Tidally stripped galaxy nuclei and luminous globular clusters (GCs) are important tracers of the halos and assembly histories of nearby galaxies, but are difficult to reliably identify with typical ground-based imaging data. In this paper we present a new method to find these massive star clusters using Gaia DR2, focusing on the massive elliptical galaxy Centaurus A (Cen A). We show that stripped nuclei and globular clusters are partially resolved by Gaia at the distance of Cen A, showing characteristic astrometric and photometric signatures. We use this selection method to produce a list of 632 new candidate luminous clusters in the halo of Cen A out to a projected radius of 150 kpc. Adding in broadband photometry and visual examination improves the accuracy of our classification. In a spectroscopic pilot program we have confirmed 5 new luminous clusters, which includes the 7th and 10th most luminous GC in Cen\,A. Three of the newly discovered GCs are further away from Cen A in than all previously known GCs. Several of these are compelling candidates for stripped nuclei. We show that our novel Gaia selection method retains at least partial utility out to distances of 25 Mpc and hence is a powerful tool for finding and studying star clusters in the sparse outskirts of galaxies in the local universe.
The kinematic properties of the Scorpius-Centaurus association were studied using spatial velocities of approximately 700 young T Tauri stars. Their proper motions and trigonometric parallaxes were selected by Zari et al. from the Gaia DR2 catalog, and radial velocities were taken from various sources. The linear expansion coefficients new estimate of the association $K=39\pm2$ km/s/kpc is obtained by considering the influence of the galactic spiral density wave with an amplitude of radial disturbances $f_R=5$ km/s and solar phase in the wave $-120^\circ$. The proper rotation of the associatio…
The recent discovery of massive black holes (BHs) in the centers of high-mass ultra compact dwarf galaxies (UCDs) suggests that at least some are the stripped nuclear star clusters of dwarf galaxies. We present the first study that investigates whether such massive BHs, and therefore stripped nuclei, also exist in low-mass ($M<10^{7}M_{\odot}$) UCDs. We constrain the BH masses of two UCDs located in Centaurus A (UCD320 and UCD330) using Jeans modeling of the resolved stellar kinematics from adaptive optics VLT/SINFONI data. No massive BHs are found in either UCD. We find a $3\,σ$ upper limit o…
We present a kinematic study of the Scorpius-Centaurus (Sco-Cen) OB association (Sco OB2) using Gaia DR1 parallaxes and proper motions. Our goal is to test the classical theory that OB associations are the expanded remnants of dense and compact star clusters disrupted by processes such as residual gas expulsion. Gaia astrometry is available for 258 out of 433 members of the association, with revised Hipparcos astrometry used for the remainder. We use this data to confirm that the three subgroups of Sco-Cen are gravitationally unbound and have non-isotropic velocity dispersions, suggesting they…
We examine whether the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is currently losing its stellar halo to Milky Way (MW) tides. We present a live $N$-body model for the ongoing MW-LMC interaction that predicts a prominent stream of stars tidally stripped from the progenitor LMC. We use this model to define a strategy to search for stripped material in kinematic space. Of the available stellar tracers, we conclude that samples of RR Lyrae stars provide the highest density of kinematic tracers at present. Using a sample of RR Lyrae stars with Gaia EDR3 astrometry we show that the LMC stellar halo in the South…
The nearest region of massive star formation - the Scorpius-Centaurus OB2 association (Sco-Cen) - is a local laboratory ideally suited to the study of a wide range of astrophysical phenomena. Precision astrometry from the Gaia mission has expanded the census of this region by an order of magnitude. However, Sco-Cen's vastness and complex substructure make kinematic analysis of its traditional three regions, Upper Scorpius, Upper Centaurus-Lupus and Lower Centaurus-Crux, challenging. Here we use Chronostar, a Bayesian tool for kinematic age determination, to carry out a new kinematic decomposit…
The dense central regions of tidally disrupted galaxies can survive as ultra-compact dwarfs (UCDs) that hide among the luminous globular clusters (GCs) in the halo of massive galaxies. An exciting confirmation of this model is the detection of overmassive black holes in the centers of some UCDs, which also lead to elevated dynamical mass-to-light ratios ($M/L_{dyn}$). Here we present new high-resolution spectroscopic observations of 321 luminous GC candidates in the massive galaxy NGC 5128/Centaurus A. Using these data we confirm 27 new luminous GCs, and measure velocity dispersions for 57 lum…
We present a new catalog of 40502 globular cluster (GC) candidates in NGC 5128 out to a projected radius of $\sim$150 kpc, based on data from the Panoramic Imaging Survey of Centaurus and Sculptor (PISCeS), Gaia Data Release 2, and the NOAO Source Catalog. Ranking these candidates based on the likelihood that they are true GCs, we find that approximately 1900 belong to our top two ranking categories and should be the highest priority for spectroscopic follow-up for confirmation. Taking into account our new data and a vetting of previous GC catalogs, we estimate a total GC population of $1450 \…
Using proper motions from Gaia Early Data Release 3 (Gaia EDR 3) and radial velocities from several surveys, we identify 60 candidate high-velocity stars with total velocity greater than 75\% escape velocity that probably origin from Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy (Sgr) by orbital analysis. Sgr's gravity has little effect on the results and the Large Magellanic Cloud's gravity has non-negligible effect on only a few stars. The closest approach of these stars to the Sgr occurs when the Sgr passed its pericenter ($\sim$ 38.2 Myr ago), which suggest they were tidally stripped from the Sgr. T…
I have used high-precision photometry and astrometry from the third data release of Gaia (DR3) to identify candidate members of the 32 Ori association. Spectral types and radial velocities have been measured for subsets of the candidates using new and archival spectra. For the candidates that have radial velocity measurements, I have used UVW velocities to further constrain their membership, arriving at a final catalog of 169 candidates. I estimate that the completeness of the survey is ~90% for spectral types of <=M7 (>=0.06 Msun). The histogram of spectral types for the 32 Ori candidates exh…
We present results on the recently discovered stellar system YMCA-1, for which physical nature and belonging to any of the Magellanic System galaxies have been irresolutely analyzed. We used SMASH and {\it Gaia} EDR3 data sets to conclude that we are dealing with a small star cluster. Its reddening free, field star decontaminated colour-magnitude diagram was explored in order to obtain the cluster parameters. We found that YMCA-1 is a small (435 M$_{\odot}$), moderately old (age = 9.6 Gyr), moderately metal-poor ([Fe/H] = -1.16 dex) star cluster, located at a nearly Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC…
We used extra-tidal RR Lyrae stars to study the dynamics of Galactic globular clusters and know how effects like dynamical friction and tidal disruption affect these clusters. The Gaia DR2 catalog for RR Lyrae stars (Clementini et al. 2018) is used along with the proper motions and tidal radii data for the globular clusters compiled from literature. A sample of 56 Galactic globular clusters is analyzed. Out of these 56 Galactic globular clusters, only 11 have extra-tidal RR Lyrae stars. However, only two clusters, namely, NGC 3201 and NGC 5024, have enough extra-tidal RR Lyrae stars to draw in…
We combine spectroscopic, photometric, and astrometric information from APOGEE data release 17 and $Gaia$ early data release 3 to perform a self-consistent characterization of $Gaia$-Sausage/Enceladus (GSE), the remnant of the last major merger experienced by the Milky Way, considering stars and globular clusters (GCs) altogether. Our novel set of chemodynamical criteria to select genuine stars of GSE yields a metallicity distribution function with a median [Fe/H] of $-1.22$ dex and $0.23$ dex dispersion. Stars from GSE present an excess of [Al/Fe] and [Mg/Mn] (also [Mg/Fe]) in comparison to s…
We use Gaia DR2 data to isolate the pre-main sequence population corresponding to the Scorpius-Lupus-Centaurus-Crux area on the sky making use the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. A sample of $120\,911$ sources was selected with galactic coordinates $285^\circ\leq\ell\leq360^\circ$ and $-10^\circ\leq b\leq+32^\circ$, and parallaxes between $5$ and $12$~mas where the relative uncertainty in parallax was restricted to be $<10\%$. The pre-main sequence sources were isolated due to a clear separation between the pre-main and main sequences, well above the expected $0.75$ magnitude from a possible obse…
We present evidence that multiple accretion events are required to explain the origin of the $Gaia$-Sausage and Enceladus (GSE) structures, based on an analysis of dynamical properties of main-sequence stars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 12 and $Gaia$ Data Release 2. GSE members are selected to have eccentricity ($e$) $>$ 0.7 and [Fe/H] $<$ -1.0, and separated into low and high orbital-inclination (LOI/HOI) groups. We find that the LOI stars mainly have $e < 0.9$ and are clearly separable into two groups with prograde and retrograde motions. The LOI stars exhibit prograde moti…
Context. Selecting a cluster in proper motion space is an established method for identifying members of a star forming region. The first data release from Gaia (DR1) provides an extremely large and precise stellar catalogue, which when combined with the Tycho-2 catalogue gives the 2.5 million parallaxes and proper motions contained within the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution (TGAS). Aims. We aim to identify new member candidates of the nearby Upper Scorpius subgroup of the Scorpius-Centaurus Complex within the TGAS catalogue. In doing so, we also aim to validate the use of the DBSCAN clustering…
We investigate the possibility that the dwarf galaxies Crater II and Hercules have previously been tidally stripped by the Milky Way. We present Magellan/IMACS spectra of candidate member stars in both objects. We identify 37 members of Crater II, 25 of which have velocity measurements in the literature, and we classify 3 stars within that subset as possible binaries. We find that including or removing these binary candidates does not change the derived velocity dispersion of Crater II. Excluding the binary candidates, we measure a velocity dispersion of $σ_{V_{los}} = 2.7^{+0.5}_{-0.4}$ \kms,…
Large spectroscopic surveys of the Milky Way have revealed that a small population of stars in the halo have light element abundances comparable to those found in globular clusters. The favoured explanation for the peculiar abundances of these stars is that they originated inside a globular cluster and were subsequently lost. Using orbit calculations we assess the likelihood that an existing sample of 57 field stars with globular cluster-like CN band strength originated in any of the currently known Milky Way globular clusters. Using Sloan Digital Sky Survey and Gaia data, we determine orbits …
In the past, SDSS J160429.12+100002.2 was spectroscopically classified as a blue horizontal branch (BHB) star. Assuming a luminosity that is characteristic of BHB stars, the object's radial velocity and proper motions from Gaia Early Data Release 3 would imply that its Galactic rest-frame velocity exceeds its local escape velocity. Consequently, the object would be considered a hypervelocity star, which would prove particularly interesting because its Galactic trajectory points in our direction. However, based on the spectroscopic analysis of follow-up observations, we show that the object is …
[Abridged] Luminous hot stars dominate the stellar energy input to the interstellar medium throughout cosmological time, they are laboratories to test theories of stellar evolution and multiplicity, and they serve as luminous tracers of star formation in the Milky Way and other galaxies. Massive stars occupy well-defined loci in colour-colour and colour-magnitude spaces, enabling selection based on the combination of Gaia EDR3 astrometry and photometry and 2MASS photometry, even in the presence of substantive dust extinction. In this paper we devise an all-sky sample of such luminous OBA-type …
Context: Debris discs orbiting young stars are key to understand dust evolution and the planetary formation process. We take advantage of a recent membership analysis of the 30 Myr nearby open cluster IC 4665 based on the Gaia and DANCe surveys to revisit the disc population of this cluster. Aims: We aim to study the disc population of IC 4665 using Spitzer (MIPS and IRAC) and WISE photometry. Methods: We use several colour-colour diagrams with empirical photospheric sequences to detect the sources with an infrared excess. Independently, we also fit the spectral energy distribution (SED) of ou…
In a galaxy merger, the stars tidally stripped from the satellite and accreted onto the host galaxy undergo phase mixing and form finely-grained structures in the phase space. However, these fragile structures may be destroyed in the subsequent galaxy evolution, in particular, by a rotating bar that appears well after the merger is completed. In this work, we investigate the survivability of phase-space structures in the presence of a bar. We find that a bar with amplitude and pattern speed similar to those of the Milky Way would blur and destroy a substantial amount of the substructure that c…
Aims. We are searching for new open clusters or moving groups in the Solar neighbourhood. Methods. We used the Gaia-TGAS catalogue, cut it into narrow proper motion and parallax slices and searched for significant spatial over-densities of stars in each slice. We then examined stars forming over-densities in optical and near-infrared colour-magnitude diagrams to determine if they are compatible with isochrones of a cluster. Results. We detected a hitherto unknown moving group or cluster in the Upper Centaurus Lupus (UCL) section of the Sco-Cen OB-association at a distance of 175 pc from the Su…
The dark matter (DM) content of the Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxy inferred from its kinematics is substantially lower than expected from LCDM cosmological simulations. We use N-body simulations to examine whether this may be the result of Galactic tides. We find that, despite improved proper motions from the Gaia mission, the pericentric distance of Fornax remains poorly constrained, mainly because its largest velocity component is roughly anti-parallel to the solar motion. Translating Fornax's proper motion into a Galactocentric velocity is thus sensitively dependent on Fornax's assumed dist…
We present new CCD $VI$ photometry of the distant globular cluster Pal 13. Fourier decomposition of the light curves of the three cluster member RRab stars lead to estimations of [Fe/H]=-1.65, and a distance of 23.67$\pm$0.57 kpc. Light and colour near minimum phases for RRab stars leads to an estimate of $E(B-V)$=0.104 $\pm$ 0.001. A $V/(V-I)$ colour-magnitude diagram, built exclusively with likely star members, shows consistency with the above parameters and an age of 12 Gyrs. A search of variable stars in the field of view of our images revealed the variability of a red giant cluster member…
We present results obtained from spectroscopic observations of red giants located in the fields of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) globular clusters (GCs) NGC 1928 and NGC 1939. We used the GMOS and AAOmega+2dF spectrographs to obtain spectra centred on the CaII triplet, from which we derived individual radial velocities (RVs) and metallicities. From cluster members we derived mean RVs of RV_NGC1928=249.58+-4.65 km/s and RV_NGC939=258.85+-2.08 km/s, and mean metallicities of [Fe/H]_NGC1928=-1.30+-0.15 dex and [Fe/H]_NGC1939=-2.00+-0.15 dex. We found that both GCs have RVs and positions consis…
The RR Lyrae (RRL) rich globular cluster M 62 (NGC 6266) is one of the most massive globular clusters in the Milky Way, located in the dense region of the Galactic bulge, where dynamical processes that affect the survival of globular clusters are maximised. Using Gaia DR2 data we have found clear evidence for an excess of RRLs beyond the cluster tidal radius of M 62, associated partly with stars stripped into the Galaxy field. This is confirmed with new VVVX survey observations, that discard any differential reddening effect as the possible cause of the observed RRL density excess. We also det…
We present ~120,000 Spitzer/IRAC candidate young stellar objects (YSOs) based on surveys of the Galactic midplane between l~255 deg and 110 deg, including the GLIMPSE I, II, and 3D, Vela-Carina, Cygnus X, and SMOG surveys (613 square degrees), augmented by near-infrared catalogs. We employed a classification scheme that uses the flexibility of a tailored statistical learning method and curated YSO datasets to take full advantage of IRAC's spatial resolution and sensitivity in the mid-infrared ~3-9 micron range. Multi-wavelength color/magnitude distributions provide intuition about how the clas…
