413 research outputs found
<i>AKARI</i>/IRC source catalogues and source counts for the IRAC Dark Field, ELAIS North and the <i>AKARI</i> Deep Field South
We present the first detailed analysis of three extragalactic fields (IRAC Dark Field, ELAIS-N1, ADF-S) observed by the infrared satellite, AKARI, using an optimized data analysis toolkit specifically for the processing of extragalactic point sources. The InfaRed Camera (IRC) on AKARI complements the SpitzerSpace Telescope via its comprehensive coverage between 8–24 μm filling the gap between the Spitzer/IRAC and MIPS instruments. Source counts in the AKARI bands at 3.2, 4.1, 7, 11, 15 and 18 μm are presented. At near-infrared wavelengths, our source counts are consistent with counts made in other AKARI fields and in general with SpitzerIRAC (except at 3.2 μm where our counts lie above). In the mid-infrared (11 – 18 μm), we find our counts are consistent with both previous surveys by AKARI and the Spitzer peak-up imaging survey with the InfraRed Spectrograph (IRS). Using our counts to constrain contemporary evolutionary models, we find that although the models and counts are in agreement at mid-infrared wavelengths there are inconsistencies at wavelengths shortward of 7 μm, suggesting either a problem with stellar subtraction or indicating the need for refinement of the stellar population models. We have also investigated the AKARI/IRC filters, and find an active galactic nucleus selection criteria out to z AKARI 4.1, 11, 15 and 18 μm colours
The Stellar Archeology of the M33 Disk: Recent Star-Forming History and Constraints on the Timing of an Interaction with M31
Images recorded with MegaCam are used to investigate the recent star-forming
history (SFH) of the Local Group Sc galaxy M33. The properties of the stellar
disk change near R = 8 kpc. Within this radius the star formation rate (SFR)
has been constant with time during at least the past 250 Myr, while at larger
radii the SFR has declined during this same time period. That the recent SFR in
the inner disk has been constant suggests that M33 has evolved in isolation for
at least the past ~ 0.5 Gyr, thereby providing a constraint on the timing of
any recent interaction with M31. The fractional contribution that young stars
make to the total mass of the stellar disk changes with radius, peaking near 8
kpc. Evidence is also presented that the SFR during the past 100 Myr in the
southern half of the galaxy has been ~ 0.4 dex higher than in the northern
half. Finally, structures with sizes spanning many kpc that contain blue
objects - presumably main sequence stars that formed during intermediate epochs
- are identified near the disk boundary. It is argued that these are tidal
features that were pulled from the main body of M33 and - in some cases - are
the fossil remnants of star formation that occured in an extended disk during
intermediate epochs.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap
The Central Regions of M31 in the 3 - 5 micron Wavelength Region
Images obtained with NIRI on the Gemini North telescope are used to
investigate the photometric properties of the central regions of M31 in the 3 -
5 micron wavelength range. The light distribution in the central arcsecond
differs from what is seen in the near-infrared in the sense that the difference
in peak brigh tness between P1 and P2 is larger in M' than in K'; no obvious
signature of P3 is dete cted in M'. These results can be explained if there is
a source of emission that contributes ~ 20% of the peak M' light of P1 and has
an effective temperature of no more than a few hundred K that is located
between P1 and P2. Based on the red K-M' color of this source, it is suggested
that the emission originates in a circumstellar dust shell surrounding a single
bright AGB star. A similar bright source that is ~ 8 arcsec from the center of
the galaxy is also detected in M'. Finally, the (L', K-L') color-magnitude
diagram of unblended stars shows a domin ant AGB population with photometric
characteristics that are similar to those of the most luminous M giants in the
Galactic bulge.Comment: To appear in the Astronomical Journa
The Evolved Red Stellar Contents of the Sculptor Group Galaxies NGC55, NGC300, and NGC7793
Deep J, H, and K images are used to probe the evolved stellar contents in the
central regions of the Sculptor group galaxies NGC55, NGC300, and NGC7793. The
brightest stars are massive red supergiants (RSGs) with K ~ 15 - 15.5. The peak
RSG brightness is constant to within ~0.5 mag in K, suggesting that NGC55,
NGC300, and NGC7793 are at comparable distances. Comparisons with bright RSGs
in the Magellanic Clouds indicate that the difference in distance modulus with
respect to the LMC is = 7.5. A rich population of asymptotic giant branch (AGB)
stars, which isochrones indicate have ages between 0.1 and 10 Gyr, dominates
the (K, J-K) color-magnitude diagram (CMD) of each galaxy. The detection of
significant numbers of AGB stars with ages near 10 Gyr indicates that the disks
of these galaxies contain an underlying old population. The CMDs and luminosity
functions reveal significant galaxy-to-galaxy variations in stellar content.
Star-forming activity in the central arcmin of NGC300 has been suppressed for
the past Gyr with respect to disk fields at larger radii. Nevertheless,
comparisons between fields within each galaxy indicate that star-forming
activity during intermediate epochs was coherent on spatial scales of a kpc or
more. A large cluster of stars, which isochrones suggest has an age near 100
Myr, is seen in one of the NGC55 fields. The luminosity function of the
brightest stars in this cluster is flat, as expected if a linear
luminosity-core mass relation is present.Comment: 30 pages, including 13 figure
Investigating Ca II emission in the RS CVn binary ER Vulpeculae using the Broadening Function Formalism
The synchronously rotating G stars in the detached, short-period (0.7 d),
partially eclipsing binary, ER Vul, are the most chromospherically active
solar-type stars known. We have monitored activity in the Ca II H & K reversals
for almost an entire orbit. Rucinski's Broadening Function Formalism allows the
photospheric contribution to be objectively subtracted from the highly blended
spectra. The power of the BF technique is also demonstrated by the good
agreement of radial velocities with those measured by others from less crowded
spectral regions. In addition to strong Ca II emission from the primary and
secondary, there appears to be a high-velocity stream flowing onto the
secondary where it stimulates a large active region on the surface 30 - 40
degrees in advance of the sub-binary longitude. A model light curve with a spot
centered on the same longitude also gives the best fit to the observed light
curve. A flare with approximately 13% more power than at other phases was
detected in one spectrum. We suggest ER Vul may offer a magnified view of the
more subtle chromospheric effects synchronized to planetary revolution seen in
certain `51 Peg'-type systems.Comment: Accepted to AJ; 17 pages and 16 figure
Spatially Resolved Star Formation History Along the Disk of M82 Using Multi-Band Photometric Data
We present the results on the star formation history and extinction in the
disk of M82 over spatial scales of 10" (~180 pc). Multi-band photometric data
covering from the far ultraviolet to the near infrared bands were fitted to a
grid of synthetic spectral energy distributions. We obtained distribution
functions of age and extinction for each of the 117 apertures analyzed, taking
into account observational errors through Monte-Carlo simulations. These
distribution functions were fitted with gaussian functions to obtain the mean
ages and extinctions along with errors on them. The analyzed zones include the
high surface brightness complexes defined by O'Connell & Mangano (1978). We
found that these complexes share the same star formation history and extinction
as the field stellar populations in the disk. There is an indication that the
stellar populations are marginally older at the outer disk (450 Myr at ~3 kpc)
as compared to the inner disk (100 Myr at 0.5 kpc). For the nuclear regions
(radius less than 500 pc), we obtained an age of less than 10 Myr. The results
obtained in this work are consistent with the idea that the 0.5-3 kpc part of
the disk of M82 formed around 90% of the stellar mass in a star-forming episode
that started around 450 Myr ago lasting for about 350 Myr. We found that field
stars are the major contributors to the flux over the spatial scales analyzed
in this study, with stellar cluster contribution being 7% in the nucleus and
0.7% in the disk.Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures. Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical
Journa
A Study of the Scintillation Induced by Alpha Particles and Gamma Rays in Liquid Xenon in an Electric Field
Scintillation produced in liquid xenon by alpha particles and gamma rays has
been studied as a function of applied electric field. For back scattered gamma
rays with energy of about 200 keV, the number of scintillation photons was
found to decrease by 64+/-2% with increasing field strength. Consequently, the
pulse shape discrimination power between alpha particles and gamma rays is
found to reduce with increasing field, but remaining non-zero at higher fields.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures, accepted by Nuclear Instruments and Methods in
Physics Research
New Light on the Formation and Evolution of M31 and its Globular Cluster System
We present spectroscopic ages, metallicities, and [alpha/Fe] ratios for 70
globular clusters in M31 that were derived from Lick line-index measurements.
In addition to a population of old (>10 Gyr) globular clusters with a wide
range of metallicities, from about -2.0 dex to solar values, we find evidence
for a population of intermediate-age globular clusters with ages between ~5 and
8 Gyr and a mean metallicity around [Z/H]=-0.6. We also confirm the presence of
young M31 globular clusters that were recently identified by Beasley et al.
(2004), which have ages <1 Gyr and relatively high metallicities around -0.4
dex. The M31 globular cluster system has a clearly super-solar mean
[alpha/Fe]=0.14\pm0.04 dex. Intermediate-age and young objects show roughly
solar abundance ratios. We find evidence for an age-[alpha/Fe] relation in the
sense that younger clusters have smaller mean [alpha/Fe] ratios. From a
comparison of indices, mostly sensitive to carbon and/or nitrogen abundance,
with SSP model predictions for nitrogen-enhanced stellar populations, we find a
dichotomy in nitrogen enhancement between young and old M31 globular clusters.
The indices of objects older than 5 Gyr are consistent with a factor of three
or higher in nitrogen enhancement compared to their younger counterparts. Using
kinematical data from Morrison et al. (2004) we find that the globular cluster
sub-population with halo kinematics is old (>9 Gyr), has a bimodal metallicity
distribution, and super-solar [alpha/Fe]. Disk globular clusters have a wider
range of ages, are on average more metal-rich, and have a slightly smaller mean
[alpha/Fe] ratio. (abridged)Comment: 32 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in A&
The Disk and Extraplanar Environment of NGC 247
The stellar content of the spiral galaxy NGC 247 is investigated. The main
sequence turn-off (MSTO) in the inner 12 kpc of the disk corresponds to an age
of 6 Myr. A mean star formation rate (SFR) of 0.1 solar masses per year during
the past 16 Myr is computed from star counts. The color of the red supergiant
plume does not change with radius, suggesting that the mean metallicity of
young stars does not vary by more than 0.1 dex. The number of bright main
sequence stars per local stellar mass density climbs towards larger radii out
to a distance of 12 kpc; the scale lengths that characterize the radial
distributions of young and old stars in the disk thus differ. The density of
bright main sequence stars with respect to projected HI mass gradually drops
with increasing radius. The population of very young stars disappears in the
outer disk; the MSTO at galactocentric radii between 12 and 15 kpc corresponds
to 16 Myr, while between 15 and 18 kpc the age is > 40 Myr. Red giant branch
(RGB) stars are resolved at a projected minor axis galactocentric distance of
12 kpc. There is a broad spread in metallicity among the RGB stars, with a mean
[M/H] = -1.2. The RGB-tip occurs at i' = 24.5 +/- 0.1, indicating that the
distance modulus is 27.9 +/- 0.1. Luminous AGB stars with an age 3 Gyr are also
seen in this field.Comment: Includes 16 eps figures; to appear in the Astrophysical Journa
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