140 research outputs found
The optimally-sampled galaxy-wide stellar initial mass function - Observational tests and the publicly available GalIMF code
Here we present a full description of the integrated galaxy-wide initial mass
function (IGIMF) theory in terms of the optimal sampling and compare it with
available observations. Optimal sampling is the method we use to discretize the
IMF into stellar masses deterministically. Evidence has been indicating that
nature may be closer to deterministic sampling as observations suggest a
smaller scatter of various relevant observables than random sampling would
give, which may result from a high level of self-regulation during the star
formation process. The variation of the IGIMFs under various assumptions are
documented. The results of the IGIMF theory are consistent with the empirical
relation between the total mass of a star cluster and the mass of its most
massive star, and the empirical relation between a galaxy's star formation rate
(SFR) and the mass of its most massive cluster. Particularly, we note a natural
agreement with the empirical relation between the IMF's power-law index and a
galaxy's SFR. The IGIMF also results in a relation between the galaxy's SFR and
the mass of its most massive star such that, if there were no binaries,
galaxies with SFR M/yr should host no Type II supernova
events. In addition, a specific list of initial stellar masses can be useful in
numerical simulations of stellar systems. For the first time, we show
optimally-sampled galaxy-wide IMFs (OSGIMF) which mimics the IGIMF with an
additional serrated feature. Finally, A Python module, GalIMF, is provided
allowing the calculation of the IGIMF and OSGIMF in dependence on the
galaxy-wide SFR and metallicity.Comment: 15 pages, 15 figures, A&A, in press; paper remains unchanged
(version1 equals version2); the GalIMF module is downloadable at githu
The impact of the metallicity and star formation rate on the time-dependent galaxy-wide stellar initial mass function
The stellar initial mass function (IMF) is commonly assumed to be an
invariant probability density distribution function of initial stellar masses
being represented by the canonical IMF. As a consequence the galaxy-wide IMF
(gwIMF), defined as the sum of the IMFs of all star forming regions, should
also be invariant. Recent observational and theoretical results challenge the
hypothesis that the gwIMF is invariant. In order to study the possible reasons
for this variation we use the IMF determined in resolved star clusters and
apply the IGIMF-theory to calculate a grid of gwIMF models for metallicities,
-3<[Fe/H]<1, and galaxy-wide star formation rates,
<SFR<. For a galaxy with metallicy
[Fe/H]/yr, which is a common condition in the early
Universe, we find that the gwIMF is top-heavy (more massive stars), when
compared to the canonical IMF. For a SFR the gwIMF
becomes top-light regardless of the metallicity. For metallicities
the gwIMF can become bottom-heavy regardless of the SFR.
The IGIMF models predict that massive elliptical galaxies should have formed
with a gwIMF that is top-heavy within the first few hundred Myr of the galaxy's
life and that it evolves into a bottom-heavy gwIMF in the metal-enriched
galactic center. We study the SFRH relation, its dependency on
metallicity and the SFR, the correction factors to the Kennicutt SFRH relation, and provide new fitting functions Late-type dwarf
galaxies show significantly higher SFRs with respect to Kennicutt SFRs, while
star forming massive galaxies have significantly lower SFRs than hitherto
thought. This has implications for the gas-consumption time scales and for the
main sequence of galaxies. The Leo P and ultra-faint dwarf galaxies are
discussed explicitly. [abridged]Comment: Astronomy and Astrophysics (A&A) in press. 15 pages, 8 figure
The Decay of Accreting Triple Systems as Brown Dwarf Formation Scenario
We investigate the dynamical decay of non-hierarchical accreting triple
systems and its implications on the ejection model as Brown Dwarf formation
scenario. A modified chain-regularization scheme is used to integrate the
equations of motion, that also allows for mass changes over time as well as for
momentum transfer from the accreted gas mass onto the bodies. We integrate an
ensemble of triple systems within a certain volume with different accretion
rates, assuming several prescriptions of how momentum is transferred onto the
bodies. We follow their evolution until the systems have decayed. We analyze
the end states and decay times of these systems and determine the fraction of
Brown Dwarfs formed, their escape speeds as well as the semi-major axis
distribution of the formed Brown Dwarf binaries. We find that the formation
probability of Brown Dwarfs depends strongly on the assumed momentum transfer
which is related to the motion of the gas. Due to ongoing accretion and
consequent shrinkage of the systems, the median escape velocity is increased by
a factor of 2 and the binary separations are decreased by a factor of 5
compared with non-accreting systems. Furthermore, the obtained semi-major axis
distribution drops off sharply to either side of the median, which is also
supported by observations. We conclude that accretion and momentum transfer of
accreted gas during the dynamical decay of triple systems is able to produce
the observed distribution of close binary Brown Dwarfs, making the ejection
model a viable option as Brown Dwarf formation scenario.Comment: 31 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
The lack of carbon stars in the Galactic bulge
In order to explain the lack of carbon stars in the Galactic bulge, we have
made a detailed study of thermal pulse - asymptotic giant branch stars by using
a population synthesis code. The effects of the oxygen overabundance and the
mass loss rate on the ratio of the number of carbon stars to that of oxygen
stars in the Galactic bulge are discussed. We find that the oxygen
overabundance which is about twice as large as that in the solar neighbourhood
(close to the present observations) is insufficient to explain the rareness of
carbon stars in the bulge. We suggest that the large mass loss rate may serve
as a controlling factor in the ratio of the number of carbon stars to that of
oxygen stars.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure
The blue stragglers formed via mass transfer in old open clusters
In this paper, we present the simulations for the primordial blue stragglers
in the old open cluster M67 based on detailed modelling of the evolutionary
processes. The principal aim is to discuss the contribution of mass transfer
between the components of close binaries to the blue straggler population in
M67. First, we followed the evolution of a binary of 1.4M+0.9M.
The synthetic evolutionary track of the binary system revealed that a
primordial blue straggler had a long lifetime in the observed blue straggler
region of color-magnitude diagram. Second, a grid of models for close binary
systems experiencing mass exchange were computed from 1Gyr to 6Gyr in order to
account for primordial blue-straggler formation in a time sequence. Based on
such a grid, Monte-Carlo simulations were applied for the old open cluster M67.
Adopting appropriate orbital parameters, 4 primordial blue stragglers were
predicted by our simulations. This was consistent with the observational fact
that only a few blue stragglers in M67 were binaries with short orbital
periods. An upper boundary of the primordial blue stragglers in the
color-magnitude diagram (CMD) was defined and could be used to distinguish blue
stragglers that were not formed via mass exchange. Using the grid of binary
models, the orbital periods of the primordial BSs could be predicted. Compared
with the observations, it is clear that the mechanism discussed in this work
alone cannot fully predict the blue straggler population in M67. There must be
several other processes also involved in the formation of the observed blue
stragglers in M67.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, A&A accepte
The stellar and sub-stellar IMF of simple and composite populations
The current knowledge on the stellar IMF is documented. It appears to become
top-heavy when the star-formation rate density surpasses about 0.1Msun/(yr
pc^3) on a pc scale and it may become increasingly bottom-heavy with increasing
metallicity and in increasingly massive early-type galaxies. It declines quite
steeply below about 0.07Msun with brown dwarfs (BDs) and very low mass stars
having their own IMF. The most massive star of mass mmax formed in an embedded
cluster with stellar mass Mecl correlates strongly with Mecl being a result of
gravitation-driven but resource-limited growth and fragmentation induced
starvation. There is no convincing evidence whatsoever that massive stars do
form in isolation. Various methods of discretising a stellar population are
introduced: optimal sampling leads to a mass distribution that perfectly
represents the exact form of the desired IMF and the mmax-to-Mecl relation,
while random sampling results in statistical variations of the shape of the
IMF. The observed mmax-to-Mecl correlation and the small spread of IMF
power-law indices together suggest that optimally sampling the IMF may be the
more realistic description of star formation than random sampling from a
universal IMF with a constant upper mass limit. Composite populations on galaxy
scales, which are formed from many pc scale star formation events, need to be
described by the integrated galactic IMF. This IGIMF varies systematically from
top-light to top-heavy in dependence of galaxy type and star formation rate,
with dramatic implications for theories of galaxy formation and evolution.Comment: 167 pages, 37 figures, 3 tables, published in Stellar Systems and
Galactic Structure, Vol.5, Springer. This revised version is consistent with
the published version and includes additional references and minor additions
to the text as well as a recomputed Table 1. ISBN 978-90-481-8817-
A large spectroscopic sample of L and T dwarfs from UKIDSS LAS : peculiar objects, binaries, and space density
This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society following peer review. The version of record [F. Marocco, et al, 'A large spectroscopic sample of L and T dwarfs from UKIDSS LAS: peculiar objects, binaries, and space density', MNRAS, Vol. 449)4): 3651-3692, April 2015] is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stv530.We present the spectroscopic analysis of a large sample of late-M, L, and T dwarfs from UKIDSS. Using the YJHK photometry from ULAS and the red-optical photometry from SDSS we selected a sample of 262 brown dwarf candidates and we followed-up 196 of them using X-shooter on the VLT. The large wavelength coverage (0.30-2.48 m) and moderate resolution (R~5000-9000) of X-shooter allowed us to identify peculiar objects including 22 blue L dwarfs, 2 blue T dwarfs, and 2 low gravity M dwarfs. Using a spectral indices-based technique we identified 27 unresolved binary candidates, for which we determined the spectral type of the potential components via spectral deconvolution. The spectra allowed us to measure the equivalent width of the prominent absorption features and to compare them to atmospheric models. Cross-correlating the spectra with a radial velocity standard, we measured the radial velocity for our targets, and we determined the distribution of the sample, which is centred at -1.71.2 km s with a dispersion of 31.5 km s. Using our results we estimated the space density of field brown dwarfs and compared it with the results of numerical simulations. Depending on the binary fraction, we found that there are (0.850.55) x 10 to (1.000.64) x 10 objects per cubic parsec in the L4-L6.5 range, (0.730.47) x 10 to (0.850.55) x 10 objects per cubic parsec in the L7-T0.5 range, and (0.740.48) x 10 to (0.880.56) x 10 objects per cubic parsec in the T1-T4.5 range. There seem to be an excess of objects in the L/T transition with respect to the late T dwarfs, a discrepancy that could be explained assuming a higher binary fraction than expected for the L/T transition, or that objects in the high-mass end and low-mass end of this regime form in different environments, i.e. following different IMFs.Peer reviewe
VLT/SPHERE deep insight of NGC 3603's core: Segregation or confusion?
We present new near-infrared photometric measurements of the core of the
young massive cluster NGC 3603 obtained with extreme adaptive optics. The data
were obtained with the SPHERE instrument mounted on ESO Very Large Telescope,
and cover three fields in the core of this cluster. We applied a correction for
the effect of extinction to our data obtained in the J and K broadband filters
and estimated the mass of detected sources inside the field of view of
SPHERE/IRDIS, which is 13.5"x13.5". We derived the mass function (MF) slope for
each spectral band and field. The MF slope in the core is unusual compared to
previous results based on Hubble space telescope (HST) and very large telescope
(VLT) observations. The average slope in the core is estimated as
-1.06^{+0.26}_{-0.26} for the main sequence stars with 3.5 Msun < M < 120
Msun.Thanks to the SPHERE extreme adaptive optics, 814 low-mass stars were
detected to estimate the MF slope for the pre-main sequence stars with 0.6
Msun< M < 3.5 Msun , Gamma = -0.54^{+0.11}_{-0.11} in the K-band images in two
fields in the core of the cluster. For the first time, we derive the mass
function of the very core of the NGC 3603 young cluster for masses in the range
0.6 - 120 Msun. Previous studies were either limited by crowding, lack of
dynamic range, or a combination of both
Shear Strength of Copper Joints Prepared by Low Temperature Sintering of Silver Nanoparticles
In this work, mechanical properties of Cu-to-Cu joint samples prepared by low temperature sintering of Ag nanoparticle paste have been investigated. The silver nanopaste was prepared by a controlled thermal decomposition of an organometallic precursor. The as-synthesized Ag particles were spherical, with an average diameter of 8.5 nm. The Cu-to-Cu joint samples were made by placing a small amount of Ag nanopaste between two polished Cu plates and sintering at 150C, 200C, 220C and 350C in air. A normal load was applied to aid sintering. Mechanical properties were measured by imposing a uniform stress across the sample bond area and measuring the corresponding strain. The application of external load was found to have a positive effect on the material’s mechanical properties. Furthermore, interestingly high values of shear strength were observed.Byly zkoumány mechanické vlastnosti Cu-to-Cu spojů připravených nízkoteplotní sintrací pasty Ag nanočástic. Ag nanopasta byla připravena řízeným tepelným rozkladem organokovových prekurzorů. Syntetizované Ag NPs byly kulovité, o středním průměru 8,5 nm. Cu-to-Cu spoje byly vyrobeny umístěním malého množství Ag nanopasty mezi dvě leštěné Cu desky a sintrováním při 150C, 200C, 220C and 350C na vzduchu. Zatížení bylo použito na k podpoře sintrace. Mechanické vlastnosti byly měřeny stanovením napětí lomu a deformace. Bylo zjištěno, že aplikace vnějšího zatížení má pozitivní vliv na mechanické vlastnosti spoje
- …