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We present spectroscopic data for 16,369 stellar targets within and/or toward 38 dwarf spheroidal galaxies and faint star clusters within the Milky Way halo environment. All spectra come from observations with the multiobject, fiber-fed echelle spectrographs M2FS at the Magellan/Clay telescope or Hectochelle at the MMT, reaching a typical limiting magnitudeG≲ 21. Data products include processed spectra from all observations and catalogs listing estimates—derived from template model fitting—of line-of-sight velocity (median uncertainty 1.4 km s⁻¹) effective temperature (255 K), (base-10 logarithm of) surface gravity (0.59 dex in cgs units), [Fe/H] (0.4 dex) and [Mg/Fe] (0.27 dex) abundance ratios. The sample contains multiepoch measurements for 3720 sources, with up to 15 epochs per source, enabling studies of intrinsic spectroscopic variability. The sample contains 6087 likely red giant stars (based on surface gravity), and 4492 likely members (based on line-of-sight velocity and Gaia-measured proper motion) of the target systems. The number of member stars per individual target system ranges from a few, for the faintest systems, to ∼850 for the most luminous. For most systems, our new samples extend over wider fields than have previously been observed; of the likely members in our samples, 820 lie beyond 2 times the projected half-light radius of their host system, and 42 lie beyond 5R_half.

 

We present Magellan/M2FS spectroscopy of four recently discovered Milky Way star clusters (Gran 3/Patchick 125, Gran 4, Garro 01, and LP 866) and two newly discovered open clusters (Gaia 9 and Gaia 10) at low Galactic latitudes. We measure line-of-sight velocities and stellar parameters ([Fe/H], log g, Teff, and [Mg/Fe]) from high-resolution spectroscopy centred on the Mg triplet and identify 20–80 members per star cluster. We determine the kinematics and chemical properties of each cluster and measure the systemic proper motion and orbital properties by utilizing Gaia astrometry. We find Gran 3 to be an old, metal-poor (mean metallicity of [Fe/H] = −1.83) globular cluster located in the Galactic bulge on a retrograde orbit. Gran 4 is an old, metal-poor ([Fe/H] = −1.84) globular cluster with a halo-like orbit that happens to be passing through the Galactic plane. The orbital properties of Gran 4 are consistent with the proposed LMS-1/Wukong and/or Helmi streams merger events. Garro 01 is metal-rich ([Fe/H] = −0.30) and on a near-circular orbit in the outer disc but its classification as an open cluster or globular cluster is ambiguous. Gaia 9 and Gaia 10 are among the most distant known open clusters at $R_{\mathrm{GC}}\sim 18,~21.2~\mathrm{\, kpc}$ and most metal-poor with [Fe/H] ∼−0.50, −0.34 for Gaia 9 and Gaia 10, respectively. LP 866 is a nearby, metal-rich open cluster ([Fe/H] = +0.10). The discovery and confirmation of multiple star clusters in the Galactic plane shows the power of Gaia astrometry and the star cluster census remains incomplete.

 

m2fs_HiRes_catalog_public.fits: public catalog of measurements derived from spectroscopic observations of individual targets with the Magellan/M2FS spectrograph in HiRes configuration

m2fs_MedRes_catalog_public.fits: public catalog of measurements derived from spectroscopic observations of individual targets with the Magellen/M2FS spectrograph in MedRes configuration

hecto_catalog_public.fits: public catalog of measurements derived from spectroscopic observations of individual targets with the MMT/Hectochelle spectrograph

fits_files.tar.gz: Supplementary data products, including all sky-subtracted spectra from individual targets and best-fitting model spectra.

template_spectra.tar.gz: synthetic template spectra (columns are wavelength in air (Angstroms), normalized flux)

 

Abstract We present orbits for 24 binaries in the field of open cluster NGC 2516 (∼150 Myr) and 13 binaries in the field of open cluster NGC 2422 (∼130 Myr) using results from a multiyear radial-velocity (RV) survey of the cluster cores. Six of these systems are double-lined spectroscopic binaries. We fit these RV variable systems with orvara , a MCMC-based fitting program that models Keplerian orbits. We use precise stellar parallaxes and proper motions from Gaia EDR3 to determine cluster membership. We impose a barycentric RV prior on all cluster members; this significantly improves our orbital constraints. Two of our systems have periods between five and 15 days, the critical window in which tides efficiently damp orbital eccentricity. These binaries should be included in future analyses of circularization across similarly-aged clusters. We also find a relatively flat distribution of binary mass ratios, consistent with previous work. With the inclusion of TESS light curves for all available targets, we identity target 378–036252 as a new eclipsing binary. We also identify a field star whose secondary has a mass in the brown dwarf range, as well as two cluster members whose RVs suggest the presence of an additional companion. Our orbital fits will help constrain the binary fraction and binary properties across stellar age and across stellar environment. 

Abstract The Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxy has an anomalous number of globular clusters, five, for its stellar mass. There is a longstanding debate about a potential sixth globular cluster (Fornax 6) that has recently been “rediscovered” in DECam imaging. We present new Magellan/M2FS spectroscopy of the Fornax 6 cluster and Fornax dSph. Combined with literature data we identify ∼15–17 members of the Fornax 6 cluster, showing that this overdensity is indeed a star cluster and associated with the Fornax dSph. The cluster is significantly more metal-rich (mean metallicity of [ Fe / H ] ¯ = −0.71 ± 0.05) than the other five Fornax globular clusters (−2.5 < [Fe/H] < −1.4) and more metal-rich than the bulk of Fornax. We measure a velocity dispersion of 5.6 − 1.6 + 2.0 km s − 1 corresponding to an anomalously high mass-to-light of 15 < M / L < 258 at 90% confidence when calculated assuming equilibrium. Two stars inflate this dispersion and may be either Fornax field stars or as yet unresolved binary stars. Alternatively, the Fornax 6 cluster may be undergoing tidal disruption. Based on its metal-rich nature, the Fornax 6 cluster is likely younger than the other Fornax clusters, with an estimated age of ∼2 Gyr when compared to stellar isochrones. The chemodynamics and star formation history of Fornax shows imprints of major events such as infall into the Milky Way, multiple pericenter passages, star formation bursts, and/or potential mergers or interactions. Any of these events may have triggered the formation of the Fornax 6 cluster. 

As an introduction of a kinematic survey of Magellanic Cloud (MC) star clusters, we report on the dynamical masses and mass-to-light ratios (M/L) of NGC 419 (Small Magellanic Cloud) and NGC 1846 (Large Magellanic Cloud). We have obtained more than one hundred high-resolution stellar spectra in and around each cluster using the multi-object spectrograph M2FS on the Magellan/Clay Telescope. Line-of-sight velocities and positions of the stars observed in each cluster were used as input to an expectation-maximization algorithm used to estimate cluster membership probabilities, resulting in samples of 46 and 52 likely members (PM ≥ 50 per cent) in NGC 419 and NGC 1846, respectively. This process employed single-mass King models constrained by the structural parameters of the clusters and provided self-consistent dynamical mass estimates for both clusters. Our best-fitting results show that NGC 419 has a projected central velocity dispersion of $2.44^{+0.37}_{-0.21}$ km s−1, corresponding to a total mass of $7.6^{+2.5}_{-1.3}\times 10^4\ {\rm M}_{\odot }$ and V-band M/L ratio of $0.22^{+0.08}_{-0.05}$ in solar units. For NGC 1846, the corresponding results are $2.04^{+0.28}_{-0.24}$ km s−1, $5.4^{+1.5}_{-1.4}\times 10^4\ {\rm M}_{\odot }$, and $0.32^{+0.11}_{-0.11}$. The mean metallicities of NGC 419 and NGC 1846 are found to be $\rm [Fe/H]=-0.84\pm 0.19$ and −0.70 ± 0.08, respectively, based on the spectra of likely cluster members. We find marginal statistical evidence of rotation in both clusters, though in neither cluster does rotation alter our mass estimates significantly. We critically compare our findings with those of previous kinematic studies of these two clusters in order to evaluate the consistency of our observational results and analytic tools.