The fate of heavy elements in dwarf galaxies - the role of mass and geometry

Energetic feedback from Supernovae and stellar winds can drive galactic winds. Dwarf galaxies, due to their shallower potential wells, are assumed to be more vulnerable to this phenomenon. Metal loss through galactic winds is also commonly invoked to explain the low metal content of dwarf galaxies. Our main aim in this paper is to show that galactic mass cannot be the only parameter determining the fraction of metals lost by a galaxy. In particular, the distribution of gas must play an equally important role. We perform 2-D chemo-dynamical simulations of galaxies characterized by different gas distributions, masses and gas fractions. The gas distribution can change the fraction of lost metals through galactic winds by up to one order of magnitude. In particular, disk-like galaxies tend to loose metals more easily than roundish ones. Consequently, also the final metallicities attained by models with the same mass but with different gas distributions can vary by up to one dex. Confirming previous studies, we also show that the fate of gas and freshly produced metals strongly depends on the mass of the galaxy. Smaller galaxies (with shallower potential wells) more easily develop large-scale outflows, therefore the fraction of lost metals tends to be higher.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication on Astronomy and Astrophysic

Chemo-dynamical Evolution of the ISM in Galaxies

Chemo-dynamical models have been introduced in the late eighties and are a generally accepted tool for understanding galaxy evolution. They have been successfully applied to one-dimensional problems, e.g. the evolution of non-rotating galaxies, and two-dimensional problems, e.g. the evolution of disk galaxies. Recently, also three-dimensional chemo-dynamical models have become available. In these models the dynamics of different components, i.e. dark matter, stars and a multi-phase interstellar medium, are treated in a self-consistent way and several processes allow for an exchange of matter, energy and momentum between the components or different gas phases. Some results of chemo-dynamical models and their comparison with observations of chemical abundances or star formation histories will be reviewed.Comment: 10 Pages, 5 Figures, to appear in "From Observations to Self-Consistent Modelling of the ISM in Galaxies", 2003, eds M. Avillez et a

The Exceptionally Soft X-ray Spectrum of the Low-mass Starburst Galaxy NGC 1705

NGC 1705 is one of the optically brightest and best studied dwarf galaxies. It appears to be in the late stage of a major starburst and contains a young super star cluster. Type II supernovae are therefore likely to have been a major effect in the recent evolution of this galaxy and are likely to have produced a superbubble whose affects on the low-density ambient interstellar medium can be ideally studied. ROSAT PSPC observations of this galaxy reveal two striking blobs of X-ray emission embedded in \Ha loops which can be interpreted as both sides of the upper plumes of the same superbubble. These sources are a surprise. They are much softer than those observed from other starburst dwarf galaxies, and are so soft that they should have been blocked if the observed Galactic HI column density were uniformly distributed across NGC 1705 or if the sources were embedded in the HI disk of NGC 1705. In addition, the total X-ray luminosity in the ROSAT energy band of 1.2x10^{38} erg s^{-1} is low in comparison to similar objects. We discuss possible models for the two X-ray peaks in NGC 1705 and find that the sources most likely originate from relatively cool gas of one single superbubble in NGC 1705. The implications of the exceptional softness of these sources are addressed in terms of intrinsic properties of NGC 1705 and the nature of the foreground Galactic absorption.Comment: 7 pages, 2 ps-figures, LATEX-file; accepted for publication in ApJ.Letter