1,129 research outputs found
Cosmological Gamma-Ray Bursts and Evolution of Galaxies
Evolution of the rate density of cosmological gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) is
calculated and compared to the BATSE brightness distribution in the context of
binary neutron-star mergers as the source of GRBs, taking account of the
realistic star formation history in the universe and evolution of compact
binary systems. We tried two models of the evolution of cosmic star formation
rate (SFR): one is based on recent observations of SFRs at high redshifts,
while the other is based on a galaxy evolution model of stellar population
synthesis that reproduces the present-day colors of galaxies. It is shown that
the binary merger scenario of GRBs naturally results in the comoving
rate-density evolution of \propto (1+z)^{2-2.5} up to z ~ 1, that has been
suggested independently from the compatibility between the number-brightness
distribution and duration-brightness correlation. If the cosmic SFR has its
peak at z ~ 1--2 as suggested by recent observations, the effective power-index
of GRB photon spectrum, \alpha >~ 1.5$ is favored, that is softer than the
recent observational determination of \alpha = 1.1 \pm 0.3. However, high
redshift starbursts (z >~ 5) in elliptical galaxies, that have not yet been
detected, can alleviate this discrepancy. The redshift of GRB970508 is likely
about 2, just below the upper limit that is recently determined, and the
absorption system at z = 0.835 seems not to be the site of the GRB.Comment: ApJ Lett. in press, very minor change just making clear that the
predicted rate-density evolution is in a comoving sense. (Received 1997 May
15; Accepted 1997 July 2
Age and Dust Degeneracy for Starburst Galaxies Solved?
A spectral evolution model of galaxies that includes both stellar and dust
effects is newly built. xApplying the model to 22 nearby starburst galaxies, we
have shown that far infrared luminosity of galaxies helps to break the
age-dustiness degeneracy. We have derived a unique solution of age and the
dustiness for each starburst galaxy. The resulting starburst ages and optical
depths are in the range and , respectively. The result is robust and is almost independent of model
assumptions such as dust distributions, extinction curves, and burst strengths.
With the rapidly growing sensitivity of submillimeter detectors, it should
become possible in the near future to determine the age and of
star-forming galaxies at redshifts and beyond. Accurate estimates
of for Lyman-break galaxies and high-z galaxies might require a
substantial revision of the previously claimed picture of star formation
history over the Hubble time.Comment: Latex (aas2pp4) 15 pages, 1 table, 6 figures. Accepted for Ap
A Robust Age Indicator for Old Stellar Populations
We derive new spectral H_gamma index definitions which are robust age
indicators for old and relatively old stellar populations and thus have great
potential for solving the age-metallicity degeneracy of galaxy spectra. To
study H_gamma as a function of age, metallicity and resolution, we used a new
spectral synthesis model which predicts SEDs of single-age, single-metallicity
stellar populations at resolution FWHM=1.8A (which can be smoothed to different
resolutions), allowing direct measurements of the equivalent widths of
particular absorption features. We find that the H_gamma strong age
disentangling power strongly depends strongly on the adopted resolution and
galaxy velocity dispersion. We propose a system of indices which are completely
insensitive to metallicity and stable against resolution, allowing the study of
galaxies up to ~300 km/s. Observational spectra of very high S/N and relatively
high dispersion, are required to gain this unprecedented age discriminating
power. Once such spectra are obtained, accurate and reliable estimates for the
luminosity-weighted average stellar ages of these galaxies will become possible
for the first time, without assessing their metallicities. We measured this
index for two globular clusters, a number of low-luminosity elliptical galaxies
and a standard S0 galaxy. We find a large spread in the average stellar ages of
a sample of low-luminosity ellipticals. In particular these indices yield 4 Gyr
for M32, in agreement with the age provided by an extraordinary fit to the full
spectrum of this galaxy that we achieve here.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figures. ApJ, in press. Models and details can be found
at http://www.ioa.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~vazdekis
Stellar structures in the outer regions of M33
We present Subaru/Suprime-Cam deep V and I imaging of seven fields in the
outer regions of M33. Our aim is to search for stellar structures corresponding
to extended HI clouds found in a recent 21-cm survey of the galaxy. Three
fields probe a large HI complex to the southeastern (SE) side of the galaxy. An
additional three fields cover the northwestern (NW) side of the galaxy along
the HI warp. A final target field was chosen further north, at a projected
distance of approximately 25 kpc, to study part of the large stellar plume
recently discovered around M33. We analyse the stellar population at R > 10 kpc
by means of V, I colour magnitude diagrams reaching the red clump. Evolved
stellar populations are found in all fields out to 120' (~ 30 kpc), while a
diffuse population of young stars (~ 200 Myr) is detected out to a
galactocentric radius of 15 kpc. The mean metallicity in the southern fields
remains approximately constant at [M/H] = -0.7 beyond the edge of the optical
disc, from 40' out to 80'. Along the northern fields probing the outer \hi
disc, we also find a metallicity of [M/H] = -0.7 between 35' and 70' from the
centre, which decreases to [M/H] = -1.0 at larger angular radii out to 120'. In
the northernmost field, outside the disc extent, the stellar population of the
large stellar feature possibly related to a M33-M31 interaction is on average
more metal-poor ([M/H] = -1.3) and older (> 6 Gyr). An exponential disc with a
large scale-length (~ 7 kpc) fits well the average distribution of stars
detected in both the SE and NW regions from a galactocentric distance of 11 kpc
out to 30 kpc. The stellar distribution at large radii is disturbed and,
although there is no clear correlation between the stellar substructures and
the location of the HI clouds, this gives evidence for tidal interaction or
accretion events.Comment: 13 pages, 13 figures. Accepted for publications in Astronomy and
Astrophysics; minor revisions of the tex
Diffuse Extragalactic Background Light versus Deep Galaxy Counts in the Subaru Deep Field: Missing Light in the Universe?
Deep optical and near-infrared galaxy counts are utilized to estimate the
extragalactic background light (EBL) coming from normal galactic light in the
universe. Although the slope of number-magnitude relation of the faintest
counts is flat enough for the count integration to converge, considerable
fraction of EBL from galaxies could still have been missed in deep galaxy
surveys because of various selection effects including the cosmological dimming
of surface brightness of galaxies. Here we give an estimate of EBL from galaxy
counts, in which these selection effects are quantitatively taken into account
for the first time, based on reasonable models of galaxy evolution which are
consistent with all available data of galaxy counts, size, and redshift
distributions. We show that the EBL from galaxies is best resolved into
discrete galaxies in the near-infrared bands (J, K) by using the latest data of
the Subaru Deep Field; more than 80-90% of EBL from galaxies has been resolved
in these bands. Our result indicates that the contribution by missing galaxies
cannot account for the discrepancy between the count integration and recent
tentative detections of diffuse EBL in the K-band (2.2 micron), and there may
be a very diffuse component of EBL which has left no imprints in known galaxy
populations.Comment: ApJ Letters in press. Two new reports on the diffuse EBL at 1.25 and
2.2 microns are added to the reference list and Table
Chemical compositions of six metal-poor stars in the ultra-faint dwarf spheroidal galaxy Bo\"otes I
Ultra-faint dwarf galaxies recently discovered around the Milky Way (MW)
contain extremely metal-poor stars, and might represent the building blocks of
low-metallicity components of the MW. Among them, the Bo\"otes I dwarf
spheroidal galaxy is of particular interest because of its exclusively old
stellar population. We determine chemical compositions of six red giant stars
in Bo\"otes I, based on the high-resolution spectra obtained with the High
Dispersion Spectrograph mounted on the Subaru Telescope. Abundances of 12
elements, including C, Na, alpha, Fe-peak, and neutron capture elements, were
determined for the sample stars. The abundance results were compared to those
in field MW halo stars previously obtained using an abundance analysis
technique similar to the present study. We confirm the low metallicity of
Boo-094 ([Fe/H]=-3.4). Except for this star, the abundance ratios ([X/Fe]) of
elements lighter than zinc are generally homogeneous with small scatter around
the mean values in the metallicities spanned by the other five stars
(-2.7-2.7 show
no significant enhancement of carbon. The [Mg/Fe] and [Ca/Fe] ratios are almost
constant with a modest decreasing trend with increasing [Fe/H] and are slightly
lower than the field halo stars. The [Sr/Fe] and [Sr/Ba] ratios also tend to be
lower in the Bo\"otes I stars than in the halo stars. Our results of small
scatter in the [X/Fe] ratios for elements lighter than zinc suggest that these
abundances were homogeneous among the ejecta of prior generation(s) of stars in
this galaxy.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figures. Accepted to A&A, language correcte
A correlation between light profile and [Mg/Fe] abundance ratio in early-type galaxies
We explore possible correlations between light profile shapes, as
parameterized by the Sersic index or the concentration index C_re(1/3), and
relevant stellar population parameters in early-type galaxies. Mean luminosity
weighted ages, metallicities and abundance ratios were obtained from spectra of
very high signal-to-noise and stellar population models that synthesize galaxy
spectra at the resolution given by their velocity dispersions, in combination
with an age indicator that is virtually free of the effects of metallicity. We
do not find any significant correlation between the Sersic index (or C_re(1/3))
and mean age or metallicity, but a strong positive correlation of the shape
parameters with [Mg/Fe] abundance ratio. This dependence is as strong as the
[Mg/Fe] vs. velocity dispersion and C_re(1/3) vs. velocity dispersion
relations. We speculate that early-type galaxies settle up their structure on
time-scales in agreement with those imposed by their [Mg/Fe] ratios. This
suggest that the global structure of larger galaxies, with larger [Mg/Fe]
ratios and shorter time-scales, was already at place at high z, without
experiencing a significant time evolution.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures (to appear in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Does the Number Density of Elliptical Galaxies Change at z<1?
We have performed a detailed V/Vmax test for a sample of the Canada-France
Redshift Survey (CFRS) for the purpose of examining whether the comoving number
density of field galaxies changes significantly at redshifts of z<1. Taking
into account the luminosity evolution of galaxies which depends on their
morphological type through different history of star formation, we obtain
\sim 0.5 in the range of 0.3<z<0.8, where reliable redshifts were
secured by spectroscopy of either absorption or emission lines for the CFRS
sample. This indicates that a picture of mild evolution of field galaxies
without significant mergers is consistent with the CFRS data. Early-type
galaxies, selected by their (V-I)_{AB} color, become unnaturally deficient in
number at z>0.8 due to the selection bias, thereby causing a fictitious
decrease of . We therefore conclude that a reasonable choice of upper
bound of redshift z \sim 0.8 in the V/Vmax test saves the picture of passive
evolution for field ellipticals in the CFRS sample, which was rejected by
Kauffman, Charlot, & White (1996) without confining the redshift range.
However, about 10% of the CFRS sample consists of galaxies having colors much
bluer than predicted for irregular galaxies, and their \avmax is significantly
larger than 0.5. We discuss this population of extremely blue galaxies in terms
of starburst that has just turned on at their observed redshifts.Comment: 11 pages including 3 figures, to appear in ApJ Letter
- …