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1. On the Hunt for the Origins of the Orphan–Chenab Stream: Detailed Element Abundances with APOGEE and Gaia

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acb698  

   Hawkins, Keith ; Price-Whelan, Adrian M. ; Sheffield, Allyson A. ; Subrahimovic, Aidan Z. ; Beaton, Rachael L. ; Belokurov, Vasily ; Erkal, Denis ; Koposov, Sergey E. ; Lane, Richard R. ; Laporte, Chervin F. P. ; et al ( May 2023 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   Stellar streams in the Galactic halo are useful probes of the assembly of galaxies like the Milky Way. Many tidal stellar streams that have been found in recent years are accompanied by a known progenitor globular cluster or dwarf galaxy. However, the Orphan–Chenab (OC) stream is one case where a relatively narrow stream of stars has been found without a known progenitor. In an effort to find the parent of the OC stream, we use astrometry from the early third data release of ESA’s Gaia mission (Gaia EDR3) and radial velocity information from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS)-IV Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) survey to find up to 13 stars that are likely members of the OC stream. We use the APOGEE survey to study the chemical nature (for up to 10 stars) of the OC stream in theα(O, Mg, Ca, Si, Ti, and S), odd-Z(Al, K, and V), Fe-peak (Fe, Ni, Mn, Co, and Cr), and neutron-capture (Ce) elemental groups. We find that the stars that make up the OC stream are not consistent with a monometallic population and have a median metallicity of −1.92 dex with a dispersion of 0.28 dex. Our results alsomore »indicate that the α elements are depleted compared to the known Milky Way populations and that its [Mg/Al] abundance ratio is not consistent with second-generation stars from globular clusters. The detailed chemical pattern of these stars, namely the [α/Fe]–[Fe/H] plane and the metallicity distribution, indicates that the OC stream progenitor is very likely to be a dwarf spheroidal galaxy with a mass of ∼10⁶M_⊙.

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2. Cool stars in the Galactic center as seen by APOGEE: M giants, AGB stars, and supergiant stars and candidates

   https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202038327  

   Schultheis, M. ; Rojas-Arriagada, A. ; Cunha, K. ; Zoccali, M. ; Chiappini, C. ; Zasowski, G. ; Queiroz, A. B. ; Minniti, D. ; Fritz, T. ; García-Hernández, D. A. ; et al ( October 2020 , Astronomy & Astrophysics)

   The Galactic center region, including the nuclear disk, has until recently been largely avoided in chemical census studies because of extreme extinction and stellar crowding. Large, near-IR spectroscopic surveys, such as the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE), allow the measurement of metallicities in the inner region of our Galaxy. Making use of the latest APOGEE data release (DR16), we are able for the first time to study cool Asymptotic Giant branch (AGB) stars and supergiants in this region. The stellar parameters of five known AGB stars and one supergiant star (VR 5-7) show that their location is well above the tip of the red giant branch. We studied metallicities of 157 M giants situated within 150 pc of the Galactic center from observations obtained by the APOGEE survey with reliable stellar parameters from the APOGEE pipeline making use of the cool star grid down to 3200 K. Distances, interstellar extinction values, and radial velocities were checked to confirm that these stars are indeed situated in the Galactic center region. We detect a clear bimodal structure in the metallicity distribution function, with a dominant metal-rich peak of [Fe/H] ∼ +0.3 dex and a metal-poor peak around {Fe/H] = −0.5more »dex, which is 0.2 dex poorer than Baade’s Window. The α -elements Mg, Si, Ca, and O show a similar trend to the Galactic bulge. The metal-poor component is enhanced in the α -elements, suggesting that this population could be associated with the classical bulge and a fast formation scenario. We find a clear signature of a rotating nuclear stellar disk and a significant fraction of high-velocity stars with v gal  >  300 km s −1 ; the metal-rich stars show a much higher rotation velocity (∼200 km s −1 ) with respect to the metal-poor stars (∼140 km s −1 ). The chemical abundances as well as the metallicity distribution function suggest that the nuclear stellar disk and the nuclear star cluster show distinct chemical signatures and might be formed differently.« less
3. Evidence for C and Mg variations in the GD-1 stellar stream

   https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stac1953  

   Balbinot, Eduardo ; Cabrera-Ziri, Ivan ; Lardo, Carmela ( July 2022 , Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society)

   Dynamically cold stellar streams are the relics left over from globular cluster dissolution. These relics offer a unique insight into a now fully disrupted population of ancient clusters in our Galaxy. Using a combination of Gaia eDR3 proper motions, optical and near-UV colours, we select a sample of likely Red Giant Branch stars from the GD-1 stream for medium-low resolution spectroscopic follow-up. Based on radial velocity and metallicity, we are able to find 14 new members of GD-1, 5 of which are associated with the spur and blob/cocoon off-stream features. We measured C-abundances to probe for abundance variations known to exist in globular clusters. These variations are expected to manifest in a subtle way in globular clusters with such low masses ($\sim 10^4\,{\rm ~\textrm {M}_\odot }$) and metallicities ([Fe/H] ∼ −2.1 dex). We find that the C-abundances of the stars in our sample display a small but significant (3σ level) spread. Furthermore, we find ∼3σ variation in Mg-abundances among the stars in our sample that have been observed by APOGEE. These abundance patterns match the ones found in Galactic globular clusters of similar metallicity. Our results suggest that GD-1 represents another fully disrupted low-mass globular cluster where light-element abundance spreadsmore »have been found.

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4. Dynamically Tagged Groups of Metal-poor Stars from the Best and Brightest Survey

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac409a  

   Shank, Derek ; Beers, Timothy C. ; Placco, Vinicius M. ; Limberg, Guilherme ; Jaques, Emma ; Yuan, Zhen ; Schlaufman, Kevin C. ; Casey, Andrew R. ; Huang, Yang ; Lee, Young Sun ; et al ( February 2022 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   Orbital characteristics based on Gaia Early Data Release 3 astrometric parameters are analyzed for ∼4000 metal-poor stars ([Fe/H] ≤ −0.8) compiled from the Best and Brightest survey. Selected as metal-poor candidates based on broadband near- and far-IR photometry, 43% of these stars had medium-resolution (1200 ≲R≲ 2000) validation spectra obtained over a 7 yr campaign from 2014 to 2020 with a variety of telescopes. The remaining stars were chosen based on photometric metallicity determinations from the Huang et al. recalibration of the Sky Mapper Southern Survey. Dynamical clusters of these stars are obtained from the orbital energy and cylindrical actions using theHDBSCANunsupervised learning algorithm. We identify 52 dynamically tagged groups (DTGs) with between five and 21 members; 18 DTGs have at least 10 member stars. Milky Way (MW) substructures such as Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus, the Metal-Weak Thick-Disk, Thamnos, the Splashed Disk, and the Helmi Stream are identified. Associations with MW globular clusters are determined for eight DTGs; no recognized MW dwarf galaxies were associated with any of our DTGs. Previously identified dynamical groups are also associated with our DTGs, with emphasis placed on their structural determination and possible new identifications. Chemically peculiar stars are identified as members of several DTGs, withmore »six DTGs that are associated withr-process-enhanced stars. We demonstrate that the mean carbon andα-element abundances of our DTGs are correlated with their mean metallicity in an understandable manner. Similarly, we find that the mean metallicity, carbon, andα-element abundances are separable into different regions of the mean rotational-velocity space.

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5. The Next Generation Virgo Cluster Survey. XXXIII. Stellar Population Gradients in the Virgo Cluster Core Globular Cluster System

   https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac63cf  

   Ko, Youkyung ; Peng, Eric W. ; Côté, Patrick ; Ferrarese, Laura ; Liu, Chengze ; Longobardi, Alessia ; Lançon, Ariane ; Muñoz, Roberto P. ; Puzia, Thomas H. ; Alamo-Martínez, Karla A. ; et al ( June 2022 , The Astrophysical Journal)

   Abstract We present a study of the stellar populations of globular clusters (GCs) in the Virgo Cluster core with a homogeneous spectroscopic catalog of 692 GCs within a major-axis distance R maj = 840 kpc from M87. We investigate radial and azimuthal variations in the mean age, total metallicity, [Fe/H], and α -element abundance of blue (metal-poor) and red (metal-rich) GCs using their co-added spectra. We find that the blue GCs have a steep radial gradient in [Z/H] within R maj = 165 kpc, with roughly equal contributions from [Fe/H] and [ α /Fe], and flat gradients beyond. By contrast, the red GCs show a much shallower gradient in [Z/H], which is entirely driven by [Fe/H]. We use GC-tagged Illustris simulations to demonstrate an accretion scenario where more massive satellites (with more metal- and α -rich GCs) sink further into the central galaxy than less massive ones, and where the gradient flattening occurs because of the low GC occupation fraction of low-mass dwarfs disrupted at larger distances. The dense environment around M87 may also cause the steep [ α /Fe] gradient of the blue GCs, mirroring what is seen in the dwarf galaxy population. The progenitors of red GCs havemore »a narrower mass range than those of blue GCs, which makes their gradients shallower. We also explore spatial inhomogeneity in GC abundances, finding that the red GCs to the northwest of M87 are slightly more metal-rich. Future observations of GC stellar population gradients will be useful diagnostics of halo merger histories.« less