432 research outputs found
Galactic fountains and outflows in star forming dwarf galaxies: ISM expulsion and chemical enrichment
We investigated the impact of supernova feedback in gas-rich dwarf galaxies
experiencing a low-to-moderate star formation rate, typical of relatively
quiescent phases between starbursts. We calculated the long term evolution of
the ISM and the metal-rich SN ejecta using 3D hydrodynamic simulations, in
which the feedback energy is deposited by SNeII exploding in distinct OB
associations. We found that a circulation flow similar to galactic fountains is
generally established, with some ISM lifted at heights of one to few kpc above
the galactic plane. This gas forms an extra-planar layer, which falls back to
the plane in about yr, once the star formation stops. Very little or no
ISM is expelled outside the galaxy system for the considered SFRs, even though
in the most powerful model the SN energy is comparable to the gas binding
energy. The metal-rich SN ejecta is instead more vulnerable to the feedback and
we found that a significant fraction (25-80\%) is vented in the intergalactic
medium, even for low SN rate ( - yr).
About half of the metals retained by the galaxy are located far ( 500 pc)
from the galactic plane. Moreover, our models indicate that the circulation of
the metal-rich gas out from and back to the galactic disk is not able to erase
the chemical gradients imprinted by the (centrally concentrated) SN explosions.Comment: 19 pages, MNRAS accepte
Star formation feedback and metal enrichment by SN Ia and SN II in dwarf spheroidal galaxies: the case of Draco
We present 3D hydrodynamical simulations aimed to study the dynamical and
chemical evolution of the interstellar medium in dwarf spheroidal galaxies.
This evolution is driven by the explosions of Type II and Type Ia supernovae,
whose different contribution is explicity taken into account in our models. We
compare our results with detailed observations of the Draco galaxy. We assume
star formation histories consisting of a number of instantaneous burst
separated by quiescent periods. Because of the large effectiveness of the
radiative losses and the extended dark matter halo, no galactic wind develops,
despite the total energy released by the supernovae is much larger than the
binding energy of the gas. This explains why the galaxy is able to form stars
for a long period (> 3 Gyr), consistently with observations. In this picture,
the end of the star formation and gas removal must result from external
mechanisms, such as ram pressure and/or tidal interaction with the Galaxy. The
metallicity distributions of the stars found in our models agree very well with
the observed one. We find a mean value =-1.65 with a spread of ~1.5
dex. The chemical properties of the stars derive by the different temporal
evolution between Type Ia and Type II supernova rate, and by the different
mixing of the metals produced by the two types of SNe. We reproduce
successfully the observed [O/Fe]-[Fe/H] diagram. However, our interpretation of
this diagram differs from that generally adopted by previous chemical models.
In fact, we find that the chemical properties of the stars derive, besides the
different temporal evolution of the SNe II and SNe Ia rates, from the spatial
inhomogeneous chemical enrichment due to the different dynamical behaviour
between the remnants of the two types of supernovae.Comment: 20 pages, 14 figures (1 added), MNRAS accepted, Minor changes
following referee repor
Feedback from massive stars and gas expulsion from proto-globular clusters
© 2015. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved. Globular clusters (GCs) are considerably more complex structures than previously thought, harboring at least two stellar generations that present clearly distinct chemical abundances. Scenarios explaining the abundance patterns in GCs mostly assume that originally the clusters had to be much more massive than today, and that the second generation of stars originates from the gas shed by stars of the first generation (FG). The lack of metallicity spread in most GCs further requires that the supernova-enriched gas ejected by the FG is completely lost within ∼30 Myr, a hypothesis never tested by means of three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations. In this paper, we use 3D hydrodynamic simulations including stellar feedback from winds and supernovae, radiative cooling and self-gravity to study whether a realistic distribution of OB associations in a massive proto-GC of initial mass M tot ∼ 10 7 M o is sufficient to expel its entire gas content. Our numerical experiment shows that the coherence of different associations plays a fundamental role: as the bubbles interact, distort, and merge, they carve narrow tunnels that reach deeper and deeper toward the innermost cluster regions, and through which the gas is able to escape. Our results indicate that after 3 Myr, the feedback from stellar winds is responsible for the removal of ∼40% of the pristine gas, and that after 14 Myr, 99% of the initial gas mass has been removed
Colour gradients of high-redshift Early-Type Galaxies from hydrodynamical monolithic models
We analyze the evolution of colour gradients predicted by the hydrodynamical
models of early type galaxies (ETGs) in Pipino et al. (2008), which reproduce
fairly well the chemical abundance pattern and the metallicity gradients of
local ETGs. We convert the star formation (SF) and metal content into colours
by means of stellar population synthetic model and investigate the role of
different physical ingredients, as the initial gas distribution and content,
and eps_SF, i.e. the normalization of SF rate. From the comparison with high
redshift data, a full agreement with optical rest-frame observations at z < 1
is found, for models with low eps_SF, whereas some discrepancies emerge at 1 <
z < 2, despite our models reproduce quite well the data scatter at these
redshifts. To reconcile the prediction of these high eps_SF systems with the
shallower colour gradients observed at lower z we suggest intervention of 1-2
dry mergers. We suggest that future studies should explore the impact of wet
galaxy mergings, interactions with environment, dust content and a variation of
the Initial Mass Function from the galactic centers to the peripheries.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication on MNRA
Modeling the chemical evolution of Omega Centauri using three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations
We present a hydrodynamical and chemical model for the globular cluster Omega
Cen, under the assumption that it is the remnant of an ancient dwarf spheroidal
galaxy (dSph), the bulk of which was disrupted and accreted by our Galaxy ~10
Gyr ago. We highlight the very different roles played by Type II and Type Ia
supernovae (SNe) in the chemical enrichment of the inner regions of the
putative parent dSph. While the SNe II pollute the interstellar medium rather
uniformly, the SNe Ia ejecta may remain confined inside dense pockets of gas as
long as succesive SNe II explosions spread them out. Stars forming in such
pockets have lower alpha-to-iron ratios than the stars forming elsewhere. Owing
to the inhomogeneous pollution by SNe Ia, the metal distribution of the stars
in the central region differs substantially from that of the main population of
the dwarf galaxy, and resembles that observed in Omega Cen. This inhomogeneous
mixing is also responsible for a radial segregation of iron-rich stars with
depleted [alpha/Fe] ratios, as observed in some dSphs. Assuming a star
formation history of ~1.5 Gyr, our model succeeds in reproducing both the iron
and calcium distributions observed in Omega Cen and the main features observed
in the empirical alpha/Fe versus Fe/H plane. Finally, our model reproduces the
overall spread of the color-magnitude diagram, but fails in reproducing the
morphology of the SGB-a and the double morphology of the main sequence.
However, the inhomogeneous pollution reduces (but does not eliminate) the need
for a significantly enhanced helium abundance to explain the anomalous position
of the blue main sequence. Further models taking into account the dynamical
interaction of the parent dwarf galaxy with the Milky Way and the effect of AGB
pollution will be required.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figures. MNRAS accepte
The oxygen vs. sodium (anti)correlation(s) in omega Cen
Recent exam of large samples of omega Cen giants shows that it shares with
mono-metallic globular clusters the presence of the sodium versus oxygen
anticorrelation, within each subset of stars with iron content in the range
-1.9<~[Fe/H]<~-1.3. These findings suggest that, while the second generation
formation history in omega Cen is more complex than that of mono-metallic
clusters, it shares some key steps with those simpler cluster. In addition, the
giants in the range -1.3<[Fe/H]<~-0.7 show a direct O--Na correlation, at
moderately low O, but Na up to 20 times solar. These peculiar Na abundances are
not shared by stars in other environments often assumed to undergo a similar
chemical evolution, such as in the field of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy. These
O and Na abundances match well the yields of the massive asymptotic giant
branch stars (AGB) in the same range of metallicity, suggesting that the stars
at [Fe/H]>-1.3 in omega Cen are likely to have formed directly from the pure
ejecta of massive AGBs of the same metallicities. This is possible if the
massive AGBs of [Fe/H]>-1.3 in the progenitor system evolve when all the
pristine gas surrounding the cluster has been exhausted by the previous star
formation events, or the proto--cluster interaction with the Galaxy caused the
loss of a significant fraction of its mass, or of its dark matter halo, and the
supernova ejecta have been able to clear the gas out of the system. The absence
of dilution in the metal richer populations lends further support to a scenario
of the formation of second generation stars in cooling flows from massive AGB
progenitors. We suggest that the entire formation of omega Cen took place in a
few 10^8yr, and discuss the problem of a prompt formation of s--process
elements.Comment: The Astrophysical Journal, in pres
- …