On the star formation history of IZw 18

It has been suggested that a continuous low star formation rate has been the dominant regime in IZw 18 and in dwarf galaxies for the lifetime of these objects (Legrand et al. 1999). Here, we discuss and model various star-forming histories for IZw 18. Particularly, we show that if the metallicity observed in IZw 18 results from starburst events only, the observed colors constrain the fraction of the metals ejected from the galaxy to be less than 50-70 %. We demonstrate that the continuous star formation scenario reproduces the observed parameters of IZw 18. A continuous star formation rate (SFR) of about 10E-4 Msol/yr during 14 Gyr reproduces precisely the observed abundances. This SFR is comparable with the lowest SFR observed in low surface brightness galaxies (van Zee et al. 1997). Generalized to all galaxies, the low continuous SFR scenario accounts for various facts: the presence of star formation in quiescent dwarfs and LSBG, the metallicity increase with time in the most underabundant DLA systems, and the metal content extrapolations to the outskirts of spiral galaxies. Also the apparent absence of galaxies with a metallicity lower than IZw 18, the apparent absence of HI clouds without optical counterparts, and the homogeneity of abundances in dwarfs galaxies are natural outcomes of the scenario. This implies that, even if starbursts are strong and important events in the life of galaxies, their more subdued but continuous star formation regime cannot be ignored when accounting for their chemical evolution.Comment: 10 pages, 5 postscript figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics main journa

Deep Hubble Space Telescope/ACS Observations of I Zw 18: a Young Galaxy in Formation

We present V and I photometry of the resolved stars in the most metal-deficient blue compact dwarf galaxy known, I Zw 18 (Zsun/50), using Hubble Space Telescope/Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) images, the deepest ones ever obtained for this galaxy. The resulting I vs. V-I color-magnitude diagram (CMD) reaches limiting magnitudes V=I=29 mag. It reveals a young stellar population of blue main-sequence (MS) stars (age <30 Myr) and blue and red supergiants (10 Myr<age<100 Myr), but also an older evolved population of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars (100 Myr<age<500 Myr). We derive a distance to I Zw 18 in the range 12.6 Mpc - 15 Mpc from the brightness of its AGB stars, with preferred values in the higher range. The red giant branch (RGB) stars are conspicuous by their absence, although, for a distance of I Zw 18 <15 Mpc, our imaging data go ~ 1-2 mag below the tip of the RGB. Thus, the most evolved stars in the galaxy are not older than 500 Myr and I Zw 18 is a bona fide young galaxy. Several star formation episodes can be inferred from the CMDs of the main body and the C component. There have been respectively three and two episodes in these two parts, separated by periods of ~ 100-200 Myr. In the main body, the younger MS and massive post-MS stars are distributed over a larger area than the older AGB stars, suggesting that I Zw 18 is still forming from the inside out. In the C component, different star formation episodes are spatially distinct, with stellar population ages decreasing from the northwest to the southeast, also suggesting the ongoing build-up of a young galaxy.Comment: 29 pages, 13 Postscript figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Particle-wall collision statistics in the open circular billiard

In the open circular billiard particles are placed initially with a uniform distribution in their positions inside a planar circular vesicle. They all have velocities of the same magnitude, whose initial directions are also uniformly distributed. No particle-particle interactions are included, only specular elastic collisions of the particles with the wall of the vesicle. The particles may escape through an aperture with an angle $2\delta$. The collisions of the particles with the wall are characterized by the angular position and the angle of incidence. We study the evolution of the system considering the probability distributions of these variables at successive times $n$ the particle reaches the border of the vesicle. These distributions are calculated analytically and measured in numerical simulations. For finite apertures $\delta<\pi/2$, a particular set of initial conditions exists for which the particles are in periodic orbits and never escape the vesicle. This set is of zero measure, but the selection of angular momenta close to these orbits is observed after some collisions, and thus the distributions of probability have a structure formed by peaks. We calculate the marginal distributions up to $n=4$, but for $\delta>\pi/2$ a solution is found for arbitrary $n$. The escape probability as a function of $n^{-1}$ decays with an exponent 4 for $\delta>\pi/2$ and evidences for a power law decay are found for lower apertures as well.Comment: 11 pages, 14 figures. Typos corrected and two new figures added, figure captions changed and additional discussions added. Version accepted for publication in Physica

A spectroscopic study of component C and the extended emission around I Zw 18

Long-slit Keck II, 4m Kitt Peak, and 4.5m MMT spectrophotometric data are used to investigate the stellar population and the evolutionary status of I Zw 18C, the faint C component of the nearby blue compact dwarf galaxy I Zw 18. Hydrogen H$\alpha$ and H$\beta$ emission lines are detected in the spectra of I Zw 18C, implying that ionizing massive stars are present. High signal-to-noise Keck II spectra of different regions in I Zw 18C reveal H$\gamma$, H$\delta$ and higher order hydrogen lines in absorption. Several techniques are used to constrain the age of the stellar population in I Zw 18C. Ages derived from two different methods, one based on the equivalent widths of the H$\alpha$, H$\beta$ emission lines and the other on H$\gamma$, H$\delta$ absorption lines are consistent with a 15 Myr instantaneous burst model. We find that a small extinction in the range $A_V$ = 0.20 -- 0.65 mag is needed to fit the observed spectral energy distribution of I Zw 18C with that model. In the case of constant star formation, all observed properties are consistent with stars forming continuously between ~ 10 Myr and < 100 Myr ago. We use all available observational constraints for I Zw 18C, including those obtained from Hubble Space Telescope color-magnitude diagrams, to argue that the distance to I Zw 18 should be as high as ~ 15 Mpc. The deep spectra also reveal extended ionized gas emission around I Zw 18. H$\alpha$ emission is detected as far as 30" from it. To a B surface brightness limit of ~ 27 mag arcsec$^{-2}$ we find no observational evidence for extended stellar emission in the outermost regions, at distances > 15" from I Zw 18.Comment: 38 pages, 11 Postscript figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Quasimodes of a chaotic elastic cavity with increasing local losses

We report non-invasive measurements of the complex field of elastic quasimodes of a silicon wafer with chaotic shape. The amplitude and phase spatial distribution of the flexural modes are directly obtained by Fourier transform of time measurements. We investigate the crossover from real mode to complex-valued quasimode, when absorption is progressively increased on one edge of the wafer. The complexness parameter, which characterizes the degree to which a resonance state is complex-valued, is measured for non-overlapping resonances and is found to be proportional to the non-homogeneous contribution to the line broadening of the resonance. A simple two-level model based on the effective Hamiltonian formalism supports our experimental results

Statistics of the electromagnetic response of a chaotic reverberation chamber

This article presents a study of the electromagnetic response of a chaotic reverberation chamber (RC) in the presence of losses. By means of simulations and of experiments, the fluctuations in the maxima of the field obtained in a conventional mode-stirred RC are compared with those in a chaotic RC in the neighborhood of the Lowest Useable Frequency (LUF). The present work illustrates that the universal spectral and spatial statistical properties of chaotic RCs allow to meet more adequately the criteria required by the Standard IEC 61000-4-21 to perform tests of electromagnetic compatibility.Comment: 6 pages, 9 figure

A continuous low star formation rate in IZw 18 ?

Deep long-slit spectroscopic observations of the blue compact galaxy IZw 18 obtained with the CFH 3.6 m Telescope are presented. The very low value of oxygen abundance previously reported is confirmed and a very homogeneous abundance distribution is found (no variation larger than 0.05 dex) over the whole ionized region. We concur with Tenorio-Tagle (1996) and Devost et al. (1997) that the observed abundance level cannot result from the material ejected by the stars formed in the current burst, and propose that the observed metals were formed in a previous star formation episode. Metals ejected in the current burst of star formation remain most probably hidden in a hot phase and are undetectable using optical spectroscopy. We discuss different scenarios of star formation in IZw 18. Combining various observational facts, for instance the faint star formation rate observed in low surface brightness galaxies van Zee et al. (1997), it is proposed that a low and continuous rate of star formation occurring during quiescent phases between bursts could be a significant source of metal enrichment of the interstellar medium.Comment: 10 pages, 4 Postscript figures, to be published in Astronomy and Astrophysics main journa

Magnetism: the Driving Force of Order in CoPt. A First-Principles Study

CoPt or FePt equiatomic alloys order according to the tetragonal L10 structure which favors their strong magnetic anisotropy. Conversely magnetism can influence chemical ordering. We present here {\it ab initio} calculations of the stability of the L10 and L12 structures of Co-Pt alloys in their paramagnetic and ferromagnetic states. They show that magnetism strongly reinforces the ordering tendencies in this system. A simple tight-binding analysis allows us to account for this behavior in terms of some pertinent parameters