The aim of this paper is the study of the impact that the consideration of different physical properties as magnitude and spectral type of stars has on the geometric relations between Hipparcos2 and UCAC4. In this sense, the pairs of residuals Δα* and Δδ can be considered as functions of (α, δ, r) and for each fixed r, we can fit a vector field on the sphere from which to obtain its components in the VSH basis. The same can be done by grouping the stars considering their magnitudes, spectral types (or mixing them) and then studying the variations in the mentioned geometry. We must not forget that Δα* and Δδ are numerical random variables whose regression on the magnitude m, for example, can be estimated. The results will be computed taking into account r as well as the physical mentioned properties. So, we avoid the assumption that the harmonic coefficients depend only on m.

RAVE is the spectroscopic survey with the largest overlap with TGAS (around 200000 stars). Since RAVE's fourth data release, it has contained distance estimates based on a Bayesian estimation scheme. Here we compare these estimates to TGAS's parallaxes, to determine the strengths and weaknesses of each. We also combine the two datasets together to find more precise distance estimates for all these stars.

A spread of lifebuilding elements, such as carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen in the Galactic discs is yet not well investigated. In this study, we use spectra from the UVES spectrograph (Gaia-ESO survey ) and the VUES spectograph (SPFOT-PLATO survey) and determine the carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen abundances in FGK stars using the same technique. For some of our target stars the Gaia space observatory has already presented accurate distances, thus we overview the first results of radial and vertical CNO abundance distributions in the Galactic thin and thick disc populations.

One of the ways to obtain a detailed 3D ISM map is by gathering interstellar (IS) absorption data toward widely distributed background target stars at known distances (line-of-sight/LOS data). The radial and angular evolution of the LOS measurements allow the inference of the ISM spatial distribution. For a better spatial resolution, one needs a large number of the LOS data. It requires building fast tools to measure IS absorption. One of the tools is a global analysis that fit two different diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) simultaneously. We derived the equivalent width (EW) ratio of the two DIBs recorded in each spectrum of target stars. The ratio variability can be used to study IS environmental conditions or to detect DIB family.

The Bulge Asymmetries and Dynamical Evolution (BAaDE) survey will provide positions and line-of-sight velocities of ~20, 000 evolved, maser bearing stars in the Galactic plane. Although this Galactic region is affected by optical extinction, BAaDE targets may have Gaia cross-matches, eventually providing additional stellar information. In an initial attempt to cross-match BAaDE targets with Gaia, we have found more than 5,000 candidates. Of these, we may expect half to show SiO emission, which will allow us to obtain velocity information. The cross-match is being refined to avoid false positives using different criteria based on distance analysis, flux variability, and color assessment in the mid- and near-IR. Once the cross-matches can be confirmed, we will have a unique sample to characterize the stellar population of evolved stars in the Galactic bulge, which can be considered fossils of the Milky Way formation.

We used the Gaia data release 1 to study the proper motion fields of the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC, SMC) on the basis of the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution (van der Marel & Sahlmann 2016). The Gaia LMC and SMC proper motions have similar accuracy and agree to within the uncertainties with existing HST proper motion measurements. Since Gaia probes the young stellar population and uses different methods with different systematics, this provides an external validation of both data sets and their underlying approaches.

We present results of our studies for a sample of Galactic globular star clusters with the aim of deriving relative proper motions. We used CCD archival data observed with Wide Field Imager (WFI) mounted on ESO 2.2 m telescope at La Silla, Chile. Astrometric software designed by Anderson et al. is used to derive relative proper motions. The vector point diagrams show clear separation of field stars from the cluster stars. We used proper motions to determine membership probabilities and to produce color-magnitude diagrams with most probable cluster member stars. Our membership catalogue can be used to study the membership status of the peculiar stars including various variables reported in the literature.

We study the abundance of the remnants of stars that reionized the Universe in galaxies in the present day Universe using the eagle cosmological hydrodynamical simulation. High mass galaxies contain most of these ‘reionizers’. The fractional number of galaxies that do not host reionizers increases with decreasing stellar mass, M⋆. For the galaxies that host reionizers, the fraction of mass of the galaxy in reionizers increases with decreasing M⋆, such that the fraction is low (~10−4) for high mass galaxies and can be as high as 0.1 in low mass galaxies, M⋆ ≤ 107 M⊙. In Milky-Way like galaxies, the distribution of reionizers is spatially more extended than that of normal stars.

We present a determination of the local dark matter density derived using the integrated Jeans equation method presented in Silverwood et al. (2016) applied to SDSS-SEGUE G-dwarf data processed by Büdenbender et al. (2015). For our analysis we construct models for the tracer density, dark matter and baryon distribution, and tilt term (linking radial and vertical motions), and then calculate the vertical velocity dispersion using the integrated Jeans equation. These models are then fit to the data using MultiNest, and a posterior distribution for the local dark matter density is derived. We find the most reliable determination to come from the α-young population presented in Büdenbender et al. (2015), yielding a result of ρDM = 0.46+0.07−0.09 GeV cm−3 = 0.012+0.001−0.002 M⊙ pc−3. Our results also illuminate the path ahead for future analyses using Gaia DR2 data, highlighting which quantities will need to be determined and which assumptions could be relaxed.

We developed a Bayesian framework to determine in a robust way the relation between velocity dispersions and chemical abundances in a sample of stars. Our modelling takes into account the uncertainties in the chemical and kinematic properties. We make use of RAVE DR5 radial velocities and abundances together with Gaia DR1 proper motions and parallaxes (when possible, otherwise UCAC4 data is used). We found that, in general, the velocity dispersions increase with decreasing [Fe/H] and increasing [Mg/Fe]. A possible decrease in velocity dispersion for stars with high [Mg/Fe] is a property of a negligible fraction of stars and hardly a robust result. At low [Fe/H] and high [Mg/Fe] the sample is incomplete, affected by biases, and likely not representative of the underlying stellar population.

Proper motions (PMs) are required to calculate accurate orbits of globular clusters (GCs) in the Milky Way (MW) halo. We present our HST program to create a PM database for 20 GCs at distances of RGC = 10–100 kpc. Targets are discussed along with PM measurement methods. We also describe how our PM results can be used for Gaia as an external check, and discuss the synergy between HST and Gaia as astrometric instruments in the coming years.

We have investigated the chemo-dynamical evolution of a Milky Way-like disk galaxy, AqC4, produced by a cosmological simulation integrating a sub-resolution ISM model. We evidence a global inside-out and upside-down disk evolution, that is consistent with a scenario where the “thin disk” stars are formed from the accreted gas close to the galactic plane, while the older “thick disk” stars are originated in situ at higher heights. Also, the bar appears the most effective heating mechanism in the inner disk. Finally, no significant metallicity-rotation correlation has been observed, in spite of the presence of a negative [Fe/H] radial gradient.

TW Hydrae is a very young and nearby association with about 30 known members which is an excellent target for studies on stellar evolution since several of its members present a particular interest (planetary system, brown dwarfs, etc.). With the new data from TGAS and the Gaia DR1 eventually combined with others astrometric data we intend to improve our kinematic knowledge of this association.

Gaia DR1 has opened a new era of stellar age dating, that is crucial for many astrophysical objectives. In addition, the Gaia based isochrone fitting ages can be compared to other chemical clocks like the [Y/Mg] one (Nissen et al. 2015). In our work we have used ESO archived data of the AMBRE project (de Laverny et al. 2013) for UVES spectra, in order to evaluate the age [Y/Mg] abundance correlation for turn off stars. 310 turn off stars of the UVES-archive (setups 564 and 580) are included in the TGAS database. Isochrone fitting ages were derived. We have applied the GAUGUIN procedure for those stars to derive the Mg and the Y abundances. As the result we present the [Y/Mg] vs stellar age dependence for ~40 TO-stars.

Comets in the Oort cloud evolve under the influence of internal and external perturbations from giant planets to stellar passages, the Galactic tides, and the interstellar medium.Using the positions, parallaxes and proper motions from TGAS in Gaia DR1 and combining them with the radial velocities from the RAVE-DR5, Geneva-Copenhagen and Pulkovo catalogues, we calculated the closest encounters the Sun has had with other stars in the recent past and will have in the near future. We find that the stars with high proper motions near to the present time are missing in the Gaia-TGAS, and those to tend to be the closest ones. The quality of the data allows putting better constraints on the encounter parameters, compared to previous surveys.

Current Galactic surveys, including the Gaia mission, rely on the efficiency of the spectral analysis techniques to provide precise and accurate spectral information (i.e. effective temperature, surface gravity, metallicity, and chemical abundances) in the shortest computational time. In this work, we present a new package to preform complete spectral analyses based on the spectral synthesis technique (Tsantaki et al. 2017, submitted). We focus on deriving atmospheric parameters for FGK-type stars using both high and medium resolution (GIRAFFE) spectra. This method is implemented on the Gaia-ESO benchmark stars to confirm its validity, achieving similar accuracy for the two resolution setups.

We present the complex study of the open cluster NGC 2281 where both traditional and newly developed methods for study of open clusters have been used. Morphological and dynamical parameters of the cluster were obtained from the accepted astrometric data. The new method “Superposition of Gaussian surfaces” along with proper motion of stars was used to determine membership probabilities which were helpful in selection of stars for further analysis. Metallicity and radial velocity of the cluster were obtained from spectroscopic measurements. Age, colour excess, and distance of the cluster were determined using absolute CCD photometry combined with previous results. The results were compared with those of previous studies.

The detailed study of the Galactic stellar halo may hold the key to unlocking the assembly history of the Milky Way. Here, we present a machine learning model for selecting metal poor stars from the TGAS catalogue using 5 dimensional phase-space information, coupled with optical and near-IR photometry. We characterise the degree of substructure in our halo sample in the Solar neighbourhood by measuring the velocity correlation function.

The intermediate mass Herbig Ae/Be stars are young stars approaching the Main Sequence and are key to understanding the differences in formation mechanisms between magnetic low mass stars and non-magnetic high mass stars. A large fraction of known Herbig Ae/Be stars have TGAS parallaxes, which were used to derive luminosities and place 107 of these objects in the HR diagram, increasing the number of objects using directly determined parallaxes by a factor of 5. We also studied the characteristics of the infrared excesses of this set of Herbig Ae/Be stars and we linked our results to an evolutionary analysis.

Using RAVE data release 5 (DR5), we explore the age and chemistry of a sample of ~25,000 FGK turnoff stars in the extended solar neighbourhood (7 < R < 9 kpc), by separating our sample into two chemical disc components, and investigating the nature of the age-metallicity relation for both. Overall, we find a flat trend in [Fe/H] as a function of age for our α-low disc, and a correlation between age and metallicity for the oldest α-high stars, confirming age-metallicity trends found in more local, high-resolution studies now for a larger volume. We also find a positive gradient in [Mg/Fe] as a function of age for our oldest stars. These results have implications for models which include dynamical evolutionary processes such as radial migration.