79 research outputs found
Stellar Populations and Surface Brightness Fluctuations: New Observations and Models
We examine the use of surface brightness fluctuations (SBF) for both stellar
population and distance studies. New V-band SBF data are reported for five
Fornax cluster galaxies and combined with literature data to define a new
V-band SBF distance indicator. We use new stellar population models, based on
the latest Padua isochrones transformed empirically to the observational plane,
to predict SBF magnitudes and integrated colours for a wide range of population
ages and metallicities. We examine the sensitivity of the predictions to
changes in the isochrones, transformations, and IMF. The new models reproduce
the SBF data for globular clusters fairly well, especially if higher
metallicity globulars are younger. The models also give a good match to the
"fluctuation colors" of elliptical galaxies. In order to obtain theoretical
calibrations of the SBF distance indicators, we combine our single-burst models
into composite population models. These models reproduce the observed behavior
of the SBF magnitudes as a function of stellar population parameters, including
the steep colour dependence found for HST/WFPC2 F814W SBF data. Because the
theoretical SBF calibrations are fairly sensitive to uncertain details of
stellar evolution, the empirical calibrations are more secure. However, the
sensitivity of SBF to these finer details potentially makes it a powerful
constraint for stellar evolution and population synthesis. [abbridged]Comment: 24 pages with 17 embedded figures. MNRAS, in pres
On the shape and evolution of a cosmic ray regulated galaxy-wide stellar initial mass function
In this paper, we present a new derivation of the shape and evolution of the
integrated galaxy-wide initial mass function (IGIMF), incorporating explicitly
the effects of cosmic rays (CRs) as regulators of the chemical and thermal
state of the gas in the dense cores of molecular clouds. We predict the shape
of the IGIMF as a function of star formation rate (SFR) and CR density, and
show that it can be significantly different with respect to local estimates. In
particular, we focus on the physical conditions corresponding to IGIMF shapes
that are simultaneously shallower at high-mass end and steeper at the low-mass
end than a Kroupa IMF. These solutions can explain both the levels of
-enrichment and the excess of low-mass stars as a function of stellar
mass, observed for local spheroidal galaxies. As a preliminary test of our
scenario, we use idealized star formation histories to estimate the mean IMF
shape for galaxies of different stellar mass. We show that the fraction
of low-mass stars as a function of galaxy stellar mass predicted by these mean
IMFs agrees with the values derived from high-resolution spectroscopic surveys.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, MNRAS accepte
The Influence of Galaxy Environment on the Stellar Initial Mass Function of Early-Type Galaxies
In this paper we investigate whether the stellar initial mass function of
early-type galaxies depends on their host environment. To this purpose, we have
selected a sample of early-type galaxies from the SPIDER catalogue,
characterized their environment through the group catalogue of Wang et al. and
used their optical SDSS spectra to constrain the IMF slope, through the
analysis of IMF-sensitive spectral indices. To reach a high enough
signal-to-noise ratio, we have stacked spectra in velocity dispersion
() bins, on top of separating the sample by galaxy hierarchy and host
halo mass, as proxies for galaxy environment. In order to constrain the IMF, we
have compared observed line strengths to predictions of MIUSCAT/EMILES
synthetic stellar population models, with varying age, metallicity, and
"bimodal" (low-mass tapered) IMF slope (). Consistent with
previous studies, we find that increases with ,
becoming bottom-heavy (i.e. an excess of low-mass stars with respect to the
Milky-Way-like IMF) at high . We find that this result is robust
against the set of isochrones used in the stellar population models, as well as
the way the effect of elemental abundance ratios is taken into account. We thus
conclude that it is possible to use currently state-of-the-art stellar
population models and intermediate resolution spectra to consistently probe IMF
variations. For the first time, we show that there is no dependence of
on environment or galaxy hierarchy, as measured within the SDSS
fibre, thus leaving the IMF as an intrinsic galaxy property, possibly set
already at high redshift
NGC1277: a massive compact relic galaxy in the nearby Universe
As early as 10 Gyr ago, galaxies with more than 10^11 Msun in stars already
existed. While most of these massive galaxies must have subsequently
transformed through on-going star formation and mergers with other galaxies, a
small fraction (<0.1%) may have survived untouched till today. Searches for
such relic galaxies, useful windows to explore the early Universe, have been
inconclusive to date: galaxies with masses and sizes like those observed at
high redshift (M*>10^11 Msun; Re<1.5 kpc) have been found in the local
Universe, but their stars are far too young for the galaxy to be a relic
galaxy. This paper explores the first case of a nearby galaxy, NGC1277 (in the
Perseus cluster at a distance of 73 Mpc), which fulfills all the criteria to be
considered a relic galaxy. Using deep optical spectroscopy, we derive the star
formation history along the structure of the galaxy: the stellar populations
are uniformly old (>10 Gyr) with no evidence for more recent star formation
episodes. The metallicity of their stars is super-solar ([Fe/H]=0.20+-0.04) and
alpha enriched ([alpha/Fe]=0.4+-0.1). This suggests a very short formation time
scale for the bulk of stars of this galaxy. This object also rotates very fast
(Vrot~300 km/s) and has a large velocity dispersion (sigma>300 km/s). NGC1277
will allow future explorations in full detail of properties such as the
structure, internal dynamics, metallicity, dust content and initial mass
function at around 10-12 Gyr back in time when the first massive galaxies were
built.Comment: 4 figures; Accepted for publication at ApJ Letter
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