Stellar content of the interacting galaxies of the M51 system

Based on archival Hubble Space Telescope ACS/WFC images, we have performed stellar photometry for more than 0.6 million stars in the interacting galaxies NGC 5194 and NGC 5195 of the M51 system. Stars of various ages have been identified on the constructed Hertzsprung-Russell diagram: blue and red supergiants, AGB stars, and red giants. The distance to M51 has been measured from the position of the tip of the red giant branch, D = 9.9 ± 0.7 Mpc. We have determined the change in the metallicity of red supergiants along the galactic radius in NGC 5194. Despite the gravitational interaction, the distribution of stars in NGC 5194 does not differ from that in isolated galaxies. The asymmetric stellar structures of NGC5195 (the so-called “feathers”) formed through the interaction of two galaxies have been found to consist mostly of AGB stars.     

Stellar content of the interacting galaxies IC 1727 and NGC 672

Based on archival Hubble Space Telescope ACS/WFC images, we have performed stellar photometry for an isolated pair of interacting galaxies, IC 1727 and NGC 672, and constructed their Hertzsprung-Russell diagrams. The galaxy IC 1727 exhibits a strong asymmetry in the apparent distribution of young stars. The distribution of old stars is smoother and less asymmetric. In the galaxy NGC672, there is no noticeable asymmetry in the distribution of stars of different ages. Based on the TRGB method, we have determined an accurate distance to each galaxy for the first time: D = 7.14 ± 0.10 Mpc for IC 1727 and D = 7.22 ± 0.10 Mpc for NGC 672, confirming that these galaxies are closely spaced. The luminosity functions of red supergiants and peripheral AGB stars in both galaxies have positionally coincident local maxima, suggesting the simultaneous enhancement of star formation in the two galaxies occurred in the intervals 20–30 and 450–700 Myr ago. The results obtained point to an enhancement of star formation processes in the interacting galaxies.     

Old stellar subsystems in dwarf galaxies

Based on archival Hubble Space Telescope ACS/WFC images, we have performed stellar photometry for eight dwarf galaxies of different types (Irr, S0, E) with a populated horizontal branch on their Hertzsprung-Russell diagrams. We have identified probable RR Lyr stars in these galaxies and constructed the distribution of their number density along the minor axes of the galaxies. For comparison, similar distributions have also been constructed for red giants in the same galaxies. In all cases, the size of the subsystem of RR Lyr stars exceeds that of the subsystem of, on average, younger stars, red giants. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis about expansion of the stellar subsystems in dwarf galaxies that we suggested previously.     

Stellar content of the metal-poor galaxy DDO 68

Based on archival Hubble Space Telescope ACS/WFC images, we have performed stellar photometry for the metal-poor galaxy DDO 68. The apparent distributions of stars of different ages and stellarmetallicity determinations indicate that DDO68 is a systemof two galaxies that have different stellar metallicities (Z = 0.004 and 0.001) and are in the stage of interaction or merging. We have determined the distance to DDO 68, D = 12.0 ± 0.3 Mpc, which differs significantly from previous estimates of the distance to this system. A concentration of red giants is observed outside DDO 68. This can be interpreted as the periphery of a partially visible low-surface-brightness galaxy located at the same distance as DDO 68. Comparison of the constructed CM diagrams with theoretical isochrones from Bertelli et al. has allowed us to determine that the age of each galaxy is at least 10 Gyr.     

Sizes of the stellar subsystems of galaxies and intracluster stars in the Virgo cluster

Stellar photometry for three fields in the Virgo cluster of galaxies has been performed on the basis of archival Hubble Space Telescope ACS/WFC images. The densely populated red giant branches belonging to cluster galaxies are seen on the constructed Hertzsprung–Russell diagrams. The distances to eight galaxies in the Virgo cluster have been determined by the TRGB method. The sizes of the stellar subsystems and the gradients in the number density of red giants along the galactic radius have been determined for the investigated galaxies. The stellar periphery of the galaxies has been found to extend to great distances and to cover the entire area of the images used. Therefore, the stars that have previously been thought to be intracluster stars actually belong to the periphery of neighboring galaxies.     

On the Distance to Nearby Dwarf Galaxy NGC 1569

We present stellar photometry of two HST/WFPC2 fields situated at the far periphery of the poststarburst galaxy NGC 1569. Their F606W and F814W images have been taken from the HST data archive. Judging by the obtained color-magnitude diagrams, we suggest presence of the old disk population (old red giants) of NGC 1569, which extends as far as Field I at 6 kpc from the galaxy center. We use the tip of the red giant branch to estimate the galaxy distance. There are two possible solutions, one leading to a short distance, D = 1.95 ± 0.2 Mpc, and the other one to a longer distance, D = 2.8 ± 0.2 Mpc.     

Stellar Disks and Halos of Edge-on Spiral Galaxies: NGC 891, NGC 4144, and NGC 4244

Stellar photometry of images from the ACS and WFPC2 cameras on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is used to study the star composition and spatial distribution of stars in three edge-on visible spiral galaxies: NGC 891, NGC 4144, and NGC 4244. Measurements of the surface number density of old stars revealed two stellar subsystems in these galaxies: a thick disk and a halo. The boundaries of these subsystems, which consist mainly of red giants, are determined from the change in the gradient of the number density of the stars. The halos are flattened at the poles of the galaxies and extend to distances of 8–25 kpc from the planes of the galaxies. The present results on the number density distribution of stars with different ages perpendicular to the planes of these galaxies make it possible to improve our model for the stellar structure of spiral galaxies. The distances to these galaxies are calculated using a determination of the tip of the red giant branches (the TRGB method): D = 9.82 Mpc (NGC 891), D = 7.24 Mpc (NGC 4144), and D = 4.29 Mpc (NGC 4244).__________Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 48, No. 2, pp. 261–280 (May 2005).     

Searching for the brightest stars in galaxies outside the Local Group

This paper introduces a technique for searching for bright massive stars in galaxies beyond the Local Group.To search for massive stars,we processed the results of stellar photometry from the Hubble Space Telescope(HST) images using the DAOPHOT and DOLPHOT packages.The results of such searches are demonstrated with examples of the galaxies DDO 68,M94 and NGC 1672.In the galaxy DDO 68,the LBV star changes its brightness,and massive stars in M94 can be identified by excess in the Ha band.For the galaxy NGC 1672,we measure the distance for the first time by the TRGB method,which enabled determining the luminosities of the brightest stars,likely hypergiants,in the young star formation region.So far,we have performed stellar photometry on HST images of 320 northern sky galaxies located at a distance less than 12 Mpc.This allowed us to identify 53 galaxies with probable hypergiants.Further photometric and spectral observations of these galaxies are planned to search for massive stars.     

The resolved red giant branches of E/S0 galaxies

Formation paradigms for massive galaxies have long centered around two antipodal hypotheses – the monolithic-collapse and the accretion/merger scenarios. Empirical data on the stellar contents of galaxy halos is crucial in order to develop galaxy formation and assembly scenarios which have their root in observations, rather than in numerical simulations. The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has enabled us to study directly individual stars in the nearby E/S0 galaxies Cen A, NGC 3115, NGC 5102, and NGC 404. We here present and discuss HST single-star photometry in V and I bands. Using color-magnitude diagrams and stellar luminosity functions, we gauge the galaxies' stellar contents. This can be done at more than one position in the halo, but data with deeper limiting magnitudes are desired to quantify the variation of metallicity with galactocentric radius. We here compare the color distributions of red giant stars with stellar isochrones, and we intercompare the galaxies' halo populations, noting that their total absolute V magnitudes cover the range from about –21.5 to –17.5. In the future, we plan to model the stellar metallicity distributions with the aim to constrain chemical enrichment scenarios, a step towards unravelling the evolutionary history of elliptical and lenticular galaxies. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Stellar content and distances to the isolated spiral galaxies NGC 6503 and NGC 6946

Based on archival Hubble Space Telescope images, we have performed stellar photometry of several fields in the isolated spiral galaxies NGC 6503 and NGC 6946 with high peculiar velocities. Based on the TRGB method, we have determined the distances to the galaxies: D = 6.30 ± 0.10 Mpc for NGC 6503 and D = 6.72 ± 0.15 Mpc for NGC 6946. The current stellar content of the galaxies does not differ from that of other similar galaxies. The metallicity for young stars in NGC 6503 is Z = 0.02 (corresponding to the solar metallicity), while the metallicity for stars in NGC 6946 reaches Z = 0.05. Very few old globular clusters have been found in NGC 6946, while they have not been found at all in NGC 6503. The number density distribution of stars with different ages in NGC 6503 does not differ from the analogous distributions in other galaxies. The large sizes of the thick disk in NGC 6503, which is clearly seen up to 6 kpc from the galactic disk plane and whose possible extension is noticeable up to 8.6 kpc from the plane, are a difference. The sizes of the region occupied by red giants of the disk in NGC 6503 are 51 × 17 kpc, which are not much larger than the sizes of this galaxy from H I radio observations.     

Stellar population of the central regions of NGC 5128

We present the results of stellar photometry in eight fields of NGC 5128 (Cen A), a candidate polar-ring galaxy, obtained by reducing images from the Hubble Space Telescope archive. In all cases, the color-magnitude diagrams reached the red-giant region, and the distance to the galaxy was determined from the position of the tip of the red-giant branch (4.1 Mpc), in agreement with previous estimates. Comparison of the diagrams with theoretical isochrones indicates that the red supergiants in the dark lane region are metal-rich, which is atypical of the polar rings. Our results are consistent with the assumption made by several authors that the absorption of a less massive spiral galaxy by a more massive one is observed in NGC 5128.     

Investigation of the new Local Group galaxy VV 124

We present the results of our stellar photometry and spectroscopy for the new Local Group galaxy VV124 (UGC4879) obtainedwith the 6-m BTAtelescope. The presence of a fewbright supergiants in the galaxy indicates that the current star formation process is weak. The apparent distribution of stars with different ages in VV 124 does not differ from the analogous distributions of stars in irregular galaxies, but the ratio of the numbers of young and old stars indicates that VV 124 belongs to the rare Irr/Sph type of galaxies. The old stars (red giants) form the most extended structure, a thick disk with an exponential decrease in the star number density to the edge. Definitely, the young population unresolvable in images makes a great contribution to the background emission from the central galactic regions. The presence of young stars is also confirmed by the [OIII] emission line visible in the spectra that belongs to extensive diffuse galactic regions. The mean radial velocity of several components (two bright supergiants, the unresolvable stellar population, and the diffuse gas) is υ _h = −70 ± 15 km s⁻¹ and the velocity with which VV 124 falls into the Local Group is υ _LG = −12 ± 15 km s⁻¹. We confirm the distance to the galaxy (D = 1.1 ± 0.1 Mpc) and the metallicity of red giants ([Fe/H] = −1.37) found by Kopylov et al. (2008). VV 124 is located on the periphery of the Local Group approximately at the same distance from M31 and our Galaxy and is isolated from other galaxies. The galaxy LeoA nearest to it is 0.5 Mpc away.     

Stars and clusters of the coma galaxies NGC 4921 and NGC 4923

Based on deep Hubble Space Telescope ACS/WFC images, we have performed stellar photometry for the spiral and lenticular galaxies NGC 4921 and NGC 4923 in the Coma cluster. The derived Hertzsprung-Russell diagrams show that, apart from the stellar population, NGC 4921 has several thousand globular clusters. The asymmetry of their apparent distribution proves that NGC 4921 is in close spatial proximity to NGC 4923. We have determined the positions of the peaks for the luminosity functions of globular clusters in the two galaxies, which has allowed us to measure the distance to this pair (D = 97±5 Mpc). In many cases, compact star-forming regions at the periphery of NGC 4921 are located at the ends of extended (up to 1.5 kpc) radial gas and dust filaments. The metallicity of young stars in these star-forming regions is close to that of the Sun (Z = 0.02).     

Stellar subsystems of the young tidal dwarf galaxy Ho IX

Based on archival Hubble Space Telescope ACS/WFC images, we have performed stellar photometry for the young tidal dwarf galaxy Ho IX. We have determined that star formation in Ho IX began 110 Myr ago and ended 20 Myr ago. We have identified 20 young star clusters in the galaxy with ages from 25 to 100 Myr. For the main star-forming region of Ho IX along one direction, we have determined the change in the number density of stars with three ages: 30, 50, and 90 Myr. A relation has been found between the ages of stars and the spatial sizes of the subsystem formed by them. This relation can be explained by expansion of the stellar subsystems. Under this assumption, the expansion velocity is 9.8 km s^?1 as the age changes from 50 to 90 Myr. Edge-on low-mass late-type galaxies have similar relations between the ages and sizes of their stellar subsystems.     

Metallicity of Young and Old Stars in Irregular Galaxies

Based on archived images obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope, stellar photometry for 105 irregular galaxies has been conducted. We have shown the red supergiant and giant branches in the obtained Hertzsprung-Russel diagrams. Using the TRGB method, distances to galaxies and metallicity of red giants have been determined. The color index (V ? I) of the supergiant branch at the luminosity level M_I = ?7 was chosen as the metallicity index of red supergiants. For the galaxies under study, the diagrams have been built, in which the correlation can be seen between the luminosity of galaxies (M_B) and metallicity of red giants and supergiants. The main source of variance of the results in the obtained diagrams is, in our opinion, uncertainty inmeasurements of galaxy luminosities and star-forming outburst. The relation between metallicity of young and old stars shows that main enrichment of galaxies with metals has taken place in the remote past. Deviations of some galaxies in the obtained relation can possibly be explained with the fall of the intergalactic gas on them, although, this inconsiderably affects metallicities of the stellar content.     

Multiwavelength study of M33's giant H ii regions NGC 588 and NGC 592

We present a detailed multiwavelength photometric study of giant H  ii regions NGC 592 and NGC 588 in the nearby small spiral galaxy M33. We use data taken with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) on board the Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ). We detect several massive stars in both ionizing clusters. Six Wolf–Rayet (WR) stars are known to exist within those regions and we are able to constrain their physical properties by comparing their photometry to the latest grid of model atmospheres for WR stars of the nitrogen sequence (WN subclass). We estimate the age and mass of both regions by fitting our photometry to models of integrated stellar populations.     

The red giant branch in the Tycho-2 catalogue

Based on multicolor photometry from the 2MASS and Tycho-2 catalogues, we have produced a sample of 38 368 branch red giants that has less than 1% of admixtures and is complete within 500 pc of the Sun. The sample includes 30 671 K giants, 7544Mgiants, 49 C giants, and 104 suspected supergiants or S stars. The photometric distances have been calculated for K, M, and C stars with an accuracy of 40%. Tycho-2 proper motions and PCRV radial velocities are used to analyze the stellar kinematics. The decrease in the stellar distribution density with distance from the Galactic equator approximated by the barometric law, contrary to the Besanconmodel of the Galaxy, and the kinematic parameters calculated using the Ogorodnikov-Milne model characterize the overwhelming majority of the selected K and M giants as disk stars with ages of more than 3 Gyr. A small number of K and M giants are extremely young or, conversely, thick-disk ones. The latter show a nonuniform distribution in the phase space of coordinates and velocities, arguing against isothermality and full relaxation of the disk and for the theory of dynamical streams or superclusters. The spatial distribution and kinematics of the selected C stars force us to consider them as asymptotic branch giants with masses of more than 2M _⊙ and ages of less than 2 Gyr probably associated with the Gould Belt. The offset of the Sun above the Galactic equator has been found from the distribution of stars to be 13 ± 2 pc, which coincides with the previously obtained value for the clump red giants.     

A Critical Review of the Evidence for M32 being a Compact Dwarf Satellite of M31 rather than a More Distant Normal Galaxy

Since Baade's photographic study of M32 in the mid 1940s, it has been accepted as an established fact that M32 is a compact dwarf satellite of M31. The purpose of this paper is to report on the findings of our investigation into the nature of the existing evidence. We find that the case for M32 being a satellite of M31 rests upon Hubble Space Telescope (HST) based stellar population studies which have resolved red-giant branch (RGB) and red clump stars in M32 as well as other nearby galaxies. Taken in isolation, this recent evidence could be considered to be conclusive in favour of the existing view. However, the conventional scenario does not explain M32's anomalously high central velocity dispersion for a dwarf galaxy (several times that of either NGC 147, NGC 185 or NGC 205) or existing planetary nebula observations (which suggest that M32 is more than twice as distant as M31) and also requires an elaborate physical explanation for M32's inferred compactness. Conversely, we find that the case for M32 being a normal galaxy, of the order of three times as distant as M31, is supported by: (1) a central velocity dispersion typical of intermediate galaxies, (2) the published planetary nebula observations, and (3) known scaling relationships for normal early-type galaxies. However, this novel scenario cannot account for the high apparent luminosities of the RGB stars resolved in the M32 direction by HST observations. We are therefore left with two apparently irreconcilable scenarios, only one of which can be correct, but both of which suffer from potentially fatal evidence to the contrary. This suggests that current understanding of some relevant fields is still very far from adequate.     

Supersonic convection in stellar interiors

According to the result of the numerical simulation on stellar convective envelopes by the traditional mixing length theory, supersonic convection would occur on the top of the convective regions of the yellow-and-red giants and supergiants. This, however, is not self-consistent with the local convection theory itself. This paper is devoted to analyze in details the origin of supersonic convection, and at the same time to present a plot of the supersonic convection region on the H-R diagram based on the evolutionary track of population I stars. The main results of this paper are as follows: in the process of evolution, (1) no supersonic convection occurs in low-mass stars; (2) for intermediate-mass stars, because of the ionization of hydrogen, the supersonic convection occurs chiefly in the region of 3.6< lgT_e <4.0, tilting from the lower left to the upper right on the H-R diagram and extending to the region of red giants for relatively massive stars; (3) for massive stars, the supersonic convection occurs after they deviate from ZAMS, the greater the stellar mass is, the earlier the supersonic convection emerges. For blue supergiants, the supersonic convection occurs at the absorbtion peak (lg T ∼5.3) of Fe and in the secondary ionization region of helium, but for the red- and yellow-giants and supergiants, it occurs in the ionization region of hydrogen.     

Red giants in the blue compact galaxy IZw18

Archival Hubble Space Telescope (HST) data have been used for the photometry of stars in blue compact dwarf (BCD) galaxies of the IZw18 system. Applying the spatial selection of stars, we have detected red giants, stars older than 1–2 Gyr, in the galaxies. These red giants have allowed the distance to IZw18 to be reliably determined for the first time: D = 13.9 ± 1.2 Mpc. The presence of old stars in the galaxies of the IZw18 system refutes the hypothesis about the observed primary star formation in these galaxies.