scholarly journals Formation of ω Centauri from an Ancient Nucleated Dwarf Galaxy

2005 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 196-196
Author(s):  
Kenji Bekki ◽  
K. C. Freeman

AbstractWe present a self-consistent dynamical model in which ω Cen is formed from an ancient nucleated dwarf galaxy merging with the first generation of the Galactic thin disc in a retrograde manner with respect to the Galactic rotation. Our numerical simulations demonstrate that during merging between the Galaxy and the ω Cen’s host dwarf with MB ⋍ ‒14 mag and its nucleus mass of 107M⊙, the outer stellar envelope of the dwarf is nearly completely stripped whereas the central nucleus can survive from the tidal stripping because of its compactness. The developed naked nucleus is orbiting the young Galactic disc in a retrograde manner with its apocenter and pericenter distances of ~ 8 kpc and ~ 1 kpc, respectively, and thus have orbital properties similar to those of ω Cen. The Galactic tidal force can induce radial inflow of gas to the dwarf’s center and consequently triggers moderately strong nuclear starbursts in a repetitive manner. This result implies that efficient nuclear chemical enrichment resulting from the later starbursts can be closely associated with the origin of the observed relatively young and metal-rich stars in ω Cen. Dynamical heating by the ω Cen’s host can transform the young thin disc into the thick one during merging.

2019 ◽  
Vol 485 (3) ◽  
pp. 4311-4329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian I Johnson ◽  
Nelson Caldwell ◽  
R Michael Rich ◽  
Mario Mateo ◽  
John I Bailey

ABSTRACT NGC 6402 is among the most massive globular clusters in the Galaxy, but little is known about its detailed chemical composition. Therefore, we obtained radial velocities and/or chemical abundances of 11 elements for 41 red giant branch stars using high resolution spectra obtained with the Magellan-M2FS instrument. We find NGC 6402 to be only moderately metal-poor with 〈[Fe/H]〉 = −1.13 dex (σ = 0.05 dex) and to have a mean heliocentric radial velocity of −61.1 km s−1 (σ = 8.5 km s−1). In general, NGC 6402 exhibits mean composition properties that are similar to other inner Galaxy clusters, such as [α/Fe] ∼+0.3 dex, [Cr,Ni/Fe] ∼ 0.0 dex, and 〈[La/Eu]〉 = −0.08 dex. Similarly, we find large star-to-star abundance variations for O, Na, Mg, Al, and Si that are indicative of gas that experienced high temperature proton-capture burning. Interestingly, we not only detect three distinct populations but also find large gaps in the [O/Fe], [Na/Fe], and [Al/Fe] distributions that may provide the first direct evidence of delayed formation for intermediate composition stars. A qualitative enrichment model is discussed where clusters form stars through an early ($\lesssim$5–10 Myr) phase, which results in first generation and ‘extreme’ composition stars, and a delayed phase ($\gtrsim$40 Myr), which results in the dilution of processed and pristine gas and the formation of intermediate composition stars. For NGC 6402, the missing intermediate composition stars suggest the delayed phase terminated prematurely, and as a result the cluster may uniquely preserve details of the chemical enrichment process.


2019 ◽  
Vol 492 (1) ◽  
pp. L61-L65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chervin F P Laporte ◽  
Vasily Belokurov ◽  
Sergey E Koposov ◽  
Martin C Smith ◽  
Vanessa Hill

ABSTRACT Using Gaia second data release (DR2), we trace the Anticentre Stream (ACS) in various stellar populations across the sky and find that it is kinematically and spatially decoupled from the Monoceros Ring. Using stars from lamost and segue, we show that the ACS is systematically more metal-poor than Monoceros by 0.1 dex with indications of a narrower metallicity spread. Furthermore, the ACS is predominantly populated of old stars ($\sim 10\, \rm {Gyr}$), whereas Monoceros has a pronounced tail of younger stars ($6-10\, \rm {Gyr}$) as revealed by their cumulative age distributions. Put together, all of this evidence support predictions from simulations of the interaction of the Sagittarius dwarf with the Milky Way, which argue that the ACS is the remains of a tidal tail of the Galaxy excited during Sgr’s first pericentric passage after it crossed the virial radius, whereas Monoceros consists of the composite stellar populations excited during the more extended phases of the interaction. Importantly, the ACS can be viewed as a stand-alone fossil of the chemical enrichment history of the Galactic disc.


1999 ◽  
Vol 192 ◽  
pp. 121-128
Author(s):  
M. Bellazzini ◽  
F. R. Ferraro ◽  
R. Buonanno

The main characteristics of a wide photometric survey of the Sgr dwarf spheroidal galaxy are briefly presented. V and I photometry has been obtained for ~90000 stars toward Sgr and for ~9000 stars in a region devoid of Sgr stars (for decontamination purposes).The full potential of this large database is far from being completely explored. Here we present only preliminary results from the analysis of statistically decontaminated Color Magnitude Diagrams, trying to set a scheme of the Star Formation History of the Sgr Galaxy. A scenario is proposed in which star formation in Sgr began very early and lasted for several Gyr, with progressive chemical enrichment of the Inter-Stellar Medium (ISM). Nearly 8 Gyr ago the star formation rate abruptly decreased, perhaps in coincidence with the event that led to the gas depletion of the galaxy. A very small rate of star formation continued until relatively recent times (~ 1 Gyr ago).


2020 ◽  
Vol 500 (2) ◽  
pp. 2514-2524
Author(s):  
Joel Pfeffer ◽  
Carmela Lardo ◽  
Nate Bastian ◽  
Sara Saracino ◽  
Sebastian Kamann

ABSTRACT A number of the massive clusters in the halo, bulge, and disc of the Galaxy are not genuine globular clusters (GCs) but instead are different beasts altogether. They are the remnant nuclear star clusters (NSCs) of ancient galaxies since accreted by the Milky Way. While some clusters are readily identifiable as NSCs and can be readily traced back to their host galaxy (e.g. M54 and the Sagittarius Dwarf galaxy), others have proven more elusive. Here, we combine a number of independent constraints, focusing on their internal abundances and overall kinematics, to find NSCs accreted by the Galaxy and trace them to their accretion event. We find that the true NSCs accreted by the Galaxy are: M54 from the Sagittarius Dwarf, ω Centari from Gaia-Enceladus/Sausage, NGC 6273 from Kraken, and (potentially) NGC 6934 from the Helmi Streams. These NSCs are prime candidates for searches of intermediate-mass black holes (BHs) within star clusters, given the common occurrence of galaxies hosting both NSCs and central massive BHs. No NSC appears to be associated with Sequoia or other minor accretion events. Other claimed NSCs are shown not to be such. We also discuss the peculiar case of Terzan 5, which may represent a unique case of a cluster–cluster merger.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-57
Author(s):  
D. N. Chhatkuli ◽  
S. Paudel ◽  
A. K. Gautam ◽  
B. Aryal

We studied the spectroscopic properties of the low redshift (z = 0.0130) interacting dwarf galaxy SDSS J114818.18-013823.7. It is a compact galaxy of half-light radius 521 parsec. It’s r-band absolute magnitude is -16.71 mag. Using a publicly available optical spectrum from the Sloan Sky Survey data archive, we calculated star-formation rate, emission line metallicity, and dust extinction of the galaxy. Star formation rate (SFR) due to Hα is found to be 0.118 Mʘ year-1 after extinction correction. The emission-line metallicity, 12+log(O/H), is 8.13 dex. Placing these values in the scaling relation of normal galaxies, we find that SDSS J114818.18-013823.7 is a significant outlier from both size-magnitude relation and SFR-B-band absolute relation. Although SDSS J114818.18-013823.7 possess enhance rate of star-formation, the current star-formation activity can persist several Giga years in the future at the current place and it remains compact.


1996 ◽  
Vol 173 ◽  
pp. 175-176
Author(s):  
K.C. Freeman

From their rotation curves, most spiral galaxies appear to have massive dark coronas. The inferred masses of these dark coronas are typically 5 to 10 times the mass of the underlying stellar component. I will review the evidence that our Galaxy also has a dark corona. Our position in the galactic disk makes it difficult to measure the galactic rotation curve beyond about 20 kpc from the galactic center. However it does allow several other indicators of the total galactic mass out to very large distances. It seems clear that the Galaxy does indeed have a massive dark corona. The data indicate that the enclosed mass within radius R increases like M(R) ≈ R(kpc) × 1010M⊙, out to a radius of more than 100 kpc. The total galactic mass is at least 12 × 1011M⊙.


2020 ◽  
Vol 497 (4) ◽  
pp. 4162-4182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugene Vasiliev ◽  
Vasily Belokurov

ABSTRACT We use the astrometric and photometric data from Gaia Data Release 2 and line-of-sight velocities from various other surveys to study the 3D structure and kinematics of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy. The combination of photometric and astrometric data makes it possible to obtain a very clean separation of Sgr member stars from the Milky Way foreground; our final catalogue contains 2.6 × 105 candidate members with magnitudes G < 18, more than half of them being red clump stars. We construct and analyse maps of the mean proper motion and its dispersion over the region ∼30 × 12 deg, which show a number of interesting features. The intrinsic 3D density distribution (orientation, thickness) is strongly constrained by kinematics; we find that the remnant is a prolate structure with the major axis pointing at ∼45° from the orbital velocity and extending up to ∼5 kpc, where it transitions into the stream. We perform a large suite of N-body simulations of a disrupting Sgr galaxy as it orbits the Milky Way over the past 2.5 Gyr, which are tailored to reproduce the observed properties of the remnant (not the stream). The richness of available constraints means that only a narrow range of parameters produce a final state consistent with observations. The total mass of the remnant is $\sim \!4\times 10^8\, \mathrm{M}_\odot$, of which roughly a quarter resides in stars. The galaxy is significantly out of equilibrium, and even its central density is below the limit required to withstand tidal forces. We conclude that the Sgr galaxy will likely be disrupted over the next Gyr.


1995 ◽  
Vol 164 ◽  
pp. 369-369
Author(s):  
J. Anosova ◽  
J. Colin ◽  
L. Kiseleva

There are a number of stars with very high pecular velocities in the Galactic halo within the region of about 1.5 kpc from the Galactic plane. At least some of these stars could be the result of an escape process in multiple stellar systems located in the Galactic disc.


2020 ◽  
Vol 495 (1) ◽  
pp. L144-L148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ran Huo

ABSTRACT The recent observation of the ultra-diffuse galaxy NGC 1052-DF2 shows a galaxy may lack dark matter, which becomes a challenge to the standard structure formation theory. Here, we show that such phenomena can be a natural consequence if the NGC 1052-DF2 had experienced a single passage within a few kpc to the centre of the galaxy NGC 1052. The tidal effect of NGC 1052 in the encounter will heat the NGC 1052-DF2, and stretch the previous dwarf galaxy significantly into its current size. The relative lack of dark matter in the observed region is a natural consequence of the dark matter limited total amount in the corresponding small central region before the encounter, together with a systematic underestimation of the trace mass estimator method during revirialization after the encounter. The observed flat distribution of the ultra-diffuse galaxy can be reproduced with a cored initial star profile, which is a major improvement compared with the previous work. Our results show no need for introducing any new physical mechanism, as well as an alternative origin of an ultra-diffuse galaxy without repeated pericentre passage.


1997 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerhardt R. Meurer

AbstractRecent results on NGC 2915, the first blue compact dwarf galaxy to have its mass distribution modelled, are summarised. NGC 2915 is shown to have HI well beyond its detected optical extent. Its rotation curve is well determined and fit with maximum disk mass models. The dark matter halo dominates the mass distribution at nearly all radii, and has a very dense core compared to those of normal galaxies. High-mass star formation energises the HI in the centre of the galaxy, but appears to be maintained in viriai equilibrium with the dark matter halo. The implications of these results are briefly discussed.


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