arXiv subjects

A. G. Alarcon Jara

Publications and source records attributed to A. G. Alarcon Jara.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

Detection of Chemo-Kinematical Structures in Leo I

Context: A variety of formation models for dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies have been proposed in the literature, but generally they have not been quantitatively compared with observations. Aims: We search for chemodynamical patterns in our observational data set and compare the results with mock galaxies consisting of pure random motions, and simulated dwarfs formed via the dissolving star cluster and tidal stirring models. Methods: We made use of a new spectroscopic data set for the Milky Way dSph Leo I, combining 288 stars observed with Magellan/IMACS and existing Keck/DEIMOS data, to provide velocity and metallicity measurements for 953 Leo I member stars. We used a specially developed algorithm called Beacon to detect chemo-kinematical patterns in the observed and simulated data. Results: After analysing the Leo I data, we report the detection of 14 candidate streams of stars that may have originated in disrupted star clusters. The angular momentum vectors of these streams are randomly oriented, consistent with the lack of rotation in Leo I. These results are consistent with the predictions of the dissolving cluster model. In contrast, we find fewer candidate stream signals in mock data sets that lack coherent motions ~99% of the time. The chemodynamical analysis of the tidal stirring simulation produces streams that share a common orientation of their angular momenta, which is inconsistent with the Leo I data. Conclusions: Even though it is very difficult to distinguish which of the detected streams are real and which are only noise, we can be certain that there are more streams detected in the observational data of Leo I than expected in pure random data.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2019

Modelling the Canes Venatici I dwarf spheroidal galaxy

The aim of this work is to find a progenitor for Canes Venatici I (CVn I), under the assumption that it is a dark matter free object that is undergoing tidal disruption. With a simple point mass integrator, we searched for an orbit for this galaxy using its current position, position angle, and radial velocity in the sky as constraints. The orbit that gives the best results has the pair of proper motions $μ_α$ = -0.099 mas yr$^{-1}$ and $μ_δ$ = -0.147 mas yr$^{-1}$, that is an apogalactic distance of 242.79 kpc and a perigalactic distance of 20.01 kpc. Using a dark matter free progenitor that undergoes tidal disruption, the best-fitting model matches the final mass, surface brightness, effective radius, and velocity dispersion of CVn I simultaneously. This model has an initial Plummer mass of 2.47 x $10^7$ M$_\odot$ and a Plummer radius of 653 pc, producing a remnant after 10 Gyr with a final mass of 2.45 x 10$^5$ M$_\odot$, a central surface brightness of 26.9 mag arcsec$^{-2}$, an effective radius of 545.7 pc, and a velocity dispersion with the value 7.58 km s$^{-1}$. Furthermore, it is matching the position angle and ellipticity of the projected object in the sky.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2019

The formation of compact dwarf ellipticals through merging star clusters

In the last decades, extended old stellar clusters have been observed. These extended objects cover a large range in masses, from extended clusters or faint fuzzies to ultra compact dwarf galaxies. It has been demonstrated that these extended objects can be the result of the merging of star clusters in cluster complexes (small regions in which dozens to hundreds of star clusters form). This formation channel is called the `Merging Star Cluster Scenario'. This work tries to explain the formation of compact ellipticals in the same theoretical framework. Compact ellipticals are a comparatively rare class of spheroidal galaxies, possessing very small effective radii and high central surface brightnesses. With the use of numerical simulations we show that the merging star cluster scenario, adopted for higher masses, as found with those galaxies, can reproduce all major characteristics and the dynamics of these objects. This opens up a new formation channel to explain the existence of compact elliptical galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2017

A possible formation scenario for dwarf spheroidal galaxies - III. Adding star formation histories to the fiducial model

Dwarf spheroidal galaxies are regarded as the basic building blocks in the formation of larger galaxies and are believed to be the most dark matter dominated systems known in the Universe. There are several models that attempt to explain their formation and evolution, but they have problems to model the formation of isolated dwarf spheroidal galaxies. Here, we will explain a possible formation scenario in which star clusters form inside the dark matter halo of a dwarf spheroidal galaxy. Those star clusters suffer from low star formation efficiency and dissolve while orbiting inside the dark matter halo. Thereby, they build the faint luminous components that we observe in dwarf spheroidal galaxies. In this paper we study this model by adding different star formation histories to the simulations to compare the results with our previous work and observational data to show that we can explain the formation of dwarf spheroidal galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗