Engineering topics

Zamora, Olga

Publications and source records attributed to Zamora, Olga.

4 records

DOE OSTI2023

Comparative analysis of atmospheric parameters from high-resolution spectroscopic sky surveys: APOGEE, GALAH, Gaia -ESO

SDSS-IV APOGEE-2, GALAH, and Gaia-ESO are high-resolution, ground-based, multi-object spectroscopic surveys providing fundamental stellar atmospheric parameters and multiple elemental abundance ratios for hundreds of thousands of stars of the Milky Way. Data from these and other surveys contribute to investigations of the history and evolution of the Galaxy. We undertake a comparison between the most recent data releases of these surveys to investigate the accuracy and precision of derived parameters by placing the abundances on an absolute scale. We also discuss the correlations in parameter and abundance differences as a function of main parameters. Uncovering the variants provides a basis to continue the efforts of future sky surveys. Quality samples from the APOGEE-GALAH (15 537 stars), APOGEE-GES (804 stars), and GALAH-GES (441 stars) overlapping catalogs were collected. We investigated the mean variants between the surveys, and linear trends were also investigated. We compared the slope of correlations and mean differences with the reported uncertainties. The average and scatter of v rad , T eff , log g, [M/H], and v micro , along with numerous species of elemental abundances in the combined catalogs, show that in general there is a good agreement between the surveys. We find large radial velocity scatters ranging from 1.3 km s -1 to 4.4 km s -1 when comparing the three surveys. We observe some weak trends (e.g., in ΔT eff vs. Δlog g for the APOGEE-GES stars) and a clear correlation in the v micro - Δv micro planes in the APOGEE-GALAH common sample. For [α/H], [Ti/H] (APOGEE-GALAH giants), and [Al/H] (APOGEE-GALAH dwarfs) potential strong correlations are discovered as a function of the differences in the main atmospheric parameters, and we also find weak trends for other elements. In general we find good agreement between the three surveys within their respective uncertainties. However, there are certain regimes in which strong variants exist, which we discuss. There are still offsets larger than 0.1 dex in the absolute abundance scales.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Detailed Chemical Abundances for a Benchmark Sample of M Dwarfs from the APOGEE Survey

Individual chemical abundances for 14 elements (C, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, and Ni) are derived for a sample of M dwarfs using high-resolution, near-infrared H-band spectra from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey-IV/Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) survey. The quantitative analysis included synthetic spectra computed with 1D LTE plane-parallel MARCS models using the APOGEE Data Release 17 line list to determine chemical abundances. The sample consists of 11 M dwarfs in binary systems with warmer FGK dwarf primaries and 10 measured interferometric angular diameters. To minimize atomic diffusion effects, [X/Fe] ratios are used to compare M dwarfs in binary systems and literature results for their warmer primary stars, indicating good agreement (<0.08 dex) for all studied elements. The mean abundance difference in primaries minus this work's M dwarfs is –0.05 ± 0.03 dex. It indicates that M dwarfs in binary systems are a reliable way to calibrate empirical relationships. A comparison with abundance, effective temperature, and surface gravity results from the APOGEE Stellar Parameter and Chemical Abundances Pipeline (ASPCAP) Data Release 16 finds a systematic offset of [M/H], T eff , log g = +0.21 dex, –50 K, and 0.30 dex, respectively, although ASPCAP [X/Fe] ratios are generally consistent with this study. The metallicities of the M dwarfs cover the range of [Fe/H] = –0.9 to +0.4 and are used to investigate Galactic chemical evolution via trends of [X/Fe] as a function of [Fe/H]. The behavior of the various elemental abundances [X/Fe] versus [Fe/H] agrees well with the corresponding trends derived from warmer FGK dwarfs, demonstrating that the APOGEE spectra can be used to examine Galactic chemical evolution using large samples of selected M dwarfs.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Phosphorus-rich stars with unusual abundances are challenging theoretical predictions

Almost all chemical elements have been made by nucleosynthetic reactions in various kind of stars and have been accumulated along our cosmic history. Among those elements, the origin of phosphorus is of extreme interest because it is known to be essential for life such as we know on Earth. However, current models of (Galactic) chemical evolution under-predict the phosphorus we observe in our Solar System. Here we report the discovery of 15 phosphorus-rich stars with unusual overabundances of O, Mg, Si, Al, and Ce. Phosphorus-rich stars likely inherit their peculiar chemistry from another nearby stellar source but their intriguing chemical abundance pattern challenge the present stellar nucleosynthesis theoretical predictions. Specific effects such as rotation or advanced nucleosynthesis in convective-reactive regions in massive stars represent the most promising alternatives to explain the existence of phosphorus-rich stars. The phosphorus-rich stars progenitors may significantly contribute to the phosphorus present on Earth today.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2020

The age–chemical abundance structure of the Galactic disc – II. α -dichotomy and thick disc formation

ABSTRACT We extend our previous work on the age–chemical abundance structure of the Galactic outer disc to the inner disc (4 < r < 8 kpc) based on the SDSS/APOGEE survey. Different from the outer disc, the inner disc stars exhibit a clear bimodal distribution in the [Mg/Fe]–[Fe/H] plane. While a number of scenarios have been proposed in the literature, it remains challenging to recover this bimodal distribution with theoretical models. To this end, we present a chemical evolution model embedding a complex multiphase inner disc formation scenario that matches the observed bimodal [Mg/Fe]–[Fe/H] distribution. In this scenario, the formation of the inner disc is dominated by two main starburst episodes $6\,$Gyr apart with secular, low-level star formation activity in between. In our model, the first starburst occurs at early cosmic times ($t\sim 1\,$ Gyr) and the second one $6\,$ Gyr later at a cosmic time of $t\sim 7\,$ Gyr. Both these starburst episodes are associated with gas accretion events in our model, and are quenched rapidly. The first starburst leads to the formation of the high-α sequence, and the second starburst leads to the formation of the metal-poor low-α sequence. The metal-rich low-α stars, instead, form during the secular evolution phase between the two bursts. Our model shows that the α-dichotomy originates from the rapid suppression of star formation after the first starburst. The two starburst episodes are likely to be responsible for the formation of the geometric thick disc (z >1 kpc), with the old inner thick disc and the young outer thick disc forming during the first and the second starbursts, respectively.

Lian, Jianhui↗