6,777 research outputs found
The impact of systematic uncertainties in stellar parameters on integrated spectra of stellar populations
In this paper we investigate a hitherto unexplored source of potentially
significant error in stellar population synthesis (SPS) models, caused by
systematic uncertainties associated with the three fundamental stellar
atmospheric parameters; effective temperature T_eff, surface gravity g, and
iron abundance [Fe/H]. All SPS models rely on calibrations of T_eff, logg and
[Fe/H] scales, which are implicit in stellar models, isochrones and synthetic
spectra, and are explicitly adopted for empirical spectral libraries. We assess
the effect of a mismatch in scales between isochrones and spectral libraries
(the two key components of SPS models) and quantify the effects on 23 commonly
used diagnostic line indices. We find that typical systematic offsets of 100K
in T_eff, 0.15 dex in [Fe/H] and/or 0.25 dex in logg significantly alter
inferred absolute ages of simple stellar populations (SSPs) and that in some
circumstances, relative ages also change. Offsets in T_eff, logg and [Fe/H]
scales for a scaled-solar SSP produce deviations from the model which can mimic
the effects of altering abundance ratios to non-scaled-solar chemical
compositions, and could also be spuriously interpreted as evidence for a more
complex population, especially when multiple-index or full-SED fitting methods
are used. We stress that the behavior we find can potentially affect any SPS
models, whether using full integrated spectra or fitting functions to determine
line strengths. We present measured offsets in 23 diagnostic line indices and
urge caution in the over-interpretation of line-index data for stellar
populations.Comment: 14 pages, including 4 figures and 3 tables. Accepted for publication
in Ap
Star Clusters in M 31. IV. A Comparative Analysis of Absorption Line Indices in Old M 31 and Milky Way Clusters
We present absorption line indices measured in the integrated spectra of
globular clusters both from the Galaxy and from M 31. Our samples include 41
Galactic globular clusters, and more than 300 clusters in M 31. The conversion
of instrumental equivalent widths into the Lick system is described, and
zero-point uncertainties are provided. Comparison of line indices of old M 31
clusters and Galactic globular clusters suggests an absence of important
differences in chemical composition between the two cluster systems. In
particular, CN indices in the spectra of M 31 and Galactic clusters are
essentially consistent with each other, in disagreement with several previous
works. We reanalyze some of the previous data, and conclude that reported CN
differences between M 31 and Galactic clusters were mostly due to data
calibration uncertainties. Our data support the conclusion that the chemical
compositions of Milky Way and M 31 globular clusters are not substantially
different, and that there is no need to resort to enhanced nitrogen abundances
to account for the optical spectra of M 31 globular clusters.Comment: 72 pages, including 15 figures and 14 tables. Published by the
Astronomical Journa
Growth performance, carcase characteristics and meat quality of crossbred bulls and heifers from double-muscled Belgian Blue sires and Brown Swiss, Simmental and Rendena dams
Growth, conformation, carcase and meat quality traits of crossbred calves obtained in the Alps from selected Belgian Blue sires (BB) and Brown Swiss (BS), Simmental (Si) and Rendena (Re) dams were studied, emphasising differences on dairy and dual purpose maternal breed. Six pens with five heifers (3 BB BS, 1 BB Si, 1 BB Re) and six pens with four young bulls (2 BB BS, 1 BB Si, 1 BB Re) were used. In total 53 crossbred calves were tested: 30 from BS dams and 23 from dual purpose (12 from Si and 11 from Re dams). Growth performances were measured, carcases were scored for muscle conformation and fatness, the fifth rib was dissected, and the Longissimus thoracis (LT) was analysed. The maternal breed had significant effects when the calves from dairy cows (BB BS) were compared to those of the dual pur- pose breeds (BB Si and BB Re), as at slaughter the former were 1.2% taller, 6.0% less in vivo muscle score, 5.0% less carcase muscle score, with a 13% greater proportion of bone in the rib, and their LT had 12.5% less drip losses, but 3% greater cooking losses and 25% greater shear force. It was concluded that when using a BB as a sire, the dam breed has influ- ence on the growth performance traits of the derived crossbreds, but the major influence would regard the carcase and meat quality traits. In the Alps, these differences are reflected in different sold prices of the crossbred calves from dairy and dual purpose breeds at local auctions
Selenium Biofortification in Radish Enhances Nutritional Quality via Accumulation of Methyl-Selenocysteine and Promotion of Transcripts and Metabolites Related to Glucosinolates, Phenolics, and Amino Acids
Two selenium (Se) fertilization methods were tested for their effects on levels of anticarcinogenic selenocompounds in radish (Raphanus sativus), as well as other nutraceuticals. First, radish was grown on soil and foliar selenate applied 7d before harvest at 0, 5, 10 and 20 mg Se per plant. Selenium levels were up to 1,200 mg Se/kg DW in leaves and 120 mg Se/kg DW in roots. The thiols cysteine and glutathione were present at 2-3 fold higher levels in roots of Se treated plants, and total glucosinolate levels were 35% higher, due to increases in glucoraphanin. The only seleno-aminoacid detected in Se treated plants was Se-methyl-SeCys (100 mg/kg FW in leaves, 33 mg/kg FW in roots). The levels of phenolic aminoacids increased with selenate treatment, as did root total nitrogen and protein content, while the level of several polyphenols decreased. Second, radish was grown in hydroponics and supplied with 0, 5, 10, 20, or 40 \uf06dM selenate for one week. Selenate treatment led to a 20-30% increase in biomass. Selenium concentration was 242 mg Se/kg DW in leaves and 85 mg Se/kg DW in roots. Cysteine levels decreased with Se in leaves but increased in roots; glutatione levels decreased in both. Total glucosinolate levels in leaves decreased with Se treatment due to repression of genes involved in glucosinolates metabolism. Se-methyl-SeCys concentration ranged from 7-15 mg/kg FW. Aminoacid concentration increased with Se treatment in leaves but decreased in roots. Roots of Se treated plants contained elevated transcript levels of sulfate transporters (Sultr) and ATP sulfurylase, a key enzyme of S/Se assimilation. No effects on polyphenols were observed. In conclusion, Se biofortification of radish roots may be achieved via foliar spray or hydroponic supply. One to ten radishes could fulfill the daily human requirement (70 \uf06dg) after a single foliar spray of 5 mg selenate per plant or one week of 5-10 \uf06dM selenate supply in hydroponics. The radishes metabolized selenate to the anticarcinogenic compound Se-methyl-selenocysteine. Selenate treatment enhanced levels of other nutraceuticals in radish roots, including glucoraphanin. Therefore, Se biofortification can produce plants with superior health benefit
Mass dependent Evolution of Field Early-Type Galaxies Since z=1
We present the Fundamental Plane (FP) of field early-type galaxies at
0.5<z<1.0. Our project is a continuation of our efforts to understand the
formation and evolution of early-type galaxies in different environments. The
target galaxies were selected from the comprehensive and homogeneous data set
of the Gemini/HST Galaxy Cluster Project. The distant field early-type galaxies
follow a steeper FP relation compared to the local FP. The change in the slope
of the FP can be interpreted as a mass-dependent evolution. Similar results
have been found for cluster early-type galaxies in high redshift galaxy
clusters at 0.8<z<1. Therefore, the slope change of the FP appears to be
independent of the environment of the galaxies.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure, to appear in the proceedings of the IAU Symposium
no. 262, "Stellar Populations - Planning for the Next Decade", eds. G. R.
Bruzual and S. Charlo
Evidence for Blue Straggler Stars Rejuvenating the Integrated Spectra of Globular Clusters
Integrated spectroscopy is the method of choice for deriving the ages of
unresolved stellar systems. However, hot stellar evolutionary stages, such as
hot horizontal branch stars and blue straggler stars (BSSs), can affect the
integrated ages measured using Balmer lines. Such hot, "non-canonical" stars
may lead to overestimations of the temperature of the main sequence turn-off,
and therefore underestimations of the integrated age of a stellar population.
Using an optimized Hbeta index in conjunction with HST/WFPC2 color-magnitude
diagrams (CMDs), we show that Galactic globular clusters exhibit a large
scatter in their apparent "spectroscopic" ages, which does not correspond to
that in their CMD-derived ages. We find for the first time that the specific
frequency of BSSs, defined within the same aperture as the integrated spectra,
shows a clear correspondence with Hbeta in the sense that, at fixed
metallicity, higher BSS ratios lead to younger "apparent" spectroscopic ages.
Thus, the specific frequency of BSSs in globular clusters sets a fundamental
limit on the accuracy for which spectroscopic ages can be determined for
globular clusters, and maybe for other stellar systems like galaxies. The
observational implications of this result are discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in ApJ
A large stellar evolution database for population synthesis studies. IV. Integrated properties and spectra
This paper is the 4th in a series describing the latest additions to the
BaSTI stellar evolution database, which consists of a large set of homogeneous
models and tools for population synthesis studies. Here we present a new set of
low and high resolution synthetic spectra based on the BaSTI stellar models,
covering a large range of simple stellar populations (SSPs) for both scaled
solar and alpha-enhanced metal mixtures. This enables a completely consistent
study of the photometric and spectroscopic properties of both resolved and
unresolved stellar populations, and allows us to make detailed tests on their
integrated properties. Our low resolution spectra are suitable for deriving
broadband magnitudes and colors in any photometric system. These spectra cover
the full wavelength range (9-160000nm) and include all evolutionary stages up
to the end of AGB evolution. Our high resolution spectra are suitable for
studying the behaviour of line indices and we have tested them against a large
sample of Galactic globular clusters. We find that the range of ages, iron
abundances [Fe/H], and degree of alpha-enhancement predicted by the models
matches observed values very well. We have also tested the global consistency
of the BaSTI models by making detailed comparisons between ages and
metallicities derived from isochrone fitting to observed CMDs, and from line
index strengths, for the Galactic globular cluster 47Tuc and the open cluster
M67. For 47Tuc we find reasonable agreement between the 2 methods, within the
estimated errors. From the comparison with M67 we find non-negligible effects
on derived line indices caused by statistical fluctuations, which are a result
of the specific method used to populate an isochrone and assign appropriate
spectra to individual stars. (abridged)Comment: 21 pages including 13 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ. Low
and high resolution integrated spectra, magnitudes, and mass-to-light ratios
will appear on the BaSTI website by 1st November 2008 - see
http://193.204.1.62/index.htm
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