scholarly journals Shedding light on the formation mechanism of shell galaxy NGC 474 with MUSE

2020 ◽  
Vol 644 ◽  
pp. A164
Author(s):  
Jérémy Fensch ◽  
Pierre-Alain Duc ◽  
Sungsoon Lim ◽  
Éric Emsellem ◽  
Michal Bílek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Formation Mechanism ◽  
Stellar Population ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Mass Ratio ◽  
Spectral Fitting ◽  
Fitting Method ◽  
Formation History ◽  
Low Metallicity ◽  
Galaxy Collisions ◽  
Massive Galaxy

Stellar shells around galaxies could provide precious insights into their assembly history. However, their formation mechanism remains poorly empirically constrained, regarding in particular the type of galaxy collisions at their origin. We present MUSE at VLT data of the most prominent outer shell of NGC 474, to constrain its formation history. The stellar shell spectrum is clearly detected, with a signal-to-noise ratio of ∼65 pix−1. We used a full spectral fitting method to determine the line-of-sight velocity and the age and metallicity of the shell and associated point-like sources within the MUSE field of view. We detect six globular cluster (GC) candidates and eight planetary nebula (PN) candidates that are all kinematically associated with the stellar shell. We show that the shell has an intermediate metallicity, [M/H] = −0.83−0.12+0.12, and a possible α-enrichment, [α/Fe] ∼ 0.3. Assuming the material of the shell comes from a lower mass companion, and that the latter had no initial metallicity gradient, such a stellar metallicity would constrain the mass of the progenitor at around 7.4 × 108 M⊙, implying a merger mass ratio of about 1:100. However, our census of PNe and earlier photometry of the shell would suggest a much higher ratio, around 1:20. Given the uncertainties, this difference is only significant at the ≃1σ level. We discuss the characteristics of the progenitor, and in particular whether the progenitor could also be composed of stars from the low-metallicity outskirts of a more massive galaxy. Ultimately, the presented data do not allow us to put a firm constraint on the progenitor mass. We show that at least two GC candidates possibly associated with the shell are quite young, with ages below 1.5 Gyr. We also note the presence of a young (∼1 Gyr) stellar population in the center of NGC 474. The two may have resulted from the same event.

scholarly journals Star formation history and isophotal shapes of fossil central galaxies

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (S245) ◽  
pp. 81-82
Author(s):  
Habib G. Khosroshahi ◽  
Louisa A. Nolan
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Stellar Population ◽  
Stellar Populations ◽  
Elliptical Galaxies ◽  
Star Formation History ◽  
Spectral Fitting ◽  
Stellar Component ◽  
Formation History ◽  
Two Component

AbstractWe study the structure and stellar populations of the luminous elliptical galaxies dominating fossil groups and compare them with the brightest galaxies in ordinary groups. Despite being over-luminous, the fossil central galaxies do not show boxy stellar isophotes which are usually associated with luminous elliptical galaxies. Boxy isophotes, according to the numerical simulations, are produced in gas poor mergers. The isophotal shapes of the fossil central galaxies, therefore, suggest a gas rich merger for fossil central galaxies. Using a two-component spectral fitting, we show that the dominant stellar population of the fossil and non-fossil galaxies is old and the second population is either old or intermediate age. However, the second stellar component (recently-formed stars) in fossil central galaxies is significantly more metal poor than that in the brightest galaxies of non-fossil groups.

scholarly journals Evaluating the impact of binary parameter uncertainty on stellar population properties

2020 ◽  
Vol 495 (4) ◽  
pp. 4605-4621 ◽  
Author(s):  
E R Stanway ◽  
A A Chrimes ◽  
J J Eldridge ◽  
H F Stevance
Keyword(s):  
Binary Stars ◽  
Stellar Population ◽  
Stellar Populations ◽  
Star Formation History ◽  
High Mass ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Binary Parameter ◽  
Formation History ◽  
Low Metallicity ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT Binary stars have been shown to have a substantial impact on the integrated light of stellar populations, particularly at low metallicity and early ages – conditions prevalent in the distant Universe. But the fraction of stars in stellar multiples as a function of mass, their likely initial periods and distribution of mass ratios are all known empirically from observations only in the local Universe. Each has associated uncertainties. We explore the impact of these uncertainties in binary parameters on the properties of integrated stellar populations, considering which properties and time-scales are most susceptible to uncertainty introduced by binary fractions and whether observations of the integrated light might be sufficient to determine binary parameters. We conclude that the effects of uncertainty in the empirical binary parameter distributions are likely smaller than those introduced by metallicity and stellar population age uncertainties for observational data. We identify emission in the He ii 1640 Å emission line and continuum colour in the ultraviolet–optical as potential indicators of a high-mass binary presence, although poorly constrained metallicity, dust extinction, and degeneracies in plausible star formation history are likely to swamp any measurable signal.

Recovering the star formation history of galaxies through spectral fitting: Current challenges

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (S359) ◽  
pp. 386-390
Author(s):  
Lucimara P. Martins
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Mass Function ◽  
Initial Mass Function ◽  
Star Formation History ◽  
Stellar Spectra ◽  
Spectral Fitting ◽  
Formation History ◽  
History Of ◽  
Nearby Galaxies ◽  
Extract Information

AbstractWith the exception of some nearby galaxies, we cannot resolve stars individually. To recover the galaxies star formation history (SFH), the challenge is to extract information from their integrated spectrum. A widely used tool is the full spectral fitting technique. This consists of combining simple stellar populations (SSPs) of different ages and metallicities to match the integrated spectrum. This technique works well for optical spectra, for metallicities near solar and chemical histories not much different from our Galaxy. For everything else there is room for improvement. With telescopes being able to explore further and further away, and beyond the optical, the improvement of this type of tool is crucial. SSPs use as ingredients isochrones, an initial mass function, and a library of stellar spectra. My focus are the stellar libraries, key ingredient for SSPs. Here I talk about the latest developments of stellar libraries, how they influence the SSPs and how to improve them.

scholarly journals Galaxy properties as revealed by MaNGA – III. Kinematic profiles and stellar population gradients in S0s

2020 ◽  
Vol 495 (3) ◽  
pp. 2894-2908 ◽  
Author(s):  
H Domínguez Sánchez ◽  
M Bernardi ◽  
F Nikakhtar ◽  
B Margalef-Bentabol ◽  
R K Sheth
Keyword(s):  
Stellar Population ◽  
Velocity Dispersion ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Elliptical Galaxies ◽  
Element Abundance ◽  
High Signal ◽  
Galactocentric Distance ◽  
Massive Galaxies ◽  
Nearby Galaxies ◽  
Mass Functions

ABSTRACT This is the third paper of a series where we study the stellar population gradients (SP; ages, metallicities, α-element abundance ratios, and stellar initial mass functions) of early-type galaxies (ETGs) at $z$ ≤ 0.08 from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO Data Release 15 (MaNGA-DR15) survey. In this work, we focus on the S0 population and quantify how the SP varies across the population as well as with galactocentric distance. We do this by measuring Lick indices and comparing them to SP synthesis models. This requires spectra with high signal-to-noise ratio which we achieve by stacking in bins of luminosity (Lr) and central velocity dispersion (σ0). We find that: (1) there is a bimodality in the S0 population: S0s more massive than $3\times 10^{10}\, \mathrm{M}_\odot$ show stronger velocity dispersion and age gradients (age and σr decrease outwards) but little or no metallicity gradient, while the less massive ones present relatively flat age and velocity dispersion profiles, but a significant metallicity gradient (i.e. [M/H] decreases outwards). Above $2\times 10^{11}\, \mathrm{M}_\odot$, the number of S0s drops sharply. These two mass scales are also where global scaling relations of ETGs change slope. (2) S0s have steeper velocity dispersion profiles than fast-rotating elliptical galaxies (E-FRs) of the same luminosity and velocity dispersion. The kinematic profiles and SP gradients of E-FRs are both more similar to those of slow-rotating ellipticals (E-SRs) than to S0s, suggesting that E-FRs are not simply S0s viewed face-on. (3) At fixed σ0, more luminous S0s and E-FRs are younger, more metal rich and less α-enhanced. Evidently for these galaxies, the usual statement that ‘massive galaxies are older’ is not true if σ0 is held fixed.

scholarly journals Core-hydrogen-burning RSGs in the early globular clusters

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (A29B) ◽  
pp. 473-473
Author(s):  
Dorottya Szécsi ◽  
Jonathan Mackey ◽  
Norbert Langer
Keyword(s):  
Globular Clusters ◽  
Stellar Population ◽  
Massive Stars ◽  
Shell Formation ◽  
Low Mass Stars ◽  
Hydrogen Burning ◽  
The Core ◽  
Anomalous Surface ◽  
Low Metallicity ◽  
Low Mass

AbstractThe first stellar generation in galactic globular clusters contained massive low-metallicity stars (Charbonnel et al. 2014). We modelled the evolution of this massive stellar population and found that such stars with masses 100-600 M⊙ evolve into cool RSGs (Szécsi et al. 2015). These RSGs spend not only the core-He-burning phase but even the last few 105 years of the core-H-burning phase on the SG branch. Due to the presence of hot massive stars in the cluster at the same time, we show that the RSG wind is trapped into photoionization confined shells (Mackey et al. 2014). We simulated the shell formation around such RSGs and find them to become gravitationally unstable (Szécsi et al. 2016). We propose a scenario in which these shells are responsible for the formation of the second generation low-mass stars in globular clusters with anomalous surface abundances.

Identification of Instantaneous Frequency and Damping From Transient Decay Data

2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mengshi Jin ◽  
Wei Chen ◽  
Matthew R. W. Brake ◽  
Hanwen Song
Keyword(s):  
System Identification ◽  
Nonlinear System ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Nonlinear System Identification ◽  
Uncertainty Assessment ◽  
Identification Procedure ◽  
Zero Crossing ◽  
Nonlinear Properties ◽  
Fitting Method ◽  
Comparison Results

Abstract Jointed interfaces, damage, wear, or non-idealized boundary conditions often introduce nonlinear characteristics to assembled structures. Consequently, extensive research has been carried out regarding nonlinear system identification. The development of nonlinear system identification is also enabling the intentional application of nonlinearities towards practical fields such as vibration control and energy harvesting. This research proposes a nonlinear identification procedure that consists of two steps: first, the raw data is filtered by the Double Reverse Multimodal Decomposition method that involves system reconstruction, expansion, and filtering twice. Second, the Peak Finding and Fitting method is applied to the filtered signal to extract the instantaneous amplitude and frequency. The identification procedure is applied to the measured responses from a jointed structure to assess its efficacy. The results are compared with those obtained from other well-known methods—the Hilbert transform and zero-crossing methods. The comparison results indicate that the Peaking Finding and Fitting method extracts the amplitude of the response signal more accurately. Consequently, this yields a higher signal-to-noise ratio in the extracted damping values. As a recommended last step, uncertainty assessment is conducted to calculate the 95% confidence intervals of the nonlinear properties of the system.

scholarly journals A Photometric Survey of Field Stars in the Large Magellanic Cloud: Probing its Star-Formation History

1999 ◽  
Vol 190 ◽  
pp. 343-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. A. Smecker-Hane ◽  
J. S. Gallagher ◽  
Andrew Cole ◽  
P. B. Stetson ◽  
E. Tolstoy
Keyword(s):  
Star Formation ◽  
Galaxy Evolution ◽  
Stellar Population ◽  
Formation Rate ◽  
Large Magellanic Cloud ◽  
Magellanic Cloud ◽  
Star Formation History ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
Formation History ◽  
Magnitude Diagram

The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is unique among galaxies in the Local Group in that it is the most massive non-spiral, is relatively gas-rich, and is actively forming stars. Determining its star-formation rate (SFR) as a function of time will be a cornerstone in our understanding of galaxy evolution. The best method of deriving a galaxy's past SFR is to compare the densities of stars in a color-magnitude diagram (CMD), a Hess diagram, with model Hess diagrams. The LMC has a complex stellar population with ages ranging from 0 to ~ 14 Gyr and metallicities from −2 ≲ [Fe/H] ≲ −0.4, and deriving its SFR and simultaneously constraining model input parameters (distance, age-metallicity relation, reddening, and stellar models) requires well-populated CMDs that span the magnitude range 15 ≤ V ≤ 24. Although existing CMDs of field stars in the LMC show tantalizing evidence for a significant burst of star formation that occurred ~ 3 Gyr ago (for examples, see Westerlund et al. 1995; Vallenari et al. 1996; Elson, et al. 1997; Gallagher et al. 1999, and references therein), estimates of the enhancement in the SFR vary from factors of 3 to 50. This uncertainty is caused by the relatively large photometric errors that plague crowded ground-based images, and the small number statistics that plague CMDs created from single Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) images.

scholarly journals Neutral temperature and atmospheric water vapour retrieval from spectral fitting of auroral and airglow emissions

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua M. Chadney ◽  
Daniel K. Whiter
Keyword(s):  
Water Vapour ◽  
Atmospheric Parameter ◽  
Atmospheric Parameters ◽  
Atmospheric Water ◽  
Echelle Spectrograph ◽  
Atmospheric Water Vapour ◽  
Spectral Fitting ◽  
Fitting Method ◽  
Airglow Emissions ◽  
High Throughput Imaging

Abstract. We have developed a spectral fitting method to retrieve upper atmospheric parameters at multiple altitudes simultaneously during times of aurora, allowing us to measure neutral temperatures and column densities of water vapour. We use the method to separate airglow OH emissions from auroral O+ and N2 in observations between 725–740 nm using the High Throughput Imaging Echelle Spectrograph (HiTIES), located on Svalbard. In this paper, we describe our new method and show the results of Monte-Carlo simulations using synthetic spectra which demonstrate the validity of the spectral fitting method as well as provide an indication of uncertainties on the retrieval of each atmospheric parameter.

scholarly journals Studies of the Planetary Nebulae in NGC 5128

2003 ◽  
Vol 209 ◽  
pp. 593-593
Author(s):  
J. R. Walsh ◽  
G. H. Jacoby ◽  
R. F. Peletier ◽  
N. A. Walton
Keyword(s):  
Planetary Nebula ◽  
Surface Density ◽  
Stellar Population ◽  
Elliptical Galaxy ◽  
Small Distance ◽  
Star Formation History ◽  
Stellar Photometry ◽  
Element Abundances ◽  
Formation History ◽  
Low Mass

As the nearest large elliptical galaxy, NGC 5128 is ideal for planetary nebula studies. Its size, favourable aspect, small distance and reddening allow low mass stellar evolution in a whole galaxy to be surveyed. The surface density and properties of the PN can be compared with stars of various ages, metallicities and components (bulge, halo). The PN provide the α-element abundances whilst stellar photometry is calibrated against Fe/H; applied to the same stellar population, the PN abundances can be related to those of the stars. Gradients and non-radial trends in the abundance can be mapped using spectral observations of a large number of PN, allowing star formation history to be studied.

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