132 research outputs found
The Initial Mass Function: Now and Then
We examine whether existing data in clusters, both old and young, and in the
field of the Galactic disk and halo is consistent with a universal slope for
the initial mass function (IMF). The most reasonable statement that can be made
at the current time is that there is no strong evidence to support a claim of
any real variations in this slope. If the IMF slope is universal then this in
itself is remarkable implying that variations in metallicity, gas density or
other environmental factors in the star formation process play no part in
determining the slope of the mass function.Comment: 10 pages, postscript. To appear in "Proceedings 7th Annual
Astrophysics Conference in Maryland-STAR FORMATION NEAR AND FAR
The Double Cluster G185 in M31
We have identified a small globular cluster in M31 located approximately 4
arcseconds northwest of the M31 globular cluster G185. While several multiple
globular clusters have been observed in the Magellanic Clouds none have been
found in the Galaxy or in M31. We estimate the probability of such a chance
line-of-sight alignment occuring near the nucleus of M31 to be 0.09 +/- 0.03
and find no obvious indication of any tidal deformation in either cluster, as
would be expected if the clusters were interacting.
Two-dimensional modelling suggests G185 has a King (1966) [AJ, 71, 64]
concentration of c = 1.11 +/- 0.08 while the companion has c = 0.67 +/- 0.17
and is physically smaller than G185. Both objects have integrated dereddened
colors similar to those of Galactic globular clusters.Comment: 22 pages, ~1Mb postscript file
http://www.astro.ubc.ca/~holland/bib.html/
ftp://nukta.astro.ubc.ca/pub/holland/G185_preprint.ps.
Deep HST V- and I-Band Observations of Two Globular Clusters in the Halo of M31
We present deep (V ~= 27) V- and I-band stellar photometry of G302 and G312,
two globular star clusters in the halo of M31. These data were obtained using
the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field/Planetary Camera 2. We find iron
abundances of [Fe/H] = -1.85 +/- 0.12 for G302 and [Fe/H] = -0.56 +/- 0.03 for
G312, consistent with spectroscopic measurements. The color-magnitude diagrams
for each cluster show no evidence for an intermediate-aged population of stars,
or a second parameter effect in the morphology of the horizontal branch. G302
shows no evidence for a color gradient but the inner regions of G312 are bluer
than the outer regions. G312 shows no evidence of ellipticity or an extended
halo of unbound stars. G302 has a projected ellipticity of 0.195 +/- 0.012 with
the projected major axis oriented towards the center of M31. G302 also shows
evidence of an extended asymmetric stellar halo extending to at least twice the
fitted Michie-King tidal radius. The amount of mass beyond the tidal radius of
G302 is consistent with the stellar escape rates which have been predicted by
N-body simulations of globular clusters in the Galactic tidal field.Comment: 29 pages, 21 Postscript figures, uses aaspp4.sty, to be published in
the October 1997 A
Globular Clusters in NGC 1275
We present the results of a deep photometric study of the outer halo of NGC
1275, the highly active cD galaxy at the center of the Perseus cluster. We find
a modest excess of faint () starlike objects in its halo, indicating
a population of old-halo globular clusters. However, the total estimated
cluster population corresponds to a specific frequency of ,
no larger than that of normal giant ellipticals and three times lower than that
of other central cD galaxies such as M87. We discuss several ideas for the
origin of this galaxy. Our results reinforce the view that high (ie:
highly efficient globular cluster formation) is not associated with cooling
flows, or with recent starburst or merger phenomena.Comment: 25 pages, latex, postscript figures, tarred, Unix compressed,
postscript version of paper and figures available at
http://www.physics.mcmaster.ca/Grads/DKaisler/office.htm
Faint, moving objects in the Hubble Deep Field: components of the dark halo?
The deepest optical image of the sky, the Hubble Deep Field (HDF), obtained
with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in December 1995, has been compared to a
similar image taken in December 1997. Two very faint, blue, isolated and
unresolved objects are found to display a substantial apparent proper motion,
23+/-5 mas/yr and 26+/-5 mas/yr; a further three objects at the detection limit
of the second epoch observations may also be moving. Galactic structure models
predict a general absence of stars in the color-magnitude range in which these
objects are found. However, these observations are consistent with
recently-developed models of old white dwarfs with hydrogen atmospheres, whose
color, contrary to previous expectations, has been shown to be blue. If these
apparently moving objects are indeed old white dwarfs with hydrogen atmospheres
and masses near 0.5 M_Sun, they have ages of approximately 12 Gyr, and a local
mass density that is sufficient, within the large uncertainties arising from
the small size of the sample, to account for the entire missing Galactic
dynamical mass.Comment: 6 pages, using emulateapj, including 2 colour figures, accepted for
publication in ApJ Letter
Deep HST V- and I-Band Observations of the Halo of M31: Evidence for Multiple Stellar Populations
We present deep V & I WFPC2 photometry in two fields in the M31 halo 32' and
50' from the center of M31 along the SE minor axis at the locations of the M31
GCs G302 and G312 respectively. The M31 halo LFs are not consistent with a
single high-metallicity population but are consistent with a mix of 50% to 75%
metal-rich stars and 25% to 50% metal-poor stars. This agrees with the RGB
morphology, the HB luminosity, and the RR Lyrae stars in the M31 halo. The RGB
morphology indicates a metallicity spread of -2 < [m/H] < -0.2 with most stars
having [m/H] = -0.6, making the M31 halo significantly more metal- rich than
either the Galactic halo or the M31 GC system. The HB is dominated by a red
clump similar to the 47 Tuc HB but a small number of blue HB stars are visible,
supporting the conclusion that there is a metal-poor component to the M31 halo.
The number of HB stars is smaller than would be expected from the observed
metallicity distribution but it is not clear if this is due to the photometric
limits of our data or a 2nd parameter effect. We find a He abundance of Y >~
0.20 to 0.27, comparable with the Galaxy. LFs show weak evidence that the R =
50' field contains a higher fraction of metal-poor stars than the R = 32' field
but the metallicity distributions of the RGB stars strongly suggest that both
fields have the same mix of stellar populations.Comment: 31 pages AASTeX v4.0, 10 Figures avaliable at
ftp://ftp.astro.ubc.ca/holland/M31_hal
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