No Arabic abstract
Photometric surveys of galaxy clusters have revealed a large number of ultra compact dwarfs (UCDs) around predominantly massive elliptical galaxies. Their origin is still debated as some UCDs are considered to be the remnant nuclei of stripped dwarf galaxies while others seem to mark the high-mass end of the star cluster population. We aim to characterise the properties of a UCD found at very close projected distance (1.1 kpc) from the centre of the low-mass (M~10^10 M_sun) early-type galaxy FCC47. This is a serendipitous discovery from MUSE adaptive optics science verification data. We explore the potential origin of this UCD as either a massive cluster or the remnant nucleus of a dissolved galaxy. We use archival Hubble Space Telescope data to study the photometric and structural properties of FCC47-UCD1. In the MUSE data, the UCD is unresolved, but we use its spectrum to determine the radial velocity and metallicity. FCC47-UCD1s surface brightness is best described by a single King profile with low concentration C = R_t/R_c ~ 10 and large effective radius (r_e = 24pc). Its integrated magnitude and a blue colour (G = -10.6 mag, g-z = 1.46 mag) combined with with a metallicity of [M/H] = -1.12+-0.10 dex and an age > 8 Gyr obtained from the full fitting of the MUSE spectrum suggests a stellar population mass of M_star = 4.87x10^6 M_sun. The low S/N of the MUSE spectrum prevents detailed stellar population analysis. Due to the limited spectral resolution of MUSE, we can only give an upper limit on the velocity dispersion (sig < 17km/s), and consequently on its dynamical mass (M_dyn < 1.3x10^7 M_sun). The origin of the UCD cannot be constrained with certainty. The low metallicity, old age and magnitude are consistent with a star cluster origin, whereas the extended size is consistent with an origin as the stripped nucleus of a dwarf galaxy with a initial stellar mass of a few 10^8 M_sun.
Extreme emission-line galaxies (EELGs) at redshift z=1-2 provide a unique view of metal-poor, starburst sources that are the likely drivers of the cosmic reionization at z$geq6$. However, the molecular gas reservoirs of EELGs - the fuel for their intense star-formation - remain beyond the reach of current facilities. We present ALMA [CII] and PdBI CO(2-1) observations of a z=1.8, strongly lensed EELG SL2S 0217, a bright Lyman-$alpha$ emitter with a metallicity 0.05 $Z_odot$. We obtain a tentative (3-4$sigma$) detection of the [CII] line and set an upper limit on the [CII]/SFR ratio of $leq1times10^6$ $L_odot$/($M_odot$ yr$^{-1}$), based on the synthesized images and visibility-plane analysis. The CO(2-1) emission is not detected. Photoionization modelling indicates that up to 80% of the [CII] emission originates from neutral or molecular gas, although we can not rule out that the gas is fully ionized. The very faint [CII] emission is in line with both nearby metal-poor dwarfs and high-redshift Lyman-$alpha$ emitters, and predictions from hydrodynamical simulations. However, the [CII] line is 30$times$ fainter than predicted by the De Looze et al. [CII]-SFR relation for local dwarfs, illustrating the danger of extrapolating locally-calibrated relations to high-redshift, metal-poor galaxies.
Recent observations have been discovering new ultra-faint dwarf galaxies as small as $sim20~{rm pc}$ in half-light radius and $sim3~{rm km~s^{-1}}$ in line-of-sight velocity dispersion. In these galaxies, dynamical friction on a star against dark matter can be significant and alter their stellar density distribution. The effect can strongly depend on a central density profile of dark matter, i.e. cusp or core. In this study, I perform computations using a classical and a modern analytic formulae and $N$-body simulations to study how dynamical friction changes a stellar density profile and how different it is between cuspy and cored dark matter haloes. This study shows that, if a dark matter halo has a cusp, dynamical friction can cause shrivelling instability which results in emergence of a stellar cusp in the central region $simeq2~{rm pc}$. On the other hand, if it has a constant-density core, dynamical friction is significantly weaker and does not generate a stellar cusp even if the galaxy has the same line-of-sight velocity dispersion. In such a compact and low-mass galaxy, since the shrivelling instability by dynamical friction is inevitable if it has a dark matter cusp, absence of a stellar cusp implies that the galaxy has a dark-matter core. I expect that this could be used to diagnose a dark matter density profile in these compact ultra-faint dwarf galaxies.
We report on small-amplitude optical variability and recent dissipation of the unusually persistent broad emission lines in the blue compact dwarf galaxy PHL 293B. The galaxys unusual spectral features (P Cygni-like profiles with $sim$800 km s$^{-1}$ blueshifted absorption lines) have resulted in conflicting interpretations of the nature of this source in the literature. However, analysis of new Gemini spectroscopy reveals the broad emission has begun to fade after being persistent for over a decade prior. Precise difference imaging light curves constructed with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the Dark Energy Survey reveal small-amplitude optical variability of $sim$0.1 mag in the g band offset by $100pm21$ pc from the brightest pixel of the host. The light curve is well-described by an active galactic nuclei (AGN)-like damped random walk process. However, we conclude that the origin of the optical variability and spectral features of PHL 293B is due to a long-lived stellar transient, likely a Type IIn supernova or non-terminal outburst, mimicking long-term AGN-like variability. This work highlights the challenges of discriminating between scenarios in such extreme environments, relevant to searches for AGNs in dwarf galaxies. This is the second long-lived transient discovered in a blue compact dwarf, after SDSS1133. Our result implies such long-lived stellar transients may be more common in metal-deficient galaxies. Systematic searches for low-level variability in dwarf galaxies will be possible with the upcoming Legacy Survey of Space and Time at Vera C. Rubin Observatory.
We present the metallicities and carbon abundances of four newly discovered metal-poor stars with $ -2.2 <$ [Fe/H] $< -1.6$ in the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy. These stars were selected as metal-poor member candidates using a combination of public photometry from the SkyMapper Southern Sky Survey and proper motion data from the second data release from the Gaia mission. The SkyMapper filters include a metallicity-sensitive narrow-band $v$ filter centered on the Ca II K line, which we use to identify metal-poor candidates. In tandem, we use proper motion data to remove metal-poor stars that are not velocity members of the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy. We find that these two datasets allow for efficient identification of metal-poor members of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy to follow-up with further spectroscopic study. Two of the stars we present have [Fe/H] $< -2.0$, which adds to the few other such stars currently identified in the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy that are likely not associated with the globular cluster M54, which resides in the nucleus of the system. Our results confirm that there exists a very metal-poor stellar population in the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy. We find that none of our stars can be classified as carbon-enhanced metal-poor stars. Efficiently identifying members of this population will be helpful to further our understanding of the early chemical evolution of the system.
Although true metal-free Population III stars have so-far escaped discovery, their nature, and that of their supernovae, is revealed in the chemical products left behind in the next generations of stars. Here we report the detection of an ultra-metal poor star in the Sculptor dwarf spheroidal galaxy, AS0039. With [Fe/H]$_{rm LTE}=-4.11$, it is the most metal-poor star so far discovered in any external galaxy. Contrary to the majority of Milky Way stars at this metallicity, AS0039 is clearly not enhanced in carbon, with [C/Fe]$_{rm LTE}=-0.75$ and A(C)=+3.60, making it the lowest detected carbon abundance in any star to date. It furthermore lacks $alpha$-element uniformity, having extremely low [Mg/Ca]$_{rm NLTE}=-0.60$ and [Mg/Ti]$_{rm NLTE}=-0.86$, in stark contrast with the near solar ratios observed in C-normal stars within the Milky Way halo. The unique abundance pattern indicates that AS0039 formed out of material that was predominantly enriched by a $sim$20$ M_odot$ progenitor star with an unusually high explosion energy $E=10times10^{51}$ erg. The star AS0039 is thus one of the first observational evidence for zero-metallicity hypernovae and provides a unique opportunity to investigate the diverse nature of Population III stars.