82 research outputs found
An inefficient dwarf: Chemical abundances and the evolution of the Ursa Minor dwarf spheroidal galaxy
We present detailed chemical element abundance ratios of 17 elements in three
metal poor stars in the Ursa Minor dwarf spheroidal galaxy, which we combine
with extant data from the literature to assess the predictions of a novel suite
of galaxy chemical evolution models. The spectroscopic data were obtained with
the Keck/HIRES instrument and revealed low metallicities of [Fe/H]=-2.12, -2.13
and -2.67 dex. While the most metal poor star in our sample shows an
overabundance of [Mn/Fe] and other Fe-peak elements, our overall findings are
in agreement with previous studies of this galaxy: elevated values of the
[alpha/Fe] ratios that are similar to, or only slightly lower than, the halo
values but with SN Ia enrichment at very low metallicity, as well as an
enhancement of the ratio of first to second peak neutron capture elements
[Y/Ba] with decreasing metallicity. The chemical evolution models which were
tailored to reproduce the metallicity distribution function of the dSph,
indicate that UMi had an extended star formation which lasted nearly 5 Gyr with
low efficiency and are able to explain the [Y/Ba] enhancement at low
metallicity for the first time. In particular, we show that the present day
lack of gas is probably due to continuous loss of gas from the system, which we
model as winds.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, table
The tidal stripping of satellites
We present an improved analytic calculation for the tidal radius of
satellites and test our results against N-body simulations.
The tidal radius in general depends upon four factors: the potential of the
host galaxy, the potential of the satellite, the orbit of the satellite and
{\it the orbit of the star within the satellite}. We demonstrate that this last
point is critical and suggest using {\it three tidal radii} to cover the range
of orbits of stars within the satellite. In this way we show explicitly that
prograde star orbits will be more easily stripped than radial orbits; while
radial orbits are more easily stripped than retrograde ones. This result has
previously been established by several authors numerically, but can now be
understood analytically. For point mass, power-law (which includes the
isothermal sphere), and a restricted class of split power law potentials our
solution is fully analytic. For more general potentials, we provide an equation
which may be rapidly solved numerically. Over short times (\simlt 1-2 Gyrs
satellite orbit), we find excellent agreement between our analytic and
numerical models. Over longer times, star orbits within the satellite are
transformed by the tidal field of the host galaxy. In a Hubble time, this
causes a convergence of the three limiting tidal radii towards the prograde
stripping radius. Beyond the prograde stripping radius, the velocity dispersion
will be tangentially anisotropic.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures. Final version accepted for publication in MNRAS.
Some new fully analytic tidal radii have been added for power law density
profiles (including the isothermal sphere) and some split power law
The mass of dwarf spheroidal galaxies and the missing satellite problem
We present the results from a suite of N-body simulations of the tidal
stripping of two-component dwarf galaxies comprising some stars and dark
matter. We show that recent kinematic data from the local group dwarf
spheroidal (dSph) galaxies suggests that dSph galaxies must be sufficiently
massive (M) that tidal stripping is of little
importance for the stars. We discuss the implications of these massive dSph
galaxies for cosmology and galaxy formation.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, to appear in the proceedings of the IAUC198
"Near-Field Cosmology with Dwarf Elliptical Galaxies", H. Jerjen & B.
Binggeli (eds.). Comments welcom
A Survey for Outer Satellites of Mars: Limits to Completeness
We surveyed the Hill sphere of Mars for irregular satellites. Our search
covered nearly the entire Hill Sphere, but scattered light from Mars excluded
the inner few arcminutes where the satellites Phobos and Deimos reside. No new
satellites were found to an apparent limiting red magnitude of 23.5, which
corresponds to radii of about 0.09 km using an albedo of 0.07.Comment: 5 figures (1 color), 2 Tables, to appear in AJ Nov. 200
Kinematically Cold Populations at Large Radii in the Draco and Ursa Minor Dwarf Spheroidals
We present projected velocity dispersion profiles for the Draco and Ursa
Minor (UMi) dwarf spheroidal galaxies based on 207 and 162 discrete stellar
velocities, respectively. Both profiles show a sharp decline in the velocity
dispersion outside ~30 arcmin (Draco) and ~40 arcmin (UMi). New, deep
photometry of Draco reveals a break in the light profile at ~25 arcmin. These
data imply the existence of a kinematically cold population in the outer parts
of both galaxies. Possible explanations of both the photometric and kinematic
data in terms of both equilibrium and non-equilibrium models are discussed in
detail. We conclude that these data challenge the picture of dSphs as simple,
isolated stellar systems.Comment: 5 pages, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
Transient Fragments in Outbursting Comet 17P/Holmes
We present results from a wide-field imaging campaign at the
Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope to study the spectacular outburst of comet
17P/Holmes in late 2007. Using image-processing techniques we probe inside the
spherical dust coma and find sixteen fragments having both spatial distribution
and kinematics consistent with isotropic ejection from the nucleus. Photometry
of the fragments is inconsistent with scattering from monolithic, inert bodies.
Instead, each detected fragment appears to be an active cometesimal producing
its own dust coma. By scaling from the coma of the primary nucleus of
17P/Holmes, assumed to be 1.7 km in radius, we infer that the sixteen fragments
have maximum effective radii between ~ 10 m and ~ 100 m on UT 2007 Nov. 6. The
fragments subsequently fade at a common rate of ~ 0.2 mag/day, consistent with
steady depletion of ices from these bodies in the heat of the Sun. Our
characterization of the fragments supports the hypothesis that a large piece of
material broke away from the nucleus and crumbled, expelling smaller, icy
shards into the larger dust coma around the nucleus.Comment: 41 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication by the Astronomical
Journal
A Dynamical Fossil in the Ursa Minor Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy
The nearby Ursa Minor dwarf spheroidal (UMi dSph) is one of the most dark
matter dominated galaxies known, with a central mass to light ratio roughly
equal to 70. Somewhat anomalously, it appears to contain morphological
substructure in the form of a second peak in the stellar number density. It is
often argued that this substructure must be transient because it could not
survive for the > 10 Gyr age of the system, given the crossing time implied by
UMi's 8.8 km/s internal velocity dispersion. In this paper, however, we present
evidence that the substructure has a cold kinematical signature, and argue that
UMi's clumpiness could indeed be a primordial artefact. Using numerical
simulations, we demonstrate that substructure is incompatible with the cusped
dark matter haloes predicted by the prevailing Cold Dark Matter (CDM) paradigm,
but is consistent with an unbound stellar cluster sloshing back and forth
within the nearly harmonic potential of a cored dark matter halo. Thus CDM
appears to disagree with observation at the least massive, most dark matter
dominated end of the galaxy mass spectrum.Comment: Astrophysical Journal (Letters), in pres
First Clear Signature of an Extended Dark Matter Halo in the Draco Dwarf Spheroidal
We present the first clear evidence for an extended dark matter halo in the
Draco dwarf spheroidal galaxy based on a sample of new radial velocities for
159 giant stars out to large projected radii. Using a two parameter family of
halo models spanning a range of density profiles and velocity anisotropies, we
are able to rule out (at about the 2.5 sigma confidence level) haloes in which
mass follows light. The data strongly favor models in which the dark matter is
significantly more extended than the visible dwarf. However, haloes with
harmonic cores larger than the light distribution are also excluded. When
combined with existing measurements of the proper motion of Draco, our data
strongly suggest that Draco has not been tidally truncated within ~1 kpc. We
also show that the rising velocity dispersion at large radii represents a
serious problem for modified gravity (MOND).Comment: to be published in ApJL; 5 pages, 4 figure
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