231 research outputs found
Why haven't loose globular clusters collapsed yet?
We report on the discovery of a surprising observed correlation between the
slope of the low-mass stellar global mass function (GMF) of globular clusters
(GCs) and their central concentration parameter c=log(r_t/r_c), i.e. the
logarithmic ratio of tidal and core radii. This result is based on the analysis
of a sample of twenty Galactic GCs with solid GMF measurements from deep HST or
VLT data. All the high-concentration clusters in the sample have a steep GMF,
most likely reflecting their initial mass function. Conversely,
low-concentration clusters tend to have a flatter GMF implying that they have
lost many stars via evaporation or tidal stripping. No GCs are found with a
flat GMF and high central concentration. This finding appears
counter-intuitive, since the same two-body relaxation mechanism that causes
stars to evaporate and the cluster to eventually dissolve should also lead to
higher central density and possibly core-collapse. Therefore, more concentrated
clusters should have lost proportionately more stars and have a shallower GMF
than low concentration clusters, contrary to what is observed. It is possible
that severely depleted GCs have also undergone core collapse and have already
recovered a normal radial density profile. It is, however, more likely that GCs
with a flat GMF have a much denser and smaller core than suggested by their
surface brightness profile and may well be undergoing collapse at present. In
either case, we may have so far seriously underestimated the number of post
core-collapse clusters and many may be lurking in the Milky Way.Comment: Four pages, one figure, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
The Mass Function of Main Sequence Stars in NGC6397 from Near IR and Optical High Resolution HST Observations
We have investigated the properties of the stellar mass function in the
globular cluster NGC6397 using a large set of HST observations that include
WFPC2 images in V and I, obtained at ~4' and 10' radial distances, and a series
of deep images in the J and H bands obtained with the NIC2 and NIC3 cameras of
NICMOS pointed to regions located ~4.5' and ~3.2' from the center. These
observations span the region from ~1 to ~3 times the cluster's half-light
radius. All luminosity functions, derived from color magniutde diagrams,
increase with decreasing luminosity up to a peak at M_I~8.5 or M_H~7 and then
precipitously drop well before photometric incompleteness becomes significant.
Within the observational uncertainties, at M_I~12 or M_H~10.5 (~0.09 Msun) the
luminosity functions are compatible with zero. By applying the best available
mass- luminosity relation appropriate to the metallicity of NGC6397 to both the
optical and IR data, we obtain a mass function that shows a break in slope at
\~0.3 Msun. No single exponent power-law distribution is compatible with these
data, regardless of the value of the exponent. We find that a dynamical model
of the cluster can simultaneously reproduce all the luminosity functions
observed throughout the cluster only if the IMF rises as m**-1.6 in the range
0.8-0.3 Msun and then drops as m**0.2 below ~0.3 Msun. Adopting a more physical
log-normal distribution for the IMF, all these data taken together imply a best
fit distribution with characteristic mass m_c~0.3 and sigma~1.8.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures (ps). Accepted for publication in Ap
The Carina Project. VI. The helium burning variable stars
We present new optical (BVI) time-series data for the evolved variable stars
in the Carina dwarf spheroidal galaxy. The quality of the data and the
observing strategy allowed us to identify 14 new variable stars. Eight out of
the 14 are RR Lyrae (RRL) stars, four are Anomalous Cepheids (ACs) and two are
geometrical variables. Comparison of the period distribution for the entire
sample of RRLs with similar distributions in nearby dSphs and in the Large
Magellanic Cloud indicates that the old stellar populations in these systems
share similar properties. This finding is also supported by the RRL
distribution in the Bailey diagram. On the other hand, the period distribution
and the Bailey diagram of ACs display significant differences among the above
stellar systems. This evidence suggests that the properties of intermediate-age
stellar populations might be affected both by environmental effects and
structural parameters. We use the BV Period--Wesenheit (PW) relation of RRLs
together with evolutionary prescriptions and find a true distance modulus of
20.09+/-0.07(intrinsic)+/-0.1(statistical) mag that agrees quite well with
similar estimates available in the literature. We identified four peculiar
variables. Taking into account their position in the Bailey diagram and in the
BV PW relation, two of them (V14, V149) appear to be candidate ACs, while two
(V158, V182) might be peculiar RRLs. In particular, the variable V158 has a
period and a V-band amplitude very similar to the low-mass RRL
---RRLR-02792---recently identified by Pietrzynski at al. (2012) in the
Galactic bulge.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, publication date September 20, 2013.
31 pages, 7 figure, 3 tables. Figs. 3 and 4 corrected, references added,
minor correction
Stellar populations in the ELT perspective
We discuss the impact that the next generation of Extremely Large Telescopes
will have on the open astrophysical problems of resolved stellar populations.
In particular, we address the interplay between multiband photometry and
spectroscopy.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures. To appear in the proceedings of "EWASS 2013
Symposium 5: Local Group, Local Cosmology," (8-9 July 2013, Turku, Finland),
Mem. S.A.It, M. Monelli and S. Salvadori Ed
The Carina Project VII: Towards the breaking of the age-metallicity degeneracy of red giant branch stars using the c_UBI index
We present an analysis of photometric and spectroscopic data of the Carina
dSph galaxy, testing a new approach similar to that used to disentangle
multiple populations in Galactic globular clusters (GCs). We show that a proper
colour combination is able to separate a significant fraction of the red giant
branch (RGB) of the two main Carina populations (the old one, \sim 12 Gyr, and
the intermediate-age one, 4-8 Gyr). In particular, the c_UBI=(U-B)-(B-I)
pseudo-colour allows us to follow the RGB of both populations along a relevant
portion of the RGB. We find that the oldest stars have more negative c_UBI
pseudo-colour than intermediate-age ones. We correlate the pseudo-colour of RGB
stars with their chemical properties, finding a significant trend between the
iron content and the c_UBI. Stars belonging to the old population are
systematically more metal poor ([Fe/H]=-2.32\pm0.08 dex) than the
intermediate-age ones ([Fe/H]=-1.82\pm0.03 dex). This gives solid evidence on
the chemical evolution history of this galaxy, and we have a new diagnostic
that can allow us to break the age-metallicity degeneracy of H-burning advanced
evolutionary phases. We compared the distribution of stars in the c_UBI plane
with theoretical isochrones, finding that no satisfactory agreement can be
reached with models developed in a theoretical framework based on standard
heavy element distributions. Finally, we discuss possible systematic
differences when compared with multiple populations in GCs.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in Ap
On the absolute age of the Globular Cluster M92
We present precise and deep optical photometry of the globular M92. Data were
collected in three different photometric systems: Sloan Digital Sky Survey
(g',r',i',z'; MegaCam@CFHT), Johnson-Kron-Cousins (B, V, I; various
ground-based telescopes) and Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) Vegamag (F475W,
F555W, F814W; Hubble Space Telescope). Special attention was given to the
photometric calibration, and the precision of the ground-based data is
generally better than 0.01 mag. We computed a new set of {\alpha}-enhanced
evolutionary models accounting for the gravitational settling of heavy elements
at fixed chemical composition ([{\alpha}/Fe]=+0.3, [Fe/H]=-2.32 dex, Y=0.248).
The isochrones -- assuming the same true distance modulus ({\mu}=14.74 mag),
the same reddening (E(B-V)=0.025+-0.010 mag), and the same reddening law --
account for the stellar distribution along the main sequence and the red giant
branch in different Color-Magnitude Diagrams (i',g'-i' ; i',g'-r' ; i',g'-z' ;
I,B-I ; F814W,F475W-F814W). The same outcome applies to the comparison between
the predicted Zero-Age-Horizontal-Branch (ZAHB) and the HB stars. We also found
a cluster age of 11 +/- 1.5 Gyr, in good agreement with previous estimates. The
error budget accounts for uncertainties in the input physics and the
photometry. To test the possible occurrence of CNO-enhanced stars, we also
computed two sets of {\alpha}- and CNO-enhanced (by a factor of three) models
both at fixed total metallicity ([M/H]=-2.10 dex) and at fixed iron abundance.
We found that the isochrones based on the former set give the same cluster age
(11 +/- 1.5 Gyr) as the canonical {\alpha}-enhanced isochrones. The isochrones
based on the latter set also give a similar cluster age (10 +/- 1.5 Gyr). These
indings support previous results concerning the weak sensitivity of cluster
isochrones to CNO-enhanced chemical mixtures.Comment: This paper makes use of data obtained from the Isaac Newton Group
Archive which is maintained as part of the CASU Astronomical Data Centre at
the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge. This research used the facilities of
the Canadian Astronomy Data Centre operated by the National Research Council
of Canada with the support of the Canadian Space Agenc
MAD@VLT: Deep into the Madding Crowd of Omega Centauri
We present deep and accurate Near-Infrared (NIR) photometry of the Galactic
Globular Cluster (GC) Omega Cen. Data were collected using the Multi-Conjugate
Adaptive Optics Demonstrator (MAD) on VLT (ESO). The unprecedented quality of
the images provided the opportunity to perform accurate photometry in the
central crowded regions. Preliminary results indicate that the spread in age
among the different stellar populations in Omega Cen is limited.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, to appear in the Springer Astrophysics and Space
Science Proceedings, "Science with the VLT in the ELT era", ed. A. Moorwoo
A pulsational distance to Omega Centauri based on Near-Infrared Period-Luminosity relations of RR Lyrae stars
We present new Near-Infrared (J,K) magnitudes for 114 RR Lyrae stars in the
globular cluster Omega Cen (NGC 5139) which we combine with data from the
literature to construct a sample of 180 RR Lyrae stars with J and K mean
magnitudes on a common photometric system. This is presently the largest such
sample in any stellar system. We also present updated predictions for J,K-band
Period-Luminosity relations for both fundamental and first-overtone RR Lyrae
stars, based on synthetic horizontal branch models with metal abundance ranging
from Z=0.0001 to Z=0.004. By adopting for the Omega Cen variables with measured
metal abundances an alpha-element enhancement of a factor of 3 (about 0.5 dex)
with respect to iron we find a true distance modulus of 13.70 (with a random
error of 0.06 and a systematic error of 0.06), corresponding to a distance
d=5.5 Kpc (with both random and systematic errors equal to 0.03 Kpc). Our
estimate is in excellent agreement with the distance inferred for the eclipsing
binary OGLEGC-17, but differ significantly from the recent distance estimates
based on cluster dynamics and on high amplitude Delta Scuti stars.Comment: 24 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication on The Astrophysical
Journa
On the stellar content of the Carina dwarf spheroidal galaxy
We present U,B,V,I photometry of the Carina dwarf spheroidal galaxy, based on
more than 4,000 CCD images. Special attention was given to the photometric
calibration, and the precision for the B,V,I bands is better than 0.01 mag. We
compared in the V,B-V and V,B-I color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) Carina with
three Globular Clusters (GCs, M53, M55, M79). We find that only the more
metal-poor GCs (M55, [Fe/H]=-1.85; M53, [Fe/H]=-2.02 dex) provide a good match
with the Carina giant branch. We performed a similar comparison in the V,V-I
CMD with three SMC intermediate-age clusters (IACs, Kron3, NGC339, Lindsay38).
We find that the color extent of the SGB of the two more metal-rich IACs
(Kron3, [Fe/H]=-1.08; NGC339, [Fe/H]=-1.36 dex) is smaller than the range among
Carina's intermediate-age stars. However, the ridge line of the more metal-poor
IAC (Lindsay38, [Fe/H]=-1.59 dex) agrees quite well with the Carina
intermediate-age stars. These findings indicate that Carina's old stellar
population is metal-poor and seems to have a limited spread in metallicity
(Delta [Fe/H]=0.2--0.3 dex). Carina intermediate-age stars can hardly be more
metal-rich than Lindsay38 and its spread in metallicity appears modest. We also
find that the synthetic CMD constructed assuming a metallicity spread of 0.5
dex for intermediate-age stars predicts evolutionary features not supported by
observations. The above results are at odds with recent spectroscopic
investigations suggesting that Carina stars cover a broad range in metallicity
(Delta [Fe/H]~1--2 dex). We present a new method to estimate the metallicity of
complex stellar systems using the difference in color between the red clump and
the middle of the RR Lyrae instability strip. The observed colors of Carina's
evolved stars indicate a metallicity of [Fe/H]=-1.70+-0.19 dex, which agrees
quite well with spectroscopic measurements.Comment: Accepted on PASP, 12 pages, 6 figure
- …