Stellar populations and dust in the galaxy NGC 2976, a low-luminosity member of the M81 group

Photographic UBV photometry of NGC 2976, a low-luminosity member of the central M81 group of galaxies, is presented. Young stars in the central disk determine the optical view and the classification of this Sc(pec) galaxy. It is surrounded by a halo of an old population which contains nearly all the mass and half the luminosity of the system. This halo has some properties typical of spheroidal dwarf galaxies: an exponential brightness profile, an ellipticity trend of the isophotes typical of low-mass systems, and mass and luminosity near the upper limit of typical dwarfs. In the central population I disk, star formation proceeds in dense associations scattered irregularly in a broad ringlike region of 1.2 kpc radius just inside the turnover of the rotation curve. This star formation episode may last since some 10⁸ a; it is possibly triggered by gas infall from the interstellar cloud generated during encounters between other group members in the central M81 group. A direct triggering by recent encounters is excluded since NGC 2976 is undisturbed in its outer parts.     

Stellar Population Analysis of Galaxies based on Genetic Algorithms

We present a new method for determining the age and relative contribution of different stellar populations in galaxies based on the genetic algorithm. We apply this method to the barred spiral galaxy NGC 3384, using CCD images in U, B, V, R and I bands. This analysis indicates that the galaxy NGC 3384 is mainly inhabited by old stellar population (age >109yr). Some problems were encountered when numerical simulations are used for determining the contribution of different stellar populations in the integrated color of a galaxy. The results show that the proposed genetic algorithm can search efficiently through the very large space of the possible ages.     

疏散星团NGC2244天区恒星的绝对自行研究

利用上海天文台相隔35年的两期照相底片资料,测定了疏散星团NGC2244所在天区55’×55’范围内495颗恒星基于Tycho-2星表的位置和绝对自行,并对自行精度作了初步分析。     

The evolution of binary fractions in globular clusters

We study the evolution of binary stars in globular clusters using a new Monte Carlo approach combining a population synthesis code ( startrack ) and a simple treatment of dynamical interactions in the dense cluster core using a new tool for computing three- and four-body interactions ( fewbody ). We find that the combination of stellar evolution and dynamical interactions (binary–single and binary–binary) leads to a rapid depletion of the binary population in the cluster core. The maximum binary fraction today in the core of a typical dense cluster such as 47 Tuc, assuming an initial binary fraction of 100 per cent, is only ∼ 5–10 per cent. We show that this is in good agreement with recent Hubble Space Telescope observations of close binaries in the core of 47 Tuc, provided that a realistic distribution of binary periods is used to interpret the results. Our findings also have important consequences for the dynamical modelling of globular clusters, suggesting that 'realistic models' should incorporate much larger initial binary fractions than has usually been the case in the past.     

The Sub-Pc Scale Accretion Disk of Ngc 4258

Water megamasers have been found to trace parsec/sub-parsec, circumnuclear accretion disks in several AGN (e.g., Circinus, NGC 1068 & NGC 4258). High-spatial (0.5 mas) and velocity resolution (0.2 km s^–1) VLBA imaging of the disks reveals thin, warped pannekoeken (pancake)-style structures as opposed to thick tori in the inner regions of the central engines (40 000 R_sch). In this contribution, I will describe some current investigations into the dynamical and physical attributes of the water maser disk in NGC 4258, as revealed by VLBA, VLA and Effelsberg monitoring over 8 years.     

Discovery of 13 New Variable Stars in the Field of the Open Cluster NGC 2168 （M35）

A wide-field time-series CCD photometric survey of variable stars in the field of the open cluster NGC 2168 was carried out using the BATC Schmidt telescope. In total 13 new variable stars are discovered with three W UMa systems, one EA type and two EB type eclipsing binaries (one of them could be a W UMa system), and seven pulsating stars including three candidates of δScuti stars.     

H i and radio continuum study of the isolated SBa Seyfert galaxy NGC 3783

NGC 3783 is a nearby SBa, type 1 Seyfert galaxy. We present H  i and radio continuum images of the galaxy made with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). We find that NGC 3783 has an H  i mass of 8.4×10⁹ M_⊙, an H  i diameter of 1.9 D ₀ ( D ₀=37 kpc for h =0.5), and a nuclear depression in the H  i surface density. The H  i rotation curve is dominated by differential rotation, with little evidence of warping. The rotation curve suggests a mass-to-light ratio M L _B =7.2 and a bar-pattern speed of 19±7 km s⁻¹ kpc⁻¹. The total mass of gas in the inner 50 arcsec is ≳10 per cent of the dynamical mass, and consistent with models that require significant gas content to fuel the Seyfert nucleus. There is no evidence that the nuclear activity in NGC 3783 is being stimulated by an interaction or merger: it may be a self-generated, perhaps bar-driven, process.     

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.     

疏散星团NGC6530天区的恒星自行和成员概率

利用上海天文台的照相底片资料,确定了疏散星团NGC6530天区364颗恒星的自行和成员概率,并对有关自行测定的方法、结果和精度等问题作了较为详细的介绍和讨论。使用的底片历元差为87年,全部恒星自行中误差的均方根值为1．09mas/a。