The Star-Forming Region NGC 346 in the Small Magellanic Cloud with Hubble Space Telescope ACS Observations I. Photometry

We present a photometric study of the star-forming region NGC 346 and its surrounding field in the Small Magellanic Cloud, using data taken with the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The data set contains both short and long exposures for increased dynamic range, and photometry was performed using the ACS module of the stellar photometry package DOLPHOT. We detected almost 100,000 stars over a magnitude range of V ~ 11 to V ~ 28 mag, including all stellar types from the most massive young stars to faint lower main sequence and pre-main sequence stars. We find that this region, which is characterized by a plethora of stellar systems and interesting objects, is an outstanding example of mixed stellar populations. We take into account different features of the color-magnitude diagram of all the detected stars to distinguish the two dominant stellar systems: The stellar association NGC 346 and the old spherical star cluster BS 90. These observations provide a complete stellar sample of a field about 5 arcmin x 5 arcmin around the most active star-forming region in this galaxy. Considering the importance of these data for various investigations in the area, we provide the full stellar catalog from our photometry. This paper is the first part of an ongoing study to investigate in detail the two dominant stellar systems in the area and their surrounding field.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, A high-resolution version can be found at: http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~dgoulier/Science/Gouliermis+_NGC346_I.pd

Using the Tip of the Red Giant Branch as a Distance Indicator in the Near Infrared

The tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) is a well-established standard candle used to measure distances to nearby galaxies. The TRGB luminosity is typically measured in the I-band, where the luminosity has little dependency on stellar age or stellar metallicity. As the TRGB is brighter at wavelengths redder than the I-band, observational gains can be made if the TRGB luminosity can be robustly calibrated at longer wavelengths. This is of particular interest given the infrared capabilities that will be available with the James Webb Space Telescope and an important calibration consideration for using TRGB distances as part of an independent measurement of the Hubble constant. Here, we use simulated photometry to investigate the dependency of the TRGB luminosity on stellar age and metallicity as a function of wavelength (475 nm - 4.5 micron). We find intrinsic variations in the TRGB magnitude to increase from a few hundredths of a magnitude at 800-900 nm to ~0.6 mag by 1.5 micron. We show that variations at the longer infrared wavelengths can be reduced to 0.02-0.05 mag (1-2% accuracy in distance) with careful calibrations that account for changes in age and metal content. These represent the minimum uncertainties; observational uncertainties will be higher. Such calibration efforts may also provide independent constraints of the age and metallicity of stellar halos where TRGB distances are best measured. At 3.6 and 4.5 micron, the TRGB magnitude is predicted to vary up to ~0.15 mag even after corrections for stellar age and metallicity, making these wavelengths less suitable for precision distances.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, 1 table, Accepted to the Astrophysical Journa

The use of imaging systems to monitor shoreline dynamics

The development of imaging systems is nowadays established as one of the most powerful and reliable tools for monitoring beach morphodynamics. Two different techniques for shoreline detection are presented here and, in one case, applied to the study of beach width oscillations on a sandy beach (Pauanui Beach, New Zealand). Results indicate that images can provide datasets whose length and sample interval are accurate enough to resolve inter-annual and seasonal oscillations, and long-term trends. Similarly, imaging systems can be extremely useful in determining the statistics of rip current occurrence. Further improvements in accuracy and reliability are expected with the recent introduction of digital systems

The political economy of carbon pricing: a panel analysis

In virtually all jurisdictions that explicitly price carbon, its average (emissions-weighted) price remains low. Our analysis focuses on the political economy of its introduction as well as its stringency in an international panel of national and North American subnational jurisdictions. Results suggest that political economy factors primarily a ected the former and that policy stringency is a highly persistent process. This has two important policy implications. First, successful passage of carbon pricing legislation will either come with contemporaneous compensation of incumbent, CO2-intensive, sectors or occur after their relative weakening. Second, if political economy constraints continue to prevail, a robust rationale for the design of climate change mitigation strategies with multiple instruments exists.ESRC PhD studentshi