Engineering topics

Geller, Aaron M.

Publications and source records attributed to Geller, Aaron M..

13 records

DOE OSTI2021

Stellar Radial Velocities in the Old Open Cluster M67 (NGC 2682). II. The Spectroscopic Binary Population

We present and analyze 120 spectroscopic binary and triple cluster members of the old (4 Gyr) open cluster M67 (NGC 2682). As a cornerstone of stellar astrophysics, M67 is a key cluster in the WIYN Open Cluster Study (WOCS); radial-velocity (RV) observations of M67 are ongoing and extend back over 45 yr, incorporating data from seven different telescopes, and allowing us to detect binaries with orbital periods ≲10{sup 4} days. Our sample contains 1296 stars (604 cluster members) with magnitudes of 10 ≤ V ≤ 16.5 (about 1.3–0.7 M {sub ⊙}), from the giants down to ∼4 mag below the main-sequence turnoff, and extends in radius to 30′ (7.4 pc at a distance of 850 pc, or ∼7 core radii). This paper focuses primarily on the main-sequence binaries, but orbital solutions are also presented for red giants, yellow giants, and sub-subgiants. Out to our period detection limit and within our magnitude and spatial domain, we find a global main-sequence incompleteness-corrected binary fraction of 34% ± 3%, which rises to 70% ± 17% in the cluster center. We derive a tidal circularization period of P{sub circ}=11.0{sub −1.0}{sup +1.1} days. We also analyze the incompleteness-corrected distributions of binary orbital elements and masses. The period distribution rises toward longer periods. The eccentricity distribution, beyond P {sub circ}, is consistent with a uniform distribution. The mass-ratio distribution is also consistent with a uniform distribution. Overall, these M67 binaries are closely consistent with similar binaries in the galactic field, as well as with the old (7 Gyr) open cluster NGC 188. WOCS. 83.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2020

WIYN Open Cluster Study. LXXXII. Radial-velocity Measurements and Spectroscopic Binary Orbits in the Open Cluster NGC 7789

We present an extensive time-series radial-velocity (RV) survey of stars in the rich open cluster NGC 7789 (1.6 Gyr, [Fe/H] = +0.02). The stellar sample lies within an 18′ circular radius from the cluster center (10 pc in projection, or about 2 core radii), and includes giants, red clump stars, blue stragglers, red stragglers, sub-subgiants, and main-sequence stars down to 1 mag below the turnoff. Our survey began in 2005 and comprises more than 9000 RV measurements from the Hydra Multi-Object Spectrograph on the WIYN 3.5 m telescope. We identify 624 likely cluster members and present the orbital solutions for 81 cluster binary stars with periods between 1.45 and 4200 days. From the main-sequence binary solutions we fit a circularization period of 7.2{sub −1.1}{sup +0.6} days. We calculate an incompleteness-corrected main-sequence binary frequency of 31% ± 4% for binaries with periods less than 10{sup 4} days, similar to other WIYN Open Cluster Survey (WOCS) open clusters of all ages. We detect a blue straggler binary frequency of 33% ± 17%, consistent with the similarly aged open cluster NGC 6819. We also find one secure, rapidly rotating sub-subgiant and one red straggler candidate in our sample.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Bayesian Characterization of Main-sequence Binaries in the Old Open Cluster NGC 188

The binary fractions of open and globular clusters yield powerful constraints on their dynamical state and evolutionary history. We apply publicly available Bayesian analysis tools to a UBV RIJHK {sub S} photometric catalog of the open cluster NGC 188 to detect and characterize photometric binaries along the cluster main sequence. This technique has the advantage of self-consistently handling photometric errors, missing data in various bandpasses, and star-by-star prior constraints on cluster membership. Simulations are used to verify uncertainties and quantify selection biases in our analysis, illustrating that among binaries with mass ratios >0.5, we recover the binary fraction to better than 7% in the mean, with no significant dependence on binary fraction and a mild dependence on assumed mass-ratio distribution. Using our photometric catalog, we recover the majority (65% ± 11%) of spectroscopically identified main-sequence binaries, including eight of the nine with spectroscopically measured mass ratios. Accounting for incompleteness and systematics, we derive a mass-ratio distribution that rises toward lower mass ratios (within our q > 0.5 analysis domain). We observe a raw binary fraction for solar-type main-sequence stars with mass ratios q > 0.5 of 42% ± 4%, independent of the assumed mass-ratio distribution to within its uncertainties, consistent with literature values for old open clusters but significantly higher than the field solar-type binary fraction. We confirm that the binaries identified by our method are more concentrated than single stars, in agreement with previous studies, and we demonstrate that the binary nature of those candidates that remain unidentified spectroscopically is strongly supported by photometry from Gaia DR2.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2017

On the Origin of Sub-subgiant Stars. I. Demographics

Sub-subgiants are stars that are observed to be redder than normal main-sequence stars and fainter than normal subgiant (and giant) stars in an optical color–magnitude diagram (CMD). The red straggler stars, which lie redward of the red giant branch, may be related and are often grouped together with the sub-subgiants in the literature. These stars defy our standard theory of single-star evolution and are important tests for binary evolution and stellar collision models. In total, we identify 65 sub-subgiants (SSG) and red stragglers (RS) in 16 open and globular star clusters from the literature; 50 of these, including 43 sub-subgiants, pass our strict membership selection criteria (though the remaining sources may also be cluster members). In addition to their unique location on the CMD, we find that at least 58% (25/43) of sub-subgiants in this sample are X-ray sources with typical 0.5–2.5 keV luminosities of order 10{sup 30}–10{sup 31} erg s{sup −1}. Their X-ray luminosities and optical–to–X-ray flux ratios are similar to those of RS CVn active binaries. At least 65% (28/43) of the sub-subgiants in our sample are variables, 21 of which are known to be radial-velocity binaries. Typical variability periods are ≲15 days. At least 33% (14/43) of the sub-subgiants are H α emitters. These observational demographics provide strong evidence that binarity is important for sub-subgiant formation. Finally, we find that the number of sub-subgiants per unit mass increases toward lower-mass clusters, such that the open clusters in our sample have the highest specific frequencies of sub-subgiants.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2016

Interrupted binary mass transfer in star clusters

Binary mass transfer (MT) is at the forefront of some of the most exciting puzzles of modern astrophysics, including SNe Ia, gamma-ray bursts, and the formation of most observed exotic stellar populations. Typically, the evolution is assumed to proceed in isolation, even in dense stellar environments such as star clusters. In this paper, we test the validity of this assumption via the analysis of a large grid of binary evolution models simulated with the SeBa code. For every binary, we calculate analytically the mean time until another single or binary star comes within the mean separation of the mass-transferring binary, and compare this timescale to the mean time for stable MT to occur. We then derive the probability for each respective binary to experience a direct dynamical interruption. The resulting probability distribution can be integrated to give an estimate for the fraction of binaries undergoing MT that are expected to be disrupted as a function of the host cluster properties. We find that for lower-mass clusters (≲10{sup 4} M{sub ⊙}), on the order of a few to a few tens of percent of binaries undergoing MT are expected to be interrupted by an interloping single, or more often binary, star, over the course of the cluster lifetime, whereas in more massive globular clusters we expect ≪1% to be interrupted. Furthermore, using numerical scattering experiments performed with the FEWBODY code, we show that the probability of interruption increases if perturbative fly-bys are considered as well, by a factor ∼2.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2015

IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FORMATION OF BLUE STRAGGLER STARS FROM HST ULTRAVIOLET OBSERVATIONS OF NGC 188

We present results of a Hubble Space Telescope (HST) far-ultraviolet (FUV) survey searching for white dwarf (WD) companions to blue straggler stars (BSSs) in open cluster NGC 188. The majority of NGC 188 BSSs (15 of 21) are single-lined binaries with properties suggestive of mass-transfer formation via Roche lobe overflow, specifically through an asymptotic giant branch star transferring mass to a main sequence secondary, yielding a BSS binary with a WD companion. In NGC 188, a BSS formed by this mechanism within the past 400 Myr will have a WD companion that is hot and luminous enough to be directly detected as a FUV photometric excess with HST. Comparing expected BSS FUV emission to observed photometry reveals four BSSs with WD companions above 12,000 K (younger than 250 Myr) and three WD companions with temperatures between 11,000 and 12,000 K. These BSS+WD binaries all formed through recent mass transfer. The location of the young BSSs in an optical color–magnitude diagram (CMD) indicates that distance from the zero-age main sequence does not necessarily correlate with BSS age. There is no clear CMD separation between mass transfer-formed BSSs and those likely formed through other mechanisms, such as collisions. The seven detected WD companions place a lower limit on the mass-transfer formation frequency of 33%. We consider other possible formation mechanisms by comparing properties of the BSS population to theoretical predictions. We conclude that 14 BSS binaries likely formed from mass transfer, resulting in an inferred mass-transfer formation frequency of approximately 67%.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2015

STELLAR RADIAL VELOCITIES IN THE OLD OPEN CLUSTER M67 (NGC 2682). I. MEMBERSHIPS, BINARIES, AND KINEMATICS

We present results from 13776 radial-velocity (RV) measurements of 1278 candidate members of the old (4 Gyr) open cluster M67 (NGC 2682). The measurements are the results of a long-term survey that includes data from seven telescopes with observations for some stars spanning over 40 years. For narrow-lined stars, RVs are measured with precisions ranging from about 0.1 to 0.8 km s{sup −1}. The combined stellar sample reaches from the brightest giants in the cluster down to about 4 mag below the main-sequence turnoff (V=16.5), covering a mass range of about 1.34 M{sub ⊙} to 0.76 M{sub ⊙}. Spatially, the sample extends to a radus of 30 arcmin (7.4 pc in projection at a distance of 850 pc or 6–7 core radii). We find M67 to have a mean RV of +33.64 km s{sup −1} (with an internal precision of ±0.03 km s{sup −1}) well separated from the mean velocity of the field. For stars with ⩾3 measurements, we derive RV membership probabilities and identify RV variables, finding 562 cluster members, 142 of which show significant RV variability. We use these cluster members to construct a color–magnitude diagram and identify a rich sample of stars that lie far from the standard single star isochrone, including the well-known blue stragglers, sub-subgiants and yellow giants. These exotic stars have a binary frequency of (at least) 80%, more than three times that detected for stars in the remainder of the sample. We confirm that the cluster is mass segregated, finding the binaries to be more centrally concentrated than the single stars in our sample at the 99.8% confidence level (and at the 98.7% confidence level when only considering main-sequence stars). The blue stragglers are centrally concentrated as compared to the solar-type main-sequence single stars in the cluster at the 99.7% confidence level. Accounting for measurement precision, we derive an RV dispersion in M67 of 0.80 ± 0.04 km s{sup −1} for our sample of single main-sequence stars, subgiants and giants with V⩽15.5. When corrected for undetected binaries, this sample yields a true RV dispersion of 0.59{sub −0.06}{sup +0.07} km s{sup −1}. The radial distribution of the velocity dispersion is consistent with an isothermal distribution within our stellar sample. Using the cluster RV dispersion, we estimate a virial mass for the cluster of 2100{sub −550}{sup +610} M{sub ⊙}.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2015

INTERRUPTED STELLAR ENCOUNTERS IN STAR CLUSTERS

Strong encounters between single stars and binaries play a pivotal role in the evolution of star clusters. Such encounters can also dramatically modify the orbital parameters of binaries, exchange partners in and out of binaries, and are a primary contributor to the rate of physical stellar collisions in star clusters. Often, these encounters are studied under the approximation that they happen quickly enough and within a small enough volume to be considered isolated from the rest of the cluster. In this paper, we study the validity of this assumption through the analysis of a large grid of single–binary and binary–binary scattering experiments. For each encounter we evaluate the encounter duration, and compare this with the expected time until another single or binary star will join the encounter. We find that for lower-mass clusters, similar to typical open clusters in our Galaxy, the percent of encounters that will be “interrupted” by an interloping star or binary may be 20%–40% (or higher) in the core, though for typical globular clusters we expect ≲1% of encounters to be interrupted. Thus, the assumption that strong encounters occur in relative isolation breaks down for certain clusters. Instead, many strong encounters develop into more complex “mini-clusters,” which must be accounted for in studying, for example, the internal dynamics of star clusters, and the physical stellar collision rate.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2015

DIFFERENT DYNAMICAL AGES FOR THE TWO YOUNG AND COEVAL LMC STAR CLUSTERS, NGC 1805 AND NGC 1818, IMPRINTED ON THEIR BINARY POPULATIONS

The two Large Magellanic Cloud star clusters, NGC 1805 and NGC 1818, are approximately the same chronological age (∼30 Myr), but show different radial trends in binary frequency. The F-type stars (1.3–2.2 M{sub ⊙}) in NGC 1818 have a binary frequency that decreases toward the core, while the binary frequency for stars of similar mass in NGC 1805 is flat with radius, or perhaps bimodal (with a peak in the core). We show here, through detailed N-body modeling, that both clusters could have formed with the same primordial binary frequency and with binary orbital elements and masses drawn from the same distributions (defined from observations of open clusters and the field of our Galaxy). The observed radial trends in binary frequency for both clusters are best matched with models that have initial substructure. Furthermore, both clusters may be evolving along a very similar dynamical sequence, with the key difference that NGC 1805 is dynamically older than NGC 1818. The F-type binaries in NGC 1818 still show evidence of an initial period of rapid dynamical disruptions (which occur preferentially in the core), while NGC 1805 has already begun to recover a higher core binary frequency, owing to mass segregation (which will eventually produce a distribution in binary frequency that rises only toward the core, as is observed in old Milky Way star clusters). This recovery rate increases for higher-mass binaries, and therefore even at one age in one cluster, we predict a similar dynamical sequence in the radial distribution of the binary frequency as a function of binary primary mass.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2014

WIYN open cluster study. LX. Spectroscopic binary orbits in NGC 6819

We present the current state of the WOCS radial-velocity (RV) survey for the rich open cluster NGC 6819 (2.5 Gyr) including 93 spectroscopic binary orbits with periods ranging from 1.5 to 8000 days. These results are the product of our ongoing RV survey of NGC 6819 using the Hydra Multi-Object Spectrograph on the WIYN 3.5 m telescope. We also include a detailed analysis of multiple prior sets of optical photometry for NGC 6819. Within a 1° field of view, our stellar sample includes the giant branch, the red clump, and blue straggler candidates, and extends to almost 2 mag below the main sequence (MS) turnoff. For each star observed in our survey we present all RV measurements, the average RV, and velocity variability information. Additionally, we discuss notable binaries from our sample, including eclipsing binaries (WOCS 23009, WOCS 24009, and WOCS 40007), stars noted in Kepler asteroseismology studies (WOCS 4008, WOCS 7009, and WOCS 8007), and potential descendants of past blue stragglers (WOCS 1006 and WOCS 6002). We find the incompleteness-corrected binary fraction for all MS binaries with periods less than 10{sup 4} days to be 22% ± 3% and a tidal circularization period of 6.2{sub −1.1}{sup +1.1} days for NGC 6819.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2014

DETECTION OF WHITE DWARF COMPANIONS TO BLUE STRAGGLERS IN THE OPEN CLUSTER NGC 188: DIRECT EVIDENCE FOR RECENT MASS TRANSFER

Several possible formation pathways for blue straggler stars have been developed recently, but no one pathway has yet been observationally confirmed for a specific blue straggler. Here we report the first findings from a Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys/Solar Blind Channel far-UV photometric program to search for white dwarf companions to blue straggler stars. We find three hot and young white dwarf companions to blue straggler stars in the 7 Gyr open cluster NGC 188, indicating that mass transfer in these systems ended less than 300 Myr ago. These companions are direct and secure observational evidence that these blue straggler stars were formed through mass transfer in binary stars. Their existence in a well-studied cluster environment allows for observational constraints of both the current binary system and the progenitor binary system, mapping the entire mass transfer history.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2013

Consequences of dynamical disruption and mass segregation for the binary frequencies of star clusters

The massive (13,000-26,000 M {sub ☉}) and young (15-30 Myr) Large Magellanic Cloud star cluster NGC 1818 reveals an unexpected increasing binary frequency with radius for F-type stars (1.3-2.2 M {sub ☉}). This is in contrast to many older star clusters that show a decreasing binary frequency with radius. We study this phenomenon with sophisticated N-body modeling, exploring a range of initial conditions, from smooth virialized density distributions to highly substructured and collapsing configurations. We find that many of these models can reproduce the cluster's observed properties, although with a modest preference for substructured initial conditions. Our models produce the observed radial trend in binary frequency through disruption of soft binaries (with semi-major axes, a ≳ 3000 AU), on approximately a crossing time (∼5.4 Myr), preferentially in the cluster core. Mass segregation subsequently causes the binaries to sink toward the core. After roughly one initial half-mass relaxation time (t {sub rh}(0) ∼ 340 Myr) the radial binary frequency distribution becomes bimodal, the innermost binaries having already segregated toward the core, leaving a minimum in the radial binary frequency distribution that marches outward with time. After 4-6 t {sub rh}(0), the rising distribution in the halo disappears, leaving a radial distribution that rises only toward the core. Thus, both a radial binary frequency distribution that falls toward the core (as observed for NGC 1818) and one that rises toward the core (as for older star clusters) can arise naturally from the same evolutionary sequence owing to binary disruption and mass segregation in rich star clusters.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2013

DIRECT N-BODY MODELING OF THE OLD OPEN CLUSTER NGC 188: A DETAILED COMPARISON OF THEORETICAL AND OBSERVED BINARY STAR AND BLUE STRAGGLER POPULATIONS

Following on from a recently completed radial-velocity survey of the old (7 Gyr) open cluster NGC 188 in which we studied in detail the solar-type hard binaries and blue stragglers of the cluster, here we investigate the dynamical evolution of NGC 188 through a sophisticated N-body model. Importantly, we employ the observed binary properties of the young (180 Myr) open cluster M35, where possible, to guide our choices for parameters of the initial binary population. We apply pre-main-sequence tidal circularization and a substantial increase to the main-sequence tidal circularization rate, both of which are necessary to match the observed tidal circularization periods in the literature, including that of NGC 188. At 7 Gyr the main-sequence solar-type hard-binary population in the model matches that of NGC 188 in both binary frequency and distributions of orbital parameters. This agreement between the model and observations is in a large part due to the similarities between the NGC 188 and M35 solar-type binaries. Indeed, among the 7 Gyr main-sequence binaries in the model, only those with P {approx}> 1000 days begin to show potentially observable evidence for modifications by dynamical encounters, even after 7 Gyr of evolution within the star cluster. This emphasizes the importance of defining accurate initial conditions for star cluster models, which we propose is best accomplished through comparisons with observations of young open clusters like M35. Furthermore, this finding suggests that observations of the present-day binaries in even old open clusters can provide valuable information on their primordial binary populations. However, despite the model's success at matching the observed solar-type main-sequence population, the model underproduces blue stragglers and produces an overabundance of long-period circular main-sequence-white-dwarf binaries as compared with the true cluster. We explore several potential solutions to the paucity of blue stragglers and conclude that the model dramatically underproduces blue stragglers through mass-transfer processes. We suggest that common-envelope evolution may have been incorrectly imposed on the progenitors of the spurious long-period circular main-sequence-white-dwarf binaries, which perhaps instead should have gone through stable mass transfer to create blue stragglers, thereby bringing both the number and binary frequency of the blue straggler population in the model into agreement with the true blue stragglers in NGC 188. Thus, improvements in the physics of mass transfer and common-envelope evolution employed in the model may in fact solve both discrepancies with the observations. This project highlights the unique accessibility of open clusters to both comprehensive observational surveys and full-scale N-body simulations, both of which have only recently matured sufficiently to enable such a project, and underscores the importance of open clusters to the study of star cluster dynamics.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗