Milky Way and Nearby Galaxies

Start year
1994
End year
2021
Organizational Unit

Grants related:

    General
    Description

    The general aim of the project is to research the structure, evolutionary history and formation of galaxies through the study of their resolved stellar populations, both from photometry and spectroscopy. The group research concentrates in the most nearby objects, namely the Local Group galaxies including the Milky Way and M33 under the hypothesis that they are a good representation of the general population of galaxies in the Universe.

    The project can be divided in four research lines:

    I. Star formation history in the Local Group.

    The goal is to characterise the spatial and temporal structure of the galaxies of the Local Group through the observations of individual stars. The fundamental aim is to derive the detailed star formation history (SFH) of a given galaxy in all its evolutionary stages, in order to determine the impact of cosmological (e.g. reionization, self-shielding) and local processes (e.g. gas sweeping by supernovas, tidal forces, stellar migration).

    II. Multiple stellar populations in globular clusters.

    At odds of what it is classically predicted, there is evidence that globular clusters (GC) host more than one stellar population with different chemical composition. HST photometric observations of GC show strong evidence of multiple main sequences in the CMDs. The aim of this line is to characterise the aforementioned multiple populations in GC.

    III. Structure and formation of the Milky Way.

    The main purpose of this research line is to study the Milky Way via by using GAIA data (spacebased), and the ESO-VVV survey (Vista Telescope). These data are going to provide a perfect opportunity to study the star formation history of the Galactic disk and bulge. In order to use GAIA and VVV data we need to adapt the tools developed by our group to study stellar populations.

    IV. Stellar evolution and synthetic color-magnitude diagram.

    We have developed a new stellar evolutionary library. There is the need in the scientific community to increase the reliability and accuracy in the stellar models computation using the most updated results in Physics, such as the equation of state, new opacities, and nuclear sections.

    Milestones

    1. Development of the web site http://basti-iac.oa-teramo.inaf.it for the BaSTI stellar evolution library
    2. Obtention of near-infrared PSF photometry of the full VVV disk region (220 sq. deg between 294.7° ≤ l ≤ 350.0° and |b| ≤ 2.25°) in J and Ks bands
    3. Computation of a open access data base of "cromosomic maps" for all the object of the "HST Legacy Project on Globular Clusters".
    4. Determination of the star formation history of three Ultra-fain Dwarfs (UFD): Bootes I, Canes Venatici II y Leo IV

    Related publications

    • Mass-metallicity relation of dwarf galaxies and its dependency on time: clues from resolved systems and comparison with massive galaxies
      Aims: We present a new approach to study the mass-metallicity relation and its dependency on time. Methods: We used the star formation history (SFH) derived from color-magnitude diagram fitting techniques of a sample of Local Group (LG) dwarfs to obtain stellar masses, metallicities, and star-formation rates (SFR) to analyze the mass-metallicity
      Hidalgo, S. L.

      Advertised on:

      10
      2017
      Citations
      21
    • OCCASO - II. Physical parameters and Fe abundances of red clump stars in 18 open clusters
      Open clusters have long been used to study the chemodynamical evolution of the Galactic disc. This requires a homogeneously analysed sample covering a wide range of ages and distances. In this paper, we present the Open Clusters Chemical Abundances from Spanish Observatories (OCCASO) second data release. This comprises a sample of high-resolution
      Casamiquela, L. et al.

      Advertised on:

      10
      2017
      Citations
      43
    • Representative galaxy age–metallicity relationships
      The ongoing surveys of galaxies and those for the next generation of telescopes will demand the execution of high-CPU consuming machine codes for recovering detailed star formation histories (SFHs) and hence age-metallicity relationships (AMRs). We present here an expeditive method which provides quick-look AMRs on the basis of representative ages
      Hidalgo, S. L. et al.

      Advertised on:

      7
      2017
      Citations
      6
    • The structure of Andromeda II dwarf spheroidal galaxy
      We analyse in detail the spatial distribution and kinematic properties of two different stellar populations in Andromeda II dwarf spheroidal galaxy. We obtained their detailed surface density maps together with their radial density profiles. The two populations differ not only in age and metallicity, but also in their spatial distribution and
      Fouquet, Sylvain et al.

      Advertised on:

      8
      2017
      Citations
      14
    • The ISLAandS Project II: The Lifetime Star-formation Histories of Six Andomeda DSPHS
      The Initial Star formation and Lifetimes of Andromeda Satellites (ISLAndS) project employs Hubble Space Telescope imaging to study a representative sample of six Andromeda dSph satellite companion galaxies. Our main goal is to determine whether the star formation histories (SFHs) of the Andromeda dSph satellites demonstrate significant statistical
      Skillman, E. D. et al.

      Advertised on:

      3
      2017
      Citations
      80
    • The Hubble Space Telescope UV Legacy Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters. VIII. Preliminary Public Catalog Release
      The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) UV Legacy Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters (GO-13297) has been specifically designed to complement the existing F606W and F814W observations of the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) Globular Cluster Survey (GO-10775) by observing the most accessible 47 of the previous survey’s 65 clusters in three WFC3/UVIS
      Soto, M. et al.

      Advertised on:

      1
      2017
      Citations
      38
    • The Hubble Space Telescope UV Legacy Survey of Galactic globular clusters - IX. The Atlas of multiple stellar populations
      We use high-precision photometry of red-giant-branch (RGB) stars in 57 Galactic globular clusters (GCs), mostly from the `Hubble Space Telescope (HST) UV Legacy Survey of Galactic GCs', to identify and characterize their multiple stellar populations. For each cluster the pseudo-two-colour diagram (or `chromosome map') is presented, built with a
      Milone, A. P. et al.

      Advertised on:

      1
      2017
      Citations
      378
    • Rotating stellar populations in the Fornax dSph galaxy
      We present a novel analysis of the internal kinematics of the Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxy. Our results are based on the largest sample of spectroscopic data for Fornax stars presently available (>2500 stars), for which we have chemical and kinematic information. We introduce new software, BEACON, designed to detect chemo-kinematic patterns among
      del Pino, A. et al.

      Advertised on:

      3
      2017
      Citations
      23
    • Recovering star formation histories: Integrated-light analyses vs. stellar colour-magnitude diagrams
      Context. Accurate star formation histories (SFHs) of galaxies are fundamental for understanding the build-up of their stellar content. However, the most accurate SFHs - those obtained from colour-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) of resolved stars reaching the oldest main-sequence turnoffs (oMSTO) - are presently limited to a few systems in the Local Group
      Ruiz-Lara, T. et al.

      Advertised on:

      11
      2015
      Citations
      37
    • Merger traces in the spatial distribution of stellar populations in the Fornax dSph galaxy
      We present a comprehensive and detailed study of the stellar populations of the Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxy. We analyse their spatial distributions along the main body of the galaxy, obtaining their surface density maps, together with their radial density profiles. Results are based on the largest and most complete catalogue of stars in Fornax
      del Pino, A. et al.

      Advertised on:

      12
      2015
      Citations
      33
    • The Hubble Space TelescopeUV Legacy Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters - V. Constraints on formation scenarios
      We build on the evidence provided by our Legacy Survey of Galactic globular clusters (GC) to submit to a crucial test four scenarios currently entertained for the formation of multiple stellar generations in GCs. The observational constraints on multiple generations to be fulfilled are manifold, including GC specificity, ubiquity, variety
      Renzini, A. et al.

      Advertised on:

      12
      2015
      Citations
      279
    • The GAPS programme with HARPS-N at TNG. IX. The multi-planet system KELT-6: Detection of the planet KELT-6 c and measurement of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect for KELT-6 b
      Aims: For more than 1.5 years we spectroscopically monitored the star KELT-6 (BD+31 2447), which is known to host the transiting hot-Saturn KELT-6 b, because a previously observed long-term trend in radial velocity time series suggested that there is an outer companion. Methods: We collected a total of 93 new spectra with the HARPS-N and TRES
      Damasso, M. et al.

      Advertised on:

      9
      2015
      Citations
      24
    • The ACS LCID Project: On the Origin of Dwarf Galaxy Types—A Manifestation of the Halo Assembly Bias?
      We discuss how knowledge of the whole evolutionary history of dwarf galaxies, including details on the early star formation events, can provide insight on the origin of the different dwarf galaxy types. We suggest that these types may be imprinted by the early conditions of formation rather than only being the result of a recent morphological
      Gallart, C. et al.

      Advertised on:

      10
      2015
      Citations
      105
    • The GAPS Programme with HARPS-N at TNG. VIII. Observations of the Rossiter-McLaughlin effect and characterisation of the transiting planetary systems HAT-P-36 and WASP-11/HAT-P-10
      Context. Orbital obliquity is thought to be a fundamental parameter in tracing the physical mechanisms that cause the migration of giant planets from the snow line down to roughly 10-2 au from their host stars. We are carrying out a large programme to estimate the spin-orbit alignment of a sample of transiting planetary systems to study what the
      Mancini, L. et al.

      Advertised on:

      7
      2015
      Citations
      53
    • The Hubble Space Telescope UV Legacy Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters - IV. Helium content and relative age of multiple stellar populations within NGC 6352
      In this paper, we combine Wide Field Camera3/UVIS F275W, F336W, and F438W data from the `UV Legacy Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters: Shedding Light on Their Populations and Formation' (GO 13297) Hubble Space Telescope Treasury programme with F606W, F625W, F658N, and F814W Advanced Camera for Surveys archive data for a multiwavelength study of
      Nardiello, D. et al.

      Advertised on:

      7
      2015
      Citations
      51
    • Detection of satellite remnants in the Galactic halo with Gaia- III. Detection limits for ultrafaint dwarf galaxies
      We present a method to identify ultrafaint dwarf galaxies (UFDGs) candidates in the halo of the Milky Way using the future Gaia catalogue and we explore its detection limits and completeness. The method is based on the Wavelet Transform and searches for overdensities in the combined space of sky coordinates and proper motions, using kinematics in
      Hidalgo, S. et al.

      Advertised on:

      10
      2015
      Citations
      19
    • Evidence for temporal evolution in the M33 disc as traced by its star clusters
      We present precision radial velocities and stellar population parameters for 77 star clusters in the Local Group galaxy M33. Our Gran Telescopio de Canarias and William Herschel Telescope observations sample both young, massive clusters and known/candidate globular clusters (GCs), spanning ages ˜106-1010 yr, and metallicities, [M/H] ˜ -1.7 to solar
      Beasley, M. A. et al.

      Advertised on:

      8
      2015
      Citations
      35
    • Multiple stellar populations in Magellanic Cloud clusters - III. The first evidence of an extended main sequence turn-off in a young cluster: NGC 1856
      Recent studies have shown that the extended main-sequence turn-off (eMSTO) is a common feature of intermediate-age star clusters in the Magellanic Clouds (MCs). The most simple explanation is that these stellar systems harbour multiple generations of stars with an age difference of a few hundred million years. However, while an eMSTO has been
      Milone, A. P. et al.

      Advertised on:

      7
      2015
      Citations
      83
    • Iron and s-elements abundance variations in NGC 5286: comparison with `anomalous' globular clusters and Milky Way satellites
      We present a high-resolution spectroscopic analysis of 62 red giants in the Milky Way globular cluster (GC) NGC 5286. We have determined abundances of representative light proton-capture, α, Fe-peak and neutron-capture element groups, and combined them with photometry of multiple sequences observed along the colour-magnitude diagram. Our principal
      Marino, A. F. et al.

      Advertised on:

      6
      2015
      Citations
      151
    • First EURONEAR NEA discoveries from La Palma using the INT
      Since 2006, the European Near Earth Asteroids Research (EURONEAR) project has been contributing to the research of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) within a European network. One of the main aims is the amelioration of the orbits of NEAs, and starting in 2014 February we focus on the recovery of one-opposition NEAs using the Isaac Newton Telescope (INT)
      Vaduvescu, O. et al.

      Advertised on:

      5
      2015
      Citations
      14

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