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  1. Abstract

    With the most trans-iron elements detected of any star outside the solar system, HD 222925 represents the most complete chemical inventory among metal-poor stars enhanced with elements made by the rapid neutron capture (“r”) process. As such, HD 222925 may be a new “template” for the observationalr-process, where before the (much higher-metallicity) solarr-process residuals were used. In this work, we test under which conditions a single site accounts for the entire elementalr-process abundance pattern of HD 222925. We found that several of our tests—with the single exception of the black hole–neutron star merger case—challenge the single-site assumption by producing an ejecta distribution that is highly constrained, in disagreement with simulation predictions. However, we found that ejecta distributions that are more in line with simulations can be obtained under the condition that the nuclear data near the secondr-process peak are changed. Therefore, for HD 222925 to be a canonicalr-process template likely as a product of a single astrophysical source, the nuclear data need to be reevaluated. The new elemental abundance pattern of HD 222925—including the abundances obtained from space-based, ultraviolet (UV) data—call for a deeper understanding of both astrophysicalr-process sites and nuclear data. Similar UV observations of additionalr-process–enhanced stars will be required to determine whether the elemental abundance pattern of HD 222925 is indeed a canonical template (or an outlier) for ther-process at low metallicity.

     
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  2. Abstract

    R-process enhanced stars with [Eu/Fe] ≥ +0.7 (so-calledr-II stars) are believed to have formed in an extremely neutron-rich environment in which a rare astrophysical event (e.g., a neutron-star merger) occurred. This scenario is supported by the existence of an ultra-faint dwarf galaxy, Reticulum II, where most of the stars are highly enhanced inr-process elements. In this scenario, some small fraction of dwarf galaxies around the Milky Way wererenhanced. When each r-enhanced dwarf galaxy accreted to the Milky Way, it deposited manyr-II stars in the Galactic halo with similar orbital actions. To search for the remnants of ther-enhanced systems, we analyzed the distribution of the orbital actions ofN= 161r-II stars in the solar neighborhood by using Gaia EDR3 data. Since the observational uncertainty is not negligible, we applied a newly developed greedy optimistic clustering method to the orbital actions of our sample stars. We found six clusters ofr-II stars that have similar orbits and chemistry, one of which is a new discovery. Given the apparent phase-mixed orbits of the member stars, we interpret that these clusters are good candidates for remnants of completely disruptedr-enhanced dwarf galaxies that merged with the ancient Milky Way.

     
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  3. Abstract

    The ages of the oldest stars shed light on the birth, chemical enrichment, and chemical evolution of the universe. Nucleocosmochronometry provides an avenue to determining the ages of these stars independent from stellar-evolution models. The uranium abundance, which can be determined for metal-poorr-process enhanced (RPE) stars, has been known to constitute one of the most robust chronometers known. So far, U abundance determination has used asingleUiiline atλ3859 Å. Consequently, U abundance has been reliably determined for only five RPE stars. Here, we present the first homogeneous U abundance analysis of four RPE stars using two novel Uiilines atλ4050 Å andλ4090 Å, in addition to the canonicalλ3859 Å line. We find that the Uiilines atλ4050 Å andλ4090 Å are reliable and render U abundances in agreement with theλ3859 U abundance, for all of the stars. We, thus, determine revised U abundances for RPE stars, 2MASS J09544277+5246414, RAVE J203843.2–002333, HE 1523–0901, and CS 31082–001, using multiple Uiilines. We also provide nucleocosmochronometric ages of these stars based on the newly derived U, Th, and Eu abundances. The results of this study open up a new avenue to reliably and homogeneously determine U abundance for a significantly larger number of RPE stars. This will, in turn, enable robust constraints on the nucleocosmochronometric ages of RPE stars, which can be applied to understand the chemical enrichment and evolution in the early universe, especially ofr-process elements.

     
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  4. ABSTRACT

    We present new MMT/Hectochelle spectroscopic measurements for 257 stars observed along the line of sight to the ultrafaint dwarf galaxy Triangulum II (Tri II). Combining results from previous Keck/DEIMOS spectroscopy, we obtain a sample that includes 16 likely members of Tri II, with up to 10 independent redshift measurements per star. To this multi-epoch kinematic data set, we apply methodology that we develop in order to infer binary orbital parameters from sparsely sampled radial velocity curves with as few as two epochs. For a previously identified (spatially unresolved) binary system in Tri II, we infer an orbital solution with period $296.0_{-3.3}^{+3.8} \rm ~ d$, semimajor axis $1.12^{+0.41}_{-0.24}\rm ~au$, and systemic velocity $-380.0 \pm 1.7 \rm ~km ~s^{-1}$ that we then use in the analysis of Tri II’s internal kinematics. Despite this improvement in the modelling of binary star systems, the current data remain insufficient to resolve the velocity dispersion of Tri II. We instead find a 95 per cent confidence upper limit of $\sigma _{v} \lesssim 3.4 \rm ~km~s^{-1}$.

     
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  5. Abstract The ultrafaint dwarf galaxy Reticulum II was enriched by a single rare and prolific r -process event. The r -process content of Reticulum II thus provides a unique opportunity to study metal mixing in a relic first galaxy. Using multi-object high-resolution spectroscopy with VLT/GIRAFFE and Magellan/M2FS, we identify 32 clear spectroscopic member stars and measure abundances of Mg, Ca, Fe, and Ba where possible. We find 72 − 12 + 10 % of the stars are r -process-enhanced, with a mean [ Ba / H ] = − 1.68 ± 0.07 and unresolved intrinsic dispersion σ [Ba/H] <0.20. The homogeneous r -process abundances imply that Ret II’s metals are well mixed by the time the r -enhanced stars form, which simulations have shown requires at least 100 Myr of metal mixing in between bursts of star formation to homogenize. This is the first direct evidence of bursty star formation in an ultrafaint dwarf galaxy. The homogeneous dilution prefers a prompt and high-yield r -process site, such as collapsar disk winds or prompt neutron star mergers. We also find evidence from [Ba/H] and [Mg/Ca] that the r -enhanced stars in Ret II formed in the absence of substantial pristine gas accretion, perhaps indicating that ≈70% of Ret II stars formed after reionization. 
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  6. Abstract We present a nearly complete rapid neutron-capture process ( r -process) chemical inventory of the metal-poor ([Fe/H] = −1.46 ± 0.10) r -process-enhanced ([Eu/Fe] = +1.32 ± 0.08) halo star HD 222925. This abundance set is the most complete for any object beyond the solar system, with a total of 63 metals detected and seven with upper limits. It comprises 42 elements from 31 ≤ Z ≤ 90, including elements rarely detected in r -process-enhanced stars, such as Ga, Ge, As, Se, Cd, In, Sn, Sb, Te, W, Re, Os, Ir, Pt, and Au. We derive these abundances from an analysis of 404 absorption lines in ultraviolet spectra collected using the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope and previously analyzed optical spectra. A series of appendices discusses the atomic data and quality of fits for these lines. The r -process elements from Ba to Pb, including all elements at the third r -process peak, exhibit remarkable agreement with the solar r -process residuals, with a standard deviation of the differences of only 0.08 dex (17%). In contrast, deviations among the lighter elements from Ga to Te span nearly 1.4 dex, and they show distinct trends from Ga to Se, Nb through Cd, and In through Te. The r -process contribution to Ga, Ge, and As is small, and Se is the lightest element whose production is dominated by the r -process. The lanthanide fraction, log X La = −1.39 ± 0.09, is typical for r -process-enhanced stars and higher than that of the kilonova from the GW170817 neutron-star merger event. We advocate adopting this pattern as an alternative to the solar r -process-element residuals when confronting future theoretical models of heavy-element nucleosynthesis with observations. 
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  7. Abstract The dense central regions of tidally disrupted galaxies can survive as ultracompact dwarfs (UCDs) that hide among the luminous globular clusters (GCs) in the halo of massive galaxies. An exciting confirmation of this model is the detection of overmassive black holes in the centers of some UCDs, which also lead to elevated dynamical mass-to-light ratios ( M / L dyn ). Here we present new high-resolution spectroscopic observations of 321 luminous GC candidates in the massive galaxy NGC 5128/Centaurus A. Using these data we confirm 27 new luminous GCs, and measure velocity dispersions for 57 luminous GCs (with g -band luminosities between 2.5 × 10 5 and 2.5 × 10 7 L ⊙ ), of which 48 are new measurements. Combining these data with size measurements from Gaia, we determine the M / L dyn for all 57 luminous GCs. We see a clear bimodality in the M / L dyn distribution, with a population of normal GCs with mean M / L dyn = 1.51 ± 0.31, and a second population of ∼20 GCs with elevated mean M / L dyn = 2.68 ± 0.22. We show that black holes with masses ∼4%–18% of the luminous GCs can explain the elevated mass-to-light ratios. Hence, it is plausible that the NGC 5128 sources with elevated M / L dyn are mostly stripped galaxy nuclei that contain massive central black holes, though future high spatial resolution observations are necessary to confirm this hypothesis for individual sources. We also present a detailed discussion of an extreme outlier, VHH81-01 , one of the largest and most massive GC in NGC 5128, making it an exceptionally strong candidate to be a tidally stripped nucleus. 
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  8. 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. 
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  9. 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. 
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