Subscribe to the gold package and get unlimited access to Shamra Academy
Register a new userExtragalactic Star Clusters in Merging Galaxies
64
0
0.0
(
0
)
Ask ChatGPT about the research
No Arabic abstract
The study of cluster populations as tracer of galaxy evolution is now quite possible with 8 m class telescopes and modern instrumentation. The cluster population can be used as a good tracer of the star forming episodes undergone by the merging system. We present two young galaxies mergers NGC3256 and NGC4038, and the studies about the young cluster population on those system. We found that the clusters ages are agree with the mergers age and their metallicities are consistent with them being the progenitors of the old metal rich globulars in ellipticals.
rate research
Read More
We present Gemini optical spectroscopy of 23 young star clusters in NGC3256. We find that the cluster ages range are from few Myr to ~150 Myr. All these clusters are relatively massive (2--40)x 10^{5} msun$ and appear to be of roughly 1.5 zo metallicity. The majority of the clusters in our sample follow the same rotation curve as the gas and hence were presumably formed in the molecular-gas disk. However, a western subsample of five clusters has velocities that deviate significantly from the gas rotation curve. These clusters may either belong to the second spiral galaxy of the merger or may have formed in tidal-tail gas falling back into the system. We discuss our observations in light of other known cluster populations in merging galaxies, and suggest that NGC 3256 is similar to Arp 220, and hence may become an Ultra-luminous Infrared Galaxy as the merger progresses and the star-formation rate increases. Some of the clusters which appeared as isolated in our ground-based images are clearly resolved into multiple sub-components in the HST-ACS images. The same effect has been observed in the Antennae galaxies, showing that clusters are often not formed in isolation, but instead tend to form in larger groups or cluster complexes.
We compute the evolution of the space-dependent mass distribution of galaxies in clusters due to binary aggregations by solving a space-dependent Smoluchowski equation. We derive the distribution of intergalactic distance for different ranges of mass (and of corresponding magnitude). We compare the results with the observed distributions, and find that the different degrees of luminosity segregation observed in clusters are well accounted for by our merging model. In addition, the presence of luminosity segregation is related to dynamical effects which also show up in different but connected observables, such as galaxy velocity profiles decreasing toward the center and X-ray measured beta-parameters smaller than 1. We predict both luminosity segregation and the observables above (being a product of binary aggregations) to be inversely correlated with the core radius and with the galaxy velocity dispersion; we discuss how the whole set of predictions compares with up-to-date observations.
We present Gemini optical spectroscopy of three young star clusters in the western tidal tail of NGC3256. Compact star clusters (as opposed to dwarf-galaxy candidates) in tidal tails are rare, with these three clusters the first for which detailed quantitative spectroscopy has ever been obtained. We find that two of these clusters appear to be coeval, while the third is approximately two times older~200 Myr vs.~80 Myr). All three clusters are massive (1-3 x 10^5 msun) and appear to be of roughly solar metallicity. Additionally, the three clusters appear to be relatively large (R_eff = 10-20 pc), possibly reflecting weak compression at the time of formation and/or the weak influence of the tidal field of the galaxy. All three clusters have velocities consistent with the general trend of the HI velocities in the tidal tail. We conclude that if the loosely bound tail material of NGC 3256 gets stripped during future interactions of this galaxy within its group, these three clusters may become part of the intra-group medium.
We present a spectroscopic survey of 21 young massive clusters and complexes and one tidal dwarf galaxy candidate (TDG) in Stephans Quintet, an interacting compact group of galaxies. All of the selected targets lie outside the main galaxies of the system and are associated with tidal debris. We find clusters with ages between a few and 125 Myr and confirm the ages estimated through HST photometry by Fedotov et al. (2011), as well as their modelled interaction history of the Quintet. Many of the clusters are found to be relatively long-lived, given their spectrosopically derived ages, while their high masses suggest that they will likely evolve to eventually become intergalactic clusters. One cluster, T118, is particularly interesting, given its age (sim 125 Myr), high mass (sim 2times10^6 Modot) and position in the extreme outer end of the young tidal tail. This cluster appears to be quite extended (Reff sim 12 - 15 pc) compared to clusters observed in galaxy disks (Reff sim 3 - 4 pc), which confirms an effect we previously found in the tidal tails of NGC 3256, where clusters are similarly extended. We find that star and cluster formation can proceed at a continuous pace for at least sim 150 Myr within the tidal debris of interacting galaxies. The spectrum of the TDG candidate is dominated by a young population (sim 7 Myr), and assuming a single age for the entire region, has a mass of at least 10^6 Modot.
The Rees-Sciama effect produced in mergers of galaxy clusters is discussed, and an analytical approximation to compute this effect from numerical simulations is given. Using this approximation and a novel toy model describing the physics of the merger, we characterize the spatial properties and symmetries of the Rees-Sciama signal. Based on these properties, we propose a method to extract the physical parameters of the merger, which relies on the computation of the quadrupole moment of the observed brightness distribution on the sky. The relationships between the quadrupole coefficients and the physical parameters of the merger (physical separation, projection angle on the sky and angular momentum) are discussed. Finally, we propose a method to co-add coherently the RS signals from a sample of cluster mergers, in order to achieve an statistical detection of the effect for those cases where individual signals are masked by the kinetic SZ effect, the primordial CMB components, and by observational noise.
Log in to be able to interact and post comments
comments
Fetching comments
Sign in to be able to follow your search criteria
