13 research outputs found
Structural Parameters of Star Clusters: Signal to Noise Effects
We study the impact of photometric signal to noise on the accuracy of derived
structural parameters of unresolved star clusters using MCMC model fitting
techniques. Star cluster images were simulated as a smooth surface brightness
distribution following a King profile convolved with a point spread function.
The simulation grid was constructed by varying the levels of sky background and
adjusting the cluster's flux to a specified signal to noise. Poisson noise was
introduced to a set of cluster images with the same input parameters at each
node of the grid. Model fitting was performed using emcee algorithm. The
presented posterior distributions of the parameters illustrate their
uncertainty and degeneracies as a function of signal to noise. By defining the
photometric aperture containing 80% of the cluster's flux, we find that in all
realistic sky background level conditions a signal to noise ratio of 50
is necessary to constrain the cluster's half-light radius to an accuracy better
than 20%. The presented technique can be applied to synthetic images
simulating various observations of extragalactic star clusters.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure
Low crater frequencies and low model ages in lunar maria: Recent endogenic activity or degradation effects?
Recently a number of studies have identified small lunar geologic structures
to be <100 Ma in age using standard remote sensing techniques. Here we present
new crater size frequency distributions (CSFD) and model ages using craters D>
10 m for 5 small target units: 1 Irregular Mare Patch (IMP) in Mare Nubium and
4 regions located on lunar wrinkle ridges in Mare Humorum. For comparison we
also date another IMP found in a recent study in Mare Tranquillitatis (Braden
et al., 2014). Absolute model age derivation corresponds to 465 Ma and
221 Ma for Nubium and Sosigenes IMP. We show that for IMPs and in nearby
control mare regions similar production-like cumulative log-log SFD slopes of
-3 are observed. In contrast control mare regions in Mare Humorum exhibit
shallower equilibrium slopes from -1.83 to -2. 3 out of 4 wrinkle ridges appear
to be in equilibrium but with crater life times lower than on the corresponding
maria. Low crater frequencies on one wrinkle ridge result in an age of
8.61 Ma. This study region contains 80% fresh craters which suggests that
the crater population is still in production indicative of a recent resurfacing
event
Compact Star Clusters in the M31 Disk
We have carried out a survey of compact star clusters (apparent size <3
arcsec) in the southwest part of the M31 galaxy, based on the high-resolution
Suprime-Cam images (17.5 arcmin x 28.5 arcmin), covering ~15% of the
deprojected galaxy disk area. The UBVRI photometry of 285 cluster candidates (V
< 20.5 mag) was performed using frames of the Local Group Galaxies Survey. The
final sample, containing 238 high probability star cluster candidates (typical
half-light radius r_h ~ 1.5 pc), was selected by specifying a lower limit of
r_h > 0.15 arcsec (>0.6 pc). We derived cluster parameters based on the
photometric data and multiband images by employing simple stellar population
models. The clusters have a wide range of ages from ~5 Myr (young objects
associated with 24 um and/or Ha emission) to ~10 Gyr (globular cluster
candidates), and possess mass in a range of 3.0 < log(m/M_sol) < 4.3 peaking at
m ~ 4000 M_sol. Typical age of these intermediate-mass clusters is in the range
of 30 Myr < t < 3 Gyr, with a prominent peak at ~70 Myr. These findings suggest
a rich intermediate-mass star cluster population in M31, which appears to be
scarce in the Milky Way galaxy.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in Ap
The design and performance of the Gaia photometric system
The European Gaia astrometry mission is due for launch in 2011. Gaia will rely on the proven principles of the ESA Hipparcos mission to create an all-sky survey of about one billion stars throughout our Galaxy and beyond, by observing all objects down to 20 mag. Through its massive measurement of stellar distances, motions and multicolour photometry, it will provide fundamental data necessary for unravelling the structure, formation and evolution of the Galaxy. This paper presents the design and performance of the broad- and medium-band set of photometric filters adopted as the baseline for Gaia. The 19 selected passbands (extending from the UV to the far-red), the criteria and the methodology on which this choice has been based are discussed in detail. We analyse the photometric capabilities for characterizing the luminosity, temperature, gravity and chemical composition of stars. We also discuss the automatic determination of these physical parameters for the large number of observations involved, for objects located throughout the entire Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. Finally, the capability of the photometric system (PS) to deal with the main Gaia science case is outline
On the nature of the brightest globular cluster in M81
We analyse the photometric, chemical, star formation history and structural properties of the brightest globular cluster (GC) in M81, referred to as GC1 in this work, with the intention of establishing its nature and origin. We find that it is a metal-rich ([Fe/H] = -0.60 +/- 0.10), alpha-enhanced ([alpha/Fe] similar to 0.20 +/- 0.05), core-collapsed (core radius r(c) = 1.2 pc, tidal radius r(t) = 76r(c)), old (> 13 Gyr) cluster. It has an ultraviolet excess equivalent of similar to 2500 blue horizontal branch stars. It is detected in X-rays indicative of the presence of low-mass binaries. With a mass of 1.0 x 10(7) M-circle dot, the cluster is comparable in mass to M31-G1 and is four times more massive than omega Cen. The values of r(c), absolute magnitude and mean surface brightness of GC1 suggest that it could be, like massive GCs in other giant galaxies, the left-over nucleus of a dissolved dwarf galaxy
Interstellar Extinction in the Gaia Photometric Systems
Three medium-band photometric systems proposed for the Gaia space mission are intercompared in determining color excesses for stars of spectral classes from O to M at V = 18 mag. A possibility of obtaining a three-dimensional map of the interstellar extinction is discussed