scholarly journals Galactic evolution and the two-colour diagram

1964 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 37-37
Author(s):  
R. H. Stoy

Information about the past history of the Galaxy may be obtained from a two-colour diagram, since the present distribution of stars in such a diagram depends on the past rate of star formation and the past metal abundances in the interstellar medium. As an illustration of this, I would like to discuss three diagrams that were recently prepared by Dr. M. E. Dixon from Cape photometric data (Dixon 1963a,b).

2002 ◽  
Vol 187 ◽  
pp. 47-56
Author(s):  
N. Prantzos

Progress in the theory of galactic chemical evolution has been very slow and it is only in the solar neighborhood that observations constrain seriously the parameters of the various models. The history revealed on the basis of these data allows only for a small depletion of deuterium (D), less than a factor of 3 from its pregalactic value (Sec. 2.1). The observational data for the rest of the Milky Way disk are much less constraining for the models. They suggest, however, that a much larger astration (and, hence, D depletion) has taken place in the inner Galaxy; the resulting D gradient, measurable by the future FUSE-LYMAN mission, should provide invaluable information as to the past history of the disk (Sec. 2.2). Also, assuming that our Galaxy is a typical spiral, one can calculate the properties of disk galaxies as a function of redshift (in the framework of a given cosmological model) and compare to the observed properties of the extragalactic universe: global star formation rate, gas content and metal abundances in gas clouds. It turns out that D can be considerably depleted in galaxy disks, but only at low redshifts (Sec. 2.3).


1998 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-48
Author(s):  
Beatriz Barbuy ◽  
Michael S. Bessell

Joint Discussion 1 was supported by Division IV (Stars) and Commission 29 (Stellar Spectra), and co-supported by Commissions 28 (Galaxies), 36 (Theory of Stellar Atmospheres) and 37 (Stellar Clusters and Associations). Members of the scientific organizing committee were: N. Arimoto (Japan), B. Barbuy (Brazil), T. Beers (USA), J. Bergeron (Germany), M. Bessell (Australia), R. Cayrel (France), G. Gilmore (UK), B. Gustafsson (Sweden), F. Matteucci (Italy), P. Nissen (Den-mark), and M. Rich (USA). The inspiration for this meeting was the growing overlap and connections between previously separate areas of astrophysical research, namely, studies of stellar abundances, the bulges of galaxies, the gaseous components of nearby galaxies and the clouds (some of which may be primordial) responsible for the narrow absorption lines in quasars. The signature of the early chemical evolution of our Galaxy is imprinted in the abundance ratios of the oldest stars. We recall that element ratios are determined by a mix of the relative rates of different types of supernovae, the stellar IMF, and the relative histories of star formation rates and gaseous flows, and thus encapsulate much of the history of star formation and ISM evolution in galaxies. Hence, abundance ratios in stars are a primary probe for testing theories of galaxy formation and evolution. We do not know how the Galaxy formed: both the Eggen, Lynden-Bell & Sandage (1962) and the Searle & Zinn (1978) scenarios may be accommodated in the recent proposal of van den Bergh (1993) where the inner Galaxy follows ELS, whereas the outer Galaxy formation conforms to the Searle-Zinn proposition. A combination of abundance ratios, ages derived from colour-magnitude diagrams, and kinematical properties, can give us the required information to trace the past history of our Galaxy. We note here, that although stellar evolution and model atmospheres are not discussed in the proceedings both topics are of fundamental underlying importance. Model atmospheres are used to derive temperatures, colors and bolometric corrections of stars that are used not only in abundance analyses but also in deriving the ages of stars by comparing CM diagrams with HR diagrams. This process is under close scrutiny because of the apparent difference between the ages of the oldest stars and the expansion age of the universe.


Universe ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Mauro D’Onofrio ◽  
Cesare Chiosi

We have analyzed the distribution of early-type galaxies (ETGs) in the effective surface intensity vs. effective radius (Ie−Re) plane and in the total luminosity vs. central stellar velocity dispersion (L−σ) diagram, with the aim of studying the physical variables that allow the transformation of one space-parameter into the other. We find that the classical Faber–Jackson relation L=L0σα, in which the parameters L0 and α are confined in a small range of possible values, is incompatible with the distribution observed in the Ie−Re plane. The two distributions become mutually consistent only if luminosity is not considered a pure proxy of mass but a variable tightly dependent on the past history of mass assembling and star formation and on the present evolutionary state of the stellar content of a galaxy. The solution comes by considering the L=L0′σβ law proposed by D’Onofrio et al. in 2020, in which both L0′ and β can vary considerably from galaxy to galaxy. We will also show that the data of the Illustris numerical simulation prove the physical foundation of the L=L0′σβ law and confirm the prediction of the Zone of Exclusion (ZoE) originating from the intersection of the virial law with the L=L0′σβ relation. The ZoE is the region in the Ie−Re and Re−Ms diagrams avoided by real galaxies, and the border of which marks the condition of ‘full’ virial equilibrium with no recent significant merger events and no undergoing star formation.


1987 ◽  
Vol 115 ◽  
pp. 701-703
Author(s):  
Federico Ferrini ◽  
Francesco Palla ◽  
Steven N. Shore

The history of star formation in our galaxy is written in the metal abundance distributions of the stellar populations. Any star formation model is constrained by two facts. First, there was a period in the early stages of galactic evolution during which the metallicity of the gas out of which stars were being formed was significantly lower than the present epoch. Second, there is a paucity of extremely metal deficient stars in the disk of the galaxy.


1983 ◽  
Vol 103 ◽  
pp. 463-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfonso Serrano

Tinsley (1978) has done an excellent review that illustrates the methods and concepts that can be developed to assess the effects of planetary nebulae (PN) on the long-term history of the galaxy. Tinsley concluded that research in PN could put constraints on the past rate of star formation and provide information on chemical enrichment by low mass stars.


1998 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-89
Author(s):  
Ulysses J. Sofia

Abstract The well measured gas-phase abundances in the low halo suggest that this region of the Galaxy has total (gas plus dust) metal abundances which are close to those in the solar neighborhood. The gas-phase abundances in the halo are generally higher than those seen in the disk, however, this affect is likely due to the destruction of dust in the halo clouds. Observations of high velocity clouds (HVCs) in the halo suggest that these clouds have metal abundances which are substantially lower than those measured for the local interstellar medium. These determinations, however, are often of lower quality than those for the low halo because of uncertainties in the hydrogen abundances along the sightlines, in the incorporation of elements into dust, and in the partial ionization of the clouds.


2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (S294) ◽  
pp. 325-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blakesley Burkhart ◽  
Alex Lazarian

AbstractMagnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence is a critical component of the current paradigms of star formation, dynamo theory, particle transport, magnetic reconnection and evolution of the ISM. In order to gain understanding of how MHD turbulence regulates processes in the Galaxy, a confluence of numerics, observations and theory must be imployed. In these proceedings we review recent progress that has been made on the connections between theoretical, numerical, and observational understanding of MHD turbulence as it applies to both the neutral and ionized interstellar medium.


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