arXiv subjects

Julio Chanamé

Publications and source records attributed to Julio Chanamé.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Surveying for Close Binaries among Lithium-rich Giants

One of the possible scenarios usually considered to explain the existence of low-mass red giants with anomalously high lithium (Li) abundances requires the interaction with a close binary companion. If dominant, this enrichment channel predicts a significantly enhanced binary fraction among Li-rich giants relative to Li-normal ones. We aim to constrain the binary interaction hypothesis by using multi-epoch radial velocities (RVs) to measure the close binary fraction of a statistically robust sample of Li-rich giants. We are surveying both red clump (RC) and first ascent red giant (RGB) targets, which allows us to examine potential differences in the binary fraction as a function of evolutionary stage. We are monitoring 70 targets (40 RC and 30 RGB, all Li-rich) using ESPRESSO at the VLT, 57 of which (32 RC + 25 RGB) already have 4 or more visits over a $\sim$7 month baseline; the analysis in this paper is based on the latter. For the targets with RV variation larger than that expected for intrinsic jitter, we use a Monte Carlo analysis to estimate the probability that the observed RV variation is due to a stellar ($P_{SB}$) or sub-stellar ($P_{SS}$) companion. Discounting the 38 targets consistent with stellar jitter, we are left with 11 RC and 8 RGB stars (34% and 32% of the respective sub-samples) with RV variability consistent with the presence of a close companion with an orbital period shorter than 3000 days. Of these 19, 3 can be confirmed as stellar-mass companions. The distributions of $P_{SB}$ and $P_{SS}$ are statistically indistinguishable between the RC and RGB samples. We thus find no evidence so far in our current data for a binary fraction for Li-rich giants (in either evolutionary stage) larger than that expected for a Li-normal population. Extending the RV baseline to probe longer orbital periods will be important to keep exploring the plausibility of this scenario.

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arXiv2026

The Twentieth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First All-Sky BOSS Spectra, eROSITA-SDSS-V Mapper Coordinated Observations, and a Preview of the Local Volume Mapper

This paper presents the twentieth data release (DR20) from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the third data release of its fifth generation (SDSS-V). SDSS-V is a panoptic spectroscopy survey that is mapping the stars, gas, and galaxies through three scientific programs: the Milky Way Mapper (MWM), the Local Volume Mapper (LVM), and the Black Hole Mapper (BHM). DR20 presents the first optical (BOSS) SDSS-V spectra from southern hemisphere for the MWM and BHM surveys; new optical MWM and BHM data from the northern hemisphere are also available, for a total over 3 million spectra of 1.5 million stars and half a million galaxies and quasars, with galactic and extragalactic x-ray targets coordinate with eROSITA DR2. DR20 includes integral field spectroscopy maps from LVM of six targets and 169 tiles, spanning Galactic HII regions, planetary nebulae, and nearby galaxies. Additionally, eighteen value added catalogs are also released with DR20, based on SDSS-V MWM and BHM data, and we present a new LVM visualization tool including an RGB HiPS map as a value added product.

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arXiv2026

SPYGLASS. VII-B. Tracing the Fragments of Massive Star Formation Using Low-Mass Associations

New observations from the Gaia spacecraft have traced an emerging demographic of low-mass associations disconnected from larger associations or GMCs. The first of these associations were recently characterized, but the star-forming environments they trace remain unknown. Using new velocities and ages alongside literature catalogs, we uncover the origins of 16 low-mass associations ($M\lesssim100$ M$_{\odot}$, $τ\lesssim50$ Myr) using dynamical traceback. We reveal that three groups of currently disparate populations share common formation sites, comprising the Leo, CaNMoS, and AquENS associations. Twelve of 16 associations have plausible connections to larger complexes, six of which form while moving outward from well-established multi-generational star-forming events that drive known or suspected bubbles. We find that feedback from the oldest co-spatial and co-moving relatives of these associations can explain the current morphologies of the Local and Orion-Eridanus Bubbles, along with the formation of related associations like Sco-Cen and Orion OB1. Most remaining populations show evidence for triggered star formation. In the Leo Association, high vertical velocities and a deceleration signature suggest that it formed out of an intermediate velocity cloud colliding with gas in Orion, which would make it the first known case of star formation in one of these clouds. The other newly defined associations show similar asymmetric velocity signatures, such as CaNMoS, which may trace bubble-driven acceleration or a cloud collision. We conclude that the lowest-mass young associations remain undiscovered, and that these populations may have a critical role revealing the small gas overdensities that trace the processes sculpting galactic star formation.

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arXiv2026

The Chemical Homogeneity of Single-Lined Spectroscopic Binaries in Open Clusters

Using SDSS-V DR19 Milky Way Mapper APOGEE data, we measure the impact that close binarity has on surface chemistry across the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram in a broad set of abundances by studying single-lined spectroscopic binaries (SB1s) in open clusters. We derive binary membership and orbital parameters for 103 SB1s by analysing APOGEE radial velocities with The Joker and UltraNest. We perform a detailed abundance analysis with BACCHUS to derive abundances in fourteen chemical species: Si, Fe, C, N, O, Na, Mg, Al, Ca, Ti, Cr, Ni, Ce, and Nd. Leveraging the assumptions of chemical homogeneity in open clusters, we compare the surface abundances of SB1s to non-binary stars at similar evolutionary states. We find that a subset of binaries with significant UV excess have a $Δ$[C/N] that is 0.2--0.5 dex higher than expected, resulting in overestimated [C/N]-based ages for those stars. This points to pollution from an evolved companion and has implications for [C/N]-based age studies of the broader Milky Way. At the population level, we find that SB1s in our sample can be treated as statistically chemically homogeneous with their single-star counterparts, and we find no connection between orbital separation and chemical enrichment or depletion. We show that at separations up to ~5 pc, co-eval stars can be considered chemically homogeneous with one another within current abundance precisions, regardless of multiplicity.

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arXiv2025

SPYGLASS. VII-A. The Demographics and Ages of Small Nearby Young Associations

Recent Gaia-based young stellar association surveys have revealed dozens of low-mass populations that have, until recently, been too small or sparse to detect. These populations represent a largely unstudied demographic with unknown origins, and their relative isolation may minimize gravitational disruptions that impact traceback, making them compelling targets for dynamical studies. In this paper, we survey 15 of these isolated young associations for the first time: Andromeda South (SCYA-97), Aquila East, Aries South (SCYA-104), Cassiopeia East (SCYA-43), Canis Major North, Leo Central (SCYA-2), Leo East (SCYA-3), Theia 72, Ophiuchus Southeast, Scutum North (SCYA-70), Taurus-Orion 1 (TOR1), Theia 78, Vulpecula East (UPK 88), SCYA-54, and SCYA-79. By combining Gaia astrometry and photometry with new ground-based spectroscopic measurements, we assess the membership of each population, search for substructure, analyze their demographics, and compute ages. We find that the smallest populations in our sample contain $<20$ $M_{\odot}$ of stellar mass, making them the smallest associations ever detected. Four host substantial substructure, including TOR1, where we discover TOR1B, a new 16 $M_{\odot}$ association with radial velocities inconsistent with an origin in the parent complex. Using PARSEC isochrones, we produce self-consistent ages for all populations supported by dynamical and lithium depletion ages, which range from 6.9 $\pm$ 0.5 Myr in TOR1A to 42.8 $\pm$ 2.4 in AndS. Our results provide the first detailed overview of the properties of these populations, characterizing a largely unknown category of young associations that may have an important role in tracing the processes that guide local star formation.

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arXiv2025

Sloan Digital Sky Survey-V: Pioneering Panoptic Spectroscopy

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey-V (SDSS-V) is pioneering panoptic spectroscopy: it is the first all-sky, multi-epoch, optical-to-infrared spectroscopic survey. SDSS-V is mapping the sky with multi-object spectroscopy (MOS) at telescopes in both hemispheres (the 2.5-m Sloan Foundation Telescope at Apache Point Observatory and the 100-inch du Pont Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory), where 500 zonal robotic fiber positioners feed light from a wide-field focal plane to an optical (R$\sim 2000$, 500 fibers) and a near-infrared (R$\sim 22,000$, 300 fibers) spectrograph. In addition to these MOS capabilities, the survey is pioneering ultra wide-field ($\sim$ 4000~deg$^2$) integral field spectroscopy enabled by a new dedicated facility (LVM-I) at Las Campanas Observatory, where an integral field spectrograph (IFS) with 1801 lenslet-coupled fibers arranged in a 0.5 degree diameter hexagon feeds multiple R$\sim$4000 optical spectrographs that cover 3600-9800 angstroms. SDSS-V's hardware and multi-year survey strategy are designed to decode the chemo-dynamical history of the Milky Way Galaxy and tackle fundamental open issues in stellar physics in its Milky Way Mapper program, trace the growth physics of supermassive black holes in its Black Hole Mapper program, and understand the self-regulation mechanisms and the chemical enrichment of galactic ecosystems at the energy-injection scale in its Local Volume Mapper program. The survey is well-timed to multiply the scientific output from major all-sky space missions. The SDSS-V MOS programs began robotic operations in 2021; IFS observations began in 2023 with the completion of the LVM-I facility. SDSS-V builds upon decades of heritage of SDSS's pioneering advances in data analysis, collaboration spirit, infrastructure, and product deliverables in astronomy.

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arXiv2025

The Nineteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

Mapping the local and distant Universe is key to our understanding of it. For decades, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) has made a concerted effort to map millions of celestial objects to constrain the physical processes that govern our Universe. The most recent and fifth generation of SDSS (SDSS-V) is organized into three scientific ``mappers". Milky Way Mapper (MWM) that aims to chart the various components of the Milky Way and constrain its formation and assembly, Black Hole Mapper (BHM), which focuses on understanding supermassive black holes in distant galaxies across the Universe, and Local Volume Mapper (LVM), which uses integral field spectroscopy to map the ionized interstellar medium in the local group. This paper describes and outlines the scope and content for the nineteenth data release (DR19) of SDSS and the most substantial to date in SDSS-V. DR19 is the first to contain data from all three mappers. Additionally, we also describe nine value added catalogs (VACs) that enhance the science that can be conducted with the SDSS-V data. Finally, we discuss how to access SDSS DR19 and provide illustrative examples and tutorials.

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arXiv2025

Evidence for a Catastrophically Disrupted Open Cluster

Of the many discoveries uncovered by the Gaia astrometric mission, some of the most exciting are related to nearby dispersed stellar structures. We analyze one such structure in the Milky Way disk, OCSN-49, a coeval stellar stream with 257 identified members spanning approximately 30$^\circ$ across the sky. We obtained high-resolution spectroscopic data for four members that span the stream's extent, finding these four stars to have solar metallicities and remarkably homogeneous chemistry. Through a combination of isochrone fitting, lithium abundance analysis, and gyrochronology, we find a consistent stellar age of 400--600 Myr. Integrating stellar orbits backwards reveals that OCSN-49 converged to a single point at a much younger age. By integrating unbound model stars forward and comparing them to the current phase-space distribution of OCSN-49, we derive a dynamical age of 83$\pm$1 Myr, inconsistent with the age of the stellar population. The discrepancy between the kinematic and stellar age indicators is naturally explained by a disruptive event that unbound OCSN-49 roughly 500 Myr into its lifetime. Based on rate estimates, disruption due to a passing giant molecular cloud (GMC) is the most likely culprit. Assuming a single encounter, we find that a nearly head-on collision with a fairly massive GMC ($\sim$10$^5$ M$_\odot$) was necessary to unbind the cluster, although encounters with multiple GMCs may be responsible. To our knowledge, OCSN-49 serves as the first known remnant of a catastrophically disrupted open cluster and therefore serves as a benchmark for further investigating cluster disruption in the Milky Way.

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arXiv2025

Constraining Extra Mixing during the Main Sequence: What Depletes Lithium Does Not Touch Beryllium

Measurements of lithium abundances in solar-type stars have shown that standard models of stellar evolution are incapable of explaining the observed depletion as a function of stellar age. Beryllium is one of the lightest elements that can be measured in stellar photospheres, and it can be burned in relatively low temperatures. Studying its abundances as a function of stellar age can provide important constraints to stellar mixing models, as the level of depletion as a function of time will indicate how deep the photospheric material must be dredged to explain the observed abundances. In an effort to provide the most stringent constraints for non-standard stellar mixing models, we observed a sample of solar-twins and concomitantly analyzed their lithium and beryllium abundances. Unlike what is typically observed for lithium, we found that beryllium does not decrease as a function of stellar age along the main-sequence, constraining models that predict burning of both materials. Based on our data, models that invoke convective overshoot and convective settling are preferred over typical rotationaly-induced mixing models, as the later burn Be in excess while the former do not. Previous works also proposed mixing due to gravity waves as a possible explanation for observed abundances, which can fit our data as well. Furthermore, based on our solar twins, Be depletion likely happens within the first $\sim1$ Gyr. We also confirm previous findings of an increase in Be abundance as a function of metallicity, indicative of galactic production via cosmic ray spallation.

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arXiv2025

The distant Milky Way halo from the Southern hemisphere: Characterization of the LMC-induced dynamical-friction wake

The infall of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) into the Milky Way's halo impacts the distribution of stars and dark matter in our Galaxy. Mapping the observational consequences of this encounter can inform us about the properties of both galaxies, details of their interaction, and possibly distinguish between different dark matter models. N-body simulations predict a localized overdensity trailing the LMC's orbit both in baryonic and dark matter, known as the wake. We collected wide-field, deep near-infrared, and optical photometry using VIRCAM and DECam across four fields along the expected wake, covering the sky region expected to span most of its predicted density contrast. We identify over 400 stars comprising two different tracers - near main sequence turn-off stars and red giants - that map the halo between 60-100 kpc, deriving stellar halo densities as a function of sky position and Galactocentric radius. We detect (1) a break in the halo radial density profile at 70 kpc not seen in Northern halo studies, and (2) a clear halo overdensity starting also at 70 kpc, with density contrast increasing steadily toward the expected current location of the wake. If this overdensity is the LMC wake, its peak density contrast is as pronounced as the most massive LMC model considered. Contamination from unidentified substructures may bias our wake detections, so wider-area surveys with similar depth are needed for confirmation.

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arXiv2024

Are Lithium-Rich Giants Binaries? A Radial Velocity Variability Analysis of 1,400 Giants

Low-mass giants with large amounts of lithium (Li) have challenged stellar evolution for decades. One of the possibilities usually discussed to explain them involves the interaction with a close binary companion. This predicts that when compared against their non-enriched counterparts, Li-rich giants should preferentially be found as part of binary systems. In order to test this scenario, we assemble a sample of 1418 giants with radial velocities (RVs) from RAVE, GALAH, and Gaia, as well as stellar parameters and Li abundances from GALAH. Evolutionary states can be determined for 1030 of these giants. We develop a method that quantifies the degree of RV variability, which we use as a proxy for close binary companions. The method is tested and calibrated against samples of known RV standard stars and known spectroscopic binaries. We also compare the results of our RV variability analysis with binarity indicators from Gaia. We find that the accuracy of the classification is controlled by the precision of the RVs, which for the set of RVs available for the giants is 80-85%. Consistent with seismic studies, the resulting sample of giants contains a fraction of Li-rich objects in the red clump (RC) that is twice as large as that for first-ascent giants (RGB). Among RC giants, the fractions of Li-rich objects with high RV variability and with no RV variability are the same as those for Li-normal objects, which argues against a binary interaction scenario for the genesis of the bulk of Li-rich giants at that evolutionary stage. On the other hand, Li-rich giants in the RGB appear to have a small but detectable preference for higher RV variability, and thus possibly a larger close binary fraction, than the Li-normal giants at that stage. Additional measurements of the RVs of these giants at higher RV precision would greatly help confirm and more robustly quantify these results.

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arXiv2024

Theia 456: Tidally Shredding an Open Cluster

The application of clustering algorithms to the Gaia astrometric catalog has revolutionized our census of stellar populations in the Milky Way, including the discovery of many new, dispersed structures. We focus on one such structure, Theia 456 (COIN-Gaia-13), a loosely bound collection of ~320 stars spanning ~120 pc that has previously been shown to exhibit kinematic, chemical, and gyrochronal coherency, indicating a common origin. We obtain follow-up radial velocities and supplement these with Gaia astrometry to perform an in-depth dynamical analysis of Theia 456. By integrating stellar orbits through a Milky Way potential, we find the currently dispersed structure coalesced into a small cluster in the past. Via Bayesian modeling, we derive a kinematic age of 245 +/- 3 Myr (statistical), a half-mass radius of 9 +/- 2 pc, and an initial one-dimensional velocity dispersion of 0.14 +/- 0.02 km/s. Our results are entirely independent of model isochrones, details of stellar evolution, and internal cluster dynamics, and the statistical precision in our age derivation rivals that of the most precise age-dating techniques known today, though our imperfect knowledge of the Milky Way potential and simple spherical model for Theia 456 at birth add additional uncertainties. Using posterior predictive checking, we confirm these results are robust under reasonable variations to the Milky Way potential. Such low density structures that are disrupted by the Galactic tides before virializing may be ubiquitous, signifying that Theia 456 is a valuable benchmark for studying the dynamical history of stellar populations in the Milky Way.

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arXiv2023

Substructure, supernovae, and a time-resolved star formation history for Upper Scorpius

The improved astrometry precision of Gaia-eDR3 allows us to perform a detailed study of the Upper Scorpius OB association and revisit its spatial, kinematic, and age substructure. We achieve this by combining clustering techniques and complementing with age estimations based on Gaia photometry. Our census retrieves 3661 candidate members for Upper Scorpius with contamination $\sim$9\%. We also extract an astrometrically clean sample of 3004 sources with contamination $\sim$6\%. We show that Upper Scorpius can be divided into at least 3 main kinematic groups. We systematically investigate and characterize the Upper Scorpius' internal structure, revealing that at least $\sim 34\%$ of its stellar populations are contained in 7 spatial substructures, with well defined boundaries, kinematics and relative ages, with suggested names: $π$ Scorpii (20 $^{\pm2}_{\pm1}$ Myr), $α$ Scorpii (14$^{\pm2}_{\pm1}$ Myr), $δ$ Scorpii (9$^{\pm2}_{\pm1}$ Myr), $β$ Scorpii (8$^{\pm1}_{\pm1}$ Myr), $ω$ Scorpii (8$^{\pm1}_{\pm1}$ Myr), $ν$ Scorpii (7$^{\pm1}_{\pm1}$ Myr), after their brightest member, and the well known $ρ$ Ophiuchi (4$^{\pm1}_{\pm1}$ Myr). We find a clear correlation in (1) density-age, providing an empirical expansion law to be tested in other associations, and (2) tangential velocity-age, providing constrains on the dynamics of these substructures and the position of potential past triggering events. We estimate the time at which 4 potential supernovae events occurred in Upper Scorpius. Based on these findings, we tie together previous work on the region and suggest a star formation history with unprecedented temporal resolution.

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arXiv2023

The breakdown of current gyrochronology as evidenced by old coeval stars

Gyrochronology can yield useful ages for field main-sequence stars, a regime where other techniques are problematic. Typically, gyrochronology relations are calibrated using young ($\lesssim 2$ Gyr) clusters, but the constraints at older ages are scarce, making them potentially inaccurate and imprecise. In order to test the performance of existing relations, we construct samples of stellar pairs with coeval components, for a range of ages and with available rotation periods. These include randomly paired stars in clusters, and wide binaries in the Kepler field. We design indicators that, based on the measured rotation periods and expectations from gyrochronology, quantify the (dis)agreement between the coeval pairs and the gyrochronology calibrations under scrutiny. Our results show that wide binaries and cluster members are in better concordance with gyrochronology than samples of randomly paired field stars, confirming that the relations have predicting power. However, the agreement with the examined relations decreases for older stars, revealing a degradation of the examined relations with age, in agreement with recent works. This highlights the need for novel empirical constraints at older ages that may allow revised calibrations. Notably, using coeval stars to test gyrochronology poses the advantage of circumventing the need for age determinations while simultaneously exploiting larger samples at older ages. Our test is independent of any specific age-rotation relation, and it can be used to evaluate future spin-down models. In addition, taking gyrochronology at face value, we note that our results provide new empirical evidence that the components of field wide binaries are indeed coeval.

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arXiv2022

Evidence of extra-mixing in field giants as traced by lithium and carbon isotope ratio

Although not predicted by standard stellar evolution, the surface abundance of light elements, such as lithium (Li), carbon, and nitrogen, changes during the red giant branch (RGB) as a result of extra-mixing. This is associated usually with thermohaline mixing acting after the RGB bump. Peculiar Li-enriched RGB stars might also be related to either enhanced extra-mixing or pollution from external sources. We measure the Li abundance and carbon isotopic ratio 12C/13C in a sample of 166 field red giants with -0.3<[Fe/H]<0.2, targeted by the EXPRESS radial velocity program to analyze the effects of extra-mixing. Multiple-epoch observations needed for exoplanet detection are used to decrease the effects of telluric contamination in 12C/13C measurements. Due to the prevalence of upper limits, the Li abundance pattern is complicated to interpret, but the comparison between RGB and core-He burning giants shows effects of extra-mixing consistent with thermohaline. The most Li-enriched giant in the sample, classified as a RGB star close to the RGB bump, has low 12C/13C. Given that the 12C/13C should not be affected by planet engulfment, this does not seem to be the source of the high Li. There is a decreasing correlation between mass and 12C/13C in the RGB and an increasing correlation in the horizontal branch, which, once again, is consistent with thermohaline mixing. Our data also shows a correlation between 12C/13C and [Fe/H]. There is no evident impact of binarity either on Li or on 12C/13C. Our sample shows behavior consistent with additional mixing acting after the RGB bump. The 12C/13C adds new clues to describe extra-mixing, and could well be the best tool to study mixing in red giants. Additional measurements of 12C/13C in field stars would greatly improve our ability to compare with models and understand mixing mechanisms.

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arXiv2022

Mass Matters: No Evidence for Ubiquitous Lithium Production in Low-Mass Clump Giants

Known sources of lithium (Li) in the universe include the big bang, novae, asymptotic giant branch stars, and cosmic ray spallation. During their longer-lived evolutionary phases, stars are not expected to add to the Li budget of the Galaxy, but to largely deplete it. In this context, recent analyses of Li data from GALAH and LAMOST for field red clump (RC) stars have concluded that there is the need for a new production channel of Li, ubiquitous among low-mass stars, and that would be triggered on the upper red giant branch (RGB) or at helium ignition. This is distinct from the "Li-rich giant" problem and reflects bulk RC star properties. We provide an analysis of the GALAH Li data that accounts for the distribution of progenitor masses of field RC stars observed today. Such progenitors are different than today's field RGB stars. Using standard post main-sequence stellar evolution, we show that the distribution of Li among field RC giants as observed by GALAH is consistent with standard model predictions, and does not require new Li production mechanisms. Our model predicts a large fraction of very low Li abundances from low mass progenitors, with higher abundances from higher mass ones. Moreover, there should be a large number of upper limits for RC giants, and higher abundances should correspond to higher masses. The most recent GALAH data indeed confirm the presence of large numbers of upper limits, and a much lower mean Li abundance in RC stars, in concordance with our interpretation.

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arXiv2022

A Young, Low-Density Stellar Stream in the Milky Way Disk: Theia 456

Our view of the variety of stellar structures pervading the local Milky Way has been transformed by the application of clustering algorithms to the Gaia catalog. In particular, several stellar streams have been recently discovered that are comprised of hundreds to thousands of stars and span several hundred parsecs. We analyze one such structure, Theia 456, a low-density stellar stream extending nearly 200 pc and 20$^{\circ}$ across the sky. By supplementing Gaia astrometric data with spectroscopic metallicities from LAMOST and photometric rotation periods from the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), we establish Theia 456's radial velocity coherence, and we find strong evidence that members of Theia 456 have a common age ($\simeq$175 Myr), common dynamical origin, and formed from chemically homogeneous pre-stellar material ([Fe/H] = $-$0.07 dex). Unlike well-known stellar streams in the Milky Way, which are in its halo, Theia 456 is firmly part of the thin disk. If our conclusions about Theia 456 can be applied to even a small fraction of the remaining $\simeq$8300 independent structures in the Theia catalog, such low-density stellar streams may be ubiquitous. We comment on the implications this has for the nature of star-formation throughout the Galaxy.

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arXiv2021

The consistency of chemical clocks among coeval stars

The abundance ratios of some chemical species have been found to correlate with stellar age, leading to the possibility of using stellar atmospheric abundances as stellar age indicators. These chemical clocks have been calibrated with solar-twins, open clusters and red giants, but it remains to be seen whether they can be effective at identifying coeval stars in a field population that spans a broad parameter space (i.e., the promise of chemical tagging). Since the components of wide binaries are known to be stars of common origins, they constitute ideal laboratories for testing the usefulness of chemical clocks for the age dating of field stars. We determined the abundances of a new sample of 5 binaries and collected data for other 31 systems from the literature in order to test the applicability of chemical clocks. We recover the well known result that the components of wide binaries have more consistent chemistry than that of random pairs. However, we also show for the first time that abundance ratios designed as chemical clocks are even more consistent among the components of wide binaries than their [X/Fe] ratios. Not only that, but the special case of the pair HIP 34426/HIP 34407 may indicate that chemical clocks are consistent for coeval stars even when the individual abundances are not. If the assumption that chemical clocks are reliable age indicators is correct, this would constitute first quantitative, statistically significant evidence that the components of wide binaries in the Galactic field are indeed coeval, validating a large body of published work that relies on that to be the case. Moreover, our results provide strong evidence that chemical clocks indeed carry important information about stellar birthplaces and chemical evolution, and thus we propose that including them in chemical tagging efforts may facilitate the identification of nowadays dissolved stellar groups.

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