scholarly journals Characterizing the Gaia radial velocity sample selection function in its native photometry

2020 ◽  
Vol 500 (1) ◽  
pp. 397-409
Author(s):  
Jan Rybizki ◽  
Hans-Walter Rix ◽  
Markus Demleitner ◽  
Coryn A L Bailer-Jones ◽  
William J Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Radial Velocity ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Sample Selection ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Apparent Magnitude ◽  
Selection Function ◽  
Source Density ◽  
Dimensional Phase Space ◽  
Data Release ◽  
Gaia Dr2

ABSTRACT The Gaia Data Release 2 (DR2) radial velocity sample (GDR2RVS), which provides six-dimensional phase-space information on 7.2 million stars, is of great value for inferring properties of the Milky Way. Yet a quantitative and accurate modelling of this sample is hindered without knowledge and inclusion of a well-characterized selection function. Here we derive the selection function through estimates of the internal completeness, i.e. the ratio of GDR2RVS sources compared to all Gaia DR2 sources (GDR2all). We show that this selection function or ‘completeness’ depends on basic observables, in particular the apparent magnitude GRVS and colour G − GRP, but also on the surrounding source density and on sky position, where the completeness exhibits distinct small-scale structure. We identify a region of magnitude and colour that has high completeness, providing an approximate but simple way of implementing the selection function. For a more rigorous and detailed description we provide python code to query our selection function, as well as tools and adql queries that produce custom selection functions with additional quality cuts.

scholarly journals seestar: Selection functions for spectroscopic surveys of the Milky Way

2020 ◽  
Vol 493 (2) ◽  
pp. 2042-2058 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Everall ◽  
Payel Das
Keyword(s):  
Milky Way ◽  
Estimation Method ◽  
Likelihood Estimation ◽  
Bayesian Framework ◽  
Apparent Magnitude ◽  
Selection Function ◽  
Data Release

ABSTRACT Selection functions are vital for understanding the observational biases of spectroscopic surveys. With the wide variety of multiobject spectrographs currently in operation and becoming available soon, we require easily generalizable methods for determining the selection functions of these surveys. Previous work, however, has largely been focused on generating individual, tailored selection functions for every data release of each survey. Moreover, no methods for combining these selection functions to be used for joint catalogues have been developed. We have developed a Poisson likelihood estimation method for calculating selection functions in a Bayesian framework, which can be generalized to any multiobject spectrograph. We include a robust treatment of overlapping fields within a survey as well as selection functions for combined samples with overlapping footprints. We also provide a method for transforming the selection function that depends on the sky positions, colour, and apparent magnitude of a star to one that depends on the galactic location, metallicity, mass, and age of a star. This ‘intrinsic’ selection function is invaluable for chemodynamical models of the Milky Way. We demonstrate that our method is successful at recreating synthetic spectroscopic samples selected from a mock galaxy catalogue.

scholarly journals Completeness of the Gaia verse II: what are the odds that a star is missing from Gaia DR2?

2020 ◽  
Vol 497 (4) ◽  
pp. 4246-4261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas Boubert ◽  
Andrew Everall
Keyword(s):  
Milky Way ◽  
Magellanic Clouds ◽  
Probability Of Detection ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
Selection Function ◽  
G 21 ◽  
Data Release ◽  
Many Sources ◽  
Gaia Dr2 ◽  
Python Package

ABSTRACT The second data release of the Gaia mission contained astrometry and photometry for an incredible 1692 919 135 sources, but how many sources did Gaiamiss and where do they lie on the sky? The answer to this question will be crucial for any astronomer attempting to map the Milky Way with Gaia DR2. We infer the completeness of Gaia DR2 by exploiting the fact that it only contains sources with at least five astrometric detections. The odds that a source achieves those five detections depends on both the number of observations and the probability that an observation of that source results in a detection. We predict the number of times that each source was observed by Gaia and assume that the probability of detection is either a function of magnitude or a distribution as a function of magnitude. We fit both these models to the 1.7 billion stars of Gaia DR2, and thus are able to robustly predict the completeness of Gaia across the sky as a function of magnitude. We extend our selection function to account for crowding in dense regions of the sky, and show that this is vitally important, particularly in the Galactic bulge and the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. We find that the magnitude limit at which Gaiais still 99 per cent complete varies over the sky from G = 18.9 to fainter than G = 21. We have created a new python package selectionfunctions (https://github.com/gaiaverse/selectionfunctions) which provides easy access to our selection functions.

scholarly journals Local Stellar Kinematics from RAVE data—VII. Metallicity Gradients from Red Clump Stars

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ö. Önal Taş ◽  
S. Bilir ◽  
G. M. Seabroke ◽  
S. Karaali ◽  
S. Ak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radial Velocity ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Absolute Magnitude ◽  
Selection Effects ◽  
Stellar Kinematics ◽  
Experiment Data ◽  
Radial Gradient ◽  
Data Release ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Red Clump

AbstractWe investigate the Milky Way Galaxy’s radial and vertical metallicity gradients using a sample of 47 406 red clump stars from the RAdial Velocity Experiment Data Release 4. Distances are calculated by adopting Ks-band absolute magnitude as −1.54±0.04 mag for the sample. The metallicity gradients are calculated with their current orbital positions (Rgc and Z) and with their orbital properties (Rm and zmax): d[Fe/H]/dRgc = −0.047±0.003 dex kpc−1 for |Z| ≤ 0.5 kpc and d[Fe/H]/dRm = −0.025±0.002 dex kpc−1 for zmax ≤ 0.5 kpc. This reaffirms the radial metallicity gradient in the thin disc but highlights that gradients are sensitive to the selection effects caused by the difference between Rgc and Rm. The radial gradient is flat in the distance interval 0.5-1 kpc from the plane and then becomes positive greater than 1 kpc from the plane. The radial metallicity gradients are also eccentricity dependent. We showed that d[Fe/H]/dRm = −0.089±0.010, −0.073±0.007, −0.053±0.004 and −0.044±0.002 dex kpc−1 for ep ≤ 0.05, ep ≤ 0.07, ep ≤ 0.10 and ep ≤ 0.20 sub-samples, respectively, in the distance interval zmax ≤ 0.5 kpc. Similar trend is found for vertical metallicity gradients. Both the radial and vertical metallicity gradients are found to become shallower as the eccentricity of the sample increases. These findings can be used to constrain different formation scenarios of the thick and thin discs.

The RAdial Velocity Experiment: preparing the 6th Data Release chemical abundances with GAUGUIN

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (S334) ◽  
pp. 302-303
Author(s):  
Guillaume Guiglion ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Radial Velocity ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Chemical Elements ◽  
Elemental Abundance ◽  
Atmospheric Parameters ◽  
Chemical Abundances ◽  
Abundance Patterns ◽  
Medium Resolution ◽  
Data Release ◽  
Future Data

AbstractIn the context of the Radial Velocity Experiment (RAVE, Steinmetz et al. 2006), we present chemical abundances derived with the pipeline GAUGUIN. Based of 520 701 RAVE stars with medium resolution (R~7 500) spectra and stellar atmospheric parameters of the fifth Data Release, the analysis is performed around the infrared Ca-triple domain for 6 chemical elements: Mg, Ni, Si, Ti, Fe and Al. We discuss here the reliability of the chemical abundances provided by GAUGUIN, and the implications for the future Data Release 6 of the RAVE Survey. We also present elemental abundance patterns of Milky Way components based of kinematical criteria.

scholarly journals The vertical metallicity gradients of mono-age stellar populations in the Milky Way thin disk

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (S334) ◽  
pp. 281-282
Author(s):  
Ioana Ciucă ◽  
Daisuke Kawata ◽  
Jane Lin ◽  
Luca Casagrande ◽  
George Seabroke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radial Velocity ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Stellar Populations ◽  
Thin Disk ◽  
Dwarf Stars ◽  
Star Forming ◽  
Data Release ◽  
The Cross

AbstractWe investigate the vertical metallicity gradients of five mono-age stellar populations between 0 and 11 Gyr for a sample of 18 435 dwarf stars selected from the cross-matched Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution (TGAS) and RAdial Velocity Experiment (RAVE) Data Release 5. We find a correlation between the vertical metallicity gradients and age, with no vertical metallicity gradient in the youngest population and an increasingly steeper negative vertical metallicity gradient for the older stellar populations. We also find that the intrinsic dispersion in metallicity increases steadily with age. Our results are consistent with a scenario that thin disk stars formed from a flaring thin star-forming disk.

scholarly journals From birth associations to field stars: mapping the small-scale orbit distribution in the Galactic disc

2020 ◽  
Vol 495 (4) ◽  
pp. 4098-4112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna Coronado ◽  
Hans-Walter Rix ◽  
Wilma H Trick ◽  
Kareem El-Badry ◽  
Jan Rybizki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Main Sequence ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Space Distribution ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Galactic Disc ◽  
Main Sequence Stars ◽  
Orbital Phase ◽  
Angle Space ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Gaia Dr2

ABSTRACT Stars born at the same time in the same place should have formed from gas of the same element composition. But most stars subsequently disperse from their birth siblings, in orbit and orbital phase, becoming ‘field stars’. Here, we explore and provide direct observational evidence for this process in the Milky Way disc, by quantifying the probability that orbit-similarity among stars implies indistinguishable metallicity. We define the orbit similarity among stars through their distance in action-angle space, Δ(J, θ), and their abundance similarity simply by Δ[Fe/H]. Analysing a sample of main-sequence stars from Gaia DR2 and LAMOST, we find an excess of pairs with the same metallicity (Δ[Fe/H] < 0.1) that extends to remarkably large separations in Δ(J, θ) that correspond to nearly 1 kpc distances. We assess the significance of this effect through a mock sample, drawn from a smooth and phase-mixed orbit distribution. Through grouping such star pairs into associations with a friend-of-friends algorithm linked by Δ(J,θ), we find 100s of mono-abundance groups with ≥3 (to ≳20) members; these groups – some clusters, some spread across the sky – are over an order-of-magnitude more abundant than expected for a smooth phase-space distribution, suggesting that we are witnessing the ‘dissolution’ of stellar birth associations into the field.

scholarly journals RAVE-Gaia and the impact on Galactic archeology

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (S330) ◽  
pp. 176-180
Author(s):  
Andrea Kunder
Keyword(s):  
Radial Velocity ◽  
Effective Temperature ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Radial Velocities ◽  
Surface Gravity ◽  
Individual Stars ◽  
Dynamic Analyses ◽  
Data Release ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Temperature Surface

AbstractThe new data release (DR5) of the RAdial Velocity Experiment (RAVE) includes radial velocities of 520,781 spectra of 457,588 individual stars, of which 215,590 individual stars are released in the Tycho-Gaia astrometric solution (TGAS) in Gaia DR1. Therefore, RAVE contains the largest TGAS overlap of the recent and ongoing Milky Way spectroscopic surveys. Most of the RAVE stars also contain stellar parameters (effective temperature, surface gravity, overall metallicity), as well as individual abundances for Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Ti, Fe, and Ni. Combining RAVE with TGAS brings the uncertainties in space velocities down by a factor of 2 for stars in the RAVE volume – 10 km s−1 uncertainties in space velocities are now able to be derived for the majority (70%) of the RAVE-TGAS sample, providing a powerful platform for chemo-dynamic analyses of the Milky Way. Here we discuss the RAVE-TGAS impact on Galactic archaeology as well as how the Gaia parallaxes can be used to break degeneracies within the RAVE spectral regime for an even better return in the derivation of stellar parameters and abundances.

scholarly journals Completeness of the Gaia-verse – IV. The astrometry spread function of Gaia DR2

2021 ◽  
Vol 502 (2) ◽  
pp. 1908-1924
Author(s):  
Andrew Everall ◽  
Douglas Boubert ◽  
Sergey E Koposov ◽  
Leigh Smith ◽  
Berry Holl
Keyword(s):  
Point Source ◽  
Binary Systems ◽  
Gaussian Function ◽  
Unit Weight ◽  
Apparent Magnitude ◽  
Selection Function ◽  
Proper Motions ◽  
Spread Function ◽  
Extended Sources ◽  
Gaia Dr2

ABSTRACT Gaia Data Release 2 (DR2) published positions, parallaxes, and proper motions for an unprecedented 1331 909 727 sources, revolutionizing the field of Galactic dynamics. We complement this data with the astrometry spread function (ASF), the expected uncertainty in the measured positions, proper motions, and parallax for a non-accelerating point source. The ASF is a Gaussian function for which we construct the 5D astrometric covariance matrix as a function of position on the sky and apparent magnitude using the Gaia DR2 scanning law and demonstrate excellent agreement with the observed data. This can be used to answer the question ‘What astrometric covariance would Gaia have published if my star was a non-accelerating point source?’. The ASF will enable characterization of binary systems, exoplanet orbits, astrometric microlensing events, and extended sources that add an excess astrometric noise to the expected astrometry uncertainty. By using the ASF to estimate the unit weight error of Gaia DR2 sources, we demonstrate that the ASF indeed provides a direct probe of the excess source noise. We use the ASF to estimate the contribution to the selection function of the Gaia astrometric sample from a cut on astrometric_sigma5d_max showing high completeness for G < 20 dropping to ${\lt} 1{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$ in underscanned regions of the sky for G = 21. We have added an ASF module to the python package scanninglaw (https://github.com/gaiaverse/scanninglaw) through which users can access the ASF.

scholarly journals The GALAH survey and Gaia DR2: Linking ridges, arches, and vertical waves in the kinematics of the Milky Way

2019 ◽  
Vol 489 (4) ◽  
pp. 4962-4979 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shourya Khanna ◽  
Sanjib Sharma ◽  
Thor Tepper-Garcia ◽  
Joss Bland-Hawthorn ◽  
Michael Hayden ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Dwarf Galaxy ◽  
Elemental Abundance ◽  
Space Distribution ◽  
Orbital Energy ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Constant Energy ◽  
Third Dimension ◽  
Gaia Dr2

ABSTRACT Gaia DR2 has revealed new small-scale and large-scale patterns in the phase-space distribution of stars in the Milky Way. In cylindrical Galactic coordinates $(R,\phi ,z)$, ridge-like structures can be seen in the $(R,V_\phi)$ plane and asymmetric arch-like structures in the $(V_R,V_\phi)$ plane. We show that the ridges are also clearly present when the third dimension of the $(R,V_\phi)$ plane is represented by $\langle z \rangle$, $\langle V_z \rangle$, $\langle V_R \rangle$, $\langle$[Fe/H]$\rangle$, and $\langle [\alpha /{\rm Fe}]\rangle$. The maps suggest that stars along the ridges lie preferentially close to the Galactic mid-plane ($|z|\lt 0.2$ kpc), and have metallicity and $\alpha$ elemental abundance similar to that of the Sun. We show that phase mixing of disrupting spiral arms can generate both the ridges and the arches. It also generates discrete groupings in orbital energy – the ridges and arches are simply surfaces of constant energy. We identify eight distinct ridges in the Gaia DR2 data: six of them have constant energy while two have constant angular momentum. Given that the signature is strongest for stars close to the plane, the presence of ridges in $\langle z \rangle$ and $\langle V_z \rangle$ suggests a coupling between planar and vertical directions. We demonstrate, using N-body simulations that such coupling can be generated both in isolated discs and in discs perturbed by an orbiting satellite like the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy.

scholarly journals Age-metallicity-velocity relation of stars as seen by RAVE

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (S317) ◽  
pp. 367-368
Author(s):  
Jennifer Wojno ◽  
Georges Kordopatis ◽  
Matthias Steinmetz ◽  
Gal Matijevič ◽  
Paul J. McMillan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radial Velocity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Milky Way ◽  
Solar Neighborhood ◽  
The Past ◽  
Formation History ◽  
Data Release ◽  
Velocity Relation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Made In

AbstractThroughout the past decade, significant advances have been made in the size and scope of large-scale spectroscopic surveys, allowing for the opportunity to study in-depth the formation history of the Milky Way. Using the fourth data release of the RAdial Velocity Experiment (RAVE), we study the age-metallicity-velocity space of ~ 100,000 FGK stars in the extended solar neighborhood in order to explore evolutionary processes. Combining these three parameters, we better constrain our understanding of these interconnected, fundamental processes.

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