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- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/804/71
- Title:
- HST/WFC3 observations of stars in M15
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/804/71
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We examine the radial distributions of stellar populations in the globular cluster (GC) M15, using Hubble Space Telescope/Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) photometry of red giants in the nitrogen-sensitive F343N-F555W color. Surprisingly, we find that giants with "primordial" composition (i.e., N abundances similar to those in field stars) are the most centrally concentrated within the WFC3 field. We then combine our WFC3 data with Sloan Digital Sky Survey u,g photometry and find that the trend reverses for radii >~1' (3pc) where the ratio of primordial to N-enhanced giants increases outward, as already found by Lardo et al. (2011A&A...525A.114L). The ratio of primordial to enriched stars thus has a U-shaped dependency on radius with a minimum near the half-light radius. N-body simulations show that mass segregation might produce a trend resembling the observed one, but only if the N-enhanced giants are ~0.25M_{sun}_ less massive than the primordial giants, which requires extreme He enhancement (Y>~0.40). However, such a large difference in Y is incompatible with the negligible optical color differences between primordial and enriched giants, which suggest {Delta}Y<~0.03 and thus a difference in turn-off mass of {Delta}M<~0.04M_{sun}_ between the different populations. The radial trends in M15 are thus unlikely to be of dynamical origin and presumably reflect initial conditions, a result that challenges all current GC formation scenarios. We note that population gradients in the central regions of GCs remain poorly investigated and may show a more diverse behavior than hitherto thought.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/800/18
- Title:
- HST/WFC3 observations of z~7-8 galaxies in A2744
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/800/18
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Exploiting the power of gravitational lensing, the Hubble Frontier Fields (HFF) program aims at observing six massive galaxy clusters to explore the distant universe far beyond the limits of blank field surveys. Using the complete Hubble Space Telescope observations of the first HFF cluster A2744, we report the detection of 50 galaxy candidates at z~7 and eight candidates at z~8 in a total survey area of 0.96arcmin^2^ in the source plane. Three of these galaxies are multiply imaged by the lensing cluster. Using an updated model of the mass distribution in the cluster we were able to calculate the magnification factor and the effective survey volume for each galaxy in order to compute the ultraviolet galaxy luminosity function (LF) at both redshifts 7 and 8. Our new measurements reliably extend the z~7 UV LF down to an absolute magnitude of M_UV_~-15.5. We find a characteristic magnitude of M_UV_^*^=-20.90_-0.73_^+0.90^mag and a faint-end slope {alpha}=-2.01_-0.28_^+0.20^, close to previous determinations in blank fields. We show here for the first time that this slope remains steep down to very faint luminosities of 0.01L^*^. Although prone to large uncertainties, our results at z~8 also seem to confirm a steep faint-end slope below 0.1L^*^. The HFF program is therefore providing an extremely efficient way to study the faintest galaxy populations at z>7 that would otherwise be inaccessible with current instrumentation. The full sample of six galaxy clusters will provide even better constraints on the buildup of galaxies at early epochs and their contribution to cosmic reionization.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/826/56
- Title:
- HST/WFC3 obs. of Cepheids in SN Ia host gal.
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/826/56
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We use the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to reduce the uncertainty in the local value of the Hubble constant from 3.3% to 2.4%. The bulk of this improvement comes from new near-infrared (NIR) observations of Cepheid variables in 11 host galaxies of recent type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia), more than doubling the sample of reliable SNe Ia having a Cepheid-calibrated distance to a total of 19; these in turn leverage the magnitude-redshift relation based on ~300 SNe Ia at z<0.15. All 19 hosts as well as the megamaser system NGC 4258 have been observed with WFC3 in the optical and NIR, thus nullifying cross-instrument zeropoint errors in the relative distance estimates from Cepheids. Other noteworthy improvements include a 33% reduction in the systematic uncertainty in the maser distance to NGC 4258, a larger sample of Cepheids in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a more robust distance to the LMC based on late-type detached eclipsing binaries (DEBs), HST observations of Cepheids in M31, and new HST-based trigonometric parallaxes for Milky Way (MW) Cepheids. We consider four geometric distance calibrations of Cepheids: (i) megamasers in NGC 4258, (ii) 8 DEBs in the LMC, (iii) 15 MW Cepheids with parallaxes measured with HST/FGS, HST/WFC3 spatial scanning and/or Hipparcos, and (iv) 2 DEBs in M31. The Hubble constant from each is 72.25+/-2.51, 72.04+/-2.67, 76.18+/-2.37, and 74.50+/-3.27km/s/Mpc, respectively. Our best estimate of H_0_=73.24+/-1.74km/s/Mpc combines the anchors NGC 4258, MW, and LMC, yielding a 2.4% determination (all quoted uncertainties include fully propagated statistical and systematic components). This value is 3.4{sigma} higher than 66.93+/-0.62km/s/Mpc predicted by {Lambda}CDM with 3 neutrino flavors having a mass of 0.06eV and the new Planck data, but the discrepancy reduces to 2.1{sigma} relative to the prediction of 69.3+/-0.7km/s/Mpc based on the comparably precise combination of WMAP+ACT+SPT+BAO observations, suggesting that systematic uncertainties in CMB radiation measurements may play a role in the tension. If we take the conflict between Planck high-redshift measurements and our local determination of H_0_ at face value, one plausible explanation could involve an additional source of dark radiation in the early universe in the range of {Delta}N_eff_~0.4-1. We anticipate further significant improvements in H_0_ from upcoming parallax measurements of long-period MW Cepheids.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/843/41
- Title:
- HST/WFC3 obs. of z~2-8 galaxies in 4 HFF clusters
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/843/41
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We provide the first observational constraints on the sizes of the faintest galaxies lensed by the Hubble Frontier Fields (HFF) clusters. Ionizing radiation from faint galaxies likely drives cosmic reionization, and the HFF initiative provides a key opportunity to find such galaxies. However, we cannot assess their ionizing emissivity without a robust measurement of their sizes, since this is key to quantifying both their prevalence and the faint- end slope to the UV luminosity function. Here we provide the first size constraints with two new techniques. The first utilizes the fact that the detectability of highly magnified galaxies as a function of shear is very dependent on a galaxy's size. Only the most compact galaxies remain detectable in high-shear regions (versus a larger detectable size range for low shear), a phenomenon we quantify using simulations. Remarkably, however, no correlation is found between the surface density of faint galaxies and the predicted shear, using 87 high-magnification ({mu}=10-100) z~2-8 galaxies seen behind the first four HFF clusters. This can only be the case if faint (~-15mag) galaxies have significantly smaller sizes than more luminous galaxies, i.e., <~30mas or 160-240pc. As a second size probe, we rotate and stack 26 faint high-magnification sources along the major shear axis. Less elongation is found even for objects with an intrinsic half-light radius of 10mas. Together, these results indicate that extremely faint z~2-8 galaxies have near point-source profiles (half-light radii <30mas and perhaps 5-10mas). These results suggest smaller completeness corrections and hence shallower faint-end slopes for the z~2-8 LFs than derived in some recent studies (by {Delta}{alpha}>~0.1-0.3).
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/A+A/624/A25
- Title:
- HST WFC3 photometry of NGC 2419
- Short Name:
- J/A+A/624/A25
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present new deep imaging of the central regions of the remote globular cluster NGC 2419, obtained with the F343N and F336W filters of the Wide Field Camera 3 on board the Hubble Space Telescope. The new data are combined with archival imaging to constrain nitrogen and helium abundance variations within the cluster. We find a clearly bimodal distribution of the nitrogen-sensitive F336W-F343N colours of red giants, from which we estimate that about 55% of the giants belong to a population with about normal (field-like) nitrogen abundances (P1), while the remaining 45% belong to a nitrogen-rich population (P2). On average, the P2 stars are more He-rich than the P1 stars, with an estimated mean difference of {Delta}Y~=0.05, but the P2 stars exhibit a significant spread in He content and some may reach {Delta}Y~=0.13. A smaller He spread may also be present for the P1 stars. Additionally, stars with spectroscopically determined low Mg abundances ([Mg/Fe]<0) are generally associated with P2. We find the P2 stars to be slightly more centrally concentrated in NGC 2419 with a projected half-number radius of about 10% less than for the P1 stars, but the difference is not highly significant (p~=0.05). Using published radial velocities, we find evidence of rotation for the P1 stars, whereas the results are inconclusive for the P2 stars, which are consistent with no rotation as well as the same average rotation found for the P1 stars. Because of the long relaxation time scale of NGC 2419, the radial trends and kinematic properties of the populations are expected to be relatively unaffected by dynamical evolution. Hence, they provide constraints on formation scenarios for multiple populations, which must account not only for the presence of He spreads within sub-populations identified via CNO variations, but also for the relatively modest differences in the spatial distributions and kinematics of the populations.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/ApJ/788/55
- Title:
- HST/WFC3 SNR discoveries in M83 (NGC5236)
- Short Name:
- J/ApJ/788/55
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We present an optical/NIR imaging survey of the face-on spiral galaxy M83, using data from the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). Seven fields are used to cover a large fraction of the inner disk, with observations in nine broadband and narrowband filters. In conjunction with a deep Chandra survey and other new radio and optical ground-based work, these data enable a broad range of science projects to be pursued. We provide an overview of the WFC3 data and processing and then delve into one topic, the population of young supernova remnants (SNRs). We used a search method targeted toward soft X-ray sources to identify 26 new SNRs. Many compact emission nebulae detected in [FeII]1.644{mu}m align with known remnants and this diagnostic has also been used to identify many new remnants, some of which are hard to find with optical images. We include 37 previously identified SNRs that the data reveal to be <0.5" in angular size and thus are difficult to characterize from ground-based data. The emission line ratios seen in most of these objects are consistent with shocks in dense interstellar material rather than showing evidence of ejecta. We suggest that the overall high elemental abundances in combination with high interstellar medium pressures in M83 are responsible for this result.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/161/269
- Title:
- HST WFC3/UVIS normalized light curve of WASP-43
- Short Name:
- J/AJ/161/269
- Date:
- 16 Mar 2022 00:05:36
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Optical reflected light eclipse observations provide a direct probe of exoplanet scattering properties, such as from aerosols. We present here the photometric reflected light observations of WASP-43b using the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) WFC3/UVIS instrument with the F350LP filter (346-822nm) encompassing the entire optical band. This is the first reflected light photometric eclipse using UVIS in scanning mode; as such, we further detail our scanning extraction and analysis pipeline Arctor. Our HST WFC3/UVIS eclipse light curve for WASP-43b derived a 3{sigma} upper limit of 67ppm on the eclipse depth, which implies that WASP-43b has a very dark dayside atmosphere. With our atmospheric modeling campaign, we compared our reflected light constraints with predictions from global circulation and cloud models benchmarked with HST and Spitzer observations of WASP-43b. We infer that we do not detect clouds on the dayside within the pressure levels probed by HST WFC3/UVIS with the F350LP filter (P>1bar). This is consistent with the general circulation model predictions based on previous WASP-43b observations. Dayside emission spectroscopy results from WASP-43b with HST and Spitzer observations are likely to not be significantly affected by contributions from cloud particles.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/140/631
- Title:
- HST WFC3/UVIS photometry of omega Cen core
- Short Name:
- J/AJ/140/631
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- We used archival multi-band Hubble Space Telescope observations obtained with the Wide Field Camera 3 in the UV-optical channel to present new important observational findings on the color-magnitude diagram (CMD) of the Galactic globular cluster omega Centauri. The ultraviolet (UV) WFC3 data have been coupled with available WFC/ACS optical-band data. The new CMDs, obtained from the combination of colors coming from eight different bands, disclose an even more complex stellar population than previously identified. This paper discusses the detailed morphology of the CMDs.
- ID:
- ivo://CDS.VizieR/J/AJ/105/1196
- Title:
- HST WF/PC photometric calibration
- Short Name:
- J/AJ/105/1196
- Date:
- 21 Oct 2021
- Publisher:
- CDS
- Description:
- Ground-based CCD observations have been made simulating the photometric properties of the Wide-Field/Planetary Camera (WF/PC) of the Hubble Space Telescope. This paper gives results in 15 of the most important WF/PC passbands for two fields chosen to provide efficient in-flight calibration of the WF/PC. These calibration fields are located in the outskirts of the globular clusters Omega Cen and NGC 6752.
