102 research outputs found
Coude-feed stellar spectral library - atmospheric parameters
Context: Empirical libraries of stellar spectra play an important role in
different fields. For example, they are used as reference for the automatic
determination of atmospheric parameters, or for building synthetic stellar
populations to study galaxies. The CFLIB (Coude-feed library, Indo-US) database
is at present one of the most complete libraries, in terms of its coverage of
the atmospheric parameters space (Teff, log g and [Fe/H]) and wavelength
coverage 3460 - 9464 A at a resolution of 1 A FWHM. Although the atmospheric
parameters of most of the stars were determined from detailed analyses of
high-resolution spectra, for nearly 300 of the 1273 stars of the library at
least one of the three parameters is missing. For the others, the measurements,
compiled from the literature, are inhomogeneous.
Aims: In this paper, we re-determine the atmospheric parameters, directly
using the CFLIB spectra, and compare them to the previous studies.
Methods: We use the ULySS program to derive the atmospheric parameters, using
the ELODIE library as a reference.
Results: Based on comparisons with several previous studies we conclude that
our determinations are unbiased. For the 958 F,G, and K type stars the
precision on Teff, log g, and [Fe/H] is respectively 43 K, 0.13 dex and 0.05
dex. For the 53 M stars they are 82 K, 0.22 dex and 0.28 dex. And, for the 260
OBA type stars the relative precision on Teff is 5.1%, and on log g, and [Fe/H]
the precision is respectively 0.19 dex and 0.16 dex. These parameters will be
used to re-calibrate the CFLIB fluxes and to produce synthetic spectra of
stellar populations.Comment: 51 pages, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic
Antlia Dwarf Galaxy: Distance, quantitative morphology and recent formation history via statistical field correction
We apply a statistical field correction technique originally designed to
determine membership of high redshift galaxy clusters to Hubble Space Telescope
imaging of the Antlia Dwarf Galaxy; a galaxy at the very edge of the Local
Group. Using the tip of the red giant branch standard candle method coupled
with a simple Sobel edge detection filter we find a new distance to Antlia of
1.31 +/- 0.03 Mpc. For the first time for a Local Group Member, we compute the
concentration, asymmetry and clumpiness (CAS) quantitative morphology
parameters for Antlia from the distribution of resolved stars in the HST/ACS
field, corrected with a new method for contaminants and complement these
parameters with the Gini coefficient (G) and the second order moment of the
brightest 20 per cent of the flux (M_20). We show that it is a classic dwarf
elliptical (C = 2.0, A = 0.063, S = 0.077, G = 0.39 and M_20 = -1.17 in the
F814W band), but has an appreciable blue stellar population at its core,
confirming on-going star-formation. The values of asymmetry and clumpiness, as
well as Gini and M_20 are consistent with an undisturbed galaxy. Although our
analysis suggests that Antlia may not be tidally influenced by NGC 3109 it does
not necessarily preclude such interaction.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA
A close look at the Centaurus A group of galaxies: I. Metallicity distribution functions and population gradients in early-type dwarfs
We study dwarf galaxies in the Centaurus A group to investigate their
metallicity and possible environmental effects. The Centaurus A group (at ~4
Mpc from the Milky Way) contains about 50 known dwarf companions of different
morphologies and stellar contents, thus making it a very interesting target to
study how these galaxies evolve. Here we present results for the early-type
dwarf galaxy population in this group. We use archival HST/ACS data to study
the resolved stellar content of 6 galaxies, together with isochrones from the
Dartmouth stellar evolutionary models. We derive photometric metallicity
distribution functions of stars on the upper red giant branch via isochrone
interpolation. The 6 galaxies are moderately metal-poor (=-1.56 to
-1.08), and metallicity spreads are observed (internal dispersions of
sigma_[Fe/H]=0.10 to 0.41 dex). We also investigate the possible presence of
intermediate-age stars, and discuss how these affect our results. The dwarfs
exhibit flat to weak radial metallicity gradients. For the two most luminous,
most metal-rich galaxies, we find statistically significant evidence for at
least two stellar subpopulations: the more metal-rich stars are found in the
center of the galaxies, while the metal-poor ones are more broadly distributed
within the galaxies. We find no clear trend of the derived physical properties
as a function of (present-day) galaxy position in the group, which may be due
to the small sample we investigate. We compare our results to the early-type
dwarf population of the Local Group, and find no outstanding differences,
despite the fact that the Centaurus A group is a denser environment that is
possibly in a more advanced dynamical stage.Comment: 21 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and
Astrophysic
Post-starburst galaxies: more than just an interesting curiosity
From the VIMOS VLT DEEP Survey (VVDS) we select a sample of 16 galaxies with
spectra which identify them as having recently undergone a strong starburst and
subsequent fast quenching of star formation. These post-starburst galaxies lie
in the redshift range 0.510^9.75Msun. They have a number
density of 1x10^-4 per Mpc^3, almost two orders of magnitude sparser than the
full galaxy population with the same mass limit. We compare with simulations to
show that the galaxies are consistent with being the descendants of gas rich
major mergers. Starburst mass fractions must be larger than ~5-10% and decay
times shorter than ~10^8 years for post-starburst spectral signatures to be
observed in the simulations. We find that the presence of black hole feedback
does not greatly affect the evolution of the simulated merger remnants through
the post-starburst phase. The multiwavelength spectral energy distributions of
the post-starburst galaxies show that 5/16 have completely ceased the formation
of new stars. These 5 galaxies correspond to a mass flux entering the
red-sequence of rhodot(A->Q, PSB) = 0.0038Msun/Mpc^3/yr, assuming the defining
spectroscopic features are detectable for 0.35Gyr. If the galaxies subsequently
remain on the red sequence, this accounts for 38(+4/-11)% of the growth rate of
the red sequence. Finally, we compare our high redshift results with a sample
of galaxies with 0.05<z<0.1 observed in the SDSS and UKIDSS surveys. We find a
very strong redshift evolution: the mass density of strong post-starburst
galaxies is 230 times lower at z~0.07 than at z~0.7.Comment: 18 pages, 12 figures, to match version accepted to MNRAS. Minor
reordering of text in places and Sec 2.2 on SPH simulation comparisons
expande
Simulation modeling for stratified breast cancer screening : a systematic review of cost and quality of life assumptions
BACKGROUND: The economic evaluation of stratified breast cancer screening gains momentum, but produces also very diverse results. Systematic reviews so far focused on modeling techniques and epidemiologic assumptions. However, cost and utility parameters received only little attention. This systematic review assesses simulation models for stratified breast cancer screening based on their cost and utility parameters in each phase of breast cancer screening and care. METHODS: A literature review was conducted to compare economic evaluations with simulation models of personalized breast cancer screening. Study quality was assessed using reporting guidelines. Cost and utility inputs were extracted, standardized and structured using a care delivery framework. Studies were then clustered according to their study aim and parameters were compared within the clusters. RESULTS: Eighteen studies were identified within three study clusters. Reporting quality was very diverse in all three clusters. Only two studies in cluster 1, four studies in cluster 2 and one study in cluster 3 scored high in the quality appraisal. In addition to the quality appraisal, this review assessed if the simulation models were consistent in integrating all relevant phases of care, if utility parameters were consistent and methodological sound and if cost were compatible and consistent in the actual parameters used for screening, diagnostic work up and treatment. Of 18 studies, only three studies did not show signs of potential bias. CONCLUSION: This systematic review shows that a closer look into the cost and utility parameter can help to identify potential bias. Future simulation models should focus on integrating all relevant phases of care, using methodologically sound utility parameters and avoiding inconsistent cost parameters
Fitting the integrated Spectral Energy Distributions of Galaxies
Fitting the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of galaxies is an almost
universally used technique that has matured significantly in the last decade.
Model predictions and fitting procedures have improved significantly over this
time, attempting to keep up with the vastly increased volume and quality of
available data. We review here the field of SED fitting, describing the
modelling of ultraviolet to infrared galaxy SEDs, the creation of
multiwavelength data sets, and the methods used to fit model SEDs to observed
galaxy data sets. We touch upon the achievements and challenges in the major
ingredients of SED fitting, with a special emphasis on describing the interplay
between the quality of the available data, the quality of the available models,
and the best fitting technique to use in order to obtain a realistic
measurement as well as realistic uncertainties. We conclude that SED fitting
can be used effectively to derive a range of physical properties of galaxies,
such as redshift, stellar masses, star formation rates, dust masses, and
metallicities, with care taken not to over-interpret the available data. Yet
there still exist many issues such as estimating the age of the oldest stars in
a galaxy, finer details ofdust properties and dust-star geometry, and the
influences of poorly understood, luminous stellar types and phases. The
challenge for the coming years will be to improve both the models and the
observational data sets to resolve these uncertainties. The present review will
be made available on an interactive, moderated web page (sedfitting.org), where
the community can access and change the text. The intention is to expand the
text and keep it up to date over the coming years.Comment: 54 pages, 26 figures, Accepted for publication in Astrophysics &
Space Scienc
Observed versus modelled u,g,r,i,z-band photometry of local galaxies - Evaluation of model performance
We test how well available stellar population models can reproduce observed
u,g,r,i,z-band photometry of the local galaxy population (0.02<=z<=0.03) as
probed by the SDSS. Our study is conducted from the perspective of a user of
the models, who has observational data in hand and seeks to convert them into
physical quantities. Stellar population models for galaxies are created by
synthesizing star formations histories and chemical enrichments using single
stellar populations from several groups (Starburst99, GALAXEV, Maraston2005,
GALEV). The role of dust is addressed through a simplistic, but observationally
motivated, dust model that couples the amplitude of the extinction to the star
formation history, metallicity and the viewing angle. Moreover, the influence
of emission lines is considered (for the subset of models for which this
component is included). The performance of the models is investigated by: 1)
comparing their prediction with the observed galaxy population in the SDSS
using the (u-g)-(r-i) and (g-r)-(i-z) color planes, 2) comparing predicted
stellar mass and luminosity weighted ages and metallicities, specific star
formation rates, mass to light ratios and total extinctions with literature
values from studies based on spectroscopy. Strong differences between the
various models are seen, with several models occupying regions in the
color-color diagrams where no galaxies are observed. We would therefore like to
emphasize the importance of the choice of model. Using our preferred model we
find that the star formation history, metallicity and also dust content can be
constrained over a large part of the parameter space through the use of
u,g,r,i,z-band photometry. However, strong local degeneracies are present due
to overlap of models with high and low extinction in certain parts of color
space.Comment: MNRAS accepted. 18 pages, incl. 15 figure
Horizontal Branch Stars: The Interplay between Observations and Theory, and Insights into the Formation of the Galaxy
We review HB stars in a broad astrophysical context, including both variable
and non-variable stars. A reassessment of the Oosterhoff dichotomy is
presented, which provides unprecedented detail regarding its origin and
systematics. We show that the Oosterhoff dichotomy and the distribution of
globular clusters (GCs) in the HB morphology-metallicity plane both exclude,
with high statistical significance, the possibility that the Galactic halo may
have formed from the accretion of dwarf galaxies resembling present-day Milky
Way satellites such as Fornax, Sagittarius, and the LMC. A rediscussion of the
second-parameter problem is presented. A technique is proposed to estimate the
HB types of extragalactic GCs on the basis of integrated far-UV photometry. The
relationship between the absolute V magnitude of the HB at the RR Lyrae level
and metallicity, as obtained on the basis of trigonometric parallax
measurements for the star RR Lyrae, is also revisited, giving a distance
modulus to the LMC of (m-M)_0 = 18.44+/-0.11. RR Lyrae period change rates are
studied. Finally, the conductive opacities used in evolutionary calculations of
low-mass stars are investigated. [ABRIDGED]Comment: 56 pages, 22 figures. Invited review, to appear in Astrophysics and
Space Scienc
Globular cluster content and evolutionary history of NGC147
We present the results of spectroscopic observations of eight globular
cluster candidates in NGC147, a satellite dwarf elliptical galaxy of M31. Our
goal is to make a complete inventory of the globular cluster system of this
galaxy, determine the properties of their stellar populations, and compare
these properties with those of systems of globular clusters in other dwarf
galaxies. The candidates were identified on Canada-France-Hawaii telescope
photographic plates. Medium resolution spectra were obtained with the SCORPIO
spectrograph at the prime focus of the 6m telescope of the Russian Academy of
Sciences. We were able to confirm the nature of all eight candidates, three of
which (GC5, GC7, and GC10) are indeed globular clusters, and to estimate
evolutionary parameters for the two brightest ones and for Hodge II. The bright
clusters GC5 and GC7 appear to have metallicities ([Z/H]~ -1.5- -1.8) that are
lower than the oldest stars in the galaxy. The fainter GC Hodge II has a
metallicity [Z/H]=-1.1 dex, similar to that of the oldest stars in the galaxy.
The clusters GC5 and GC7 have low alpha-element abundance ratios. The mean age
of the globular clusters in NGC147 is 9+-1 Gyr. The frequency, S_n =6.4, and
mass fraction, T=14 of globular clusters in NGC147 appear to be higher than
those for NGC185 and 205. (Abridged)Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, 5 tables, 3 appendixes; acknowledgements adde
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