997 research outputs found
Star Formation in the Starburst Cluster in NGC 3603
We have used new, deep, visible and near infrared observations of the compact
starburst cluster in the giant HII region NGC 3603 and its surroundings with
the WFC3 on HST and HAWK-I on the VLT to study in detail the physical
properties of its intermediate mass (~ 1 - 3 M_sun) stellar population. We show
that after correction for differential extinction and actively accreting stars,
and the study of field star contamination, strong evidence remains for a
continuous spread in the ages of pre-main sequence stars in the range ~ 2 to ~
30 Myr within the temporal resolution available. Existing differences among
presently available theoretical models account for the largest possible
variation in shape of the measured age histograms within these limits. We also
find that this isochronal age spread in the near infrared and visible
Colour-Magnitude Diagrams cannot be reproduced by any other presently known
source of astrophysical or instrumental scatter that could mimic the luminosity
spread seen in our observations except, possibly, episodic accretion. The
measured age spread and the stellar spatial distribution in the cluster are
consistent with the hypothesis that star formation started at least 20-30 Myrs
ago progressing slowly but continuously up to at least a few million years ago.
All the stars in the considered mass range are distributed in a flattened
oblate spheroidal pattern with the major axis oriented in an approximate
South-East - North-West direction, and with the length of the equatorial axis
decreasing with increasing age. This asymmetry is most likely due to the fact
that star formation occurred along a filament of gas and dust in the natal
molecular cloud oriented locally in this direction.Comment: 21 pages, 19 figures, accepted for publication in Astrophysics &
Space Scienc
Oral sucrosomial iron is as effective as intravenous ferric carboxyâmaltose in treating anemia in patients with ulcerative colitis
Anemia is a frequent complication of ulcerative colitis, and is frequently caused by iron deficiency. Oral iron supplementation displays high rates of gastrointestinal adverse effects. However, the formulation of sucrosomial iron (SI) has shown higher tolerability. We performed a prospective study to compare the effectiveness and tolerability of oral SI and intravenous ferric carboxyâmaltose (FCM) in patients with ulcerative colitis in remission and mildâtoâmoderate anemia. Patients were randomized 1:1 to receive 60 mg/day for 8 weeks and then 30 mg/day for 4 weeks of oral SI or intravenous 1000 mg of FCM at baseline. Hemoglobin and serum levels of iron and ferritin were assessed after 4, 8, and 12 weeks from baseline. Hemoglobin and serum iron increased in both groups after 4 weeks of therapy, and remained stable during follow up, without significant treatment or treatmentâbyâtime interactions (p = 0.25 and p = 0.46 for hemoglobin, respectively; p = 0.25 and p = 0.26 for iron, respectively). Serum ferritin did not increase over time during SI supplementation, while it increased in patients treated with FCM (treatment effect, p = 0.0004; treatmentâbytime interaction effect, p = 0.0002). Overall, this study showed that SI and FCM displayed similar effectiveness and tolerability for treatment of mildâtoâmoderate anemia in patients with ulcerative colitis under remission
A Hubble View of Star Forming Regions in the Magellanic Clouds
The Magellanic Clouds (MCs) offer an outstanding variety of young stellar
associations, in which large samples of low-mass stars (with masses less than 1
solar mass) currently in the act of formation can be resolved and explored
sufficiently with the Hubble Space Telescope. These pre-main sequence (PMS)
stars provide a unique snapshot of the star formation process, as it is being
recorded for the last 20 Myr, and they give important information on the
low-mass Initial Mass Function (IMF) of their host environments. We present the
latest results from observations with the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) of
such star-forming regions in the MCs, and discuss the importance of Hubble}for
a comprehensive collection of substantial information on the most recent
low-mass star formation and the low-mass IMF in the MCs.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of the 41st ESLAB Symposium: The Impact
of HST on European Astronomy, 4 pages, LaTeX ESA Publications style, 5
Figure
The M31 Globular Cluster Luminosity Function
We combine our compilation of photometry of M31 globular cluster and probable
cluster candidates with new near-infrared photometry for 30 objects. Using
these data we determine the globular cluster luminosity function (GCLF) in
multiple filters for the M31 halo clusters. We find a GCLF peak and dispersion
of V_0^0=16.84 +/-0.11, sigma_t=0.93 +/- 0.13 (Gaussian sigma = 1.20 +/- 0.14),
consistent with previous results. The halo GCLF peak colors (e.g., B^0_0 -
V^0_0) are consistent with the average cluster colors. We also measure V-band
GCLF parameters for several other subsamples of the M31 globular cluster
population. The inner third of the clusters have a GCLF peak significantly
brigher than that of the outer clusters (delta V =~ 0.5mag). Dividing the
sample by both galacticentric distance and metallicity, we find that the GCLF
also varies with metallicity, as the metal-poor clusters are on average 0.36
mag fainter than the metal-rich clusters. Our modeling of the catalog selection
effects suggests that they are not the cause of the measured differences, but a
more complete, less-contaminated M31 cluster catalog is required for
confirmation. Our results imply that dynamical destruction is not the only
factor causing variation in the M31 GCLF: metallicity, age, and cluster initial
mass function may also be important.Comment: AJ, in press. 36 pages, including 7 figure
Progressive star formation in the young galactic super star cluster NGC 3603
Early release science observations of the cluster NGC3603 with the WFC3 on
the refurbished HST allow us to study its recent star formation history. Our
analysis focuses on stars with Halpha excess emission, a robust indicator of
their pre-main sequence (PMS) accreting status. The comparison with theoretical
PMS isochrones shows that 2/3 of the objects with Halpha excess emission have
ages from 1 to 10 Myr, with a median value of 3 Myr, while a surprising 1/3 of
them are older than 10 Myr. The study of the spatial distribution of these PMS
stars allows us to confirm their cluster membership and to statistically
separate them from field stars. This result establishes unambiguously for the
first time that star formation in and around the cluster has been ongoing for
at least 10-20 Myr, at an apparently increasing rate.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical
Journa
The Global Kinematics of the Globular Cluster M15
We present velocities for 230 stars in the outer parts of the globular
cluster M15 measured with the Hydra multi-object spectrograph on the WIYN
telescope. A new Bayesian technique is used for analyzing the data. The mean
velocity of the cluster is -106.9+/- 0.3 km/s. Rotation with an amplitude of
1.5+/- 0.4 km/s and a position angle of 125+/-19 degrees is observed and the
model including rotation is marginally favored over one without rotation. The
velocity dispersion decreases from the center out to about 7' and then appears
to increase slightly. This behavior is strikingly different from the continued
decline of velocity dispersion with increasing radius that is expected in an
isolated cluster. We interpret this as an indication of heating of the outer
part of M15 by the Galactic tidal field.Comment: 32 pages, LaTeX, includes 13 eps figures, 5 tables are in external
tex files, to appear in Feb 1998 A
The ACS Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters. XII. Photometric Binaries along the Main-Sequence
The fraction of binary stars is an important ingredient to interpret globular
cluster dynamical evolution and their stellar population. We investigate the
properties of main-sequence binaries measured in a uniform photometric sample
of 59 Galactic globular clusters that were observed by HST WFC/ACS as a part of
the Globular Cluster Treasury project. We measured the fraction of binaries and
the distribution of mass-ratio as a function of radial location within the
cluster, from the central core to beyond the half-mass radius. We studied the
radial distribution of binary stars, and the distribution of stellar mass
ratios. We investigated monovariate relations between the fraction of binaries
and the main parameters of their host clusters. We found that in nearly all the
clusters, the total fraction of binaries is significantly smaller than the
fraction of binaries in the field, with a few exceptions only. Binary stars are
significantly more centrally concentrated than single MS stars in most of the
clusters studied in this paper. The distribution of the mass ratio is generally
flat (for mass-ratio parameter q>0.5). We found a significant anti-correlation
between the binary fraction in a cluster and its absolute luminosity (mass).
Some, less significant correlation with the collisional parameter, the central
stellar density, and the central velocity dispersion are present. There is no
statistically significant relation between the binary fraction and other
cluster parameters. We confirm the correlation between the binary fraction and
the fraction of blue stragglers in the cluster.Comment: 43 Pages, 52 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Star formation in 30 Doradus
Using observations obtained with the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on board the
Hubble Space Telescope (HST), we have studied the properties of the stellar
populations in the central regions of 30 Dor, in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
The observations clearly reveal the presence of considerable differential
extinction across the field. We characterise and quantify this effect using
young massive main sequence stars to derive a statistical reddening correction
for most objects in the field. We then search for pre-main sequence (PMS) stars
by looking for objects with a strong (> 4 sigma) Halpha excess emission and
find about 1150 of them over the entire field. Comparison of their location in
the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram with theoretical PMS evolutionary tracks for
the appropriate metallicity reveals that about one third of these objects are
younger than ~4Myr, compatible with the age of the massive stars in the central
ionising cluster R136, whereas the rest have ages up to ~30Myr, with a median
age of ~12Myr. This indicates that star formation has proceeded over an
extended period of time, although we cannot discriminate between an extended
episode and a series of short and frequent bursts that are not resolved in
time. While the younger PMS population preferentially occupies the central
regions of the cluster, older PMS objects are more uniformly distributed across
the field and are remarkably few at the very centre of the cluster. We
attribute this latter effect to photoevaporation of the older circumstellar
discs caused by the massive ionising members of R136.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical
Journa
- âŠ