Volume 4, No. 1, 2019
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Acta Spartae is the undergraduate journal of sciences and mathematics at The University of Tampa, and is designed to recognize and promote the vibrant undergraduate research community at UT by providing a forum for the dissemination of research and ideas produced at the University.
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Browsing Volume 4, No. 1, 2019 by Author "Dr. Simon Schuler"
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Item Abundance Analysis of Tabby’s Star (KIC 8462852)(Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physics, College of Natural and Health Sciences, The University of Tampa, 2019) Thomas, Stacey; Fernanda Martinez, Cintia; Cunha, Katia; Smith, Verne V.; Dr. Simon Schuler; Simon SchulerKIC 8462852 is a star of interest due to it’s unusual flux phenomena. Although there is now a better understanding of the star’s photometric fluctuations, the star has yet to be fully characterized. Our research focuses on determining the chemical composition of KIC 8462852. Here we present our analysis of medium-resolution spectra obtained with the 3.5 meter WIYN telescope and HYDRA spectrograph in single-object mode to determine the star’s chemical abundance. We have used the MOOG spectral analysis software and KURUCZ model atmospheres to determine abundances via spectral synthesis. Of the elements analyzed, the abundances of iron, nickel, and silicon are comparable to that of the sun. The only outlier is calcium which was found to be more enhanced in this star than that of the sun.Item Determining Chemical Homogeneity of the Open Cluster NGC 752 through High-Resolution Abundance Analysis(Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physics, College of Natural and Health Sciences, The University of Tampa, 2019) Rodriguez, Omar; Dr. Simon SchulerUsing high-resolution, high-signal-to-noise ratio Keck/HIRES spectra, we have derived the temperature and pressure structure, and elemental abundances of the atmosphere of six stars believed to be in the galactic open cluster NGC 752. Three of the stars are main-sequence dwarfs, and three are evolved red giant stars. We find the iron abundances to have an average value of [Fe=H] = -0:01 (on a scale where the Sun has an iron abundance of [Fe=H] = 0) with a standard deviation of 0.02 dex, providing evidence that the molecular cloud from which these stars formed was chemically homogeneous. We also derived the abundances of carbon, oxygen, sodium, magnesium, aluminum, and nickel to further demonstrate this claim. Additional derivation of the star’s nitrogen abundance will be performed, and an analysis of the abundances will be done by testing stellar nucleosynthesis models.Item Identifying Candidate Moving Groups in the Gaia Catalog(Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physics, College of Natural and Health Sciences, The University of Tampa, 2019) Gardner, Michaela; Dr. Simon SchulerGaia is a European satellite mission recording positional and radial velocity measurements for about a billion stars in order to create a three-dimensional map of the Milky Way Galaxy. Stars form in groups within giant molecular clouds of gas and dust and are gravitationally bound in what is known as open clusters. The members of an individual cluster share similar kinematic properties as the cluster orbits the Galactic center. Over time open clusters dissolve due to the equipartition process, or disruption from tidal encounters; however the former members still share common motions despite being spread out across the Galaxy. Dismantled members from a given cluster are collectively known as a moving group. Using the Python programming language, we calculated the three-dimensional space velocity components and their uncertainties for individual stars in the Gaia catalog. Once these values were determined, we developed a method to search through the catalog and identify stars with common kinematic properties that have potential to constitute a moving group. We have compiled a list of 450 candidate moving groups with at least five members; 38 of the candidate groups contain ten or more members. These data will be used in future observing projects to look for other indications, such as common metallicities, to confirm the possible members are related.