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Almeida, Andrés

Publications and source records attributed to Almeida, Andrés.

The Eighteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys: Targeting and First Spectra from SDSS-V

The eighteenth data release (DR18) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) is the first one for SDSS-V, the fifth generation of the survey. SDSS-V comprises three primary scientific programs or “Mappers”: the Milky Way Mapper (MWM), the Black Hole Mapper (BHM), and the Local Volume Mapper. This data release contains extensive targeting information for the two multiobject spectroscopy programs (MWM and BHM), including input catalogs and selection functions for their numerous scientific objectives. We describe the production of the targeting databases and their calibration and scientifically focused components. DR18 also includes ~25,000 new SDSS spectra and supplemental information for X-ray sources identified by eROSITA in its eFEDS field. We present updates to some of the SDSS software pipelines and preview changes anticipated for DR19. We also describe three value-added catalogs (VACs) based on SDSS-IV data that have been published since DR17, and one VAC based on the SDSS-V data in the eFEDS field.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

An investigation of non-canonical mixing in red giant stars using APOGEE 12 C/ 13 C ratios observed in open cluster stars

Standard stellar evolution theory poorly predicts the surface abundances of chemical species in low-mass, red giant branch (RGB) stars. Observations show an enhancement of p–p chain and CNO cycle products in red giant envelopes, which suggests the existence of non-canonical mixing that brings interior burning products to the surface of these stars. The 12 C/ 13 C ratio is a highly sensitive abundance metric used to probe this mixing. We investigate extra RGB mixing by examining: (1) how 12 C/ 13 C is altered along the RGB, and (2) how 12 C/ 13 C changes for stars of varying age and mass. Our sample consists of 43 red giants, spread over 15 open clusters from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey’s APOGEE DR17, that have reliable 12 C/ 13 C ratios derived from their APOGEE spectra. We vetted these 12 C/ 13 C ratios and compared them as a function of evolution and age/mass to the standard mixing model of stellar evolution, and to a model that includes prescriptions for RGB thermohaline mixing and stellar rotation. We find that the observations deviate from standard mixing models, implying the need for extra mixing. Additionally, some of the abundance patterns depart from the thermohaline model, and it is unclear whether these differences are due to incomplete observations, issues inherent to the model, our assumption of the cause of extra mixing, or any combination of these factors. Nevertheless, the surface abundances across our age/mass range clearly deviate from the standard model, agreeing with the notion of a universal mechanism for RGB extra mixing in low-mass stars.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

BACCHUS Analysis of Weak Lines in APOGEE Spectra (BAWLAS)

Elements with weak and blended spectral features in stellar spectra are challenging to measure and require specialized analysis methods to precisely measure their chemical abundances. In this work, we have created a catalog of approximately 120,000 giants with high signal-to-noise Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) Data Release 17 (DR17) spectra, for which we explore weak and blended species to measure Na, P, S, V, Cu, Ce, and Nd abundances and 12 C/ 13 C isotopic ratios. We employ an updated version of the Brussels Automatic Code for Characterizing High-accuracy Spectra (BACCHUS) code to derive these abundances using the stellar parameters measured by APOGEE's DR17 Stellar Parameters and Chemical Abundances Pipeline, quality flagging to identify suspect spectral lines, and a prescription for upper limits. Combined, these allow us to provide our BACCHUS Analysis of Weak Lines in APOGEE Spectra catalog of precise chemical abundances for these weak and blended species, which agrees well with the literature and improves upon APOGEE abundances for these elements, some of which are unable to be measured with APOGEE's current, grid-based approach without computationally expensive expansions. This new catalog can be used alongside APOGEE and provides measurements for many scientific applications ranging from nuclear physics to Galactic chemical evolution and Milky Way population studies. To illustrate this we show some examples of uses for this catalog, such as showing that we observe stars with enhanced s-process abundances or that we can use the 12 C/ 13 C ratios to explore extra mixing along the red giant branch.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The Seventeenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys: Complete Release of MaNGA, MaStar, and APOGEE-2 Data

This paper documents the seventeenth data release (DR17) from the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys; the fifth and final release from the fourth phase (SDSS-IV). DR17 contains the complete release of the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey, which reached its goal of surveying over 10,000 nearby galaxies. The complete release of the MaNGA Stellar Library accompanies this data, providing observations of almost 30,000 stars through the MaNGA instrument during bright time. DR17 also contains the complete release of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 survey that publicly releases infrared spectra of over 650,000 stars. The main sample from the Extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS), as well as the subsurvey Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey data were fully released in DR16. New single-fiber optical spectroscopy released in DR17 is from the SPectroscipic IDentification of ERosita Survey subsurvey and the eBOSS-RM program. Along with the primary data sets, DR17 includes 25 new or updated value-added catalogs. This paper concludes the release of SDSS-IV survey data. SDSS continues into its fifth phase with observations already underway for the Milky Way Mapper, Local Volume Mapper, and Black Hole Mapper surveys.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Final Targeting Strategy for the SDSS-IV APOGEE-2S Survey

APOGEE is a high-resolution (R ~ 22,000), near-infrared, multi-epoch, spectroscopic survey of the Milky Way. The second generation of the APOGEE project, APOGEE-2, includes an expansion of the survey to the Southern Hemisphere called APOGEE-2S. This expansion enabled APOGEE to perform a fully panoramic mapping of all of the main regions of the Milky Way; in particular, by operating in the H band, APOGEE is uniquely able to probe the dust-hidden inner regions of the Milky Way that are best accessed from the Southern Hemisphere. In this paper we present the targeting strategy of APOGEE-2S, with special attention to documenting modifications to the original, previously published plan. The motivation for these changes is explained as well as an assessment of their effectiveness in achieving their intended scientific objective. In anticipation of this being the last paper detailing APOGEE targeting, we present an accounting of all such information complete through the end of the APOGEE-2S project; this includes several main survey programs dedicated to exploration of major stellar populations and regions of the Milky Way, as well as a full list of programs contributing to the APOGEE database through allocations of observing time by the Chilean National Time Allocation Committee and the Carnegie Institution for Science. This work was presented along with a companion article, Beaton et al. (2021), presenting the final target selection strategy adopted for APOGEE-2 in the Northern Hemisphere.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The 16th Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Surveys: First Release from the APOGEE-2 Southern Survey and Full Release of eBOSS Spectra

The Sloan Digital Sky Surveys (SDSS) have been observing the skies from Apache Point Observatory (APO) since 1998 (using the 2.5m Sloan Foundation Telescope, Gunn et al. 2006) and from Las Campanas Observatory (LCO) since 2017 (using the du Pont 2.5m Telescope). Representing the fourth phase of SDSS, SDSS-IV (Blanton et al. 2017) consists of three main surveys; the Extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS; Dawson et al. 2016), Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA; Bundy et al. 2015), and the APO Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2; Majewski et al. 2017). Within eBOSS, SDSS-IV has also conducted two smaller programs: the SPectroscopic IDentification of ERosita Sources (SPIDERS; Clerc et al. 2016; Dwelly et al. 2017) and the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS; Morganson et al. 2015). These programs have investigated a broad range of cosmological scales, including cosmology with large-scale structure in eBOSS, the population of quasars and variable or X-ray-emitting stars with TDSS and SPIDERS; nearby galaxies in MaNGA; and the Milky Way and its stars in APOGEE-2.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

The Open Cluster Chemical Abundances and Mapping Survey. IV. Abundances for 128 Open Clusters Using SDSS/APOGEE DR16

The Open Cluster Chemical Abundances and Mapping (OCCAM) survey aims to constrain key Galactic dynamical and chemical evolution parameters by the construction of a large, comprehensive, uniform, infrared-based spectroscopic data set of hundreds of open clusters. This fourth contribution from the OCCAM survey presents analysis using Sloan Digital Sky Survey/APOGEE DR16 of a sample of 128 open clusters, 71 of which we designate to be “high quality” based on the appearance of their color–magnitude diagram. We find the APOGEE DR16 derived [Fe/H] abundances to be in good agreement with previous high-resolution spectroscopic open cluster abundance studies. Using the high-quality sample, we measure Galactic abundance gradients in 16 elements, and find evolution of some of the [X/Fe] gradients as a function of age. We find an overall Galactic [Fe/H] versus R {sub GC} gradient of −0.068 ± 0.001 dex kpc{sup −1} over the range of 6 < R {sub GC} < 13.9 kpc; however, we note that this result is sensitive to the distance catalog used, varying as much as 15%. We formally derive the location of a break in the [Fe/H] abundance gradient as a free parameter in the gradient fit for the first time. We also measure significant Galactic gradients in O, Mg, S, Ca, Mn, Cr, Cu, Na, Al, and K, some of which are measured for the first time. Our large sample allows us to examine four well-populated age bins in order to explore the time evolution of gradients for a large number of elements and comment on possible implications for Galactic chemical evolution and radial migration.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗