the impact of the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) on the behaviorof ANNs and conclude that, when analyzed with ANNs trained on spectra ofcommensurate S/N, it is possible to extract physical parameter estimatesof similar accuracy with stellar spectra having S/N as low as 13. Takentogether, these results indicate that the ANN approach should be ofprimary importance for use in present and future large-scalespectroscopic surveys.
| Catalogue of [Fe/H] determinations for FGK stars: 2001 edition
The catalogue presented here is a compilation of published atmosphericparameters (Teff, log g, [Fe/H]) obtained from highresolution, high signal-to-noise spectroscopic observations. This newedition has changed compared to the five previous versions. It is nowrestricted to intermediate and low mass stars (F, G and K stars). Itcontains 6354 determinations of (Teff, log g, [Fe/H]) for3356 stars, including 909 stars in 79 stellar systems. The literature iscomplete between January 1980 and December 2000 and includes 378references. The catalogue is made up of two tables, one for field starsand one for stars in galactic associations, open and globular clustersand external galaxies. The catalogue is distributed through the CDSdatabase. Access to the catalogue with cross-identification to othersets of data is also possible with VizieR (Ochsenbein et al.\cite{och00}). The catalogue (Tables 1 and 2) is only available inelectronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr(130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/373/159 and VizieRhttp://vizier.u-strasbg.fr/.
| The O-Na and Mg-Al anticorrelations in turn-off and early subgiants in globular clusters
High dispersion spectra (R>~ 40 000) for a quite large number ofstars at the main sequence turn-off and at the base of the giant branchin NGC 6397 and NGC 6752 were obtained with the UVES on Kueyen (VLTUT2). The [Fe/H] values we found are -2.03+/- 0.02+/- 0.04\ and -1.42+/-0.02+/- 0.04\ for NGC 6397 and NGC 6752 respectively, where the firsterror bars refer to internal and the second ones to systematic errors(within the abundance scale defined by our analysis of 25 subdwarfs withgood Hipparcos parallaxes). In both clusters the [Fe/H]'s obtained forTO-stars agree perfectly (within a few percent) with that obtained forstars at the base of the RGB. The [O/Fe]=0.21+/- 0.05 value we obtainfor NGC 6397 is quite low, but it agrees with previous results obtainedfor giants in this cluster. Moreover, the star-to-star scatter in both Oand Fe is very small, indicating that this small mass cluster ischemically very homogenous. On the other hand, our results show clearlyand for the first time that the O-Na anticorrelation (up to now seenonly for stars on the red giant branches of globular clusters) ispresent among unevolved stars in the globular cluster NGC 6752, a moremassive cluster than NGC 6397. A similar anticorrelation is present alsofor Mg and Al, and C and N. It is very difficult to explain the observedNa-O, and Mg-Al anticorrelation in NGC 6752 stars by a deep mixingscenario; we think it requires some non internal mechanism. Based ondata collected at the European Southern Observatory, Chile.
| Revised Magnesium Abundances in Galactic Halo and Disk Stars
A differential analysis of the magnesium abundances in 61 F-K dwarfs andsubgiants with metallicities -2.6<[Fe/H]<+0.2 is performed basedon published observational data. Fundamental parameters for 36 stars aredetermined: T eff from V-K and V-R; logg from HIPPARCOS parallaxes, and[Fe/H] and ξt from Fe II lines. The computations allow for non-LTEeffects in the formation of the Mg I lines. For most of the stars, thestandard errors in the Mg abundances do not exceed 0.07 dex. Themetallicity dependence of [Mg/Fe] is analyzed. Magnesium shows aconstant overabundance relative to Fe of 0.46±0.06 dex formetallicities -2.6<[Fe/H]<-0.7 Mg. The Mg overabundance decreasesabruptly to +0.27 dex at [Fe/H]⋍-0.7. At highermetallicities, the Mg abundance smoothly decreases to the solar value at[Fe/H]=0.0. Halo stars with metallicities [Fe/H]<-1.0 exhibit lowerMg overabundances ( ) compared to the [Mg/Fe] values for other starswith similar [Fe/H].
| Non-LTE Abundances and Consequences for the Evolution of the α-Elements in the Galaxy
Abundances of α-elements such as Ca and Mg in disk and halo starsare usually derived from equivalent width lines measured onhigh-resolution spectra and assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium(LTE). In this paper, we present non-LTE differential abundances derivedby computing the statistical equilibrium of Ca I and Mg I atoms, usinghigh-resolution equivalent widths available in the literature for 252dwarf to subgiant stars. These non-LTE abundances, combined with recentdetermination of non-LTE abundances of iron, seem to remove thedispersion of the [Ca/Fe] and [Mg/Fe] ratios in the galactic halo anddisk phases, revealing new and surprising structures. These results haveimportant consequences for chemical evolution models of the Galaxy. Inaddition, non-LTE abundance ratios for stars belonging to the M92cluster apparently have the same behavior. More high-resolutionobservations, mainly of globular clusters, are urgently needed toconfirm our results.
| Kinematics of Metal-poor Stars in the Galaxy. II. Proper Motions for a Large Nonkinematically Selected Sample
We present a revised catalog of 2106 Galactic stars, selected withoutkinematic bias and with available radial velocities, distance estimates,and metal abundances in the range -4.0<=[Fe/H]<=0.0. This updateof the 1995 Beers & Sommer-Larsen catalog includes newly derivedhomogeneous photometric distance estimates, revised radial velocitiesfor a number of stars with recently obtained high-resolution spectra,and refined metallicities for stars originally identified in the HKobjective-prism survey (which account for nearly half of the catalog)based on a recent recalibration. A subset of 1258 stars in this cataloghave available proper motions based on measurements obtained with theHipparcos astrometry satellite or taken from the updated AstrographicCatalogue (second epoch positions from either the Hubble Space TelescopeGuide Star Catalog or the Tycho Catalogue), the Yale/San Juan SouthernProper Motion Catalog 2.0, and the Lick Northern Proper Motion Catalog.Our present catalog includes 388 RR Lyrae variables (182 of which arenewly added), 38 variables of other types, and 1680 nonvariables, withdistances in the range 0.1 to 40 kpc.
| Abundances of light elements in metal-poor stars. III. Data analysis and results
We present the results of the analysis of an extensive set of new andliterature high quality data concerning Fe, C, N, O, Na, and Mg. Thisanalysis exploited the T_eff scale determined in Gratton et al. (1996a),and the non-LTE abundance corrections computed in Gratton et al.(1999a). Results obtained with various abundance indices are discussedand compared. Detailed comparison with models of galactic chemicalevolution will be presented in future papers of this series. Our non-LTEanalysis yields the same O abundances from both permitted and forbiddenlines for stars with T_eff >4600 K, in agreement with King (1993),but not with other studies using a lower T_eff -scale for subdwarfs.However, we obtain slightly smaller O abundances for the most luminousmetal-poor field stars than for fainter stars of similar metallicities,an effect attributed to inadequacies of the adopted model atmospheres(Kurucz 1992, with overshooting) for cool stars. We find a nearlyconstant O overundance in metal-poor stars ([Fe/H]<-0.8), at a meanvalue of 0.46+/- 0.02 dex (sigma =0.12, 32 stars), with only a gentleslope with [Fe/H] ( ~ -0.1); this result is different from the steeperslope recently obtained using OH band in the near UV. If only bonafideunmixed stars are considered, C abundances scale with Fe ones (i.e.[C/Fe]~ 0) down to [Fe/H] ~ -2.5. Due to our adoption of a differentT_eff scale, we do not confirm the slight C excess in the most metalpoor disk dwarfs (-0.8<[Fe/H]<-0.4) found in previousinvestigations. Na abundances scale as Fe ones in the high metallicityregime, while metal-poor stars present a Na underabundance. None of thefield stars analyzed belong to the group of O-poor and Na-rich starsobserved in globular clusters. Na is deficient with respect to Mg inhalo and thick disk stars; within these populations, Na deficiency maybe a slow function of [Mg/H]. Solar [Na/Mg] ratios are obtained for thindisk stars. Tables~ 2 to 9 are only available in electronic form at theCDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strabg.fr/Abstract.html
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Observation and Astrometry data
| Constellation: | Sagittaire |
| Right ascension: | 19h23m42.74s |
| Declination: | -45°04'57.0" |
| Apparent magnitude: | 9.709 |
| Proper motion RA: | -66.6 |
| Proper motion Dec: | -821.5 |
| B-T magnitude: | 10.2 |
| V-T magnitude: | 9.75 |
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