30 research outputs found
Imaging of the Stellar Population of IC10 with Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics and the Hubble Space Telescope
We present adaptive optics (AO) images of the central starburst region of the
dwarf irregular galaxy IC10. The Keck 2 telescope laser guide star was used to
achieve near diffraction-limited performance at H and K' (Strehls of 18% and
32%, respectively). The images are centered on the putative Wolf-Rayet (W-R)
object [MAC92]24. We combine our AO images with F814W data from HST. By
comparing the K' vs. [F814W]-K' color-magnitude diagram (CMD) with theoretical
isochrones, we find that the stellar population is best represented by at least
two bursts of star formation, one ~ 10 Myr ago and one much older (150-500
Myr). Young, blue stars are concentrated in the vicinity of [MAC92]24. This
population represents an OB association with a half-light radius of about 3 pc.
We resolve the W-R object [MAC92]24 into at least six blue stars. Four of these
components have near-IR colors and luminosities that make them robust WN star
candidates. By matching the location of C-stars in the CMD with those in the
SMC we derive a distance modulus for IC10 of about 24.5 mag. and a foreground
reddening of E(B-V) = 0.95. We find a more precise distance by locating the tip
of the giant branch in the F814W, H, and K' luminosity functions. We find a
weighted mean distance modulus of 24.48 +/- 0.08. The systematic error in this
measurement, due to a possible difference in the properties of the RGB
populations in IC10 and the SMC, is +/- 0.16 mag.Comment: 13 pages, 13 figures, ApJ in pres
The spatial and age distribution of stellar populations in DDO 190
The spatial distribution of stellar populations, the star formation history,
and other properties of the dIrr galaxy DDO 190 have been analyzed using
color--magnitude diagrams (CMDs) of about 3900 resolved stars and the Ha fluxes
of HII regions. From the mean color index of the red giant branch, a mean
metallicity [Fe/H]=-2.0 is obtained. The I magnitude of the TRGB has been used
to estimate the distance. DDO 190 is 2.9+/-0.2 Mpc from the Milky Way, 2.1 Mpc
from the M 94 group (CnV-I), 2.4 Mpc from the M 81 group and 2.9 Mpc from the
barycenter of the Local Group, all indicating that it is an isolated, field
galaxy. The surface-brightness distribution of the galaxy is well fitted by
ellipses of ellipticity e=1-a/b=0.1 and P.A.=82deg. The radial star density
distribution follows an exponential law of scale length a=43."4, corresponding
to 611 pc. The Holmberg semi-major axis to mu_B=26.5 is estimated to be
r^B_(26.5)=3.'0. Stellar populations of different ages in DDO 190 show strong
spatial decoupling, the oldest population appearing much more extended than the
youngest. Stars younger than 0.1 Gyr occupy only the central 40'' (0.55 kpc);
stars younger than a few (~4) Gyr extend out to ~80'' (125 kpc), and for larger
galactocentric distances only older stars seem to be present. This behavior is
found in all the dIrr galaxies for which spatially extended studies have been
performed and could be related with the kinematical history of the galaxy.Comment: To be published in the AJ. 29 pages, 13 figure
DDO 88: A Galaxy-Sized Hole in the Interstellar Medium
We present an HI and optical study of the gas-rich dwarf irregular galaxy DDO
88. Although DDO 88's global optical and HI parameters are normal for its
morphological type, it hosts a large (3 kpc diameter) and unusually complete
ring of enhanced HI emission. The gas ring is located at approximately
one-third of the total HI radius and one-half the optically-defined Holmberg
radius, and contains 30% of the total HI of the galaxy. The ring surrounds a
central depression in the HI distribution, so it may be a shell formed by a
starburst episode. However, the UBV colors in the HI hole are not bluer than
the rest of the galaxy as would be expected if an unusual star-forming event
had taken place there recently, but there is an old (~1-3 Gyr), red cluster
near the center of the hole that is massive enough to have produced the hole in
the HI. An age estimate for the ring, however, is uncertain because it is not
observed to be expanding. An expansion model produces a lower estimate of 0.5
Gyr, but the presence of faint star formation regions associated with the ring
indicate a much younger age. We also estimate that the ring could have
dispersed by now if it is older than 0.5 Gyr. This implies that the ring is
younger than 0.5 Gyr. A younger age would indicate that the red cluster did not
produce the hole and ring. If this ring and the depression in the gas which it
surrounds were not formed by stellar winds and supernovae, this would indicate
that some other, currently unidentified, mechanism is operating.Comment: 44 pages; 16 figures. To appear in AJ, January 2005. Available from
ftp.lowell.edu, cd pub/dah/papers/d88 and http://www.fiu.edu/~simpsonc/d8
The Molecular ISM of Dwarf Galaxies on Kiloparsec Scales: A New Survey for CO in Northern, IRAS-detected Dwarf Galaxies
We present a new survey for CO in dwarf galaxies using the Kitt Peak 12m
telescope. We observed the central regions of 121 northern dwarfs with IRAS
detections and no known CO emission. We detect CO in 28 of these galaxies and
marginally detect another 16, increasing by about 50% the number of such
galaxies known to have significant CO emission. The galaxies we detect are
comparable in mass to the LMC, although somewhat brighter in CO and fainter in
the FIR. Within dwarfs, we find that the CO luminosity, L_CO, is most strongly
correlated with the K-band and the far infrared luminosities. There are also
strong correlations with the radio continuum and B-band luminosities, and
linear diameter. We suggest that L_CO and L_K correlate well because the
stellar component of a galaxy dominates the midplane gravitational field and
thus sets the pressure of the atomic gas, which controls the formation of H_2
from HI. We compare our sample with more massive galaxies and find that dwarfs
and large galaxies obey the same relationship between CO and the 1.4 GHz radio
continuum (RC) surface brightness. This relationship is well described by a
Schmidt Law with Sigma_RC proportional to Sigma_CO^1.3. Therefore, dwarf
galaxies and large spirals exhibit the same relationship between molecular gas
and star formation rate (SFR). We find that this result is robust to moderate
changes in the RC-to-SFR and CO-to-H_2 conversion factors. Our data appear to
be inconsistent with large (order of magnitude) variations in the CO-to-H_2
conversion factor in the star forming molecular gas. [abridged]Comment: 28 pages, 14 figures, 5 tables, ApJ accepte
Molecular Gas in the Low Metallicity, Star Forming Dwarf IC 10
We present a complete survey of CO 1->0 emission in the Local Group dwarf
irregular IC 10. The survey, conducted with the BIMA interferometer, covers the
stellar disk and a large fraction of the extended HI envelope with the
sensitivity and resolution necessary to detect individual giant molecular
clouds (GMCs) at the distance of IC 10 (950 kpc). We find 16 clouds with a
total CO luminosity of 1 x 10^6 K km s^-1 pc^2, equivalent to 4 x 10^6 Msun of
molecular gas using the Galactic CO-to-H2 conversion factor. Observations with
the ARO 12m find that BIMA may resolve out as much as 50% of the CO emission,
and we estimate the total CO luminosity as 2.2 x 10^6 K km s^-1 pc^2. We
measure the properties of 14 GMCs from high resolution OVRO data. These clouds
are very similar to Galactic GMCs in their sizes, line widths, luminosities,
and CO-to-H2 conversion factors despite the low metallicity of IC 10 (Z ~ 1/5
Zsun). Comparing the BIMA survey to the atomic gas and stellar content of IC 10
we find that most of the CO emission is coincident with high surface density
HI. IC 10 displays a much higher star formation rate per unit molecular (H2) or
total (HI+H2) gas than most galaxies. This could be a real difference or may be
an evolutionary effect - the star formation rate may have been higher in the
recent past.Comment: 21 pages, 14 figures, Accepted to Ap
CO Emission in Low Luminosity, HI Rich Galaxies
We present 12CO 1-0 observations of eleven low luminosity M_B > -18),
HI--rich dwarf galaxies. Only the three most metal-rich galaxies, with
12+log(O/H) ~ 8.2, are detected. Very deep CO spectra of six extremely
metal-poor systems (12+log(O/H) < 7.5) yield only low upper limits on the CO
surface brightness, I_CO < 0.1 K km/s. Three of these six have never before
been observed in a CO line, while the others now have much more stringent upper
limits. For the very low metallicity galaxy Leo A, we do not confirm a
previously reported detection in CO, and the limits are consistent with another
recent nondetection. We combine these new observations with data from the
literature to form a sample of dwarf galaxies which all have CO observations
and measured oxygen abundances. No known galaxies with 12+log(O/H) < 7.9 (Z <
0.1 solar) have been detected in CO. Most of the star-forming galaxies with
higher (12+log(O/H) > 8.1) metallicities are detected at similar or higher I_CO
surface brightnesses. The data are consistent with a strong dependence of the
I_CO/M_H_2 = X_CO conversion factor on ambient metallicity. The strikingly low
upper limits on some metal-poor galaxies lead us to predict that the conversion
factor is non-linear, increasing sharply below approximately 1/10 of the solar
metallicity (12+log(O/H) < 7.9).Comment: 25 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in AJ Tables
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Dust-to-gas ratio and metal abundance in dwarf galaxies
We have compared the metallicity (represented by oxygen abundance), and the dust-to-gas ratio, in a sample of dwarf galaxies. For dwarf irregulars (dIrrs) we find a good correlation between the two quantities, with a power-law index 0.54±0.2. Blue Compact Dwarf (BCD) galaxies do not show such a good correlation; in addition both the dust-to-gas ratio and the metallicity tend to be higher than for dIrrs. We have then developed a simple but physical analytical model for the above relation. Comparing the model results with the data, we conclude that: (i) for low values of the dust-to-gas ratio, the relation between the dust-to-gas ratio and the metallicity is quasi-linear, whereas for higher values the curve strongly deviates from the linear behavior, implying that the commonly used power-law approximation is very poor; (ii) the deviation from the linear behavior depends critically on the parameter Ï, the ``differential'' mass outflow rate from the galaxy in units of the star formation rate (SFR); (iii) the shape of the curve representing the relation between the dust-to-gas ratio and the metallicity does not depend on the SFR, but only on Ï; however, the specific location of a given galaxy on the curve does depend on Ï; (iv) the BCD metallicity segregation is due to a higher Ï, together with a significant differential mass outflow. Thus, the lack of correlation can be produced by largely different star formation rates and values of Ï in these objects.U. L. gratefully acknowledges the receipt of a grant by the Deutsche
Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) and by the ComisiŽon Interministerial de Ciencia y TechnologŽıa (Spain)
A Search for "Dwarf" Seyfert Nuclei. III. Spectroscopic Parameters and Properties of the Host Galaxies
We have completed an optical spectroscopic survey of the nuclear regions (r <
200 pc) of a large sample of nearby galaxies. Although the main objectives of
the survey are to search for low-luminosity active galactic nuclei and to
quantify their luminosity function, the database can be used for a variety of
other purposes. This paper presents measurements of the spectroscopic
parameters for the 418 emission-line nuclei, along with a compilation of the
global properties of all 486 galaxies in the survey. Stellar absorption
generally poses a serious obstacle to obtaining accurate measurement of
emission lines in nearby galactic nuclei. We describe a procedure for removing
the starlight from the observed spectra in an efficient and objective manner.
The main parameters of the emission lines (intensity ratios, fluxes, profile
widths, equivalent widths) are measured and tabulated, as are several stellar
absorption-line and continuum indices useful for studying the stellar
population. Using standard nebular diagnostics, we determine the probable
ionization mechanisms of the emission-line objects. The resulting spectral
classifications provide extensive information on the demographics of
emission-line nuclei in the local universe. This new catalog contains over 200
objects showing spectroscopic evidence for recent star formation and an equally
large number of active galactic nuclei, including 46 which show broad H-alpha
emission. These samples will serve as the basis of future studies of nuclear
activity in nearby galaxies.Comment: To appear in the Astrophysical Journal Supplements. LaTex, 31 pages,
plus an additional 23 figures and 5 tables. AASTex macro aaspp4.st
Neutral hydrogen in dwarf galaxies. II. The kinematics of HI
This paper is the second in a series presenting a sample of 29 late-type
dwarf galaxies observed with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope in the
21-cm line of neutral hydrogen (HI). Here we present rotation curves, maps of
the velocity field and maps of the velocity dispersion across the sample
galaxies.Comment: 16 pages; accepted by A&
Warm Molecular Gas in Dwarf Starburst Galaxies: CO(3-2) Observations
Eight dwarf starburst galaxies have been observed with the Caltech
Submillimeter Observatory (CSO) telescope in the CO J= 3 - 2 transition. The
galaxies observed are He 2-10, NGC 5253, NGC 1569, NGC 3077, Haro 2, Haro 3, II
Zw 40 and Mrk 86; all but the last two are detected. The central regions of He
2-10 and NGC 5253 were mapped and a CO(2-1) spectrum of NGC 5253 was obtained.
The error weighted mean CO(3-2)/CO(1-0) ratio of the detected galaxies is
0.600.06, which is virtually identical to what is found for starbursts in
the nuclei of nearby spirals, and suggests that the molecular gas is optically
thick, warm (T20 K), and moderately dense (). The CO(3-2)/CO(1-0) ratio peaks at or close to the starburst in all
cases. CO emission does not appear to be optically thin in these dwarfs,
despite the low metallicity and intense radiation fields, which is probably
because in order for CO to exist in detectable amounts it must be
self-shielding and hence optically thick. Physical properties of the molecular
clouds in these dwarf starbursts appear to be essentially the same as nearby
spiral nuclei, with the possible exception that CO is more confined to the
cloud cores.Comment: 21 pages, 8 figures; Accepted for publication by the Astronomical
Journa