The optical velocity of the Antlia dwarf galaxy

We present the results of a Very Large Telescope observing programme carried out in service mode using fors 1 on ANTU (UT1) in long slit mode to determine the optical velocities of nearby low surface brightness galaxies. Outlying Local Group galaxies are of paramount importance in placing constraints on the dynamics and thus on both the age and the total mass of the Local Group. Optical velocities are also necessary to determine if the observations of H  i gas in and around these systems are the result of gas associated with these galaxies or a chance superposition with high-velocity H  i clouds or the Magellanic Stream. The data were of a sufficient signal-to-noise ration to enable us to obtain a reliable result in one of the galaxies we observed – Antlia – for which we have found an optical heliocentric radial velocity of 351±15 km s⁻¹.     

UVES Abundances of Stars in Nearby Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a galaxy in possession of a good quantity of gas must want to form stars. It is the details of how and why that baffle us all. The simplest theories either would have this process a carefully self-regulated affair, or one that goes completely out of control and is capable of wrecking the galaxy which hosts it. Of course the majority of galaxies seem to amble along somewhere between these two extremes, and the mean properties tend to favour a quiescent self-regulated evolutionary scenario. But there area variety of observations which require us to invoke transitory ‘bursts’ of star-formation at one time or another in most galaxy types. Several nearby dwarf spheroidal galaxies have clearly determined star-formation histories with apparent periods of zero star formation followed by periods of fairly active star formation. If we are able to understand what separated these bursts we would understand several important phenomena in galaxy evolution. Were these galaxies able to clear out their gas reservoir in a burst of star formation? How did this gas return? or did it? Have these galaxies receieved gas from the IGM instead? Could stars from these types of galaxy contribute significantly to the halo population in our Galaxy? To answer these questions we need to combine accurate stellar photometry and Colour-Magnitude Diagram interpretation with detailed metal abundances to combine a star-formation rate versus time with a range of element abundances with time. Different elements trace different evolutionary process (e.g., relative contributions of type I and II supernovae). We often aren't even sure of the abundance spread in these galaxies. We have collected detailed high resolution UVES spectra of four nearby dwarf spheroidal galaxies (Sculptor, Fornax, Leo I &; Carina) to begin to answer these questions. This is a precursor study to a more complete study with FLAMES. We presented at this meeting the initial results for the Sculptor and Fornax dwarf spheroidal galaxies which have been previously had single element (low resolution) calcium abundance studies (Tolstoy et al., 2001). See Figures 1 and 2.     

Analysis and calibration of Ca ii triplet spectroscopy of red giant branch stars from VLT/FLAMES observations

We demonstrate that low-resolution Ca  ii triplet (CaT) spectroscopic estimates of the overall metallicity ([Fe/H]) of individual red giant branch (RGB) stars in two nearby dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) agree to ±0.1–0.2 dex with detailed high-resolution spectroscopic determinations for the same stars over the range  −2.5 < [Fe/H] < −0.5  . For this study, we used a sample of 129 stars observed in low- and high-resolution modes with VLT/FLAMES in the Sculptor and Fornax dSphs. We also present the data-reduction steps we used in our low-resolution analysis and show that the typical accuracy of our velocity and CaT [Fe/H] measurement is ∼2 km s⁻¹ and 0.1 dex, respectively. We conclude that CaT–[Fe/H] relations calibrated on globular clusters can be applied with confidence to RGB stars in composite stellar populations over the range  −2.5 < [Fe/H] < −0.5  .     

Properties of superresonant systems of spherical scatterers

Systems of identical precisely spaced bubbles or similar monopole scatterers in water-e.g., inflated balloons or thin-walled shells-insonified at frequenciesomega_{SR}dose to their fundamental radial resonanceomega_{0}(bubble) frequency may themselves display resonance modes or superresonances (SR's) [1]. Ordinary single-bubble resonances magnify the local free-field pressure amplitudep_{1}by a factor(ka)^{-1},abeing the radius andkthe wavenumber in water: for air bubbles or balloons in water, this factor is of the order of 70. Under SR conditions each member of the system amplifies the local free-field amplitude by a further factor of order(ka)^{-1}. Depending upon geometry and other constraints, the pressure fieldP_{SR}on the surface and in the interior of each scatterer will then be in the range of10^{3}p_{1}to5 times 10^{3} p_{1}. This paper investigates the sensitivity of this phenomenon to small departures from the ideal model. In particular, it examines the effect of small differences in scatter positioning and volumes in the context of an SR system consisting of two bubbles/balloons close to the boundary of a thin elastic plate overlying a fluid half-space. It is found that, to observe the SR phenomenon, radii and positions should be controlled to within approximately 1/2 percent.P_{SR}is also sensitive to the angle of incidence of the plane wave train. For the simple system examined here, this sensitivity is considerable for either flexural wave trains or volume acoustic waves incident upon the bubble/ balloon pair (doublet). Practical uses of the phenomenon may range from the design of passive high-Qacoustical filter/amplifiers and acoustical lenses to improved source efficiencies.     

Old Stellar Populations in Nearby Dwarf Galaxies

What can we learn from the somewhat arduous study of old stellar populations in nearby galaxies? Unless the nearby universe is subtly anomalous, it should contain a relatively normal selection of galaxies whose histories are representative of field galaxies in general throughout the Universe. We can therefore take advantage of our ability to resolve local galaxies into individual stars to directly, and accurately, measure star formation histories. The star formation histories are determined from numerical models, based on stellar evolution tracks, of colour-magnitude diagrams. The most accurate information on star formation rates extending back to the earliest epoches can be obtained from the structure of the main sequence. However, the oldest main sequence turnoffs are very faint, and it is often necessary to use the brighter, more evolved, populations to infer the star formation history at older times. A complete star formation history can be compared with the spectroscopic properties of galaxies seen over a large range of lookback times in redshift surveys. There is considerable evidence that the faint blue galaxies seen in large numbers in cosmological surveys are the progenitors of the late-type irregular galaxies seen in copious numbers in the Local Group, and beyond. We consider how the `Madau-diagram', the star formation history of the Universe, would look if the Local Group were to be considered representative of the Universe as a whole.