We present a multi-epoch Hubble Space Telescope (HST) study of stellar proper motions (PMs) for four fields along the Orphan Stream. We determine absolute PMs of several individual stars per target field using established techniques that utilize distant background galaxies to define a stationary reference frame. Five Orphan Stream stars are identified in one of the four fields based on combined color-magnitude and PM information. The average PM is consistent with the existing model of the Orphan Stream by Newberg et al. In addition to the Orphan Stream stars, we detect stars that likely belong to other stellar streams. To identify which stellar streams these stars belong to, we examine the 2d bulk motion of each group of stars on the sky by subtracting the PM contribution of the solar motion (which is a function of position on the sky and distance) from the observed PMs, and comparing the vector of net motion with the spatial extent of known stellar streams. By doing this, we identify candidate stars in the Sagittarius and Lethe streams, and a newly found stellar stream at a distance of similar to 17 kpc, which we tentatively name the "Parallel Stream." Together with our Sagittarius stream study, this work demonstrates that even in the Gaia era, HST will continue to be advantageous in measuring PMs of old stellar populations on a star-by-star basis, especially for distances beyond similar to 10 kpc.

In this second installment of the series, we look at the internal kinematics of the multiple stellar populations of the globular cluster omega Centauri in one of the parallel Hubble Space Telescope (HST) fields, located at about 3.5 hal-flight radii from the center of the cluster. Thanks to the over 15 yr long baseline and the exquisite astrometric precision of the HST cameras, well-measured stars in our proper-motion catalog have errors as low as similar to 10 mu as yr(-1), and the catalog itself extends to near the hydrogen-burning limit of the cluster. We show that second-generation (2G) stars are significantly more radially anisotropic than first-generation (1G) stars. The latter are instead consistent with an isotropic velocity distribution. In addition, 1G stars have excess systemic rotation in the plane of the sky with respect to 2G stars. We show that the six populations below the main-sequence (MS) knee identified in our first paper are associated with the five main population groups recently isolated on the upper MS in the core of cluster. Furthermore, we find both 1G and 2G stars in the field to be far from being in energy equipartition, with eta(1G) = -0.007 +/- 0.026 for the former and eta(2G) = 0.074 +/- 0.029 for the latter, where eta is defined so that the velocity dispersion sigma(mu) scales with stellar mass as sigma(mu) proportional to m(-eta). The kinematical differences reported here can help constrain the formation mechanisms for the multiple stellar populations in omega Centauri and other globular clusters. We make our astro-photometric catalog publicly available.

This article reports a measurement of the proper motion of Leo II, a dwarf galaxy that is a likely satellite of the Milky Way, based on imaging with the Hubble Space Telescope and Wide Field Camera. 3. The measurement uses compact background galaxies as standards of rest in both channels of the camera for two distinct pointings of the telescope, as well as a QSO in one channel for each pointing, resulting in the weighted average of six measurements. The measured proper motion in the the equatorial coordinate system is (mu(alpha), mu(delta))= (-6.9 +/- 3.7, -8.7 +/- 3.9) mas century(-1) and in the Galactic coordinate system it is (mu(l), mu(b)) = (6.2 +/- 3.9, -9.2 +/- 3.7) mas. century(-1). The implied space velocity with respect to the Galactic center is (Pi, Theta, Z) =(-37 +/- 38, 117 +/- 43, 40 +/- 16) km s(-1) or, expressed in Galactocentric radial and tangential components, (V-r, V-tan) = (21.9 +/- 1.5, 127 +/- 42) km s(-1). The space velocity implies that the instantaneous orbital inclination is 68 degrees, with a 95% confidence interval of (66 degrees, 80 degrees). The measured motion supports the hypothesis that Leo. II, Leo. IV, Leo. V, Crater. 2, and the globular cluster Crater fell into the Milky Way as a group.

We present new proper motion (PM) measurements of the dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) Draco and Sculptor using multiepoch images obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope ACS/WFC. Our PM results have uncertainties far lower than previous measurements, even those made with the same instrument. The PM results for Draco and Sculptor are (mu(W),mu(N))(Dra) = (-0.0562 +/- 0.0099, -0.1765 +/- 0.0100 mas yr(-1) and (mu(W), mu(N) )(Scl) = (-0.0296 +/- 0.0209, 0.1358 +/- 0.0214 mas yr(-1)) -1. The implied Galactocentric velocity vectors for Draco and Sculptor have radial and tangential components: (V-rad, V-tan)(Dra) =(-88.6, 161.4) +/- (4.4, 5.6) km s(-1) and (V-rad, V-tan )(Scl) = (72.6, 200.2)+/-(1.3, 10.8) km s(-1). We study the detailed orbital histories of both Draco and Sculptor via numerical orbit integrations. Orbital periods of Draco and Sculptor are found to be 1-2 Gyr and 2-5 Gyr, respectively, accounting for uncertainties in the Milky Way (MW) mass. We also study the influence of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) on the orbits of Draco and Sculptor. Overall, the inclusion of the LMC increases the scatter in the orbital results. Based on our calculations, Draco shows a rather wide range of orbital parameters depending on the MW mass and inclusion/exclusion of the LMC, but Sculptor's orbit is very well constrained, with its most recent pericentric approach to the MW being 0.3-0.4 Gyr ago. Our new PMs imply that the orbital trajectories of both Draco and Sculptor are confined within the " Disk of Satellites," better so than implied by earlier PM measurements, and likely rule out the possibility that these two galaxies were accreted together as part of a tightly bound group.

In this thesis I present the spectroscopic analysis of a large sample of L and T dwarfs, in order to constrain the sub-stellar initial mass function and formation history. The main points I tried to address are the development of a better spectral type to distance calibration and of a better spectral type to effective temperature calibration, and the identification of a statistically complete sample of brown dwarf to be used to measure the luminosity function, and therefore to constrain the initial mass function and formation history. To achieve the first goal I conducted the spectroscopic follow-up of brown dwarfs from the PARallaxes of Southern Extremely Cool objects (PARSEC) program. This is a large astrometric campaign to measure the parallaxes and proper motions of 120 L and T dwarfs in the southern hemisphere. I combined the astrometric results with the near infra-red spectra I obtained using the Ohio State Infra-Red Imager/Spectrometer (OSIRIS) on the Southern Astrophysical Research telescope (SOAR). That allowed me to investigate the nature of some unresolved binaries and common proper motion companion in the sample, as well as sub-dwarfs candidates, and potential members of young moving groups. Combining the spectra with the astrometric information and the available photometry I derived the bolometric luminosity and effective temperature for the targets, and determined a new polynomial conversion between spectral type and effective temperature of a brown dwarfs. This is a fundamental step to compare the results of empirical observations to numerical simulations of the sub-stellar luminosity function. Once refined the type to temperature calibration, I measured the luminosity function. In order to do so my collaborators and I have selected a sample of 250 brown dwarfs candidates from the United Kingdom Deep Infra-red Sky Survey (UKIDSS) Large Area Survey (LAS) and followed them up with the echelle spectrograph X-shooter on the Very Large Telescope. I present in this thesis the results of the observations of 196 of the brown dwarfs candidates. Using the X-shooter spectra I determined their spectral types, and I identified a number of unresolved binary candidates and peculiar objects. One of the peculiar objects in the sample, ULAS J222711 004547, turned out to be the reddest brown dwarf observed so far, and I therefore proceeded to analyse further its spectrum. Applying a de-reddening technique to its spectrum suggests that the most likely reason for its redness is an excess of dust in its photosphere, and that can account for the differences seen between objects of similar spectral type. By comparing the results of the spectroscopic campaign to numerical simulations, I found that it is currently impossible to constrain robustly the initial mass function and formation history of sub-stellar objects, because of our limited knowledge of the binary fraction among brown dwarfs. The sample of binary candidates identified in this thesis can be used to place a better constraint on the binary fraction, but in order to do that the candidates need to be followed-up via high resolution imaging or radial velocity monitoring to confirm their binary nature.

Nosso grupo tem dedicado atenção especial em manter o Novo Catálogo de Aglomerados Abertos e Candidatos Opticamente Visíveis (Dias et.al. [1] denominado comumente DAML02), que vem sendo continuamente atualizado com novos resultados vindos da literatura. Além de manter o catálogo, nosso grupo está constantemente produzindo novos resultados como movimentos próprios médios e determinação de probabilidades de pertinência de estrelas aos aglomerados estudados (Dias et. al. [2] [3] [4]), também descobrindo novos aglomerados abertos (Alessi et. al. [5]) contribuindo para o conhecimento da amostra de aglomerados abertos conhecida na nossa Galáxia. Neste trabalho nós apresentamos os primeiros resultados de um estudo cinemático e fotométrico de uma amostra de aglomerados abertos com distância e idade desconhecidas. Trata-se de uma amostra de 850 aglomerados originalmente listados na versão 2.3 do catálogo DAML02. As probabilidades de pertinência das estrelas na região de cada aglomerado foram determinadas através de métodos estatísticos conhecidamente eficazes como (Vasilevskis e Rach [6], Sanders [7] e Zhao e He [8] aplicados aos movimentos próprios individuais UCAC2 (Zacharias et.al.[9]). Conseqüentemente, os movimentos próprios médios dos aglomerados também foram estimados. Utilizando apenas as estrelas membro e dados fotométricos 2MASS (Skrutskie et.al.[10]) construímos os diagramas cor-magnitude para cada aglomerado que nos permitiram estimar parâmetros fundamentais dos aglomerados como distâncias, excessos de cor nas bandas do infravermelho e idades. A determinação desses parâmetros envolve o ajuste de isócronas a seqüência principal do aglomerado e a partir de valores iniciais ajustamos essas curvas para a obtenção dos valores de distâncias, excessos de cor e idades. Desenvolvemos com o objetivo de fornecer esses valores preliminares, um programa que usa apenas as estrelas com Tipo Espectral identificado no SIMBAD. Portanto, neste trabalho determinamos movimentos próprios e probabilidades de pertinência para 319 aglomerados. Desses, 32 apresentaram solução para os parâmetros fundamentais (distância, excesso de cor e idade) e segundo nossas análises para os casos inéditos, 11 aglomerados encontram-se na vizinhança solar. Os erros envolvidos estimados são totalmente coerentes com os erros do catálogo DAML02. / Our group has dedicate a special attention to maintain the New Catalogue of Optically Visible Open Clusters and Candidates (Dias et al.[1] hereinafter DAML02) that is being continuously updated with new results from the literature. Besides maintaining the catalogue, our group is actively producing new results such as the mean absolute proper motion and membership determination (Dias et. al. [2] [3] [4]) and discovering new open clusters (Alessi et al.[5]) contributing to complete the knowledge of the hole sample of open clusters in the Galaxy. In this work we present the first results of the kinematic and photometric study of the open clusters with unknown distance and age in DAML02. The membership probabilities of the stars in the region of each cluster were determined applying the statistical method of Zhao e He [8] using the individual stellar UCAC2 (Zacharias et.al.[9]) proper motions. Consequently, the mean absolute proper motion of the clusters were also estimated. Using the investigated stars we were able to construct the colourmagnitude diagrams that allowed us to derive preliminary estimates of the fundamental parameters of the clusters such as reddening, distance and ages where the 2MASS (Strutskie et.al.[10]) photometric data were considered.

In this paper, we report a new estimate of the absolute proper motion (PM) of the globular cluster NGC 5139 (omega Cen) as part of the HST large program GO-14118+ 14662. We analyzed a field 17 arcmin southwest of the center of omega Cen and computed PMs with epoch spans of similar to 15.1 years. We employed 45 background galaxies to link our relative PMs to an absolute reference-frame system. The absolute PM of the cluster in our field is (mu(alpha) cos delta, mu(delta))=(-3.341. 0.028, -6.557 +/- 0.043) mas yr(-1). Upon correction for the effects of viewing perspective and the known cluster rotation, this implies that for the cluster center of mass (mu(alpha) cos delta, mu(delta))=(-3.238. 0.028, -6.716 +/- 0.043) mas yr(-1). This measurement is direct and independent, has the highest random and systematic accuracy to date, and will provide an external verification for the upcoming Gaia Data Release 2. It also differs from most reported PMs for omega Cen in the literature by more than 5 sigma, but consistency checks compared to other recent catalogs yield excellent agreement. We computed the corresponding Galactocentric velocity, calculated the implied orbit of omega Cen in two different Galactic potentials, and compared these orbits to the orbits implied by one of the PM measurements available in the literature. We find a larger (by about 500 pc) perigalactic distance for omega Cen with our new PM measurement, suggesting a larger survival expectancy for the cluster in the Galaxy.

Nosso grupo tem dedicado atenção especial em manter o Novo Catálogo de Aglomerados Abertos e Candidatos Opticamente Visíveis (Dias et.al. [1] denominado comumente DAML02), que vem sendo continuamente atualizado com novos resultados vindos da literatura. Além de manter o catálogo, nosso grupo está constantemente produzindo novos resultados como movimentos próprios médios e determinação de probabilidades de pertinência de estrelas aos aglomerados estudados (Dias et. al. [2] [3] [4]), também descobrindo novos aglomerados abertos (Alessi et. al. [5]) contribuindo para o conhecimento da amostra de aglomerados abertos conhecida na nossa Galáxia. Neste trabalho nós apresentamos os primeiros resultados de um estudo cinemático e fotométrico de uma amostra de aglomerados abertos com distância e idade desconhecidas. Trata-se de uma amostra de 850 aglomerados originalmente listados na versão 2.3 do catálogo DAML02. As probabilidades de pertinência das estrelas na região de cada aglomerado foram determinadas através de métodos estatísticos conhecidamente eficazes como (Vasilevskis e Rach [6], Sanders [7] e Zhao e He [8] aplicados aos movimentos próprios individuais UCAC2 (Zacharias et.al.[9]). Conseqüentemente, os movimentos próprios médios dos aglomerados também foram estimados. Utilizando apenas as estrelas membro e dados fotométricos 2MASS (Skrutskie et.al.[10]) construímos os diagramas cor-magnitude para cada aglomerado que nos permitiram estimar parâmetros fundamentais dos aglomerados como distâncias, excessos de cor nas bandas do infravermelho e idades. A determinação desses parâmetros envolve o ajuste de isócronas a seqüência principal do aglomerado e a partir de valores iniciais ajustamos essas curvas para a obtenção dos valores de distâncias, excessos de cor e idades. Desenvolvemos com o objetivo de fornecer esses valores preliminares, um programa que usa apenas as estrelas com Tipo Espectral identificado no SIMBAD. Portanto, neste trabalho determinamos movimentos próprios e probabilidades de pertinência para 319 aglomerados. Desses, 32 apresentaram solução para os parâmetros fundamentais (distância, excesso de cor e idade) e segundo nossas análises para os casos inéditos, 11 aglomerados encontram-se na vizinhança solar. Os erros envolvidos estimados são totalmente coerentes com os erros do catálogo DAML02. / Our group has dedicate a special attention to maintain the New Catalogue of Optically Visible Open Clusters and Candidates (Dias et al.[1] hereinafter DAML02) that is being continuously updated with new results from the literature. Besides maintaining the catalogue, our group is actively producing new results such as the mean absolute proper motion and membership determination (Dias et. al. [2] [3] [4]) and discovering new open clusters (Alessi et al.[5]) contributing to complete the knowledge of the hole sample of open clusters in the Galaxy. In this work we present the first results of the kinematic and photometric study of the open clusters with unknown distance and age in DAML02. The membership probabilities of the stars in the region of each cluster were determined applying the statistical method of Zhao e He [8] using the individual stellar UCAC2 (Zacharias et.al.[9]) proper motions. Consequently, the mean absolute proper motion of the clusters were also estimated. Using the investigated stars we were able to construct the colourmagnitude diagrams that allowed us to derive preliminary estimates of the fundamental parameters of the clusters such as reddening, distance and ages where the 2MASS (Strutskie et.al.[10]) photometric data were considered.

We constrain the proper motions of five OB stars associated with candidate stellar wind bow shocks in the Carina Nebula using Hubble Space Telescope ACS imaging over 9-10 yr baselines. These proper motions allow us to directly compare each star's motion to the orientation of its candidate bow shock. Although these stars are saturated in our imaging, we assess their motion by the shifts required to minimize residuals in their airy rings. The results limit the direction of each star's motion to sectors less than 90 degrees wide. None of the five stars are moving away from the Carina Nebula's central clusters as runaway stars would be, confirming that a candidate bow shock is not necessarily indicative of a runaway star. Two of the five stars are moving tangentially relative to the orientation of their candidate bow shocks, both of which point at the OB cluster Trumpler 14. In these cases, the large-scale flow of the interstellar medium, powered by feedback from the cluster, appears to dominate over the motion of the star in producing the observed candidate bow shock. The remaining three stars all have some component of motion towards the central clusters, meaning that we cannot distinguish whether their candidate bow shocks are indicators of stellar motion, of the flow of ambient gas or of density gradients in their surroundings. In addition, these stars' lack of outward motion hints that the distributed massive-star population in Carina's South Pillars region formed in place, rather than migrating out from the association's central clusters.

I present the development of two near infrared proper motion pipelines for high resolution near infrared data from UKIDSS and the VISTA VVV survey. The UKIDSS pipeline is capable of accuracies of order 5-10 mas yr⁻¹ for bright sources with the largest epoch baselines (~ 8 years). The VVV pipeline reaches 1-2 mas yr⁻¹ proper motion precision at the bright end and parallax measurements at ~ 1 mas precision. It will be possible to improve upon the VVV astrometric precision due to increases in data volume and further pipeline development. I have used the proper motion pipelines to generate three near infrared proper motion catalogues of the UKIDSS LAS and GPS and the VVV survey. The LAS proper motion catalogue covers 1500 deg2 at high Galactic latitudes and contains approximately 15 million sources with two J band epochs. The GPS proper motion catalogue covers 1500 deg2 of the northern Galactic plane and contains approximately 400 million sources with two K band epochs. The VVV proper motion catalogue covers 560 deg2 of the Galactic bulge and disc and contains approximately 200 million sources with between 50 and 150 Ks band epochs. I have also produced a preliminary 5σ parallax catalogue containing 3403 VVV sources. The LAS and GPS proper motion catalogues have been used by myself and other authors to identify and study many new examples of high proper motion stars, brown dwarfs, ul-tracool dwarf benchmark candidates, cool white dwarfs, substellar subdwarfs and nearby sources within < 25 pc. These catalogues remain far from fully exploited and will be a useful resource for future research by the astronomical community. Exploitation of the VVV proper motion catalogue is still in its infancy, yet it has already generated large numbers of new high proper motion sources. These include new brown dwarf candi-dates, important benchmark objects, and nearby sources which have previously avoided detection. Parallax results from the VVV pipeline will be useful to improve low mass star/ultracool dwarf luminosity functions, significantly increasing the numbers of brown dwarfs with known parallaxes and illustrates how general purpose multi-epoch wide area surveys can generate parallaxes. Finally, I discuss the long term usefulness of such catalogues in the Gaia era and how they might be exploited in the future.