We present deep photometry in the B,V and I filters from CTIO/MOSAIC for about 270.000 stars in the Fornax dwarf Spheroidal galaxy, out to a radius of r_ell_~0.8{deg}. By combining the accurately calibrated photometry with the spectroscopic metallicity distributions of individual Red Giant Branch stars we obtain the detailed star formation and chemical evolution history of Fornax. Fornax is dominated by intermediate age (1-10Gyr) stellar populations, but also includes ancient (10-14Gyr), and young (<1Gyr) stars. We show that Fornax displays a radial age gradient, with younger, more metal-rich populations dominating the central region. This confirms results from previous works. Within an elliptical radius of 0.8 degrees, or 1.9kpc from the centre, a total mass in stars of 4.3*10^7^M_{sun}_ was formed, from the earliest times until 250Myr ago. Using the detailed star formation history, age estimates are determined for individual stars on the upper RGB, for which spectroscopic abundances are available, giving an age-metallicity relation of the Fornax dSph from individual stars. This shows that the average metallicity of Fornax went up rapidly from [Fe/H]<-2.5dex to [Fe/H]=-1.5dex between 8-12Gyr ago, after which a more gradual enrichment resulted in a narrow, well-defined sequence which reaches [Fe/H]~-0.8dex, ~3Gyr ago. These ages also allow us to measure the build-up of chemical elements as a function of time, and thus determine detailed timescales for the evolution of individual chemical elements. A rapid decrease in [Mg/Fe] is seen for the stars with [Fe/H]>-1.5dex, with a clear trend in age.
We present the results of a survey for star clusters in M33 using HST WFPC2 archive images. We have found 104 star clusters, including 32 new ones, in the images of 24 fields that were not included in previous studies. Combining these with previous data in the literature, we increase the number of M33 star clusters found in the HST images to 242. We have derived BVI integrated photometry of these star clusters from the CCD images taken with the CFH12k mosaic camera at the CFHT.
Integrated CCD-photometry of the dwarf nearby galaxies in B, V and I (Cousins) bands is presented. The photometry was performed in increasing circular apertures.
We present initial results from a time series BVI survey of two fields in NGC 4258 using the HST ACS. This galaxy was selected because of its accurate maser-based distance, which is anticipated to have a total uncertainty of 3%. The goal of the HST observations is to provide an absolute calibration of the Cepheid distance scale and to measure its dependence on chemical abundance (the so-called metallicity effect). We carried out observations of two fields at different galactocentric distances with a mean abundance difference of 0.5dex. We discovered a total of 281 Cepheids with periods ranging from 4 to 45 days (the duration of our observing window).
We present an analysis of the globular cluster (GC) population of the elliptical galaxy NGC 4261 based on Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 data in the B, V and I bands. We study the spatial distribution of the GCs in order to probe the anisotropy in the azimuthal distribution of the discrete X-ray sources in the galaxy revealed by Chandra images.
We examine the radius-luminosity (R-L) relation for blue galaxies in the Team Keck Redshift Survey (TKRS) of GOODS-N. We compare with a volume-limited, Sloan Digital Sky Survey sample and find that the R-L relation has evolved to lower surface brightness since z=1. Based on the detection limits of GOODS, this cannot be explained by incompleteness in low surface brightness galaxies. Number density arguments rule out a pure radius evolution. It can be explained by a radius-dependent decline in B-band luminosity with time.
We present the results of VLBA observations at 6 and 3.6cm for eighteen Compact Steep Spectrum radio sources (CSS) from the B3-VLA CSS sample. In most cases these VLBA images display a "Double/Triple" morphology, and the core is unambiguously detected in seven sources. Multifrequency images allow us to study the spectral properties of the individual source components and to constrain the spectral age. In lobe-dominated sources the radiative ages deduced from the synchrotron theory are in the range of up 5x10^3^ years, if equipartition magnetic field is assumed. Polarized emission is detected at a few percent level for two sources only. They were the only two sources displaying polarized emission in VLA A configuration data, and this implies that beam depolarization is not effective in reducing the integrated fractional polarization for these sources.
Polarisation parameters are presented for 192 radiosources of the B3-VLA sample at 1.4, 2.7, 4.8, 10.5GHz. The polarisation has been measured with Effelsberg radiotelescope for 2.7, 4.8, 10.5GHz, while the 1.4 polarization is from NVSS (Cat. <VIII/65>) survey. Rotation Measures (RM) are presented for 143 radiosources.
74MHz flux densities are presented for 365 radiosources of the B3-VLA sample. Data were obtained as a by-product of the VLA A-array 74MHz survey of Tschager et al. (2003, Cat. <J/A+A/402/171>). These A-array data provide the first morphological information at this low frequency.
We present deep photometry of the Carina dwarf Spheroidal galaxy in the B,V filters from CTIO/MOSAIC, out to and beyond the tidal radius of r_ell_~0.48{deg}. The accurately calibrated photometry is combined with spectroscopic metallicity distributions of Red Giant Branch stars to determine the detailed star formation and chemical evolution history of Carina. The star formation history confirms the episodic formation history of Carina and quantifies the duration and strength of each episode in great detail, as a function radius from the centre. Two main episodes of star formation occurred at old (>8Gyr) and intermediate (2-8Gyr) ages, both enriching stars starting from low metallicities ([Fe/H]<-2dex). By dividing the SFH into two components, we determine that 60+/-9 percent of the total number of stars formed within the intermediate age episode. Furthermore, within the tidal radius (0.48{deg} or 888pc) a total mass in stars of 1.07+/-0.08x10^6^M_{sun}_ was formed, giving Carina a stellar mass-to-light ratio of 1.8+/-0.8. Combining the detailed star formation history with spectroscopic observations of RGB stars, we are able to determine the detailed age-metallicity relation of each episode and the timescale of alpha-element evolution of Carina from individual stars. The oldest episode displays a tight age-metallicity relation during ~6Gyr with steadily declining alpha-element abundances and a possible alpha-element knee visible at [Fe/H]~-2.5dex. The intermediate age sequence displays a more complex age-metallicity relation starting from low metallicity and a sequence in alpha-element abundances with a slope much steeper than observed in the old episode, starting from [Fe/H]=-1.8dex and [Mg/Fe]~0.4dex and declining to Mg-poor values ([Mg/Fe]<-0.5dex). This indicates clearly that both episodes of star formation formed from gas with different abundance patterns , inconsistent with simple evolution in an isolated system.
