Recently NAFU SA and other role players expressed some criticism about government programmes. The criticism was not so much about the objectives and content of these programmes, but rather about their accessibility, or lack thereof, to emerging farmers.

What about the messenger

We introduce a new generation of PARSEC-COLIBRI stellar isochrones that include a detailed treatment of the thermally-pulsing asymptotic giant branch (TP-AGB) phase, and covering a wide range of initial metallicities (0.0001<Zi<0.06). Compared to previous releases, the main novelties and improvements are: use of new TP-AGB tracks and related atmosphere models and spectra for M and C-type stars; inclusion of the surface H+He+CNO abundances in the isochrone tables, accounting for the effects of diffusion, dredge-up episodes and hot-bottom burning; inclusion of complete thermal pulse cycles, with a complete description of the in-cycle changes in the stellar parameters; new pulsation models to describe the long-period variability in the fundamental and first overtone modes; new dust models that follow the growth of the grains during the AGB evolution, in combination with radiative transfer calculations for the reprocessing of the photospheric emission. Overall, these improvements are expected to lead to a more consistent and detailed description of properties of TP-AGB stars expected in resolved stellar populations, especially in regard to their mean photometric properties from optical to mid-infrared wavelengths. We illustrate the expected numbers of TP-AGB stars of different types in stellar populations covering a wide range of ages and initial metallicities, providing further details on the C-star island that appears at intermediate values of age and metallicity, and about the AGB-boosting effect that occurs at ages close to 1.6 Gyr for populations of all metallicities. The isochrones are available through a new dedicated web server.

A new generation of PARSEC-COLIBRI stellar isochrones including the TP-AGB phase

First grids of low-mass stellar models and isochrones with self-consistent treatment of rotation: From 0.2 to 1.5 Mo at 7 metallicities from PMS to TAMS

We present an extended grid of state-of-the art stellar models for low-mass stars including updated physics (nuclear reaction rates, surface boundary condition, mass-loss rate, angular momentum transport, torque and rotation-induced mixing prescriptions). 
We aim at evaluating the impact of wind braking, realistic atmospheric treatment, rotation and rotation-induced mixing on the structural and rotational evolution from the pre-main sequence to the turn-off. 
Using the STAREVOL code, we provide an updated PMS grid. We compute stellar models for 7 different metallicities, from [Fe/H] = -1 dex to [Fe/H] = +0.3 dex with a solar composition corresponding to $Z=0.0134$. The initial stellar mass ranges from 0.2 to 1.5\Ms with extra grid refinement around one solar mass. We also provide rotating models for three different initial rotation rates (slow, median and fast) with prescriptions for the wind braking and disc-coupling timescale calibrated on observed properties of young open clusters. The rotational mixing includes an up-to-date description of the turbulence anisotropy in stably stratified regions. 
The overall behaviour of our models at solar metallicity -- and its constitutive physics -- is validated through a detailed comparison with a variety of distributed evolutionary tracks. The main differences arise from the choice of surface boundary conditions and initial solar composition. 
The models including rotation with our prescription for angular momentum extraction and self-consistent formalism for angular momentum transport are able to reproduce the rotation period distribution observed in young open clusters over a broad mass-range. 
These models are publicly available and may be used to analyse data coming from present and forthcoming asteroseismic and spectroscopic surveys such as Gaia, TESS and PLATO.

/pdf/first-grids-of-low-mass-stellar-models-and-isochrones-with-10v1vozjwx.pdf

First grids of low-mass stellar models and isochrones with self-consistent treatment of rotation : From 0.2 to 1.5 M_\odot at 7 metallicities from PMS to TAMS

Based on high resolution optical spectra obtained with ESPaDOnS at CFHT, we determine fundamental parameters (\Teff, R, \Lbol, \logg\ and metallicity) for 59 candidate members of nearby young kinematic groups. The candidates were identified through the BANYAN Bayesian inference method of \citet{2013malo}, which takes into account the position, proper motion, magnitude, color, radial velocity and parallax (when available) to establish a membership probability. The derived parameters are compared to Dartmouth Magnetic evolutionary models and to field stars with the goal to constrain the age of our candidates. We find that, in general, low-mass stars in our sample are more luminous and have inflated radii compared to older stars, a trend expected for pre-main sequence stars. The Dartmouth Magnetic evolutionary models show a good fit to observations of field K and M stars assuming a magnetic field strength of a few kG, as typically observed for cool stars. Using the low-mass members of $\beta$Pictoris moving group, we have re-examined the age inconsistency problem between Lithium Depletion age and isochronal age (Hertzspring-Russell diagram). We find that the inclusion of the magnetic field in evolutionary models increase the isochronal age estimates for the K5V-M5V stars. Using these models and field strengths, we derive an average isochronal age between 15 and 28 Myr and we confirm a clear Lithium Depletion Boundary from which an age of 26$\pm$3~Myr is derived, consistent with previous age estimates based on this method.

BANYAN. IV. Fundamental parameters of low-mass star candidates in nearby young stellar kinematic groups - Isochronal Age determination using Magnetic evolutionary models

Correlations between the occurrence rate of exoplanets and their host star properties provide important clues about the planet formation process. We studied the dependence of the observed properties of exoplanets (radius, mass, and orbital period) as a function of their host star metallicity. We analyzed the planetary radii and orbital periods of over 2800 Kepler candidates from the latest Kepler data release, DR25 (Q1–Q17), with revised planetary radii based on Gaia DR2 as a function of host star metallicity (from the Q1–Q17 (DR25) stellar and planet catalog). With a much larger sample and improved radius measurements, we are able to reconfirm previous results in the literature. We show that the average metallicity of the host star increases as the radius of the planet increases. We demonstrate this by first calculating the average host star metallicity for different radius bins and then supplementing these results by calculating the occurrence rate as a function of planetary radius and host star metallicity. We find a similar trend between host star metallicity and planet mass: the average host star metallicity increases with increasing planet mass. This trend, however, reverses for masses >4.0 M_J: host star metallicity drops with increasing planetary mass. We further examined the correlation between the host star metallicity and the orbital period of the planet. We find that for planets with orbital periods less than 10 days, the average metallicity of the host star is higher than that for planets with periods greater than 10 days.

/pdf/properties-and-occurrence-rates-for-kepler-exoplanet-4xle5i36g8.pdf

Properties and occurrence rates for Kepler exoplanet candidates as a function of host star metallicity from the DR25 catalog

Correlations between the occurrence rate of exoplanets and their host star properties provide important clues about the planet formation processes. We studied the dependence of the observed properties of exoplanets (radius, mass, and orbital period) as a function of their host star metallicity. We analyzed the planetary radii and orbital periods of over 2800 $Kepler$ candidates from the latest $Kepler$ data release DR25 (Q1-Q17) with revised planetary radii based on $Gaia$~DR2 as a function of host star metallicity (from the Q1-Q17 (DR25) stellar and planet catalog). With a much larger sample and improved radius measurements, we are able to reconfirm previous results in the literature. We show that the average metallicity of the host star increases as the radius of the planet increases. We demonstrate this by first calculating the average host star metallicity for different radius bins and then supplementing these results by calculating the occurrence rate as a function of planetary radius and host star metallicity. We find a similar trend between host star metallicity and planet mass: the average host star metallicity increases with increasing planet mass. This trend, however, reverses for masses $> 4.0\, M_\mathrm{J}$: host star metallicity drops with increasing planetary mass. We further examined the correlation between the host star metallicity and the orbital period of the planet. We find that for planets with orbital periods less than 10 days, the average metallicity of the host star is higher than that for planets with periods greater than 10 days.

/pdf/properties-and-occurrence-rates-of-kepler-exoplanet-3uxfwnoeia.pdf

Properties and occurrence rates of $Kepler$ exoplanet candidates as a function of host star metallicity from the DR25 catalog

The present study makes use of the unprecedented capability of the Gaia mission to obtain the stellar parameters such as distance, age, and mass of HAeBe stars. The accuracy of Gaia DR2 astrometry is demonstrated from the comparison of the Gaia DR2 distances of 131 HAeBe stars with the previously estimated values from the literature. This is one of the initial studies to estimate the age and mass of a confirmed sample of HAeBe stars using both the photometry and distance from the Gaia mission. Mass accretion rates are calculated from $H\alpha$ line flux measurements of 106 HAeBe stars. Since we used distances and the stellar masses derived from the Gaia DR2 data in the calculation of mass accretion rate, our estimates are more accurate than previous studies. The mass accretion rate is found to decay exponentially with age, from which we estimated a disk dissipation timescale of $1.9\pm 0.1$ Myr. Mass accretion rate and stellar mass exhibits a power law relation of the form, $\dot{M}_{acc}$ $\propto$ $M_{*}^{2.8\pm0.2}$. From the distinct distribution in the values of the infrared spectral index, $n_{2-4.6}$, we suggest the possibility of difference in the disk structure between Herbig Be and Herbig Ae stars.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/ab0ca1/pdf

On the Mass Accretion Rate and Infrared Excess in Herbig Ae/Be Stars

We analyze the membership probability of young stars belonging to nearby moving groups with $\textit{Gaia}$ DR2 data. The sample of 1429 stars were identified from 'The Catalog of Suspected Nearby Young Moving Group Stars'. Good-quality parallax and proper motion values were retrieved for 890 stars from $\textit{Gaia}$ DR2 database. The analysis for membership probability is performed in the framework of LACEwING algorithm. From the analysis it is confirmed that 279 stars do not belong to any of the known moving groups. We estimated the $\textit{ U, V, W}$ space velocity values for 250 moving group members, which were found to be more accurate than previous values listed in the literature. The velocity ellipses of all the moving groups are well constrained within the "good box", a widely used criterion to identify moving group members. The age of moving group members are uniformly estimated from the analysis of $\textit{Gaia}$ Color-Magnitude Diagram with MIST isochrones. We found a spread in the age distribution of stars belonging to some moving groups, which needs to be understood from further studies.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/ab76d6/pdf

Analysis of Membership Probability in Nearby Young Moving Groups with Gaia DR2

We have investigated the role of a few prominent excitation mechanisms viz. collisional excitation, recombination, continuum fluorescence, and Lyman beta fluorescence on the O i line spectra in Herbig Ae/Be stars. The aim is to understand which of them is the central mechanism that explains the observed O i line strengths. The study is based on an analysis of the observed optical spectra of 62 Herbig Ae/Be stars and near-infrared spectra of 17 Herbig Ae/Be stars. The strong correlation observed between the line fluxes of O i λ8446 and O i λ11287, as well as a high positive correlation between the line strengths of O i λ8446 and Hα suggest that Lyman beta fluorescence is the dominant excitation mechanism for the formation of O i emission lines in Herbig Ae/Be stars. Furthermore, from an analysis of the emission line fluxes of O i λλ7774, 8446, and comparing the line ratios with those predicted by theoretical models, we assessed the contribution of collisional excitation in the formation of O i emission lines.

Mayank Narang

Papers

Properties and occurrence rates for Kepler exoplanet candidates as a function of host star metallicity from the DR25 catalog

Properties and occurrence rates of $Kepler$ exoplanet candidates as a function of host star metallicity from the DR25 catalog

On the Mass Accretion Rate and Infrared Excess in Herbig Ae/Be Stars

Analysis of Membership Probability in Nearby Young Moving Groups with Gaia DR2

Excitation Mechanism of O i Lines in Herbig Ae/Be Stars