45 research outputs found
Peculiar Multimodality on the Horizontal Branch of the Globular Cluster NGC 2808
We present distributions of colors of stars along the horizontal branch of
the globular cluster NGC 2808, from Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 imaging in B,
V, and an ultraviolet filter (F218W). This cluster's HB is already known to be
strongly bimodal, with approximately equal-sized HB populations widely
separated in the color-magnitude diagram. Our images reveal a long blue tail
with two gaps, for a total of four nearly distinct HB groups. These gaps are
very narrow, corresponding to envelope-mass differences of only \sim 0.01 Msun.
This remarkable multimodality may be a signature of mass-loss processes, subtle
composition variations, or dynamical effects; we briefly summarize the
possibilities. The existence of narrow gaps between distinct clumps on the HB
presents a challenge for models that attempt to explain HB bimodality or other
peculiar HB structures.Comment: LaTeX, including compressed figures. To appear in ApJL. Larger (851k)
PostScript version, including high-quality figures, available from
http://astro.berkeley.edu/~csosin/pub
Discovery of Extended Blue Horizontal Branches in Two Metal-Rich Globular Clusters
We have used WFPC2 to construct B, V color-magnitude diagrams of four
metal-rich globular clusters, NGC 104 (47 Tuc), NGC 5927, NGC 6388, and NGC
6441. All four clusters have well populated red horizontal branches (RHB), as
expected for their metallicity. However, NGC 6388 and 6441 also exhibit a
prominent blue HB (BHB) extension, including stars reaching as faint in V as
the turnoff luminosity. This discovery demonstrates directly for the first time
that a major population of hot HB stars can exist in old, metal-rich systems.
This may have important implications for the interpretation of the integrated
spectra of elliptical galaxies.
The cause of the phenomenon remains uncertain. We examine the possibility
that NGC 6388 and 6441 are older than the other clusters, but a simple
difference in age may not be sufficient to produce the observed distributions
along the HB. The high central densities in NGC 6388 and 6441 suggest that the
existence of the blue HB (BHB) tails might be caused by stellar interactions in
the dense cores of these clusters, which we calculate to have two of the
highest collision rates among globular clusters in the Galaxy. Tidal collisions
might act in various ways to enhance loss of envelope mass, and therefore
populate the blue side of the HB. However, the relative frequency of tidal
collisions does not seem large enough (compared to that of the clusters with
pure RHBs) to account for such a drastic difference in HB morphology. While a
combination of an age difference and dynamical interactions may help, prima
facie the lack of a radial gradient in the BHB/RHB star ratio seems to argue
against dynamical effects playing a role.Comment: LaTeX, includes one Postscript figure. To appear in ApJ
Hubble Space Telescope Observations of Galactic Globular Cluster Cores. I. NGC 6362 and NGC 6934
We present observations of the centers of the Galactic globular clusters NGC 6362 and NGC 6934 obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope/Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 as part of the snapshot program GO-7470. The B, V color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) are presented for 4104 stars in NGC 6362 and for 8187 stars in NGC 6934. From the CMDs, we obtain (m - M)V = 14.67 ± 0.20 and E(B-V) = 0.06 ± 0.03 for NGC 6362 and (m - M)V = 16.37 ± 0.20 and E(B-V) = 0.05 ± 0.02 for NGC 6934. Each cluster shows a well-defined sequence of blue stragglers. Both the CMD and the luminosity function (LF) of the blue stragglers differ in the two clusters, suggesting two different origins for these stars. NGC 6362 has a strikingly narrow blue straggler sequence. The data have also been used to derive a complete LF, which extends from the red giant branch tip to 2–3 mag below the turnoff. In the case of NGC 6362, which has the deepest LF, the theoretical LF cannot match both the evolved LF and that of the main sequence with any reasonable mass-function slope. The LF has also been used to estimate the ages of the two clusters. A comparison with the theoretical LF, the more classical isochrone fitting, and the ΔV suggest an age between 13 and 16 Gyr for both clusters. No significant age difference between NGC 6362 and NGC 6934 is observed
Galaxy-scale Star Formation on the Red Sequence: the Continued Growth of S0s and the Quiescence of Ellipticals
This paper examines star formation (SF) in relatively massive, primarily
early-type galaxies (ETGs) at z~0.1. A sample is drawn from bulge-dominated
GALEX/SDSS galaxies on the optical red sequence with strong UV excess and yet
quiescent SDSS spectra. High-resolution far-UV imaging of 27 such ETGs using
HST ACS/SBC reveals structured UV morphology in 93% of the sample, consistent
with low-level ongoing SF (~0.5 Ms/yr). In 3/4 of the sample the SF is extended
on galaxy scales (25-75 kpc), while the rest contains smaller (5-15 kpc) SF
patches in the vicinity of an ETG - presumably gas-rich satellites being
disrupted. Optical imaging reveals that all ETGs with galaxy-scale SF in our
sample have old stellar disks (mostly S0 type). None is classified as a true
elliptical. In our sample, galaxy-scale SF takes the form of UV rings of
varying sizes and morphologies. For the majority of such objects we conclude
that the gas needed to fuel current SF has been accreted from the IGM, probably
in a prolonged, quasi-static manner, leading in some cases to additional disk
buildup. The remaining ETGs with galaxy-scale SF have UV and optical
morphologies consistent with minor merger-driven SF or with the final stages of
SF in fading spirals. Our analysis excludes that all recent SF on the red
sequence resulted from gas-rich mergers. We find further evidence that
galaxy-scale SF is almost exclusively an S0 phenomenon (~20% S0s have SF) by
examining the overall optically red SDSS ETGs. Conclusion is that significant
number of field S0s maintain or resume low-level SF because the preventive
feedback is not in place or is intermittent. True ellipticals, on the other
hand, stay entirely quiescent even in the field.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. Contains color figures, but
compatible with non-color printer
The Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury II. Tracing the Inner M31 Halo with Blue Horizontal Branch Stars
We attempt to constrain the shape of M31's inner stellar halo by tracing the
surface density of blue horizontal branch (BHB) stars at galactocentric
distances ranging from 2 kpc to 35 kpc. Our measurements make use of resolved
stellar photometry from a section of the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury
(PHAT) survey, supplemented by several archival Hubble Space Telescope
observations. We find that the ratio of BHB to red giant stars is relatively
constant outside of 10 kpc, suggesting that the BHB is as reliable a tracer of
the halo population as the red giant branch. In the inner halo, we do not
expect BHB stars to be produced by the high metallicity bulge and disk, making
BHB stars a good candidate to be a reliable tracer of the stellar halo to much
smaller galactocentric distances. If we assume a power-law profile r^(-\alpha)
for the 2-D projected surface density BHB distribution, we obtain a
high-quality fit with a 2-D power-law index of \alpha=2.6^{+0.3}_{-0.2} outside
of 3 kpc, which flattens to \alpha<1.2 inside of 3 kpc. This slope is
consistent with previous measurements but is anchored to a radial baseline that
extends much farther inward. Finally, assuming azimuthal symmetry and a
constant mass-to-light ratio, the best-fitting profile yields a total halo
stellar mass of 2.1^{+1.7}_{-0.4} x 10^9 M_sun. These properties are comparable
with both simulations of stellar halo formation formed by satellite disruption
alone, and with simulations that include some in situ formation of halo stars.Comment: 15 pages, 1 table, 5 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Open Issues on the Synthesis of Evolved Stellar Populations at Ultraviolet Wavelengths
In this paper we briefly review three topics that have motivated our (and
others') investigations in recent years within the context of evolutionary
population synthesis techniques. These are: The origin of the FUV up-turn in
elliptical galaxies, the age-metallicity degeneracy, and the study of the
mid-UV rest-frame spectra of distant red galaxies. We summarize some of our
results and present a very preliminary application of a UV grid of theoretical
spectra in the analysis of integrated properties of aged stellar populations.
At the end, we concisely suggest how these topics can be tackled once the World
Space Observatory enters into operation in the midst of this decade.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space
Science, UV Universe special issu
The peculiar Horizontal Branch of NGC 2808
We present an accurate analysis of the peculiar Horizontal Branch (HB) of the
massive Galactic globular cluster NGC 2808, based on high-resolution far-UV and
optical images of the central region of the cluster obtained with HST. We
confirm the multimodal distribution of stars along the HB: 4 sub-populations
separated by gaps are distinguishable. The detailed comparison with suitable
theoretical models showed that (i) it is not possible to reproduce the
luminosity of the entire HB with a single helium abundance, while an
appropriate modeling is possible for three HB groups by assuming different
helium abundances in the range 0.24 < Y < 0.4 that are consistent with the
multiple populations observed in the Main Sequence; (ii) canonical HB models
are not able to properly match the observational properties of the stars
populating the hottest end of the observed HB distribution, the so called
"blue-hook region". These objects are probably "hot-flashers" , stars that peel
off the red giant branch before reaching the tip and ignite helium at high
effective temperatures. Both of these conclusions are based on the luminosity
of the HB in the optical and UV bands and do not depend on specific assumptions
about mass loss.Comment: Accepted for publication in the MNRAS (12 pages, 11 figures, 1 table
Horizontal Branch Stars: The Interplay between Observations and Theory, and Insights into the Formation of the Galaxy
We review HB stars in a broad astrophysical context, including both variable
and non-variable stars. A reassessment of the Oosterhoff dichotomy is
presented, which provides unprecedented detail regarding its origin and
systematics. We show that the Oosterhoff dichotomy and the distribution of
globular clusters (GCs) in the HB morphology-metallicity plane both exclude,
with high statistical significance, the possibility that the Galactic halo may
have formed from the accretion of dwarf galaxies resembling present-day Milky
Way satellites such as Fornax, Sagittarius, and the LMC. A rediscussion of the
second-parameter problem is presented. A technique is proposed to estimate the
HB types of extragalactic GCs on the basis of integrated far-UV photometry. The
relationship between the absolute V magnitude of the HB at the RR Lyrae level
and metallicity, as obtained on the basis of trigonometric parallax
measurements for the star RR Lyrae, is also revisited, giving a distance
modulus to the LMC of (m-M)_0 = 18.44+/-0.11. RR Lyrae period change rates are
studied. Finally, the conductive opacities used in evolutionary calculations of
low-mass stars are investigated. [ABRIDGED]Comment: 56 pages, 22 figures. Invited review, to appear in Astrophysics and
Space Scienc