- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/857/132
- Title:
- gri photometry of NGC 796 cluster
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/857/132
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- NGC 796 is a massive young cluster located 59kpc from us in the diffuse intergalactic medium of the 1/5-1/10Z_{sun}_ Magellanic Bridge, allowing us to probe variations in star formation and stellar evolution processes as a function of metallicity in a resolved fashion, and providing a link between resolved studies of nearby solar-metallicity and unresolved distant metal-poor clusters located in high-redshift galaxies. In this paper, we present adaptive optics griH{alpha} imaging of NGC 796 (at 0.5", which is ~0.14pc at the cluster distance) along with optical spectroscopy of two bright members to quantify the cluster properties. Our aim is to explore whether star formation and stellar evolution vary as a function of metallicity by comparing the properties of NGC 796 to higher-metallicity clusters. We find an age of 20_-5_^+12^Myr from isochronal fitting of the cluster main sequence in the color-magnitude diagram. Based on the cluster luminosity function, we derive a top-heavy stellar initial mass function (IMF) with a slope {alpha}=1.99+/-0.2, hinting at a metallicity and/or environmental dependence of the IMF, which may lead to a top-heavy IMF in the early universe. Study of the H{alpha} emission-line stars reveals that classical Be stars constitute a higher fraction of the total B-type stars when compared with similar clusters at greater metallicity, providing some support to the chemically homogeneous theory of stellar evolution. Overall, NGC 796 has a total estimated mass of 990+/-200M_{sun}_, and a core radius of 1.4+/-0.3pc, which classifies it as a massive young open cluster, unique in the diffuse interstellar medium of the Magellanic Bridge.
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Search Results
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/509/A11
- Title:
- H{alpha} emission-line objects in SMC clusters
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/509/A11
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Slitless CCD spectra were obtained covering the bulk (about 3 square degrees) of the Small Magellanic Cloud. For H{alpha} line-emission twice as strong as the ambient continuum, the survey is complete to spectral type B2/B3 on the main sequence. About 8120 spectra of 4437 stars were searched for emission lines in 84 open clusters, and 370 emission-line stars were found, among them at least 231 close to the main sequence. For 176 of them, photometry is available from the OGLE database. For comparison with a higher-metallicity environment, the Galactic sample of the photometric H{alpha} survey by McSwain & Gies (2005, Cat. <J/ApJS/161/118>) was used. Among early spectral sub-types, Be stars are more frequent by a factor ~3-5 in the SMC than in the Galaxy. The distribution with spectral type is similar in both galaxies, i.e., not strongly dependent on metallicity. The fraction of Be stars does not seem to vary with local star density. The Be phenomenon mainly sets in towards the end of the main-sequence evolution (this trend may be more pronounced in the SMC); but some Be stars already form with Be-star characteristics. In small subsamples (such as single clusters), even if they appear identical, the fraction of emission-line stars can deviate drastically from the mean. In all probability, the fractional critical angular rotation rate, OMC, is one of the main parameters governing the occurrence of the Be phenomenon. If the Be character is only acquired during the course of evolution, the key circumstance is the evolution of OMC, which is not only dependent on metallicity but differently so for different mass ranges. As a result, even if the Be phenomenon is driven basically by a single parameter (namely OMC), it can assume a complex multi-parametric appearance. The large cluster-to-cluster differences, which seem stronger than all other variations, serve as a caveat that this big picture may undergo significant second-order modulations (e.g., pulsations, initial angular momentum, etc).
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/158/192
- Title:
- He II emission from Wolf-Rayet stars in MW & LMC
- Short Name:
- J/AJ/158/192
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We calibrated a technique to measure dust attenuation in star-forming galaxies. The technique utilizes the stellar-wind lines in Wolf-Rayet stars, which are widely observed in galaxy spectra. The He II 1640 and 4686 features are recombination lines whose ratio is largely determined by atomic physics. Therefore they can serve as a stellar dust probe in the same way as the Balmer lines are used as a nebular probe. We measured the strength of the He II 1640 line in 97 Wolf-Rayet stars in the Galaxy and the Large Magellanic Cloud. The reddening corrected fluxes follow a tight correlation with a fixed ratio of 7.76 for the He II 1640 to 4686 line ratio. Dust attenuation decreases this ratio. We provide a relation between the stellar E(B-V) and the observed line ratio for several attenuation laws. Combining this technique with the use of the nebular Balmer decrement allows the determination of the stellar and nebular dust attenuation in galaxies and can probe its effects at different stellar age and mass regimes, independently of the initial mass function and the star formation history. We derived the dust reddening from the He II line fluxes and compared it to the reddening from the Balmer decrement and from the slope of the ultraviolet continuum in two star-forming galaxies. The three methods result in dust attenuations which agree to within the errors. Future application of this technique permits studies of the stellar dust attenuation compared to the nebular attenuation in a representative galaxy sample.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/146/62
- Title:
- HERschel HERITAGE in Magellanic Clouds
- Short Name:
- J/AJ/146/62
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present an overview of the HERschel Inventory of The Agents of Galaxy Evolution (HERITAGE) in the Magellanic Clouds project, which is a Herschel Space Observatory open time key program. We mapped the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) at 100, 160, 250, 350, and 500{mu}m with the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE) and Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) instruments on board Herschel using the SPIRE/PACS parallel mode. The overriding science goal of HERITAGE is to study the life cycle of matter as traced by dust in the LMC and SMC. The far-infrared and submillimeter emission is an effective tracer of the interstellar medium (ISM) dust, the most deeply embedded young stellar objects (YSOs), and the dust ejected by the most massive stars. We describe in detail the data processing, particularly for the PACS data, which required some custom steps because of the large angular extent of a single observational unit and overall the large amount of data to be processed as an ensemble. We report total global fluxes for the LMC and SMC and demonstrate their agreement with measurements by prior missions. The HERITAGE maps of the LMC and SMC are dominated by the ISM dust emission and bear most resemblance to the tracers of ISM gas rather than the stellar content of the galaxies. We describe the point source extraction processing and the criteria used to establish a catalog for each waveband for the HERITAGE program. The 250{mu}m band is the most sensitive and the source catalogs for this band have ~25,000 objects for the LMC and ~5500 objects for the SMC. These data enable studies of ISM dust properties, submillimeter excess dust emission, dust-to-gas ratio, Class 0 YSO candidates, dusty massive evolved stars, supernova remnants (including SN1987A), HII regions, and dust evolution in the LMC and SMC. All images and catalogs are delivered to the Herschel Science Center as part of the community support aspects of the project. These HERITAGE images and catalogs provide an excellent basis for future research and follow up with other facilities.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/148/124
- Title:
- Herschel key program Heritage
- Short Name:
- J/AJ/148/124
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Observations from the HERschel Inventory of the Agents of Galaxy Evolution (HERITAGE) have been used to identify dusty populations of sources in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC and SMC). We conducted the study using the HERITAGE catalogs of point sources available from the Herschel Science Center from both the Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS; 100 and 160{mu}m) and Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver (SPIRE; 250, 350, and 500{mu}m) cameras. These catalogs are matched to each other to create a Herschel band-merged catalog and then further matched to archival Spitzer IRAC and MIPS catalogs from the Spitzer Surveying the Agents of Galaxy Evolution (SAGE) and SAGE-SMC surveys to create single mid- to far-infrared (far-IR) point source catalogs that span the wavelength range from 3.6 to 500{mu}m. There are 35,322 unique sources in the LMC and 7503 in the SMC. To be bright in the FIR, a source must be very dusty, and so the sources in the HERITAGE catalogs represent the dustiest populations of sources. The brightest HERITAGE sources are dominated by young stellar objects (YSOs), and the dimmest by background galaxies. We identify the sources most likely to be background galaxies by first considering their morphology (distant galaxies are point-like at the resolution of Herschel) and then comparing the flux distribution to that of the Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey (ATLAS) survey of galaxies. We find a total of 9745 background galaxy candidates in the LMC HERITAGE images and 5111 in the SMC images, in agreement with the number predicted by extrapolating from the ATLAS flux distribution. The majority of the Magellanic Cloud-residing sources are either very young, embedded forming stars or dusty clumps of the interstellar medium. Using the presence of 24{mu}m emission as a tracer of star formation, we identify 3518 YSO candidates in the LMC and 663 in the SMC. There are far fewer far-IR bright YSOs in the SMC than the LMC due to both the SMC's smaller size and its lower dust content. The YSO candidate lists may be contaminated at low flux levels by background galaxies, and so we differentiate between sources with a high ("probable") and moderate ("possible") likelihood of being a YSO. There are 2493/425 probable YSO candidates in the LMC/SMC. Approximately 73% of the Herschel YSO candidates are newly identified in the LMC, and 35% in the SMC. We further identify a small population of dusty objects in the late stages of stellar evolution including extreme and post-asymptotic giant branch, planetary nebulae, and supernova remnants. These populations are identified by matching the HERITAGE catalogs to lists of previously identified objects in the literature. Approximately half of the LMC sources and one quarter of the SMC sources are too faint to obtain accurate ample FIR photometry and are unclassified.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJS/184/172
- Title:
- High- and intermediate-mass YSOs in the LMC
- Short Name:
- J/ApJS/184/172
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Archival Spitzer Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) and MIPS observations of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) have been used to search for young stellar objects (YSOs). We have carried out independent aperture photometry of these data and merged the results from different passbands to produce a photometric catalog. To verify our methodology we have also analyzed the data from the SAGE and SWIRE Legacy programs; our photometric measurements are in general agreement with the photometry released by these programs. Using our mid-infrared photometric catalogs and two simple selection criteria, [4.5]-[8.0]>2.0 to exclude normal and evolved stars and [8.0]>14-([4.5]-[8.0]) to exclude background galaxies, we have identified a sample of 2910 sources in the LMC that could potentially be YSOs. We then used the Spitzer observations complemented by optical and near-infrared data to carefully assess the nature of each source. From the examination of the initial sample, we suggest that 1172 sources are most likely YSOs. Spitzer IRS observations of 269 of the brightest YSOs from our sample have confirmed that >~95% are indeed YSOs.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/442/1135
- Title:
- High-mass X-ray binaries in the Magellanic Clouds
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/442/1135
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present a catalogue of high-mass X-ray binaries in the Magellanic Clouds. The catalogue lists source name(s), coordinates, apparent magnitudes, orbital parameters, and X-ray luminosity of 128 high-mass X-ray binaries, together with stellar parameters of the components, other characteristic properties and a comprehensive selection of the relevant literature. The aim of this catalogue is to provide easy access to the basic information on the X-ray sources and their counterparts in other wavelength ranges (UV, optical, IR, radio). Most of the sources are identified to be Be/X-ray binaries. Some sources, however, are only tentatively identified as high-mass X-ray binaries on the basis of a transient character and/or a hard X-ray spectrum. Further identification in other wavelength bands is needed to finally determine the nature of these sources. In cases where there is some doubt about the high-mass nature of the X-ray binary this is mentioned. Literature published before 1 May 2005 has, as far as possible, been taken into account.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/586/A81
- Title:
- High-mass X-ray binaries in the SMC
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/586/A81
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- The last comprehensive catalogue of high-mass X-ray binaries in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) was published about ten years ago. Since then new such systems were discovered, mainly by X-ray observations with Chandra and XMM-Newton. For the majority of the proposed HMXBs in the SMC no X-ray pulsations were discovered as yet, and unless other properties of the X-ray source and/or the optical counterpart confirm their HMXB nature, they remain only candidate HMXBs. From a literature search we collected a catalogue of 148 confirmed and candidate HMXBs in the SMC and investigated their properties to shed light on their real nature. Based on the sample of well-established HMXBs (the pulsars), we investigated which observed properties are most appropriate for a reliable classification. We defined different levels of confidence for a genuine HMXB based on spectral and temporal characteristics of the X-ray sources and colour-magnitude diagrams from the optical to the infrared of their likely counterparts. We also took the uncertainty in the X-ray position into account. We identify 27 objects that probably are misidentified because they lack an infrared excess of the proposed counterpart. They were mainly X-ray sources with a large positional uncertainty. This is supported by additional information obtained from more recent observations. Our catalogue comprises 121 relatively high-confidence HMXBs (the vast majority with Be companion stars). About half of the objects show X-ray pulsations, while for the rest no pulsations are known as yet. A comparison of the two subsamples suggests that long pulse periods in excess of a few 100s are expected for the "non-pulsars", which are most likely undetected because of aperiodic variability on similar timescales and insufficiently long X-ray observations. The highest X-ray variability together with the lowest observed minimum fluxes for short-period pulsars indicate that in addition to the eccentricity of the orbit, its inclination against the plane of the Be star circum-stellar disc plays a major role in determining the outburst behaviour. The large population of HMXBs in the SMC, in particular Be X-ray binaries, provides the largest homogeneous sample of such systems for statistical population studies.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/746/29
- Title:
- High-resolution GC abundances. IV. 8 LMC GCs
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/746/29
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present detailed chemical abundances in eight clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). We measure abundances of 22 elements for clusters spanning a range in age of 0.05-12 Gyr, providing a comprehensive picture of the chemical enrichment and star formation history of the LMC. The abundances were obtained from individual absorption lines using a new method for analysis of high-resolution (R~25000), integrated-light (IL) spectra of star clusters. This method was developed and presented in Papers I (2008ApJ...684..326M), II (2009PhDT........20C), and III (Cat. J/ApJ/735/55) of this series. In this paper, we develop an additional IL {chi}^2^-minimization spectral synthesis technique to facilitate measurement of weak (~15m{AA}) spectral lines and abundances in low signal-to-noise ratio data (S/N~30). Additionally, we supplement the IL abundance measurements with detailed abundances that we measure for individual stars in the youngest clusters (age<2Gyr) in our sample. In both the IL and stellar abundances we find evolution of [{alpha}/Fe] with [Fe/H] and age. Fe-peak abundance ratios are similar to those in the Milky Way (MW), with the exception of [Cu/Fe] and [Mn/Fe], which are sub-solar at high metallicities. The heavy elements Ba, La, Nd, Sm, and Eu are significantly enhanced in the youngest clusters. Also, the heavy to light s-process ratio is elevated relative to the MW ([Ba/Y]>+0.5) and increases with decreasing age, indicating a strong contribution of low-metallicity asymptotic giant branch star ejecta to the interstellar medium throughout the later history of the LMC. We also find a correlation of IL Na and Al abundances with cluster mass in the sense that more massive, older clusters are enriched in the light elements Na and Al with respect to Fe, which implies that these clusters harbor star-to-star abundance variations as is common in the MW. Lower mass, intermediate-age, and young clusters have Na and Al abundances that are lower and more consistent with LMC field stars. Our results can be used to constrain both future chemical evolution models for the LMC and theories of globular cluster formation.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/735/55
- Title:
- High-resolution GCs abundances. III. LMC
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/735/55
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- In this paper, we refine our method for the abundance analysis of high-resolution spectroscopy of the integrated light of unresolved globular clusters (GCs). This method was previously demonstrated for the analysis of old (>10Gyr) Milky Way (MW) GCs. Here, we extend the technique to young clusters using a training set of nine GCs in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Depending on the signal-to-noise ratio of the data, we use 20-100 Fe lines per cluster to successfully constrain the ages of old clusters to within a ~5Gyr range, the ages of ~2Gyr clusters to a 1-2Gyr range, and the ages of the youngest clusters (0.05-1Gyr) to a ~200Myr range. We also demonstrate that we can measure [Fe/H] in clusters with any age less than 12Gyr with similar or only slightly larger uncertainties (0.1-0.25dex) than those obtained for old MW GCs (0.1dex); the slightly larger uncertainties are due to the rapid evolution in stellar populations at these ages. In this paper, we present only Fe abundances and ages. For several of the clusters in this sample, there are no high-resolution abundances in the literature from individual member stars; our results are the first detailed chemical abundances available.
