Evidence of an interaction from resolved stellar populations: The curious case of NGC1313

The galaxy NGC1313 has attracted the attention of various studies due to the peculiar morphology observed in optical bands, although it is classified as a barred, late-type galaxy with no apparent close-by companions. However, the velocity field suggests an interaction with a satellite companion. Using resolved stellar populations, we study different parts of the galaxy to understand further its morphology. Based on HST/ACS images, we estimated star formation histories by means of the synthetic CMD method in different areas in the galaxy. Incompleteness limits our analysis to ages younger than ~100Myr. Stars in the red and blue He burning phases are used to trace the distribution of recent star formation. Star formation histories suggest a burst in the southern-west region. We support the idea that NGC1313 is experiencing an interaction with a satellite companion, observed as a tidally disrupted satellite galaxy in the south-west of NGC1313. However, we do not observe any indication of a perturbation due to the interaction with the satellite galaxy at other locations across the galaxy, suggesting that only a modest-sized companion that did not trigger a global starburst was involved.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

The Snapshot Hubble U-Band Cluster Survey (SHUCS) II. Star Cluster Population of NGC 2997

We study the star cluster population of NGC 2997, a giant spiral galaxy located at 9.5 Mpc and targeted by the Snapshot Hubble U-band Cluster Survey (SHUCS). Combining our U-band imaging from SHUCS with archival BVI imaging from HST, we select a high confidence sample of clusters in the circumnuclear ring and disk through a combination of automatic detection procedures and visual inspection. The cluster luminosity functions in all four filters can be approximated by power-laws with indices of $-1.7$ to $-2.3$. Some deviations from pure power-law shape are observed, hinting at the presence of a high-mass truncation in the cluster mass function. However, upon inspection of the cluster mass function, we find it is consistent with a pure power-law of index $-2.2\pm0.2$ despite a slight bend at $\sim$$2.5\times10^{4}$ M$_{\odot}$. No statistically significant truncation is observed. From the cluster age distributions, we find a low rate of disruption ($\zeta\sim-0.1$) in both the disk and circumnuclear ring. Finally, we estimate the cluster formation efficiency ($\Gamma$) over the last 100 Myr in each region, finding $7\pm2$% for the disk, $12\pm4$% for the circumnuclear ring, and $10\pm3$% for the entire UBVI footprint. This study highlights the need for wide-field UBVI coverage of galaxies to study cluster populations in detail, though a small sample of clusters can provide significant insight into the characteristics of the population.Comment: 31 pages, 9 figures, accepted to the A

Evidence for Environmentally Dependent Cluster Disruption in M83

Using multi-wavelength imaging from the Wide Field Camera 3 on the Hubble Space Telescope we study the stellar cluster populations of two adjacent fields in the nearby face-on spiral galaxy, M83. The observations cover the galactic centre and reach out to ~6 kpc, thereby spanning a large range of environmental conditions, ideal for testing empirical laws of cluster disruption. The clusters are selected by visual inspection to be centrally concentrated, symmetric, and resolved on the images. We find that a large fraction of objects detected by automated algorithms (e.g. SExtractor or Daofind) are not clusters, but rather are associations. These are likely to disperse into the field on timescales of tens of Myr due to their lower stellar densities and not due to gas expulsion (i.e. they were never gravitationally bound). We split the sample into two discrete fields (inner and outer regions of the galaxy) and search for evidence of environmentally dependent cluster disruption. Colour-colour diagrams of the clusters, when compared to simple stellar population models, already indicate that a much larger fraction of the clusters in the outer field are older by tens of Myr than in the inner field. This impression is quantified by estimating each cluster's properties (age, mass, and extinction) and comparing the age/mass distributions between the two fields. Our results are inconsistent with "universal" age and mass distributions of clusters, and instead show that the ambient environment strongly affects the observed populations.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, MNRAS in pres

Revealing a Ring-like Cluster Complex in a Tidal Tail of the Starburst Galaxy NGC 2146

We report the discovery of a ring-like cluster complex in the starburst galaxy NGC 2146. The Ruby Ring, so named due to its appearance, shows a clear ring-like distribution of star clusters around a central object. It is located in one of the tidal streams which surround the galaxy. NGC 2146 is part of the Snapshot Hubble U-band Cluster Survey (SHUCS). The WFC3/F336W data has added critical information to the available archival Hubble Space Telescope imaging set of NGC 2146, allowing us to determine ages, masses, and extinctions of the clusters in the Ruby Ring. These properties have then been used to investigate the formation of this extraordinary system. We find evidence of a spatial and temporal correlation between the central cluster and the clusters in the ring. The latter are about 4 Myr younger than the central cluster, which has an age of 7 Myr. This result is supported by the H alpha emission which is strongly coincident with the ring, and weaker at the position of the central cluster. From the derived total H alpha luminosity of the system we constrain the star formation rate density to be quite high, e.g. ~ 0.47 Msun/yr/kpc^2. The Ruby Ring is the product of an intense and localised burst of star formation, similar to the extended cluster complexes observed in M51 and the Antennae, but more impressive because is quite isolated. The central cluster contains only 5 % of the total stellar mass in the clusters that are determined within the complex. The ring-like morphology, the age spread, and the mass ratio support a triggering formation scenario for this complex. We discuss the formation of the Ruby Ring in a "collect & collapse" framework. The predictions made by this model agree quite well with the estimated bubble radius and expansion velocity produced by the feedback from the central cluster, making the Ruby Ring an interesting case of triggered star formation.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, 1 table; Accepted for publication in MNRA

The effect of spatial resolution on optical and near-IR studies of stellar clusters: implications for the origin of the red excess

Recent ground-based near-IR (NIR) studies of stellar clusters in nearby galaxies have suggested that young clusters remain embedded for 7–10 Myr in their progenitor molecular cloud, in conflict with optical-based studies which find that clusters are exposed after 1–3 Myr. Here, we investigate the role that spatial resolution plays in this apparent conflict. We use a recent catalogue of young (5000 M⊙) clusters in the nearby spiral galaxy, M83, along with Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging in the optical and NIR, and ground-based NIR imaging, to see how the colours (and hence estimated properties such as age and extinction) are affected by the aperture size employed, in order to simulate studies of differing resolution. We find that the NIR is heavily affected by the resolution, and when aperture sizes >40 pc are used, all young/blue clusters move redwards in colour space, which results in their appearance as heavily extincted clusters. However, this is due to contamination from nearby sources and nebular emission, and is not an extinction effect. Optical colours are much less affected by resolution. Due to the larger effect of contamination in the NIR, we find that, in some cases, clusters will appear to show NIR excess when large (>20 pc) apertures are used. Our results explain why few young (<6 Myr), low-extinction (A V <1 mag) clusters have been found in recent ground-based NIR studies of cluster populations, while many such clusters have been found in higher resolution HST-based studies. Additionally, resolution effects appear to (at least partially) explain the origin of the NIR excess that has been found in a number of extragalactic young massive clusters

Leaf pigments in cauliflower cultivated with different water conditions and silicon applications

Environmental factors and crop management can influence the characteristics of plant morphology and physiology, altering photosynthetic efficiency and mass accumulation. The study aimed to analyze the contents of leaf pigments in cauliflower cultivated under different conditions of water availability and silicon (Si) applications. The experiment was carried out in a protected environment in the city of Maringá-PR. A randomized block design, in a 3x4 factorial scheme, with three replacement conditions [40, 70 and 100% of crop evapotranspiration (ETc)] and four Si doses (0, 50, 100 and 150 kg ha-1), with four repetitions. The cauliflower cultivation, cultivar Sharon, was carried out in dystroferric RED NITOSOL. Daily evapotranspiration was determined with a constant level water table lysimeter and water replacement was performed with drip irrigation. Si was applied in split doses in three applications (initial, intermediate and final phases). At flowering, leaf tissue from the upper third of the plant was collected, with pigment extraction performed with pure acetone and determination in a spectrophotometer. At harvest, the leaf area of ​​the plants was determined. Data were subjected to analysis of variance and regression analysis. Cauliflower crop under water-deficient reduces leaf area development and alters chloroplast pigments dynamics. Silicon use in the soil increases leaf development, chlorophyll a and b contents, and reduces carotenoids concentration. Under water stress conditions, silicon addition to the soil improves cauliflower performance

The relation between surface star formation rate density and spiral arms in NGC 5236 (M83)

For a long time the consensus has been that star formation rates are higher in the interior of spiral arms in galaxies, compared to inter-arm regions. However, recent studies have found that the star formation inside the arms is not more efficient than elsewhere in the galaxy. Previous studies have based their conclusion mainly on integrated light. We use resolved stellar populations to investigate the star formation rates throughout the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 5236. We aim to investigate how the star formation rate varies in the spiral arms compared to the inter-arm regions, using optical space-based observations of NGC 5236. Using ground-based H\alpha images we traced regions of recent star formation, and reconstructed the arms of the galaxy. Using HST/ACS images we estimate star formation histories by means of the synthetic CMD method. Arms based on H\alpha images showed to follow the regions where stellar crowding is higher. Star formation rates for individual arms over the fields covered were estimated between 10 to 100 Myr, where the stellar photometry is less affected by incompleteness. Comparison between arms and inter-arm surface star formation rate densities (\Sigma$_{SFR}$) suggested higher values in the arms (\sim0.6 dex). Over a small fraction of one arm we checked how the \Sigma$_{SFR}$ changes for the trailing and leading part. The leading part of the arm showed to have a higher \Sigma$_{SFR}$ in the age range 10-100 Myr. Predictions from the density wave theory of a rapid increase in the star formation at the edge where the stars and the gas enter the density wave are confirmed. The \Sigma$_{SFR}$ presents a steep decrease with distance from the center of the arms through the inter-arm regions.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Stellar Clusters in M83: Formation, evolution, disruption and the influence of environment

We study the stellar cluster population in two adjacent fields in the nearby, face-on spiral galaxy, M83, using WFC3/HST imaging. The clusters are selected through visual inspection to be centrally concentrated, symmetric, and resolved on the images, which allows us to differentiate between clusters and likely unbound associations. We compare our sample with previous studies and show that the differences between the catalogues are largely due to the inclusion of large numbers of diffuse associations within previous catalogues. The luminosity function of the clusters is well approximated by a power-law with index, -2, over most of the observed range, however a steepening is seen at M_V = -9.3 and -8.8 in the inner and outer fields, respectively. Additionally, we show that the cluster population is inconsistent with a pure power-law mass distribution, but instead exhibits a truncation at the high mass end. If described as a Schechter function, the characteristic mass is 1.6 and 0.5 * 10^5 Msun, for the inner and outer fields, respectively, in agreement with previous estimates of other cluster populations in spiral galaxies. Comparing the predictions of the mass independent disruption (MID) and mass dependent disruption (MDD) scenarios with the observed distributions, we find that both models can accurately fit the data. However, for the MID case, the fraction of clusters destroyed (or mass lost) per decade in age is dependent on the environment, hence, the age/mass distributions of clusters are not universal. In the MDD case, the disruption timescale scales with galactocentric distance (being longer in the outer regions of the galaxy) in agreement with analytic and numerical predictions. Finally, we discuss the implications of our results on other extragalactic surveys, focussing on the fraction of stars that form in clusters and the need (or lack thereof) for infant mortality.Comment: 19 pages, 20 figures, MNRAS in pres