Context. Only a few open clusters are as important for the study of stellar and substellar objects, and their formation and evolution, as the young sigma Orionis cluster. However, a complete spectroscopic characterisation of its whole stellar population is still missing. Aims. We filled most of that gap with a large spectroscopic and astrometric survey of targets towards sigma Orionis. Eventually, it will be one of the open clusters with the lowest proportion of interlopers and the largest proportion of confirmed cluster members with known uncontrovertible youth features. Methods. We acquired 317 low-resolution optical spectra with the Intermediate Dispersion Spectrograph (IDS)} at the 2.5 m Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) and the Optical System for Imaging and low Resolution Integrated Spectroscopy (OSIRIS) at the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC). We measured equivalent widths of Li I, H-alpha, and other key lines from these spectra, and determined spectral types. We complemented this information with Gaia DR2 astrometric data and other features of youth (mid-infrared excess, X-ray emission) compiled with Virtual Observatory tools and from the literature. Results. Of the 168 observed targets, we determined for the first time spectral types of 39 stars and equivalent widths of Li I and H-alpha of 34 and 12 stars, respectively. We identified 11 close (rho <~ 3 arcsec) binaries resolved by Gaia, of which three are new, 14 strong accretors, of which four are new and another four have H-alpha emission shifted by over 120 km/s, two juvenile star candidates in the sparse population of the Ori OB1b association, and one spectroscopic binary candidate. Remarkably, we found 51 non-cluster-members, 35 of which were previously considered as sigma Orionis members and taken into account in high-impact works on, for example, disc frequency and initial mass function.
RWT 152 is one of the few planetary nebula with an sdO central star. We present subarcsecond red tunable filter imaging and intermediate-resolution, long-slit spectroscopy of RWT 152, obtained with OSIRIS/GTC, which allow us to describe in detail its morphology and to obtain its physical conditions and chemical abundances.
We present the results of low-resolution optical spectroscopy with OSIRIS/GTC (Optical System for Imaging and Low Resolution Integrated Spectroscopy / Gran Telescopio Canarias) for a sample of ultracool dwarfs. For a subsample of seven objects, based on 2MASS NIR photometric colours, a 'photometric' spectral type is determined and compared to the results of the optical spectroscopy. For the stars, showing H$α$ line in emission, equivalent widths were measured, and the ratio of H$α$ to bolometric luminosity were calculated. We find that two dwarfs show the presence of magnetic activity over lon…
The aim of the project is to contribute to the characterisation of the spectral energy distribution of the coolest brown dwarfs discovered to date, the Y dwarfs. We obtained z-band far-red imaging for six Y dwarfs and a T9+Y0 binary with the OSIRIS (Optical System for Imaging and low Resolution Integrated Spectroscopy) instrument on the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio de Canarias (GTC). We detect five of the seven known Y dwarfs in the $z$-band, infer their optical-to-infrared colours, and measure their proper motions. We find a higher dispersion in the z-J and z-H colours of Y0 dwarfs than in T dwarfs…
RWT 152 is one of the few known planetary nebulae with an sdO central star. We present subarcsecond red tunable filter Halpha imaging and intermediate-resolution, long-slit spectroscopy of RWT 152 obtained with OSIRIS/GTC with the goal of analyzing its properties. The Halpha image reveals a bipolar nebula with a bright equatorial region and multiple bubbles in the main lobes. A faint circular halo surrounds the main nebula. The nebular spectra reveal a very low-excitation nebula with weak emission lines from H^+, He^+, and double-ionized metals, and absence of emission lines from neutral and s…
Context. Although many studies have been performed so far, there are still dozens of low-mass stars and brown dwarfs in the young sigma Orionis open cluster without detailed spectroscopic characterisation. Aims. We look for unknown strong accretors and disc hosts that were undetected in previous surveys. Methods. We collected low-resolution spectroscopy (R ~ 700) of ten low-mass stars and brown dwarfs in sigma Orionis with OSIRIS at the Gran Telescopio Canarias under very poor weather conditions. These objects display variability in the optical, infrared, Halpha, and/or X-rays on time scales o…
We present the discovery of an L subdwarf in 234 square degrees common to the UK Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) Infrared Deep Sky Survey Large Area Survey Data Release 2 and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 3. This is the fifth L subdwarf announced to date, the first one identified in the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey, and the faintest known. The blue optical and near-infrared colors of ULAS J135058.86+081506.8 and its overall spectra energy distribution are similar to the known mid-L subdwarfs. Low-resolution optical (700-1000 nm) spectroscopy with the Optical System for Imaging and low…
Our aim is to find and classify OB stars in Sextans A, to later determine accurate stellar parameters of these blue massive stars in this low metallicity region $(Z \sim 0.1 \rm Z_{\odot})$. Using UBV photometry, the reddening-free index Q and GALEX imaging, we built a list of blue massive star candidates in Sextans A. We obtained low resolution (R $\sim$ 1000) GTC-OSIRIS spectra for a fraction of them and carried out spectral classification. For the confirmed O-stars we derive preliminary stellar parameters. The target selection criteria and observations were successful and have produced the …
We used the OSIRIS camera at the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) to monitor the astrometric motion of the L4.5 dwarf 2M1821$+$14 over 17 months. The astrometric residuals of eleven epochs have a r.m.s. dispersion of 0.4 mas, which is larger than the average precision of 0.23 mas per epoch and hints towards an additional signal or excess noise. Comparison of the point-spread-functions in OSIRIS and FORS2/VLT images reveals no differences critical for high-precision astrometry, despite the GTC's segmented primary mirror. We attribute the excess noise to an unknown effect that may be uncove…
In order to fully understand the gravitational collapse of molecular clouds, the star formation process and the evolution of circumstellar disks, these phenomena must be studied in different Galactic environments with a range of stellar contents and positions in the Galaxy. The young massive association Cygnus OB2, in the Cygnus-X region, is an unique target to study how star formation and the evolution of circumstellar disks proceed in the presence of a large number of massive stars. We present a catalog obtained with recent optical observations in r,i,z filters with OSIRIS, mounted on the $1…
We report the detection of 7 new Wolf-Rayet (WR) star locations in M81 using the Multi-Object Spectrograph of the OSIRIS instrument at Gran Telescopio Canarias. These detections are the result of a follow-up of an earlier study using the same instrumental set-up that resulted in the detection of 14 WR locations. We analyse the entire sample of 21 spectra to classify them to one of the known WR sub-types using template spectra of WR stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), with similar metallicity to M81. Taking into consideration the dispersion in the strengths of the bumps for a given WR su…
Recent findings hint that the winds of massive stars with poorer metallicity than the SMC may be stronger than predicted by theory. Besides calling the paradigm of radiation driven winds into question, this result would impact the predicted evolutionary paths of massive stars, their calculated ionizing radiation and mechanical feedback and the role these objects play at different stages of the Universe. The field needs a systematic study of the winds of a large set of very metal poor massive stars, but the sampling of spectral types is particularly poor in the very early types. This paper's go…
Evidence for stellar contamination and water absorption in NGTS-5b's transmission spectra with GTC/OSIRIS
CAS Key Laboratory of Planetary Sciences, Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院行星科学重点实验室，紫金山天文台）；University of Science and Technology of China（中国科学技术大学）；Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC)（加那利天体物理学研究所）；Universidad de La Laguna (ULL)（拉各拉纳大学）
Context. The first generation of stars formed in the Galaxy left behind the chemical signatures of their nucleosynthesis in the interstellar medium, visible today in the atmospheres of low-mass stars formed afterwards. Sampling the chemistry of low-mass provides insight into the first stars. Aims. We aim to increase the samples of stars with extremely low metal abundances, identifying ultra metal-poor stars from spectra with modest spectral resolution and signal-to-noise ratio (S/N). Achieving this goal involves deriving reliable metallicities and carbon abundances from such spectra. Methods. …
(Abridged) We aim to: i) confirm the presence of methane absorption in S Ori 73 (a T-type member candidate of the sig Orionis cluster, 3 Myr, 352 pc) through methane imaging; ii) study S Ori 70 and 73 cluster membership via photometric colors and accurate proper motion analysis; iii) perform a new search to identify additional T-type sig Orionis member candidates with likely masses below 7 Mjup. We obtained HAWK-I (VLT) J, H, and CH4off photometry of an area of 119.15 sq. arcmin in sig Orionis down to Jcomp = 21.7 and Hcomp = 21 mag. Near-infrared data were complemented with optical photometry…
Ultra metal-poor stars ([Fe/H] < -4.0) are very rare, and finding them is a challenging task. Both narrow-band photometry and low-resolution spectroscopy have been useful tools for identifying candidates, and in this work we combine both approaches. We cross-matched metallicity-sensitive photometry from the Pristine survey with the low-resolution spectroscopic LAMOST database, and re-analysed all LAMOST spectra with [Fe/H]_Pristine < -2.5. We find that ~1/3rd of this sample (selected without [Fe/H]_Pristine quality cuts) also have spectroscopic [Fe/H] < -2.5. From this sample, containing many …
We report the discovery of an eclipsing binary star (KIC 7025851) near KOI 565 (KIC 7025846) based on photometric observations of KOI 565 and several nearby stars acquired in two narrow bandpasses (790.2 and 794.3\pm2.0 nm) nearly-simultaneously with the GTC/OSIRIS. We use the individual photometry in each bandpass as well as the colors of KOI 565 and other nearby stars to determine that the source of the transit signal initially detected by Kepler is not due to a super-Earth-size planet around KOI 565. Instead, we find the source to be a background eclipsing binary star located \sim15 arcsec …
One of the main atmospheric features in exoplanet atmospheres, detectable both from ground- and space-based facilities, is Rayleigh scattering. In hydrogen-dominated planetary atmospheres, Rayleigh scattering causes the measured planetary radius to increase toward blue wavelengths in the optical range. We obtained a spectrophotometric time series of one transit of the Saturn-mass planet WASP-69b using the OSIRIS instrument at the Gran Telescopio Canarias. From the data we constructed 19 spectroscopic transit light curves representing 20 nm wide wavelength bins spanning from 515 nm to 905 nm. W…
We analysed the wide-field near-infrared survey of the Praesepe cluster carried out by the UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey (UKIDSS) Galactic Clusters Survey (GCS) and released by the Data Release 9 (DR9). We compare our Praesepe mass function (MF) with the ones of the Pleiades, alpha Per, and the Hyades. We also present preliminary results of a spectroscopic follow-up for the low mass members (M=<0.1Msol) in Praesepe, alpha Per and Pleiades using the Optical System for Imaging and low Resolution Integrated Spectroscopy (OSIRIS) mounted on the 10.4m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC). We also presen…
Aims. As a sub-Uranus-mass low-density planet, GJ 3470b has been found to show a flat featureless transmission spectrum in the infrared and a tentative Rayleigh scattering slope in the optical. We conducted an optical transmission spectroscopy project to assess the impacts of stellar activity and to determine whether or not GJ 3470b hosts a hydrogen-rich gas envelop. Methods. We observed three transits with the low-resolution OSIRIS spectrograph at the 10.4 m Gran Telescopio Canarias, and one transit with the high-resolution UVES spectrograph at the 8.2 m Very Large Telescope. Results. From th…
We report an independent spectral classification of a sample of poorly studied M-dwarf candidate stars observed with the OSIRIS instrument at GTC. Our project was carried out as an independent test of the spectral classification. It is crucial for the studies of extrasolar planets orbiting M-dwarfs, since properties of the host star are directly related to understanding the planet properties and possible habitability. Understanding of the statistical properties of the dwarf stars is also crucial for the Simple Stellar Population models that play a major role in the modern astrophysics. Halpha …
Rayleigh scattering in a hydrogen-dominated exoplanet atmosphere can be detected from ground or space based telescopes, however, stellar activity in the form of spots can mimic Rayleigh scattering in the observed transmission spectrum. Quantifying this phenomena is key to our correct interpretation of exoplanet atmospheric properties. We obtained long-slit optical spectroscopy of two transits of HAT-P-11b with the Optical System for Imaging and low-Intermediate-Resolution Integrated Spectroscopy (OSIRIS) at Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) on August 30 2016 and September 25 2017. We integrated t…
The Z CMa binary is understood to undergo both FU Orionis (FUOR) and EX Orionis (EXOR) type outbursts. While the SE component has been spectro- scopically identified as an FUOR, the NW component, a Herbig Be star, is the source of the EXOR outbursts. The system has been identified as the source of a large outflow, however, previous studies have failed to identify the driver. Here we present adaptive optics (AO) assisted [FeII] spectro-images which reveal for the first time the presence of two jets. Observations made using OSIRIS at the Keck Observatory show the Herbig Be star to be the source …
We present the updates of the Galactic O-Star Catalog (GOSC) that we have undertaken in the last two years: new spectral types, more objects, additional information, and coordination with CDS. We also present updates for the Galactic O-Star Spectroscopic Survey (GOSSS). A new paper (GOSSS-III) has been published and ~1000 targets have been observed since 2014. Four new setups have been added to our lineup and for two of them we have already obtained over 100 spectra: with OSIRIS at the 10.4 m GTC we are observing northern dim stars and with FRODOspec at the 2.0 m Liverpool Telescope we are obs…
We mainly aim to search for the lithium depletion boundary (LDB) among the sub-stellar population of the open star cluster Coma Berenices. We carried out a search for brown dwarf (BD) candidates using colour-magnitude diagrams combining optical and infrared photometry from the latest public releases of the following large-scale surveys: UKIRT/UKIDSS, Pan-STARRS, SDSS, and AllWISE. We checked astrometric consistency with cluster membership using $Gaia$ DR2. A couple dozen new candidate BDs located inside the tidal radius of Coma Ber are reported, but none of these are significantly fainter and …
Increasing the statistics of evolved massive stars in the Local Group enables investigating their evolution at different metallicities. During the late stages of stellar evolution, the physics of some phenomena, such as episodic and systematic mass loss, are not well constrained. For example, the physical properties of red supergiants (RSGs) in different metallicity regimes remain poorly understood. Thus, we initiated a systematic study of RSGs in dwarf irregular galaxies (dIrrs) in the Local Group. The target selection is based on 3.6 $μ$m and 4.5 $μ$m photometry from archival Spitzer Space T…
