The Sagittarius Dwarf spheroidal Galaxy Survey (SDGS) II: The stellar content and constraints on the star formation history

A detailed study of the Star Formation History of the Sgr dSph galaxy is performed through the analysis of the data from the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy Survey (SDGS; Bellazzini, Ferraro & Buonanno 1999). Accurate statistical decontamination of the SDGS Color - Magnitude diagrams allow us to obtain many useful constraints on the age and metal content of the Sgr stellar populations in three different region of the galaxy. A coarse metallicity distribution of Sgr stars is derived, ranging from [Fe/H]~ -2.0 to [Fe/H]~ -0.7, the upper limit being somewhat higher in the central region of the galaxy. A qualitative global fit to all the observed CMD features is attempted, and a general scheme for the Star Formation History of the Sgr is derived. According to this scheme, star formation began at very early time from a low metal content Inter Stellar Medium and lasted for several Gyr, coupled with progressive chemical enrichment. The Star Formation Rate (SFR) had a peak from 8 to 10 gyr ago when the mean metallicity was in the range -1.3<= [Fe/H] <= -0.7. After that maximum, the SFR rapidly decreased and very low rate star formation took place until ~1-0.5 Gyr ago.Comment: 21 pages, 12 figures, figg. 1,2,3,5,6,10 and 11 provided in lower resolution format. For full resolution versions see http://www.bo.astro.it/bap/BAPhome.html Accepted by MNRA

The Red Giant Branch in Near-Infrared Colour-Magnitude Diagrams. II: The luminosity of the Bump and the Tip

We present new empirical calibrations of the Red Giant Branch (RGB) Bump and Tip based on a homogeneous near-Infrared database of 24 Galactic Globular Clusters. The luminosities of the RGB Bump and Tip in the J, H and K bands and their dependence on the cluster metallicity have been studied, yielding empirical relationships. By using recent transformations between the observational and theoretical planes, we also derived similar calibrations in terms of bolometric luminosity. Direct comparison between updated theoretical models and observations show an excellent agreement. The empirical calibration of the RGB Tip luminosity in the near-Infrared passbands presented here is a fundamental tool to derive distances to far galaxies beyond the Local Group, in view of using the new ground-based adaptive optics facilities and, in the next future, the James Webb Space Telescope.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Detection of a population gradient in the Sagittarius Stream

We present a quantitative comparison between the Horizontal Branch morphology in the core of the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy (Sgr) and in a wide field sampling a portion of its tidal stream (Sgr Stream), located tens of kpc away from the center of the parent galaxy. We find that the Blue Horizontal Branch (BHB) stars in that part of the Stream are five times more abundant than in the Sgr core, relative to Red Clump stars. The difference in the ratio of BHB to RC stars between the two fields is significant at the 4.8 sigma level. This indicates that the old and metal-poor population of Sgr was preferentially stripped from the galaxy in past peri-Galactic passages with respect to the intermediate-age metal rich population that presently dominates the bound core of Sgr, probably due to a strong radial gradient that was settled within the galaxy before its disruption. The technique adopted in the present study allows to trace population gradients along the whole extension of the Stream.Comment: 4 pages, 3 .ps figures (fig. 1 at low resolution); Accepted for publication by A&A Letter

The pure non-collisional Blue Straggler population in the giant stellar system omega Centauri

We have used high spatial resolution data from the Hubble Space Telescope and wide-field ground-based observations to search for blue straggler stars (BSS) over the entire radial extent of the large stellar system omega Centauri. We have detected the largest population of BSS ever observed in any stellar system. Even though the sample is restricted to the brightest portion of the BSS sequence, more than 300 candidates have been identified. BSS are thought to be produced by the evolution of binary systems (either formed by stellar collisions or mass exchange in binary stars). Since systems like Galactic globular clusters (GGC) and omega Cen evolve dynamically on time-scales significantly shorter than their ages, binaries should have settled toward the center, showing a more concentrated radial distribution than the ordinary, less massive single stars. Indeed, in all GGCs which have been surveyed for BSS, the BSS distribution is peaked at the center. Conversely, in omega Cen we find that the BSS share the same radial distribution as the adopted reference populations. This is the cleanest evidence ever found that such a stellar system is not fully relaxed even in the central region. We further argue that the absence of central concentration in the BSS distribution rules out a collisional origin. Thus, the omega Cen BSS are the purest and largest population of non-collisional BSS ever observed. Our results allow the first empirical quantitative estimate of the production rate of BSS via this channel. BSS in omega Cen may represent the best local template for modeling the BSS populations in distant galaxies where they cannot be individually observed.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication by Ap