The stellar initial mass function (IMF) is commonly assumed to be an invariant probability density distribution function of initial stellar masses. These initial stellar masses are generally ...represented by the canonical IMF, which is defined as the result of one star formation event in an embedded cluster. As a consequence, the galaxy-wide IMF (gwIMF) should also be invariant and of the same form as the canonical IMF; gwIMF is defined as the sum of the IMFs of all star-forming regions in which embedded clusters form and spawn the galactic field population of the galaxy. Recent observational and theoretical results challenge the hypothesis that the gwIMF is invariant. In order to study the possible reasons for this variation, it is useful to relate the observed IMF to the gwIMF. Starting with the IMF determined in resolved star clusters, we apply the IGIMF-theory to calculate a comprehensive grid of gwIMF models for metallicities, Fe/H ∈ (−3, 1), and galaxy-wide star formation rates (SFRs), SFR ∈ (10−5, 105) M⊙ yr−1. For a galaxy with metallicity Fe/H < 0 and SFR > 1 M⊙ yr−1, which is a common condition in the early Universe, we find that the gwIMF is both bottom light (relatively fewer low-mass stars) and top heavy (more massive stars), when compared to the canonical IMF. For a SFR < 1 M⊙ yr−1 the gwIMF becomes top light regardless of the metallicity. For metallicities Fe/H > 0 the gwIMF can become bottom heavy regardless of the SFR. The IGIMF models predict that massive elliptical galaxies should have formed with a gwIMF that is top heavy within the first few hundred Myr of the life of the galaxy and that it evolves into a bottom heavy gwIMF in the metal-enriched galactic centre. Using the gwIMF grids, we study the SFR−Hα relation and its dependency on metallicity and the SFR. We also study the correction factors to the Kennicutt SFRK − Hα relation and provide new fitting functions. Late-type dwarf galaxies show significantly higher SFRs with respect to Kennicutt SFRs, while star-forming massive galaxies have significantly lower SFRs than hitherto thought. This has implications for gas-consumption timescales and for the main sequence of galaxies. We explicitly discuss Leo P and ultra-faint dwarf galaxies.
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Abstract
We present the first results of the Multi-Instrument Kinematic Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters (GGCs), a project aimed at exploring the internal kinematics of a representative sample of ...GGCs from the radial velocity of individual stars, covering the entire radial extension of each system. This is achieved by exploiting the formidable combination of multi-object and integral field unit spectroscopic facilities of the ESO Very Large Telescope. As a first step, here we discuss the results obtained for 11 clusters from high and medium resolution spectra acquired through a combination of FLAMES and KMOS observations. We provide the first kinematical characterization of NGC 1261 and NGC 6496. In all the surveyed systems, the velocity dispersion profile declines at increasing radii, in agreement with the expectation from the King model that best fits the density/luminosity profile. In the majority of the surveyed systems, we find evidence of rotation within a few half-mass radii from the center. These results are in general overall agreement with the predictions of recent theoretical studies, suggesting that the detected signals could be the relic of significant internal rotation set at the epoch of the cluster’s formation.
The dynamical evolution of globular clusters is theoretically described by a series of well-known events typical of
N
-body systems. Still, the identification of observational signatures able to ...empirically describe the stage of dynamical evolution of a stellar system with a density typical of a globular cluster represents a challenge. In this paper, we study the dynamical age of the globular clusters Rup 106 and IC 4499. To this aim, we study the radial distribution of the blue straggler stars (BSSs) via the
A
+
parameter and of the slope of the main sequence mass function. Both tracers show that Rup 106 and IC 4499 are dynamically young clusters where dynamical friction has just started to segregate massive stars towards their respective centres. Furthermore, we observe that the BSSs are more centrally concentrated in both clusters than the reference population. Similarly, we find that in both cases the slope of the mass function significantly decreases as a function of the cluster-centric distance. This result provides additional support for the use of the radial distribution of the BSSs as a powerful and observationally convenient indicator of the cluster dynamical age.
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In the context of the ESO-VLT Multi-Instrument Kinematic Survey (MIKiS) of Galactic globular clusters (GGCs), we present the line-of-sight rotation curve and velocity dispersion profile of M5 (NGC ...5904), as determined from the radial velocity of more than 800 individual stars observed out to 700″ (∼5 half-mass radii) from the center. We found one of the cleanest and most coherent rotation patterns ever observed for globular clusters, with a very stable rotation axis (having constant position angle of 145° at all surveyed radii) and a well-defined rotation curve. The density distribution turns out to be flattened in the direction perpendicular to the rotation axis, with a maximum ellipticity of ∼0.15. The rotation velocity peak (∼3 km s−1 in projection) is observed at ∼0.6 half-mass radii, and its ratio with respect to the central velocity dispersion (∼0.3–0.4 at 4 projected half-mass radii) indicates that ordered motions play a significant dynamical role. This result strengthens the growing empirical evidence of the kinematic complexity of GGCs and motivates the need of fundamental investigations of the role of angular momentum in collisional stellar dynamics.
Context. Current planet formation models are largely based on the observational constraint that protoplanetary disks have a lifetime of ~3 Myr. Recent studies, however, report the existence of ...pre-main-sequence stars with signatures of accretion (strictly connected with the presence of circumstellar disks) and photometrically determined ages of 30 Myr or more. Aims. Here, we present a spectroscopic study of two major age outliers in the Orion Nebula Cluster. We use broadband, intermediate resolution VLT/X-shooter spectra combined with an accurate method to determine the stellar parameters and the related age of the targets to confirm their peculiar age estimates and the presence of ongoing accretion. Methods. The analysis is based on a multicomponent fitting technique, which derives simultaneously spectral type, extinction, and accretion properties of the objects. With this method, we confirm and quantify the ongoing accretion. From the photospheric parameters of the stars, we derive their position on the H-R diagram and the age given by evolutionary models. With other age indicators like the lithium-equivalent width, we estimate the age of the objects with high accuracy. Results. Our study shows that the two objects analyzed are not older than the typical population of the Orion Nebula Cluster. While photometric determination of the photospheric parameters are an accurate method to estimate the parameters of the bulk of young stellar populations, our results show that those of individual objects with high accretion rates and extinction may be affected by large uncertainties. Broadband spectroscopic determinations should thus be used to confirm the nature of individual objects. Conclusions. The analysis carried out shows that this method allows us to obtain an accurate determination of the photospheric parameters of accreting young stellar objects in any nearby star-forming region. We suggest that our detailed, broadband spectroscopy method should be used to derive accurate properties of candidate old and accreting young stellar objects in star-forming regions. We also discuss how a similarly accurate determination of stellar properties can be obtained through a combination of photometric and spectroscopic data.
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Dwarfs walking in a row Bellazzini, M; Oosterloo, T; Fraternali, F ...
Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin),
11/2013, Volume:
559
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
We re-consider the association of dwarf galaxies around NGC 3109, whose known members were NGC 3109, Antlia, Sextans A, and Sextans B, based on a new updated list of nearby galaxies and the most ...recent data. We find that the original members of the NGC 3109 association, together with the recently discovered and adjacent dwarf irregular Leo P, form a very tight and elongated configuration in space. All these galaxies lie within ~100 kpc of a line that is congruent with1070 kpc long, from one extreme (NGC 3109) to the other (Leo P), and they show a gradient in the Local Group standard of rest velocity with a total amplitude of 43 km s super(-1)Mpc super(-1), and a rms scatter of just 16.8 km s super(-1). It is shown that the reported configuration is exceptional given the known dwarf galaxies in the Local Group and its surroundings. We conclude that (a) Leo P is very likely an additional member of the NGC 3109 association, and (b) the association is highly ordered in space and velocity, and it is very elongated, suggesting that it was created by a tidal interaction or it was accreted as a filamentary substructure.
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Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a toxic fungal metabolite that can contaminate grape and its derivates. Non-fortified wines are typical sweet Mediterranean wines obtained from dehydrated grapes which, together ...with dried vine fruit (raisins), are two important Mediterranean food products. OTA contamination affects both of these products because the dehydration process increases the risk of contamination by ochratoxigenic fungi. The conditions during the dehydration process may favour potential ochratoxigenic species, especially those belonging to the Aspergillus section Nigri such as the Aspergillus niger aggregate and Aspergillus carbonarius. Considering the high rate of OTA-producing isolates recovered, A. carbonarius is considered the most important source of OTA in dehydrated grapes. Surveys conducted in the Mediterranean Basin have shown that, with respect to dry wines, non-fortified wines are more frequently contaminated by OTA. Variations in OTA content depend on the dehydrating process, with levels decreasing in wines obtained from grapes dried in the sunlight, in cool-dry chambers and in hot-dry chambers, respectively. OTA contamination of dried vine fruit is usually much higher than that of wines. Investigations have shown that dried vine fruit of Mediterranean origin often corresponds to the highest OTA levels. A decrease in contamination was observed going from unprocessed to processed samples. To prevent or reduce the occurrence of ochratoxigenic species in vineyards, good agricultural practices and chemical fungicides should be applied. Intra and interspecific fungal activity during dehydration has been shown to be effect as an additional biological control of ochratoxigenic species or strains. The use of drying chambers instead of sun drying, the utilization of dipping treatments during dehydration, wine ageing in oak barrel and in bottle as well as the use of oak chips or powder are other post-harvest strategies to reduce the OTA content in non-fortified wines.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Globular star clusters are compact and massive stellar systems old enough to have witnessed the entire history of our Galaxy, the Milky Way. Although recent results suggest that their formation may ...have been more complex than previously thought, they still are the best approximation to a stellar population formed over a relatively short timescale (less than 1 Gyr) and with virtually no dispersion in the iron content. Indeed, only one cluster-like system ( Centauri) in the Galactic halo is known to have multiple stellar populations with a significant spread in iron abundance and age. Similar findings in the Galactic bulge have been hampered by the obscuration arising from thick and varying layers of interstellar dust. Here we report that Terzan 5, a globular-cluster-like system in the Galactic bulge, has two stellar populations with different iron contents and ages. Terzan 5 could be the surviving remnant of one of the primordial building blocks that are thought to merge and form galaxy bulges.
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DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
We present the results of the analysis of deep photometric data for a sample of three Galactic globular clusters (NGC5466, NGC6218 and NGC 6981) with the aim of estimating their degree of mass ...segregation and testing the predictions of analytic dynamical models. The adopted data set, composed of both Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based data, reaches the low-mass end of the mass functions of these clusters from the centre up to their tidal radii allowing us to derive the radial distribution of stars with different masses. All the analysed clusters show evidence of mass segregation with the most massive stars being more concentrated than the low-mass ones. The structures of NGC5466 and NGC6981 are well reproduced by multimass dynamical models adopting a lowered Maxwellian distribution function and the prescription for mass segregation given by Gunn & Griffin. Instead, NGC6218 appears to be more mass segregated than model predictions. By applying the same technique to mock observations derived from snapshots selected from suitable N-body simulations, we show that the deviation from the behaviour predicted by these models depends on the particular stage of dynamical evolution regardless of initial conditions.
We used an appropriate combination of high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope observations and wide-field, ground-based data to derive the radial stellar density profiles of 26 Galactic globular ...clusters from resolved star counts (which can be all freely downloaded on-line). With respect to surface brightness (SB) profiles (which can be biased by the presence of sparse, bright stars), star counts are considered to be the most robust and reliable tool to derive cluster structural parameters. For each system, a detailed comparison with both King and Wilson models has been performed and the most relevant best-fit parameters have been obtained. This collection of data represents the largest homogeneous catalog collected so far of star count profiles and structural parameters derived therefrom. The analysis of the data of our catalog has shown that (1) the presence of the central cusps previously detected in the SB profiles of NGC 1851, M13, and M62 is not confirmed; (2) the majority of clusters in our sample are fit equally well by the King and the Wilson models; (3) we confirm the known relationship between cluster size (as measured by the effective radius) and galactocentric distance; (4) the ratio between the core and the effective radii shows a bimodal distribution, with a peak at ~0.3 for about 80% of the clusters and a secondary peak at ~0.6 for the remaining 20%. Interestingly, the main peak turns out to be in agreement with that expected from simulations of cluster dynamical evolution and the ratio between these two radii correlates well with an empirical dynamical-age indicator recently defined from the observed shape of blue straggler star radial distribution, thus suggesting that no exotic mechanisms of energy generation are needed in the cores of the analyzed clusters.
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