Membership and Segregation Effects in the Young Open Cluster NGC 6530

From photographic plate data of Shanghai Astronomical Observatory with a time baseline of 87 years, proper motions and membership probabilities of 364 stars in the open cluster NGC 6530 region are reduced. On the basis of membership determination, luminosity function and segregation effect of the cluster are discussed with details. Spatial mass segregation is obviously present in NGC 6530 while there is no clear evidence for a velocity-mass (or velocity-luminosity) dependence. The observed spatial mass segregation for NGC 6530 might be due to a combination of initial conditions and relaxation process.     

Narrow-band CCD photometry of giant H ii regions

We have obtained accurate CCD narrow-band Hβ and Hα photometry of giant H  ii regions (GEHRs) in M33, NGC 6822 and M101. Comparison with previous determinations of emission-line fluxes shows large discrepancies; their probable origins are discussed. Combining our new photometric data with global velocity dispersion ( σ ) derived from emission linewidths, we review the     relation. A re-analysis of the properties of the GEHRs included in our sample shows that age spread and the superposition of components in multiple regions introduce a considerable spread in the regression. Combining the information available in the literature regarding ages of the associated clusters, evolutionary footprints on the interstellar medium, and kinematical properties of the knots that build up the multiple GEHRs, we find that a subsample – which we refer to as young and single GEHRs – do follow a tight relation in the     plane.     

Hubble Space Telescope photometry of globular clusters in the Sombrero galaxy

We explore the rich globular cluster (GC) system of the nearby Sa galaxy M104, the 'Sombrero' (NGC 4594), using archive Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 data. The GC colour distribution is found to be bimodal at the >99 per cent confidence level, with peaks at     and     . The inferred metallicities are very similar to those of GCs in our Galaxy and M31. However, the Sombrero reveals a much enhanced number of red (metal-rich) GCs compared to other well-studied spirals. Because the Sombrero is dominated by a huge bulge and only has a modest disc, we associate the two subpopulations with the halo and bulge components, respectively. Thus our analysis supports the view that the metal-rich GCs in spirals are associated with the bulge rather than with the disc. The Sombrero GCs have typical effective (half-light) radii of ∼2 pc with the red ones being ∼30 per cent smaller than the blue ones. We identify many similarities between the GC system of the Sombrero and those of both late-type spirals and early-type galaxies. Thus both the GC system and the Hubble type of the Sombrero galaxy appear to be intermediate in their nature.     

The circumnuclear X-ray reflectors in NGC 1068 and the Circinus galaxy

The ASCA and BeppoSAX spectra of the Circinus galaxy and NGC 1068 are analysed and compared with photoionization models based on cloudy . In the case of Circinus, a single, mildly ionized reflector can account for the line spectrum, while in NGC 1068 at least three different reflectors (with different ionization states) are needed. We suggest that the reflector in Circinus and the low ionized one in NGC 1068 are the inner and visible part of the material responsible for the X-ray absorption. With this assumption, we estimate for the inner radius of the absorber a value of 0.2 pc for Circinus and of a few parsecs for NGC 1068.     

Response of the integrals in the Tremaine–Weinberg method to multiple pattern speeds: a counter-rotating inner bar in NGC 2950?

When integrals in the standard Tremaine–Weinberg method are evaluated for the case of a realistic model of a doubly barred galaxy, their modifications introduced by the second rotating pattern are in accord with what can be derived from a simple extension of that method, based on separation of tracer's density. This extension yields a qualitative argument that discriminates between prograde and retrograde inner bars. However, the estimate of the value of inner bar's pattern speed requires further assumptions. When this extension of the Tremaine–Weinberg method is applied to the recent observation of the doubly barred galaxy NGC 2950, it indicates that the inner bar there is counter-rotating, possibly with the pattern speed of  −140 ± 50 km s⁻¹ arcsec⁻¹  . The occurrence of counter-rotating inner bars can constrain theories of galaxy formation.     

GMOS spectroscopy of the S0 galaxy NGC 3115

We present Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph longslit spectroscopy of the isolated S0 galaxy NGC 3115. We have determined kinematical data and Lick/IDS absorption line-strength indices for the major axis out to around 9 kpc and for the minor axis out to around 5 kpc (around 2R _e ). Using stellar population models which include the effects of variable [α/Fe] ratios, we derive metallicities, abundance ratios and ages for the stellar population of NGC 3115. We find that [α/Fe] remains fairly constant with increasing radius at around  [α/Fe]= 0.17  for the major axis but increases rapidly for the minor axis to around  [α/Fe]= 0.3  . We also find that to first order, this behaviour can be explained by a simple spheroid + disc model, where the spheroid has  [α/Fe]= 0.3  and the disc shows close to solar abundance ratios. The disc also appears considerably younger than the spheroid, having an age of around 6 Gyr compared to 12 Gyr for the spheroid. We compare these results to those previously presented for the globular cluster system of NGC 3115.