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We report on the Fermi Large Area Telescope detection (with ≈5.7σ significance) as well as the multiwavelength analysis of the 2017 nova eruption V549 Vel. Unlike the recent shock-powered novae ASASSN-16ma and V906 Car, the optical and γ-ray light curves of V549 Vel show no correlation, likely implying relatively weak shocks in the eruption. Gaia detected a candidate progenitor of V549 Vel and found a parallax measurement of ϖ = 1.91 ± 0.39 mas, equivalent to a mode distance of d ≈ 560 pc (90% credible interval of 380–1050 pc). The progenitor was also observed by the 2MASS and WISE surveys. When adopting the Gaia distance, the spectral energy distribution of the progenitor is close to that of a G-type star. The Swift X-Ray Telescope detected the supersoft X-ray emission of the nova (kT = 30–40 keV) since day 236, and the inferred blackbody size is comparable to that of other novae assuming d ≈ 560 pc (i.e., Rbb ∼ 5 × 108 cm). However, there is also an unknown astrometric excess noise of ϵi = 3.2 mas found in the Gaia data, and the inferred distance becomes controversial. If the Gaia distance is accurate, the γ-ray luminosity of V549 Vel will be as low as Lγ ∼ 4 × 1033 erg s−1, making it the least luminous γ-ray nova known so far. This may imply that the shock properties responsible for the γ-ray emission in V549 Vel are different from those of the more luminous events. If the nova is located farther away, it is likely a symbiotic system with a giant companion as the observed progenitor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the discovery of eight lithium-rich field giants found in a high-resolution spectroscopic sample of over 700 metal-poor stars ([Fe/H] < -0.5) selected from the Radial Velocity Experiment survey. The majority of the Li-rich giants in our sample are very metal-poor ([Fe/H] ≲ -1.9), and have a Li abundance (in the form of 7Li), A(Li) = log(n(Li)/n(H)) + 12, between 2.30 and 3.63, well above the typical upper red giant branch (RGB) limit, A(Li) < 0.5, while two stars, with A(Li) ~ 1.7-1.8, show similar lithium abundances to normal giants at the same gravity. We further included two metal-poor, Li-rich globular cluster giants in our sample, namely the previously discovered M3-IV101 and newly discovered (in this work) M68-A96. This comprises the largest sample of metal-poor Li-rich giants to date. We performed a detailed abundance analysis of all stars, finding that the majority of our sample stars have elemental abundances similar to that of Li-normal halo giants. Although the evolutionary phase of each Li-rich giant cannot be definitively determined, the Li-rich phase is likely connected to extra mixing at the RGB bump or early asymptotic giant branch that triggers cool bottom processing in which the bottom of the outer convective envelope is connected to the H-burning shell in the star. The surface of a star becomes Li-enhanced as 7Be (which burns to 7Li) is transported to the stellar surface via the Cameron-Fowler mechanism. We discuss and discriminate among several models for the extra mixing that can cause Li production, given the detailed abundances of the Li-rich giants in our sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have undertaken the study of the elemental abundances and kinematic properties of a metal-poor sample of candidate thick-disk stars selected from the Radial Velocity Experiment spectroscopic survey of bright stars to differentiate among the present scenarios of the formation of the thick disk. In this paper, we report on a sample of 214 red giant branch, 31 red clump/horizontal branch, and 74 main-sequence/sub-giant branch metal-poor stars, which serves to augment our previous sample of only giant stars. We find that the thick disk [α/Fe] ratios are enhanced and have little variation (<0.1 dex), in agreement with our previous study. The augmented sample further allows, for the first time, investigation of the gradients in the metal-poor thick disk. For stars with [Fe/H] < - 1.2, the thick disk shows very small gradients, <0.03 ± 0.02 dex kpc-1, in α-enhancement, while we find a +0.01 ± 0.04 dex kpc-1 radial gradient and a -0.09 ± 0.05 dex kpc-1 vertical gradient in iron abundance. In addition, we show that the peak of the distribution of orbital eccentricities for our sample agrees better with models in which the stars that comprise the thick disk were formed primarily in the Galaxy, with direct accretion of stars contributing little. Our results thus disfavor direct accretion of stars from dwarf galaxies into the thick disk as a major contributor to the thick-disk population, but cannot discriminate between alternative models for the thick disk, such as those that invoke high-redshift (gas-rich) mergers, heating of a pre-existing thin stellar disk by a minor merger, or efficient radial migration of stars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present multi-frequency radio observations of the 2010 nova event in the symbiotic binary V407 Cygni, obtained with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and spanning 1-45 GHz and 17-770 days following discovery. This nova—the first ever detected in gamma rays—shows a radio light curve dominated by the wind of the Mira giant companion, rather than the nova ejecta themselves. The radio luminosity grew as the wind became increasingly ionized by the nova outburst, and faded as the wind was violently heated from within by the nova shock. This study marks the first time that this physical mechanism has been shown to dominate the radio light curve of an astrophysical transient. We do not observe a thermal signature from the nova ejecta or synchrotron emission from the shock, due to the fact that these components were hidden behind the absorbing screen of the Mira wind. We estimate a mass-loss rate for the Mira wind of . We also present the only radio detection of V407 Cyg before the 2010 nova, gleaned from unpublished 1993 archival VLA data, which shows that the radio luminosity of the Mira wind varies by a factor of ≳20 even in quiescence. Although V407 Cyg likely hosts a massive accreting white dwarf, making it a candidate progenitor system for a Type Ia supernova, the dense and radially continuous circumbinary material surrounding V407 Cyg is inconsistent with observational constraints on the environments of most Type Ia supernovae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an abundance analysis of six member stars of the recently discovered Aquarius stream, in an attempt to ascertain whether this halo stream is real and, if so, to understand its origin. The mean metallicities of the six stars have a dispersion of only 0.10 dex, indicating that they are part of a chemically coherent structure. We then investigate whether the stream represents the debris of a disrupted dwarf galaxy or a disrupted globular cluster. The [Ni/Fe]-[Na/Fe] plane provides a good diagnostic: globular cluster stars and dwarf spheroidal galaxy stars are well separated in this plane, and the Aquarius stream stars lie unambiguously in the globular cluster region. The Aquarius stream stars also lie on the distinct [Na/Fe]-[O/Fe] and [Mg/Fe]-[Al/Fe] relations delineated by Galactic globular cluster stars. Spectroscopic parameters for the six Aquarius stars show that they are tightly confined to a 12 Gyr, [Fe/H] =–1.0, α-enhanced isochrone, consistent with their identification as globular cluster debris. We present evidence that the Aquarius stream may continue through the disk and out into the northern halo. Our results indicate a globular cluster origin for the Aquarius stream and demonstrate the potential for chemical tagging to identify the origins of Galactic substructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]