- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/544/A155
- Title:
- HST photometry of M31 globular clusters
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/544/A155
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We have derived a new calibration of the MV(HB)-[Fe/H] relation by exploiting the large photometric database of old GCs in M31 in the HST archive. We collected BVI data for 48 old GCs in M31 and analysed them by applying the same methods and procedures to all objects. We obtained a set of homogeneous colour-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) that were best-fitted with the fiducial CMD ridge lines of selected Milky Way template GCs. Reddening, metallicity, horizontal branch (HB) luminosity and distance were determined self-consistently for each cluster. There are three main results of this study: i) the relation MV(HB)=0.25(+/-0.02)[Fe/H]+0.89(+/-0.03), which is obtained from the above parameters and is calibrated on the distances of the template Galactic GCs; ii) the distance modulus to M31 of (m-M)_0_=24.42+/-0.06mag, that is the first determination of the distance to M31 based on the characteristics of its GC system, and is calibrated on Galactic GCs, iii) the distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), which is estimated to be 18.54+/-0.07mag as a consequence of the previous results.
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Search Results
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/768/137
- Title:
- HST photometry of M84 globular clusters
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/768/137
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Color distributions of globular clusters (GCs) in most massive galaxies are bimodal. Assuming linear color-to-metallicity conversions, bimodality is viewed as the presence of merely two GC subsystems with distinct metallicities, which serves as a critical backbone of various galaxy formation theories. Recent studies, however, revealed that the color-metallicity relations (CMRs) often used to derive GC metallicities (e.g., CMRs of g-z, V-I, and C-T_1_) are in fact inflected. Such inflection can create bimodal color distributions if the underlying GC metallicity spread is simply broad as expected from the hierarchical merging paradigm of galaxy formation. In order to test the nonlinear-CMR scenario for GC color bimodality, the u-band photometry is proposed because the u-related CMRs (e.g., CMRs of u-g and u-z) are theoretically predicted to be least inflected and most distinctive among commonly used optical CMRs. Here, we present Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/WFC3 F336W (u-band) photometry of the GC system in M84, a giant elliptical in the Virgo galaxy cluster. Combining the u data with the existing HST ACS/WFC g and z data, we find that the u-z and u-g color distributions are different from the g-z distribution in a very systematic manner and remarkably consistent with our model predictions based on the nonlinear-CMR hypothesis. The results lend further confidence to the validity of the nonlinear-CMR scenario as an explanation for GC color bimodality. There are some GC systems showing bimodal spectroscopic metallicity, and in such systems the inflected CMRs often create stronger bimodality in the color domain.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/668/209
- Title:
- HST photometry of NGC 5866 globulars
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/668/209
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We perform a detailed study of the globular cluster (GC) system in the galaxy NGC 5866 based on F435W, F555W, and F625W (~B, V, and R) Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys images. Adopting color, size, and shape selection criteria, the final list of GC candidates comprises 109 objects, with small estimated contamination from background galaxies, and foreground stars.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/766/20
- Title:
- HST photometry of star clusters in M82
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/766/20
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present a photometric study of star clusters in the nearby starburst galaxy M82 based on the UBVI-, YJ- and H-band Hubble Space Telescope images. We find 1105 star clusters with V<23mag. Of those, 1070 are located in the disk region, while 35 star clusters are in the halo region. The star clusters in the disk are composed of a dominant blue population with a color peak at (B-V)_0_~0.45, and a weaker red population. The luminosity function of the disk clusters shows a power-law distribution with a power-law index {alpha}=-2.04+/-0.03, and the scale height of their distribution is h_z_=9.64"+/-0.40" (164+/-7pc), similar to that of the stellar thin disk of M82. We have derived the ages of ~630 star clusters using the spectral energy distribution fit method by comparing UBVI(YJ)H-band photometric data with the simple stellar population models. The age distribution of the disk clusters shows that the most dominant cluster population has ages ranging from 100Myr to 1Gyr, with a peak at about 500Myr. This suggests that M82 has undergone a disk-wide star formation about 500Myr ago, probably through the interaction with M81. The brightest star clusters in the nuclear region are much brighter than those in other regions, indicating that more massive star clusters are formed in the denser environments. On the other hand, the colors of the halo clusters are similar to those of globular clusters in the Milky Way, and their ages are estimated to be older than 1Gyr. These are probably genuine old globular clusters in M82.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/136/2259
- Title:
- HST photometry of stars in NGC 2419
- Short Name:
- J/AJ/136/2259
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present an analysis of optical and ultraviolet Hubble Space Telescope photometry for evolved stars in the core of the distant massive globular cluster NGC 2419. We characterize the horizontal branch (HB) population in detail including corrections for incompleteness on the long blue tail. The majority of the HB stars can be identified with two main groups (one slightly bluer than the instability strip, and the other at the extreme end of the HB). We present a method for removing (to first-order) lifetime effects from the distribution of HB stars to facilitate more accurate measurements of helium abundance for clusters with blue HBs and to clarify the distribution of stars reaching the zero-age HB.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/803/29
- Title:
- HSTPROMO catalogs. II. Kinematic profiles
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/803/29
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present kinematical analyses of 22 Galactic globular clusters using the Hubble Space Telescope proper motion catalogs recently presented in Bellini et al. (Paper I, 2014ApJ...797..115B). For most clusters, this is the first proper-motion study ever performed, and, for many, this is the most detailed kinematic study of any kind. We use cleaned samples of bright stars to determine binned velocity-dispersion and velocity-anisotropy radial profiles and two-dimensional velocity-dispersion spatial maps. Using these profiles, we search for correlations between cluster kinematics and structural properties. The profiles and maps presented here can provide a basis for detailed dynamical modeling of individual globular clusters. Given the quality of the data, this is likely to provide new insights into a range of topics concerning globular cluster mass profiles, structure, and dynamics.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/827/12
- Title:
- HSTPROMO catalogs of GCs. IV. Blue straggler stars
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/827/12
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We make use of the Hubble Space Telescope proper-motion catalogs derived by Bellini et al. (Paper I, 2014, J/ApJ/797/115) to produce the first radial velocity dispersion profiles {sigma}(R) for blue straggler stars (BSSs) in Galactic globular clusters (GCs), as well as the first dynamical estimates for the average mass of the entire BSS population. We show that BSSs typically have lower velocity dispersions than stars with mass equal to the main-sequence turnoff mass, as one would expect for a more massive population of stars. Since GCs are expected to experience some degree of energy equipartition, we use the relation {sigma}{propto}M^-{eta}^, where {eta} is related to the degree of energy equipartition, along with our velocity dispersion profiles to estimate BSS masses. We estimate {eta} as a function of cluster relaxation from recent Monte Carlo cluster simulations by Bianchini+ (2016MNRAS.458.3644B) and then derive an average mass ratio M_BSS_/M_MSTO_=1.50+/-0.14 and an average mass M_BSS_=1.22+/-0.12M_{sun}_ from 598 BSSs across 19 GCs. The final error bars include any systematic errors that are random between different clusters, but not any potential biases inherent to our methodology. Our results are in good agreement with the average mass of M_BSS_=1.22+/-0.06M_{sun}_ for the 35 BSSs in Galactic GCs in the literature with properties that have allowed individual mass determination.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/861/99
- Title:
- HSTPROMO cat. VI. Improved analysis of NGC362
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/861/99
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present an improved data-reduction technique to obtain high-precision proper motions (PMs) of globular clusters (GCs) using Hubble Space Telescope data. The new reduction is superior to the one presented in the first paper of this series for the faintest sources in very crowded fields. We choose the GC NGC 362 as a benchmark to test our new procedures. We measure PMs of 117450 sources in the field, showing that we are able to obtain a PM precision better than 10{mu}as/yr for bright stars. We make use of this new PM catalog of NGC 362 to study the cluster's internal kinematics. We investigate the velocity dispersion profiles of the multiple stellar populations hosted by NGC 362 and find new pieces of information on the kinematics of first- and second- generation stars. We analyze the level of energy equipartition of the cluster and find direct evidence for its post-core-collapsed state from kinematic arguments alone. We refine the dynamical mass of the blue stragglers (BSs) and study possible kinematic differences between BSs formed by collisions and mass transfer. We also measure no significant cluster rotation in the plane of the sky. Finally, we measure the absolute PM of NGC 362 and of the background stars belonging to the Small Magellanic Cloud, finding a good agreement with previous estimates in the literature. We make the PM catalog publicly available.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/812/149
- Title:
- HSTPROMO. III. Dynamical distances
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/812/149
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present dynamical distance estimates for 15 Galactic globular clusters (GCs) and use these to check the consistency of dynamical and photometric distance estimates. For most of the clusters, this is the first dynamical distance estimate ever determined. We extract proper-motion (PM) dispersion profiles using cleaned samples of bright stars from the Hubble Space Telescope PM catalogs recently presented in Bellini et al. (Paper I, 2014, J/ApJ/797/115) and compile a set of line of sight (LOS) velocity-dispersion profiles from a variety of literature sources. Distances are then estimated by fitting spherical, non-rotating, isotropic, constant mass-to-light ratio (M/L) dynamical models to the PM and LOS dispersion profiles together. We compare our dynamical distance estimates with literature photometric estimates from the Harris GC catalog (VII/202) and find that the mean fractional difference between the two types is consistent with zero at just -1.9+/-1.7%. This indicates that there are no significant biases in either estimation method and provides an important validation of the stellar-evolution theory that underlies photometric distance estimates. The analysis also estimates dynamical M/Ls for our clusters; on average, the dynamically inferred M/Ls agree with existing stellar-population-based M/Ls that assume a Chabrier initial mass function (IMF) to within -8.8+/-6.4%, implying that such an IMF is consistent with our data. Our results are also consistent with a Kroupa IMF, but strongly rule out a Salpeter IMF. We detect no correlation between our M/L offsets from literature values and our distance offsets from literature values, strongly indicating that our methods are reliable and our results are robust.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/797/115
- Title:
- HSTPROMO I. Observations and NGC7078 results
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/797/115
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present the first study of high-precision internal proper motions (PMs) in a large sample of globular clusters, based on Hubble Space Telescope (HST) data obtained over the past decade with the ACS/WFC, ACS/HRC, and WFC3/UVIS instruments. We determine PMs for over 1.3 million stars in the central regions of 22 clusters, with a median number of ~60000 stars per cluster. These PMs have the potential to significantly advance our understanding of the internal kinematics of globular clusters by extending past line-of-sight (LOS) velocity measurements to two- or three-dimensional velocities, lower stellar masses, and larger sample sizes. We describe the reduction pipeline that we developed to derive homogeneous PMs from the very heterogeneous archival data. We demonstrate the quality of the measurements through extensive Monte Carlo simulations. We also discuss the PM errors introduced by various systematic effects and the techniques that we have developed to correct or remove them to the extent possible. We provide in electronic form the catalog for NGC 7078 (M 15), which consists of 77837 stars in the central 2.4'. We validate the catalog by comparison with existing PM measurements and LOS velocities and use it to study the dependence of the velocity dispersion on radius, stellar magnitude (or mass) along the main sequence, and direction in the plane of the sky (radial or tangential).
