We present a method for the determination of [α/Fe] ratios from low-resolution (R = 2000) SDSS/SEGUE stellar spectra. By means of a star-by-star comparison with degraded spectra from the ELODIE spectral library and with a set of moderately high-resolution (R = 15, 000) and medium-resolution (R = 6000) spectra of SDSS/SEGUE stars, we demonstrate

We study a complete, colour-selected sample of double-degenerate binary systems containing extremely low mass (ELM) ≤0.25 M&sun; white dwarfs (WDs). We show, for the first time, that Milky Way disc ELM WDs have a merger rate of approximately 4 × 10-5 yr-1 due to gravitational wave radiation. The merger end product depends on the mass ratio of the

We present new radial velocity and X-ray observations of extremely low mass (ELM, ~0.2 M &sun;) white dwarf (WD) candidates in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 area. We identify seven new binary systems with 1-18 hr orbital periods. Five of the systems will merge due to gravitational wave radiation within 10 Gyr, bringing the total

Extremely low mass (ELM) white dwarfs (WDs) with masses < 0.25 M &sun; are rare objects that result from compact binary evolution. Here, we present a targeted spectroscopic survey of ELM WD candidates selected by color. The survey is 71% complete and has uncovered 18 new ELM WDs. Of the seven ELM WDs with follow-up observations, six are short

We describe new radial velocity and X-ray observations of extremely low-mass white dwarfs (ELM WDs, ~0.2 M sun) in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 4 and the MMT Hypervelocity Star survey. We identify four new short period binaries, including two merger systems. These observations bring the total number of short period binary systems

We analyze radial velocity observations of the 12 extremely low-mass (ELM), with

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) started a new phase in 2008 August, with new instrumentation and new surveys focused on Galactic structure and chemical evolution, measurements of the baryon oscillation feature in the clustering of galaxies and the quasar Lyα forest, and a radial velocity search for planets around ~8000 stars. This paper

Commissioning observations with the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE), part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III, have produced radial velocities (RVs) for ~4700 K/M-giant stars in the Milky Way (MW) bulge. These high-resolution (R ~ 22, 500), high-S/N (>100 per resolution element), near-infrared (NIR; 1.51-1.70 μm)

We explore whether medium-resolution stellar spectra can be reconstructed from photometric observations, taking advantage of the highly compressible nature of the spectra. We formulate the spectral reconstruction as a least-squares problem with a sparsity constraint. In our test case using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, only three

Building on the legacy of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-I and II), SDSS-III is a program of four spectroscopic surveys on three scientific themes: dark energy and cosmological parameters, the history and structure of the Milky Way, and the population of giant planets around other stars. In keeping with SDSS tradition, SDSS-III will provide

We report the discovery of a new detached, double white dwarf (WD) system with an orbital period of 39.8 min. We targeted SDSS J163030.58+423305.8 (hereafter J1630) as part of our radial velocity programme to search for companions around low-mass WDs using the 6.5-m MMT. We detect peak-to-peak radial velocity variations of 576 km s-1. The mass

We present a new grid of model photospheres for the SDSS-III/APOGEE survey of stellar populations of the Galaxy, calculated using the ATLAS9 and MARCS codes. New opacity distribution functions were generated to calculate ATLAS9 model photospheres. MARCS models were calculated based on opacity sampling techniques. The metallicity ([M/H]) spans from

We analyse for the first time the radial abundance gradients of the disc stars of a disc galaxy simulated with our three-dimensional, fully cosmological chemodynamical galaxy evolution code GCD+. We study how [Fe/H], [N/O], [O/Fe], [Mg/Fe] and [Si/Fe] vary with galactocentric radius. For the young stars of the disc, we found a negative slope for

We derive atmospheric parameters and lithium abundances for 671 stars and include our measurements in a literature compilation of 1381 dwarf and subgiant stars. First, a "lithium desert" in the effective temperature (T eff) versus lithium abundance (A Li) plane is observed such that no stars with T eff ~= 6075 K and A Li ~= 1.8 are found. We

We find that the relative contribution of satellite galaxies accreted at high redshift to the stellar population of the Milky Way's smooth halo increases with distance, becoming observable relative to the classical smooth halo about 15 kpc from the Galactic center. In particular, we determine line-of-sight-averaged [Fe/H] and [α/Fe] in the metal

We determine the average metallicities of the elements of cold halo substructure (ECHOS) that we previously identified in the inner halo of the Milky Way within 17.5 kpc of the Sun. As a population, we find that stars kinematically associated with ECHOS are chemically distinct from the background kinematically smooth inner halo stellar population

A very high resolution (R = λ/Δλ = 200, 000), high signal-to-noise ratio (S/N ~= 340) blue-green spectrum of the very metal-poor ([Fe/H] ~= -2.6) red giant star HD 122563 has been obtained by us at McDonald Observatory. We measure the asymmetries and core wavelengths of a set of unblended Fe I lines covering a wide range of line strength. Line

We derive a self-consistent set of atmospheric parameters and abundances of 17 elements for the red giant star Arcturus: T eff = 4286 ± 30 K, log g = 1.66 ± 0.05, and [Fe/H] = -0.52 ± 0.04. The effective temperature was determined using model atmosphere fits to the observed spectral energy distribution from the blue to the mid-infrared (0.44 to 10

At present, the precision of deep ultraviolet photometry is somewhat limited by the dearth of faint ultraviolet standard stars. In an effort to improve this situation, we present a uniform catalog of 11 new faint (u ~ 17) ultraviolet standard stars. High-precision photometry of these stars has been taken from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and Galaxy

Type Ia supernovae are key tools for measuring distances on a cosmic scale. They are generally thought to be the thermonuclear explosion of an accreting white dwarf in a close binary system. The nature of the mass donor is still uncertain. In the single-degenerate model it is a main-sequence star or an evolved star, whereas in the double-degenerate