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Register a new userUsing classical Cepheids to study the far side of the Milky Way disk: I. Spectroscopic classification and the metallicity gradient
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Added by
Javier Horacio Minniti
Publication date
2020
fields
Physics
and research's language is
English
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The structure, kinematics, and chemical composition of the far side of the Milky Way disk, beyond the bulge, are still to be revealed. Classical Cepheids (CCs) are young and luminous standard candles. We aim to use a well-characterized sample of these variable stars to study the present time properties of the far side of the Galactic disk. A sample of 45 Cepheid variable star candidates were selected from near infrared time series photometry obtained by the VVV survey. We characterized this sample using high quality near infrared spectra obtained with VLT/X-Shooter, deriving radial velocities and iron abundances for all the sample Cepheids. This allowed us to separate the CCs, which are metal rich and with kinematics consistent with the disk rotation, from type II Cepheids (T2Cs), which are more metal poor and with different kinematics. We estimated individual distances and extinctions using VVV photometry and period-luminosity relations, reporting the characterization of 30 CCs located on the far side of the Galactic disk, plus 8 T2Cs mainly located in the bulge region, of which 10 CCs and 4 T2Cs are new discoveries. This is the first sizeable sample of CCs in this distant region of our Galaxy that has been spectroscopically confirmed. We use their positions, kinematics, and metallicities to confirm that the general properties of the far disk are similar to those of the well-studied disk on the solar side of the Galaxy. In addition, we derive for the first time the radial metallicity gradient on the disks far side. Considering all the CCs with $R_{mathrm{GC}} < 17,rm{kpc}$, we measure a gradient with a slope of $-0.062 , mathrm{dex, kpc^{-1}}$ and an intercept of $+0.59 , rm{dex}$, which is in agreement with previous determinations based on CCs on the near side of the disk.
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In an effort to improve our understanding of the spiral arm structure of the Milky Way, we use Classical Cepheids (CCs) to increase the number of young tracers on the far side of the Galactic disk with accurately determined distances. We use a sample of 30 CCs, discovered using near-infrared photometry from the VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea survey (VVV) and classified based on their radial velocities and metallicities. We combine them with another 20 CCs from the literature for which VVV photometry is available. The compiled sample of CCs with homogeneously computed distances based on VVV infrared photometry was employed as a proof of concept to trace the spiral structure in the poorly explored far side of the disk. Although the use of CCs has some caveats, these variables are currently the only available young tracers in the far side disk for which a numerous sample with accurate distances can be obtained. Therefore, a larger sample could allow us to make a significant step forward in our understanding of the Milky Way disk as a whole. We present preliminary evidence that CCs favor: a spiral arm model with two main arms (Perseus and Scutum-Centaurus) branching out into four arms at galactocentric distances, $R_mathrm {GC}gtrsim5-6,mathrm{kpc}$; the extension of the Scutum-Centaurus arm behind the Galactic center; a possible connection between the Perseus arm and the Norma tangency direction. The current sample of CCs in the far side of the Galaxy are in the mid-plane, arguing against the presence of a severely warped disk at small Galactocentric distances ($R_mathrm {GC}lesssim12,mathrm{kpc}$) in the studied area. The discovery and characterization of CCs at near-IR wavelengths appears to be a promising tool to complement studies based on other spiral arm tracers and extend them to the far side of our Galaxy.
Using G dwarfs from the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (SEGUE) survey, we have determined a vertical metallicity gradient over a large volume of the Milky Ways disk, and examined how this gradient varies for different [a/Fe] subsamples. This sample contains over 40,000 stars with low-resolution spectroscopy over 144 lines of sight. We employ the SEGUE Stellar Parameter Pipeline (SSPP) to obtain estimates of effective temperature, surface gravity, [Fe/H], and [a/Fe] for each star and extract multiple volume-complete subsamples of approximately 1000 stars each. Based on the surveys consistent target-selection algorithm, we adjust each subsample to determine an unbiased picture of the disk in [Fe/H] and [a/Fe]; consequently, each individual star represents the properties of many. The SEGUE sample allows us to constrain the vertical metallicity gradient for a large number of stars over a significant volume of the disk, between ~0.3 and 1.6 kpc from the Galactic plane, and examine the in situ structure, in contrast to previous analyses which are more limited in scope. This work does not pre-suppose a disk structure, whether composed of a single complex population or a distinct thin and thick disk component. The metallicity gradient is -0.243 +0.039 -0.053 dex/kpc for the sample as a whole, which we compare to various literature results. Each [a/Fe] subsample dominates at a different range of heights above the plane of the Galaxy, which is exhibited in the gradient found in the sample as a whole. Stars over a limited range in [a/Fe] show little change in median [Fe/H] with height. If we associate [a/Fe] with age, our consistent vertical metallicity gradients with [a/Fe] suggest that stars formed in different epochs exhibit comparable vertical structure, implying similar star-formation processes and evolution.
We present an examination of the metallicity distribution function of the outermost stellar halo of the Galaxy based on an analysis of both local (within 4 kpc of the Sun, ~16,500 stars) and non-local (~21,700 stars) samples. These samples were compiled using spectroscopic metallicities from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and photometric metallicities from the SkyMapper Southern Survey. We detect a negative metallicity gradient in the outermost halo (r > 35 kpc from the Galactic center), and find that the frequency of very metal-poor ([Fe/H] < -2.0) stars in the outer-halo region reaches up to ~60% in our most distant sample, commensurate with previous theoretical predictions. This result provides clear evidence that the outer-halo formed hierarchically. The retrograde stars in the outermost halo exhibit a roughly constant metallicity, which may be linked to the accretion of the Sequoia progenitor. In contrast, prograde stars in the outermost halo exhibit a strong metallicity-distance dependence, indicating that they likely originated from the accretion of galaxies less massive than the Sequoia progenitor galaxy.
Flat rotation curves of spiral galaxies are considered as an evidence for dark matter, but the rotation curve of the Milky Way is difficult to measure. Various objects were used to track the rotation curve in the outer parts of the Galaxy, but most studies rely on incomplete kinematical information and inaccurate distances. Here, we use a sample of 773 Classical Cepheids with precise distances based on mid-infrared period-luminosity relations coupled with proper motions and radial velocities from Gaia to construct the accurate rotation curve of the Milky Way up to the distance of ~20 kpc from the Galactic center. We use a simple model of Galactic rotation to measure the rotation speed of the Sun Theta_0 = 233.6 +/- 2.8 km/s, assuming a prior on the distance to the Galactic center R_0 = 8.122 +/- 0.031 kpc from the Gravity Collaboration. The rotation curve at Galactocentric distances 4 < R < 20 kpc is nearly flat with a small gradient of -1.34 +/- 0.21 km/s/kpc. This is the most accurate Galactic rotation curve at distances R > 12 kpc constructed so far.
The Cepheid Period-Luminosity (PL) relation is the key tool for measuring astronomical distances and for establishing the extragalactic distance scale. In particular, the local value of the Hubble constant ($H_0$) strongly depends on Cepheid distance measurements. The recent Gaia Data Releases and other parallax measurements from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) already enabled to improve the accuracy of the slope ($alpha$) and intercept ($beta$) of the PL relation. However, the dependence of this law on metallicity is still largely debated. In this paper, we combine three samples of Cepheids in the Milky Way (MW), the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) in order to derive the metallicity term (hereafter $gamma$) of the PL relation. The recent publication of extremely precise LMC and SMC distances based on late-type detached eclipsing binary systems (DEBs) provides a solid anchor for the Magellanic Clouds. In the MW, we adopt Cepheid parallaxes from the early third Gaia Data Release. We derive the metallicity effect in $V$, $I$, $J$, $H$, $K_S$, $W_{VI}$ and $W_{JK}$. In the $K_S$ band we report a metallicity effect of $-0.221 pm 0.051$ mag/dex, the negative sign meaning that more metal-rich Cepheids are intrinsically brighter than their more metal-poor counterparts of the same pulsation period.
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