The Closeby Habitable Exoplanet Survey(CHES) mission is proposed to discover habitable-zone Earth-like planets of nearby solar-type stars(~10 pc away from our solar system) via microarcsecond relative astrometry.The m...The Closeby Habitable Exoplanet Survey(CHES) mission is proposed to discover habitable-zone Earth-like planets of nearby solar-type stars(~10 pc away from our solar system) via microarcsecond relative astrometry.The major scientific objectives of CHES are:to search for Earth Twins or terrestrial planets in habitable zones orbiting100 FGK nearby stars;further to conduct a comprehensive survey and extensively characterize nearby planetary systems.The primary payload is a high-quality,low-distortion,high-stability telescope.The optical subsystem is a coaxial three-mirror anastigmat(TMA) with a 1.2 m-aperture,0°.44 × 0°.44 field of view and 500 nm-900 nm working wave band.The camera focal plane is composed of a mosaic of 81 scientific CMOS detectors each with4 k × 4 k pixels.The heterodyne laser interferometric calibration technology is employed to ensure microarcsecond level(1 μas) relative astrometry precision to meet the requirements for detection of Earth-like planets.The CHES satellite operates at the Sun-Earth L2 point and observes all the target stars for 5 yr.CHES will offer the first direct measurements of true masses and inclinations of Earth Twins and super-Earths orbiting our neighbor stars based on microarcsecond astrometry from space.This will definitely enhance our understanding of the formation of diverse nearby planetary systems and the emergence of other worlds for solar-type stars,and finally provide insights to the evolution of our own solar system.展开更多
We describe the current plans for a spectroscopic survey of millions of stars in the Milky Way galaxy using the Guo Shou Jing Telescope (GSJT, formerly calledthe Large sky Area Multi-Object fiber Spectroscopic Telesc...We describe the current plans for a spectroscopic survey of millions of stars in the Milky Way galaxy using the Guo Shou Jing Telescope (GSJT, formerly calledthe Large sky Area Multi-Object fiber Spectroscopic Telescope -- LAMOST). The survey will obtain spectra for 2.5 million stars brighter than r 〈 19 during dark/grey time, and 5 million stars brighter than r 〈 17 or J 〈 16 on nights that are moonlit or have low transparency. The survey will begin in the fall of 2012, and will run for at least four years. The telescope's design constrains the optimal declination range for observations to 10~ 〈 di 〈 50~, and site conditions lead to an emphasis on stars in the direction of the Galactic anticenter. The survey is divided into three parts with different target selection strategies: disk, anticenter, and spheroid. The resulting dataset will be used to study the merger history of the Milky Way, the substructure and evolution of the disks, the nature of the first generation of stars through identification of the lowest metallicity stars, and star formation through study of open clusters and OB associations. Detailed design of the LAMOST Experiment for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (LEGUE) survey will be completed in summer 2012, after a review of the results of the pilot survey.展开更多
The astrometry method has great advantages in searching for exoplanets in the habitable zone around solar-like stars. However, the presence of multiple planets may cause a problem with degeneracy when trying to comput...The astrometry method has great advantages in searching for exoplanets in the habitable zone around solar-like stars. However, the presence of multiple planets may cause a problem with degeneracy when trying to compute accurate planet parameters from observation data and reduce detectability. The degeneracy problem is extremely critical, especially in a space mission which has limited observation time and cadence. In this series of papers, we study the detectability of habitable Earth-mass planets in different types of multi-planet systems, aiming to find the most favorable targets for the potential space mission–Habitable ExoPlanet Survey(HEPS). In the first paper, we present an algorithm to find planets in the habitable zone around solar-like stars using astrometry. We find the detectability can be well described by planets' signal-to-noise ratio(SNR) and a defined parameter S = M2/(T1-T2)2, where M2 and T2are the mass and period of the second planet, respectively. T1 is the period of the planet in the habitable zone. The parameter S represents the influence of planetary architectures. We fit the detectability as a function of both the SNR of the planet in the habitable zone and the parameter S. An Earth-like planet in a habitable zone is harder to detect(with detectability PHP< 80%) in a system with a hot Jupiter or warm Jupiter(within2 AU), in which the parameter S is large. These results can be used in target selections and to determine the priority of target stars for HEPS, especially when we select and rank nearby planet hosts with a single planet.展开更多
For detecting exoplanets with high precision,using the angular distance between the two stars to detect the periodic motion of the star will be a better choice.This approach can avoid importing the position error of t...For detecting exoplanets with high precision,using the angular distance between the two stars to detect the periodic motion of the star will be a better choice.This approach can avoid importing the position error of the reference catalog in the process that uses a traditional photographic plate to derive the star position suffers.At the precision level of microarcseconds,the error caused by optical axis deviation is not negligible.In this paper,we evaluate the impact of the stability of the optical axis on the relative angular distance measurement from the aspects of theoretical analysis and numerical simulation.When the angular distance error limit of 1 microarcsecond is given,the upper limit of optical axis deviation is estimated to be 68 milliarcsecond.In addition,when limiting the deviation of the optical axis,we give the corresponding error allowance of angular distance measurement.Moreover,we also discuss the way to resolve the problem of CCD distortion and focal length change on the measurement of angular distance.The work in this paper is of guiding significance to the design of a telescope.展开更多
We describe a general target selection algorithm that is applicable to any survey in which the number of available candidates is much larger than the number of objects to be observed. This routine aims to achieve a ba...We describe a general target selection algorithm that is applicable to any survey in which the number of available candidates is much larger than the number of objects to be observed. This routine aims to achieve a balance between a smoothly- varying, well-understood selection function and the desire to preferentially select cer- tain types of targets. Some target-selection examples are shown that illustrate differentpossibilities of emphasis functions. Although it is generally applicable, the algorithm was developed specifically for the LAMOST Experiment for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (LEGUE) survey that will be carried out using the Chinese Guo Shou Jing Telescope. In particular, this algorithm was designed for the portion of LEGUE targeting the Galactic halo, in which we attempt to balance a variety of science goals that require stars at fainter magnitudes than can be completely sampled by LAMOST. This algorithm has been implemented for the halo portion of the LAMOST pilot sur- vey, which began in October 2011.展开更多
Considered to be extensions of the Hipparcos reference system, PPMX and UCAC3 are two of the most important astrometric catalogs released in current years. Extensive analyses of these two large catalogs have been made...Considered to be extensions of the Hipparcos reference system, PPMX and UCAC3 are two of the most important astrometric catalogs released in current years. Extensive analyses of these two large catalogs have been made in order to determine the local and overall systematic biases. The regional and magnitude dependent differences in stellar position and proper motion are comparable to random errors and are even larger in the northern hemisphere. The global orientation bias vector ε between the two systems is also significant (up to 17 mas), which shows the overall differences of the PPMX and UCAC3 catalogs and their reference systems. On the other hand, the term for the global rotation vector a; is small (tenths of mas per year): it is reasonable to believe that the PPMX and UCAC3 reference frames do not rotate with respect to each other. Because of plate dependent and field-to-field errors in the UCAC3 catalog, we suggest that positions and proper motions of UCAC3 stars in the northern hemisphere (δ 〉 -20°) should be used with caution.展开更多
The local standard of rest(LSR) provides a reference framework for studies of Galactic kinematics. Determination of the LSR corresponds to the measurement of solar peculiar motion, which is under debate due to the fac...The local standard of rest(LSR) provides a reference framework for studies of Galactic kinematics. Determination of the LSR corresponds to the measurement of solar peculiar motion, which is under debate due to the fact that different methods and samples have been used. Adopting the astrometric data and line-of-sight velocities of main sequence stars from Gaia DR2, we present a detailed analytical study of stellar kinematics in the solar neighborhood. Based on an improved version of the Stromberg relation, we obtain a robust estimation of the solar peculiar motion, which is given by(U☉,V☉,W☉)=(8.63 ± 0.64, 4.76 ± 0.49, 7.26 ± 0.36) km s^(-1). The corresponding radial scalelength is yielded as Rd ~ 2.5 kpc. The radial and vertical components of solar peculiar motion are basically consistent with the classical values, while the tangential component is a few km s^(-1) smaller than most estimates in literature.展开更多
From photometric observations and star counts, the existence of a bar in the central few kpc of the Galaxy is suggested. It is generally thought that our Galaxy is surrounded by a massive invisible halo. The gravitati...From photometric observations and star counts, the existence of a bar in the central few kpc of the Galaxy is suggested. It is generally thought that our Galaxy is surrounded by a massive invisible halo. The gravitational potential of the Galaxy is therefore made nonaxisymmetric generated by the central triaxial bar, by the outer triaxial halo, and/or by the spiral structures. Selecting nearly 300 open clusters with complete spatial velocity measurements and ages, we were able to construct the rotation curve of the Milky Way within a range of 3 kpc of the Sun. Using a dynamic model for an assumed elliptical disk, a clear weak elliptical potential of the disk with ellipticity of ε(R0) = 0.060 4± 0.012 is detected, the Sun is found to be near the minor axis, displaced by 30°±3°. The motion of the clusters is suggested to be on an oval orbit rather than on a circular one.展开更多
The availability of astrometfic data and radial velocities of carbon stars near the Galactic plane enables us to investigate the kinematics of the Milky Way, especially the rotation curve. The recently published Third...The availability of astrometfic data and radial velocities of carbon stars near the Galactic plane enables us to investigate the kinematics of the Milky Way, especially the rotation curve. The recently published Third U. S. Naval Observatory CCD Astrograph Catalog (UCAC3) provides the opportunity to test this problem using three-dimensional velocity in order to obtain more reliable rotation curves. We intend to study the Galactic rotation curve up to 15 kpc using the radial velocities and proper motions of carbon stars. The motivation for using UCAC3 is to provide high precision proper motions which have hardly been used in determining the rotation velocity of tracers. Seventy-four carbon stars and carbon-rich Mira variables toward the anti-center direction (90° 〈 l 〈 270°, |b| 〈 6°) are picked up from the literature then matched with UCAC3 carbon star candidates to obtain their proper motions. A rigorous geometrical method is employed to compute the rotation velocity of each object. Taking carbon stars as tracers, we find a flat rotation curve of 210 ± 12 kms^-1 assuming R0 = 8.0kpc for the galactocentric distance and V0 = 220kms^-1 for the rotation velocity of the Sun. Due to the uncertainties of distances, the rotation velocities are more dispersed if tangential velocities enter the calculation, compared to those derived from radial velocities only. However, the whole rotation curve shows coherence with previous results. Increasing observation and study of carbon stars would be desirable in order to provide more homogeneous data for the kinematical study of the Galactic disk.展开更多
On the basis of recently published astrophysical parameters of the open clusters, we have selected 301 clusters with measurements of their kinematical parameters to trace the local structure and kinematics of the Gala...On the basis of recently published astrophysical parameters of the open clusters, we have selected 301 clusters with measurements of their kinematical parameters to trace the local structure and kinematics of the Galactic disk. The present sample covers a range of over 3.0 kpc from the Sun and gives significant estimates of the disk structure and kinematical parameters of the Galaxy. We derive the disk scale height, vertical displacement of the Sun to the Galactic plane, solar motion with respect to the local standard of rest, circular speed of the Galactic rotation, Galactocentric distance from the Sun, etc. We found that the average scale height of the disk defined by the open clusters is Zh = 58 ± 4pc, with a vertical displacement of the Sun below the Galactic plane of z0 -= - 16±4 pc. Clusters with ages older than 50 Myr are less concentrated in the average plane (Zh=67 ±6pc) than the younger clusters (Zh = 51±5pc). Using the approximation of axisymmetric circular rotation, we have derived the distance to the Galactic center from the Sun R0 = 8.03 ±0.70 kpc, which is in excellent agreement with the best estimate of the Galactocentric distance. From a kinematical analysis, we found an agedependent rotation of the Galaxy. The older clusters exhibit a lower velocity of vorticity, but have the same shear as the younger clusters. The mean rotation velocity of the Galaxy was obtained as 235 ± 10 km s-1.展开更多
The gravitational potential of the Milky Way is non-axisymmetric, caused by a bar or triaxial halo, which dominates elliptical rotation of the Milky Way. Employing a likelihood analysis, we exploit the astrometric dat...The gravitational potential of the Milky Way is non-axisymmetric, caused by a bar or triaxial halo, which dominates elliptical rotation of the Milky Way. Employing a likelihood analysis, we exploit the astrometric data of masers thoroughly and constrain the elliptical rotation of the Galaxy. Masers in high-mass star-forming regions, observed by VLBA, are more distant tracers than stars observed in the optical bandpass, and thus are more appropriate for studying the global feature of the Milky Way's rotation. A clear elliptical potential of the Milky Way is detected, with an ellipticity of ε0-0.09 at the Sun, and the ellipticity increases towards the outer disk. The minor axis of the elliptical potential (the major axis of the rotation orbit) is found to be near the Sun with a displacement of -32°. Based on the rotation model assumed for an elliptical potential, we also make a kinematical calibration of the Galactocentric distance of the Sun, which gives R0 = 7.63±0.34 kpc.展开更多
The currently used Galactic coordinate system(GalC S) is based on the FK5 system at J2000.0, which was transformed from the FK4 system at B1950.0.The limitations and misunderstandings related to this transformed Gal...The currently used Galactic coordinate system(GalC S) is based on the FK5 system at J2000.0, which was transformed from the FK4 system at B1950.0.The limitations and misunderstandings related to this transformed GalC S can be avoided by defining a new GalC S that is directly connected to the International Celestial Reference System(ICRS). With more data at various wavelengths released by large survey programs, a more appropriate GalC S consistent with features associated with the Milky Way can be established. We try to find the best orientation of the GalC S using data from two all-sky surveys, AKARI and WISE, at six wavelengths between 3.4 μm and 90 μm, and synthesize results obtained at various wavelengths to define an improved GalC S in the framework of the ICRS. The revised GalC S parameters for defining the new GalC S in the ICRS are summarized as:αp= 192.777°, δp= 26.9298°, for the equatorial coordinates of the north Galactic pole and θ = 122.95017° for the position angle of the Galactic center. As one of the Galactic substructures, the Galactic warp exhibits different forms in different GalC Ss that are constructed with various data and methods, which shows the importance of re-defining the GalC S by the relative commission of the International Astronomical Union that can lead to a better understanding of Galactic structure and kinematics.展开更多
We have constructed a catalog containing the best available astrometric, photometric, radial velocity and astrophysical data for mainly F-type and G-type stars (called the Astrometric Catalog associated with Astrophy...We have constructed a catalog containing the best available astrometric, photometric, radial velocity and astrophysical data for mainly F-type and G-type stars (called the Astrometric Catalog associated with Astrophysical Data, ACAD). This contains 27 553 records and is used for the purpose of analyzing stellar kinematics in the solar neighborhood. Using the Lindblad-Oort model and compiled ACAD, we calculated the solar motion and Oort constants in different age-metallicity bins. The evolution of kinematical parameters with stellar age and metallicity was investigated directly. The results show that the component of the solar motion in the direction of Galactic rotation (denoted S_2) linearly increases with age, which may be a conse- quence of the scattering processes, and its value for a dynamical cold disk was found to be 8.0 ± 1.2 km s^-1. S_2 also linearly increases with metallicity, which indicates that radial migration is correlated to the metallicity gradient. On the other hand, the rotational velocity of the Sun around the Galactic center has no clear correlation with ages or metallicities of stars used in the estimation.展开更多
We describe the target selection algorithm for the low latitude disk por- tion of the LAMOST Pilot Survey, which aims to test systems in preparation for the LAMOST spectroscopic survey. We use the PPMXL astrometric ca...We describe the target selection algorithm for the low latitude disk por- tion of the LAMOST Pilot Survey, which aims to test systems in preparation for the LAMOST spectroscopic survey. We use the PPMXL astrometric catalog, which provides positions, proper motions, B/R/I magnitudes (mostly) from USNO-B and d/H/Ks from the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) as well. We chose eight plates along the Galactic plane, in the region 0° 〈 α° 〈 67° and 42° 〈 δ 〈 59°, which cover 22 known open clusters with a range of ages. Adjacent plates may have some small overlapping area. Each plate covers an area of 2.5° in radius, with its cen- tral star (for the Shack-Hartmann guider) brighter than 8th magnitude. For each plate, we create an input catalog in the magnitude range 11.3 〈 Imag 〈 16.3 and Bmag available from PPMXL. The stars are selected to satisfy the requirements of the fiber positioning system and have a uniform distribution in the I vs. B - I color-magnitude diagram. Our final input catalog consists of 12 000 objects on each of eight plates that are observable during the winter observing season from the Xinglong Station of the National Astronomical Observatory of China.展开更多
Based on the Hipparcos proper motions and available radial velocity data of O-B stars, we have re-examined the local kinematical structure of the young disk population of 1500 O-B stars not including the Gould-belt s...Based on the Hipparcos proper motions and available radial velocity data of O-B stars, we have re-examined the local kinematical structure of the young disk population of 1500 O-B stars not including the Gould-belt stars. A systematic warping motion of the stars about the direction to the Galactic center has been reconfirmed. A negative K-term implying a systematic contraction of stars in the solar vicinity has been detected. Two different distance scales are used in order to find out their impact on the kinematical parameters, and we conclude that the adopted distance scale plays an important role in characterizing the kinematical parameters at the present level of the measurement uncertainty.展开更多
基金financially supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program on Space Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDA 15020800)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 12033010, 41604152 and U1938111)Foundation of Minor Planets of the Purple Mountain Observatory and Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS (Grant No. 2018178)。
文摘The Closeby Habitable Exoplanet Survey(CHES) mission is proposed to discover habitable-zone Earth-like planets of nearby solar-type stars(~10 pc away from our solar system) via microarcsecond relative astrometry.The major scientific objectives of CHES are:to search for Earth Twins or terrestrial planets in habitable zones orbiting100 FGK nearby stars;further to conduct a comprehensive survey and extensively characterize nearby planetary systems.The primary payload is a high-quality,low-distortion,high-stability telescope.The optical subsystem is a coaxial three-mirror anastigmat(TMA) with a 1.2 m-aperture,0°.44 × 0°.44 field of view and 500 nm-900 nm working wave band.The camera focal plane is composed of a mosaic of 81 scientific CMOS detectors each with4 k × 4 k pixels.The heterodyne laser interferometric calibration technology is employed to ensure microarcsecond level(1 μas) relative astrometry precision to meet the requirements for detection of Earth-like planets.The CHES satellite operates at the Sun-Earth L2 point and observes all the target stars for 5 yr.CHES will offer the first direct measurements of true masses and inclinations of Earth Twins and super-Earths orbiting our neighbor stars based on microarcsecond astrometry from space.This will definitely enhance our understanding of the formation of diverse nearby planetary systems and the emergence of other worlds for solar-type stars,and finally provide insights to the evolution of our own solar system.
基金partially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 10573022, 10973015, 11061120454and 11243003)the US National Science Foundation through grant AST-09-37523
文摘We describe the current plans for a spectroscopic survey of millions of stars in the Milky Way galaxy using the Guo Shou Jing Telescope (GSJT, formerly calledthe Large sky Area Multi-Object fiber Spectroscopic Telescope -- LAMOST). The survey will obtain spectra for 2.5 million stars brighter than r 〈 19 during dark/grey time, and 5 million stars brighter than r 〈 17 or J 〈 16 on nights that are moonlit or have low transparency. The survey will begin in the fall of 2012, and will run for at least four years. The telescope's design constrains the optimal declination range for observations to 10~ 〈 di 〈 50~, and site conditions lead to an emphasis on stars in the direction of the Galactic anticenter. The survey is divided into three parts with different target selection strategies: disk, anticenter, and spheroid. The resulting dataset will be used to study the merger history of the Milky Way, the substructure and evolution of the disks, the nature of the first generation of stars through identification of the lowest metallicity stars, and star formation through study of open clusters and OB associations. Detailed design of the LAMOST Experiment for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (LEGUE) survey will be completed in summer 2012, after a review of the results of the pilot survey.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11503009, 11333002 and 11673011)the Heising-Simons Foundation+1 种基金the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Nos. 14380018 and 14380023)the Technology of Space Telescope Detecting Exoplanet and Life supported by the National Defense Science and Engineering Bureau civil spaceflight advanced research project D030201
文摘The astrometry method has great advantages in searching for exoplanets in the habitable zone around solar-like stars. However, the presence of multiple planets may cause a problem with degeneracy when trying to compute accurate planet parameters from observation data and reduce detectability. The degeneracy problem is extremely critical, especially in a space mission which has limited observation time and cadence. In this series of papers, we study the detectability of habitable Earth-mass planets in different types of multi-planet systems, aiming to find the most favorable targets for the potential space mission–Habitable ExoPlanet Survey(HEPS). In the first paper, we present an algorithm to find planets in the habitable zone around solar-like stars using astrometry. We find the detectability can be well described by planets' signal-to-noise ratio(SNR) and a defined parameter S = M2/(T1-T2)2, where M2 and T2are the mass and period of the second planet, respectively. T1 is the period of the planet in the habitable zone. The parameter S represents the influence of planetary architectures. We fit the detectability as a function of both the SNR of the planet in the habitable zone and the parameter S. An Earth-like planet in a habitable zone is harder to detect(with detectability PHP< 80%) in a system with a hot Jupiter or warm Jupiter(within2 AU), in which the parameter S is large. These results can be used in target selections and to determine the priority of target stars for HEPS, especially when we select and rank nearby planet hosts with a single planet.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC,Grant No.11833004)funded by the Strategic Priority Research Program on Space Science,the Chinese Academy of Sciences,Grant No.XDA15020800。
文摘For detecting exoplanets with high precision,using the angular distance between the two stars to detect the periodic motion of the star will be a better choice.This approach can avoid importing the position error of the reference catalog in the process that uses a traditional photographic plate to derive the star position suffers.At the precision level of microarcseconds,the error caused by optical axis deviation is not negligible.In this paper,we evaluate the impact of the stability of the optical axis on the relative angular distance measurement from the aspects of theoretical analysis and numerical simulation.When the angular distance error limit of 1 microarcsecond is given,the upper limit of optical axis deviation is estimated to be 68 milliarcsecond.In addition,when limiting the deviation of the optical axis,we give the corresponding error allowance of angular distance measurement.Moreover,we also discuss the way to resolve the problem of CCD distortion and focal length change on the measurement of angular distance.The work in this paper is of guiding significance to the design of a telescope.
基金supported by the US National Science Foundation, through grant AST-09-37523the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 10573022, 10973015 and 11061120454)+1 种基金the Chinese Academy of Sciences through grant GJHZ 200812S. L. is supported by the US National Science Foundation grant AST-09-08419
文摘We describe a general target selection algorithm that is applicable to any survey in which the number of available candidates is much larger than the number of objects to be observed. This routine aims to achieve a balance between a smoothly- varying, well-understood selection function and the desire to preferentially select cer- tain types of targets. Some target-selection examples are shown that illustrate differentpossibilities of emphasis functions. Although it is generally applicable, the algorithm was developed specifically for the LAMOST Experiment for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (LEGUE) survey that will be carried out using the Chinese Guo Shou Jing Telescope. In particular, this algorithm was designed for the portion of LEGUE targeting the Galactic halo, in which we attempt to balance a variety of science goals that require stars at fainter magnitudes than can be completely sampled by LAMOST. This algorithm has been implemented for the halo portion of the LAMOST pilot sur- vey, which began in October 2011.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No. 10973009)This research makes use of data products UCAC3 (U.S. Naval Observatory)
文摘Considered to be extensions of the Hipparcos reference system, PPMX and UCAC3 are two of the most important astrometric catalogs released in current years. Extensive analyses of these two large catalogs have been made in order to determine the local and overall systematic biases. The regional and magnitude dependent differences in stellar position and proper motion are comparable to random errors and are even larger in the northern hemisphere. The global orientation bias vector ε between the two systems is also significant (up to 17 mas), which shows the overall differences of the PPMX and UCAC3 catalogs and their reference systems. On the other hand, the term for the global rotation vector a; is small (tenths of mas per year): it is reasonable to believe that the PPMX and UCAC3 reference frames do not rotate with respect to each other. Because of plate dependent and field-to-field errors in the UCAC3 catalog, we suggest that positions and proper motions of UCAC3 stars in the northern hemisphere (δ 〉 -20°) should be used with caution.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11833004 and 11473013)
文摘The local standard of rest(LSR) provides a reference framework for studies of Galactic kinematics. Determination of the LSR corresponds to the measurement of solar peculiar motion, which is under debate due to the fact that different methods and samples have been used. Adopting the astrometric data and line-of-sight velocities of main sequence stars from Gaia DR2, we present a detailed analytical study of stellar kinematics in the solar neighborhood. Based on an improved version of the Stromberg relation, we obtain a robust estimation of the solar peculiar motion, which is given by(U☉,V☉,W☉)=(8.63 ± 0.64, 4.76 ± 0.49, 7.26 ± 0.36) km s^(-1). The corresponding radial scalelength is yielded as Rd ~ 2.5 kpc. The radial and vertical components of solar peculiar motion are basically consistent with the classical values, while the tangential component is a few km s^(-1) smaller than most estimates in literature.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
文摘From photometric observations and star counts, the existence of a bar in the central few kpc of the Galaxy is suggested. It is generally thought that our Galaxy is surrounded by a massive invisible halo. The gravitational potential of the Galaxy is therefore made nonaxisymmetric generated by the central triaxial bar, by the outer triaxial halo, and/or by the spiral structures. Selecting nearly 300 open clusters with complete spatial velocity measurements and ages, we were able to construct the rotation curve of the Milky Way within a range of 3 kpc of the Sun. Using a dynamic model for an assumed elliptical disk, a clear weak elliptical potential of the disk with ellipticity of ε(R0) = 0.060 4± 0.012 is detected, the Sun is found to be near the minor axis, displaced by 30°±3°. The motion of the clusters is suggested to be on an oval orbit rather than on a circular one.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC) (Grant Nos 10673005 and 10973009)
文摘The availability of astrometfic data and radial velocities of carbon stars near the Galactic plane enables us to investigate the kinematics of the Milky Way, especially the rotation curve. The recently published Third U. S. Naval Observatory CCD Astrograph Catalog (UCAC3) provides the opportunity to test this problem using three-dimensional velocity in order to obtain more reliable rotation curves. We intend to study the Galactic rotation curve up to 15 kpc using the radial velocities and proper motions of carbon stars. The motivation for using UCAC3 is to provide high precision proper motions which have hardly been used in determining the rotation velocity of tracers. Seventy-four carbon stars and carbon-rich Mira variables toward the anti-center direction (90° 〈 l 〈 270°, |b| 〈 6°) are picked up from the literature then matched with UCAC3 carbon star candidates to obtain their proper motions. A rigorous geometrical method is employed to compute the rotation velocity of each object. Taking carbon stars as tracers, we find a flat rotation curve of 210 ± 12 kms^-1 assuming R0 = 8.0kpc for the galactocentric distance and V0 = 220kms^-1 for the rotation velocity of the Sun. Due to the uncertainties of distances, the rotation velocities are more dispersed if tangential velocities enter the calculation, compared to those derived from radial velocities only. However, the whole rotation curve shows coherence with previous results. Increasing observation and study of carbon stars would be desirable in order to provide more homogeneous data for the kinematical study of the Galactic disk.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (Grant No.10673005)
文摘On the basis of recently published astrophysical parameters of the open clusters, we have selected 301 clusters with measurements of their kinematical parameters to trace the local structure and kinematics of the Galactic disk. The present sample covers a range of over 3.0 kpc from the Sun and gives significant estimates of the disk structure and kinematical parameters of the Galaxy. We derive the disk scale height, vertical displacement of the Sun to the Galactic plane, solar motion with respect to the local standard of rest, circular speed of the Galactic rotation, Galactocentric distance from the Sun, etc. We found that the average scale height of the disk defined by the open clusters is Zh = 58 ± 4pc, with a vertical displacement of the Sun below the Galactic plane of z0 -= - 16±4 pc. Clusters with ages older than 50 Myr are less concentrated in the average plane (Zh=67 ±6pc) than the younger clusters (Zh = 51±5pc). Using the approximation of axisymmetric circular rotation, we have derived the distance to the Galactic center from the Sun R0 = 8.03 ±0.70 kpc, which is in excellent agreement with the best estimate of the Galactocentric distance. From a kinematical analysis, we found an agedependent rotation of the Galaxy. The older clusters exhibit a lower velocity of vorticity, but have the same shear as the younger clusters. The mean rotation velocity of the Galaxy was obtained as 235 ± 10 km s-1.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) under grant Nos. 11303018 and 11473013the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province under No. BK20130546
文摘The gravitational potential of the Milky Way is non-axisymmetric, caused by a bar or triaxial halo, which dominates elliptical rotation of the Milky Way. Employing a likelihood analysis, we exploit the astrometric data of masers thoroughly and constrain the elliptical rotation of the Galaxy. Masers in high-mass star-forming regions, observed by VLBA, are more distant tracers than stars observed in the optical bandpass, and thus are more appropriate for studying the global feature of the Milky Way's rotation. A clear elliptical potential of the Milky Way is detected, with an ellipticity of ε0-0.09 at the Sun, and the ellipticity increases towards the outer disk. The minor axis of the elliptical potential (the major axis of the rotation orbit) is found to be near the Sun with a displacement of -32°. Based on the rotation model assumed for an elliptical potential, we also make a kinematical calibration of the Galactocentric distance of the Sun, which gives R0 = 7.63±0.34 kpc.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China
文摘The currently used Galactic coordinate system(GalC S) is based on the FK5 system at J2000.0, which was transformed from the FK4 system at B1950.0.The limitations and misunderstandings related to this transformed GalC S can be avoided by defining a new GalC S that is directly connected to the International Celestial Reference System(ICRS). With more data at various wavelengths released by large survey programs, a more appropriate GalC S consistent with features associated with the Milky Way can be established. We try to find the best orientation of the GalC S using data from two all-sky surveys, AKARI and WISE, at six wavelengths between 3.4 μm and 90 μm, and synthesize results obtained at various wavelengths to define an improved GalC S in the framework of the ICRS. The revised GalC S parameters for defining the new GalC S in the ICRS are summarized as:αp= 192.777°, δp= 26.9298°, for the equatorial coordinates of the north Galactic pole and θ = 122.95017° for the position angle of the Galactic center. As one of the Galactic substructures, the Galactic warp exhibits different forms in different GalC Ss that are constructed with various data and methods, which shows the importance of re-defining the GalC S by the relative commission of the International Astronomical Union that can lead to a better understanding of Galactic structure and kinematics.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China
文摘We have constructed a catalog containing the best available astrometric, photometric, radial velocity and astrophysical data for mainly F-type and G-type stars (called the Astrometric Catalog associated with Astrophysical Data, ACAD). This contains 27 553 records and is used for the purpose of analyzing stellar kinematics in the solar neighborhood. Using the Lindblad-Oort model and compiled ACAD, we calculated the solar motion and Oort constants in different age-metallicity bins. The evolution of kinematical parameters with stellar age and metallicity was investigated directly. The results show that the component of the solar motion in the direction of Galactic rotation (denoted S_2) linearly increases with age, which may be a conse- quence of the scattering processes, and its value for a dynamical cold disk was found to be 8.0 ± 1.2 km s^-1. S_2 also linearly increases with metallicity, which indicates that radial migration is correlated to the metallicity gradient. On the other hand, the rotational velocity of the Sun around the Galactic center has no clear correlation with ages or metallicities of stars used in the estimation.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11173044(PI: Hou), 11073038 (PI: Chen), 10573022, 10973015 and 11061120454 (PI: Deng))the Key Project No.10833005 (PI: Hou)+2 种基金the Group Innovation Project No.11121062the US National Science Foundation grant AST 09-37523Chinese Academy of Sciences is acknowledged for providing initial support from grant number GJHZ 200812
文摘We describe the target selection algorithm for the low latitude disk por- tion of the LAMOST Pilot Survey, which aims to test systems in preparation for the LAMOST spectroscopic survey. We use the PPMXL astrometric catalog, which provides positions, proper motions, B/R/I magnitudes (mostly) from USNO-B and d/H/Ks from the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) as well. We chose eight plates along the Galactic plane, in the region 0° 〈 α° 〈 67° and 42° 〈 δ 〈 59°, which cover 22 known open clusters with a range of ages. Adjacent plates may have some small overlapping area. Each plate covers an area of 2.5° in radius, with its cen- tral star (for the Shack-Hartmann guider) brighter than 8th magnitude. For each plate, we create an input catalog in the magnitude range 11.3 〈 Imag 〈 16.3 and Bmag available from PPMXL. The stars are selected to satisfy the requirements of the fiber positioning system and have a uniform distribution in the I vs. B - I color-magnitude diagram. Our final input catalog consists of 12 000 objects on each of eight plates that are observable during the winter observing season from the Xinglong Station of the National Astronomical Observatory of China.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
文摘Based on the Hipparcos proper motions and available radial velocity data of O-B stars, we have re-examined the local kinematical structure of the young disk population of 1500 O-B stars not including the Gould-belt stars. A systematic warping motion of the stars about the direction to the Galactic center has been reconfirmed. A negative K-term implying a systematic contraction of stars in the solar vicinity has been detected. Two different distance scales are used in order to find out their impact on the kinematical parameters, and we conclude that the adopted distance scale plays an important role in characterizing the kinematical parameters at the present level of the measurement uncertainty.