The Local Group Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies: A Key to Building Blocks in the Universe

2005 ◽  
Vol 201 ◽  
pp. 469-470
Author(s):  
Hiroyuki. Hirashita ◽  
Naoyuki. Tamura ◽  
Tsutomu T. Takeuchi

Recent studies have been revealing the properties of dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs). Their low mass indicates that the dSphs may provide a clue to physical properties of the building blocks in the hierarchical structure formation. We select the Local Group dSphs as a sample. To obtain the information on the star formation history of dSphs, we investigate the relation between their metallicity and virial mass. According to our scenario, the star formation efficiency of the dSphs is low because of strong regulation. This is consistent with their high mass-to-light ratios. We also comment on the environmental effects on the dSphs.

1999 ◽  
Vol 192 ◽  
pp. 451-454
Author(s):  
Tsutomu T. Takeuchi ◽  
Hiroyuki Hirashita

We analyzed 10 dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) in the Local Group, and found two distinct sequences on the Mvir/L - Mvir plane: Mvir/L ∝ Mvir1.6 for Mvir < 108M⊙ whereas Mvir/L ≃ const. for Mvir > 108M⊙ (Mvir and L are the virial mass and the total luminosity of a dSph, respectively). We interpret the discontinuity as the threshold for the gas in dSphs to be blown away by successive supernovae. We succeeded in giving a quantitative explanation of the discontinuity mass of 108M⊙ as the blow-away condition. We further derived the above relation for the low-mass dSphs, assuming that the initial star formation rate of the dSphs is proportional to the inverse of the cooling time. The relation of high-mass dSphs is also explained along with the same consideration, with the condition that the gas cannot be blown away.


2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (S262) ◽  
pp. 139-142
Author(s):  
Rene A. Méndez ◽  
Edgardo Costa ◽  
Mario H. Pedreros ◽  
Maximiliano Moyano ◽  
Martin Altmann ◽  
...  

AbstractDetermining the kinematics of the dwarf Spheroidal galaxies (dSph) satellites of the Milky Way (MW) is crucial to estimate the mass of our galaxy, to understand its formation process and that of its satellites, to explain the origin of stellar streams in the MW's halo that seem to be related to these satellites, and to understand the role of tidal interactions in the evolution and star formation history of low mass galaxies and of the halo of our Galaxy. In what follows we briefly explain a ground-based astrometric project that will have an impact on these issues, and present some preliminary results.


1999 ◽  
Vol 118 (5) ◽  
pp. 2245-2261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carme Gallart ◽  
Wendy L. Freedman ◽  
Antonio Aparicio ◽  
Giampaolo Bertelli ◽  
Cesare Chiosi

1973 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 35-48
Author(s):  
Steven Van Agt

Interest in dwarf spheroidal galaxies is motivated by a number of reasons; an important one on the occasion of this colloquium is the abundance of variable stars. The theory of stellar evolution and stellar pulsations is now able to predict from theoretical considerations characteristic properties of variable stars in the colour-magnitude diagram (Iben, 1971). By observing the variable stars in the field, and in as wide a selection of objects as possible, more insight can be obtained into the history of the oldest members of our Galaxy (the globular clusters) and of the dwarf spheroidal galaxies in the Local Group. It is worthwhile to explore the spheroidal galaxies as observational tests for the theoretical predictions of conditions in space away from our Galaxy. The numbers of variable stars in the dwarf spheroidal galaxies are such that we may expect well-defined relations to emerge once reliable magnitude sequences have been set up, the variable stars found, and their periods determined. Six dwarf spheroidal galaxies are presently known in the Local Group within a distance of 250 kpc. In Table I, which lists members of the Local Group, they are at the low-luminosity end of the sequence of elliptical galaxies (van den Bergh, 1968).


2018 ◽  
Vol 484 (2) ◽  
pp. 2281-2295 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Saracco ◽  
F La Barbera ◽  
A Gargiulo ◽  
F Mannucci ◽  
D Marchesini ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (S344) ◽  
pp. 29-37
Author(s):  
Andrew A. Cole

AbstractLocal Group dwarf galaxies are a unique astrophysical laboratory because they are the only objects in which we can reliably and precisely characterize the star formation histories of low-mass galaxies going back to the epoch of reionization. There are of order 100 known galaxies less massive than the Small Magellanic Cloud within ~1 Megaparsec of the Milky Way, with a vide variety of star formation history, gas content, and mass to light ratios. In this overview the current understanding of the formation and evolution of low-mass galaxies across cosmic time will be presented, and the possibility of drawing links between the properties of individual systems and the broader Local Group and cosmological context will be discussed. Local Group dwarfs will remain a uniquely powerful testbed to constrain the properties of dark matter and to evaluate the performance of simulations for the foreseeable future.


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