arXiv subjects

F. Matteucci

Publications and source records attributed to F. Matteucci.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

arXiv2007

Chemical evolution of Seyfert galaxies

We computed the chemical evolution of Seyfert galaxies, residing in spiral bulges, based on an updated model for the Milky Way bulge with updated calculations of the Galactic potential and of the feedback from the central supermassive black hole (BH) in a spherical approximation. We followed the evolution of bulges of masses $2\times 10^{9}-10^{11}M_{\odot}$ by scaling the star-formation efficiency and the bulge scalelenght as in the inverse-wind scenario for ellipticals. We successfully reproduced the observed relation between the BH mass and that of the host bulge, and the observed peak nuclear bolometric luminosity. The observed metal overabundances are easily achieved, as well as the constancy of chemical abundances with the redshift.

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arXiv2007

The Evolution of Oxygen and Magnesium in the Bulge and Disk of the Milky Way

We show that the Galactic bulge and disk share a similar, strong, decline in [O/Mg] ratio with [Mg/H]. The similarity of the [O/Mg] trend in these two, markedly different, populations suggests a metallicity-dependent modulation of the stellar yields from massive stars, by mass loss from winds, and related to the Wolf-Rayet phenomenon, as proposed by McWilliam & Rich (2004). We have modified existing models for the chemical evolution of the Galactic bulge and the solar neighborhood with the inclusion of metallicity-dependent oxygen yields from theoretical predictions for massive stars that include mass loss by stellar winds. Our results significantly improve the agreement between predicted and observed [O/Mg] ratios in the bulge and disk above solar metallicity; however, a small zero-point normalization problem remains to be resolved. The zero-point shift indicates that either the semi-empirical yields of Francois et al. (2004) need adjustment, or that the bulge IMF is not quite as flat as found by Ballero et al. (2007); the former explanation is preferred. Our result removes a previous inconsistency between the interpretation of [O/Fe] and [Mg/Fe] ratios in the bulge, and confirms the conclusion that the bulge formed more rapidly than the disk, based on the over-abundances of elements produced by massive stars. We also provide an explanation for the long-standing difference between [Mg/Fe] and [O/Fe] trends among disk stars more metal-rich than the sun.

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arXiv2007

What hydrodynamical simulations tell us about the radial properties of the stellar populations in Ellipticals

Elliptical galaxies probably host the most metal rich stellar populations in the Universe. The processes leading to both the formation and the evolution of such stars are discussed by means of a new gas dynamical model which implements detailed chemical evolution prescriptions. Moreover, the radial variations in the metallicity distribution of these stars are investigated by means of G-dwarf-like diagrams. By comparing model predictions with observations, we derive a picture of galaxy formation in which the higher is the mass of the galaxy, the shorter are the infall and the star formation timescales. The galaxies seem to have formed outside-in, namely the most external regions accrete gas, form stars and develop a galactic wind very quickly (a few Myr) compared to the central core, where the star formation can last up to 1 Gyr. We show for the first time a model able in reproducing the mass-metallicity and the color-magnitude relations as well as the radial metallicity gradient, and, at the same time, the observed either positive or negative slopes in the [alpha/Fe] abundace ratio gradient in stars.

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arXiv2007

Chemical enrichment of galaxy clusters from hydrodynamical simulations

We present cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of galaxy clusters aimed at studying the process of metal enrichment of the intra--cluster medium (ICM). These simulations have been performed by implementing a detailed model of chemical evolution in the Tree-SPH \gd code. This model allows us to follow the metal release from SNII, SNIa and AGB stars, by properly accounting for the lifetimes of stars of different mass, as well as to change the stellar initial mass function (IMF), the lifetime function and the stellar yields. As such, our implementation of chemical evolution represents a powerful instrument to follow the cosmic history of metal production. The simulations presented here have been performed with the twofold aim of checking numerical effects, as well as the impact of changing the model of chemical evolution and the efficiency of stellar feedback.

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arXiv2007

A new comprehensive set of elemental abundances in DLAs III. Star formation histories

We obtained comprehensive sets of elemental abundances for eleven damped Ly-alpha systems (DLAs) at z_DLA=1.7-2.5. In Paper I of this series, we showed for three DLA galaxies that we can derive their star formation histories and ages from a detailed comparison of their intrinsic abundance patterns with chemical evolution models. We determine in this paper the star formation properties of six additional DLA galaxies. The derived results confirm that no single star formation history explains the diverse sets of abundance patterns in DLAs. We demonstrate that the various star formation histories reproducing the DLA abundance patterns are typical of local irregular, dwarf starburst and quiescent spiral galaxies. Independent of the star formation history, the DLAs have a common characteristic of being weak star forming galaxies; models with high star formation efficiencies are ruled out. All the derived DLA star formation rates per unit area are moderate or low, with values between -3.2 < log SFR < -1.1 M_sol yr^{-1} kpc^{-2}. The DLA abundance patterns require a large spread in ages ranging from 20 Myr up to 3 Gyr. The oldest DLA in our sample is observed at z_DLA=1.864 with an age estimated to more than 3 Gyr; it nicely indicates that galaxies were already forming at z_f>10. But, most of the DLAs show ages much younger than that of the Universe at the epoch of observation. Young galaxies thus seem to populate the high redshift Universe at z>2, suggesting relatively low redshifts of formation (z~3) for most high-redshift galaxies. The DLA star formation properties are compared with those of other high-redshift galaxies identified in deep imaging surveys with the aim of obtaining a global picture of high-redshift objects.

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arXiv2007

The impact of stellar rotation on the CNO abundance patterns in the Milky Way at low metallicities

We investigate the effect of new stellar models, which take rotation into account, computed for very low metallicities on the chemical evolution of the earliest phases of the Milky Way. We check the impact of these new stellar yields on a model for the halo of the Milky Way that can reproduce the observed halo metallicity distribution. In this way we try to better constrain the ISM enrichment timescale, which was not done in our previous work. The stellar models adopted in this work were computed under the assumption that the ratio of the initial rotation velocity to the critical velocity of stars is roughly constant with metallicity. This naturally leads to faster rotation at lower metallicity, as metal poor stars are more compact than metal rich ones. We find that the new Z = 10-8 stellar yields computed for large rotational velocities have a tremendous impact on the interstellar medium nitrogen enrichment for log(O/H)+12 < 7 (or [Fe/H]< -3). We show that upon the inclusion of the new stellar calculations in a chemical evolution model for the galactic halo with infall and outflow, both high N/O and C/O ratios are obtained in the very-metal poor metallicity range in agreement with observations. Our results give further support to the idea that stars at very low metallicities could have initial rotational velocities of the order of 600-800kms-1. An important contribution to N from AGB stars is still needed in order to explain the observations at intermediate metallicities. One possibility is that AGB stars at very low metallicities also rotate fast. This could be tested in the future, once stellar evolution models for fast rotating AGB stars will be available.

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arXiv2007

The chemical evolution of Omega Centauri's progenitor system

Chemical evolution models are presented for the anomalous globular cluster Omega Centauri. After demonstrating that the chemical features of Omega Cen can not be reproduced in the framework of the closed-box self-enrichment scenario, we discuss a model in which this cluster is the remnant of a dwarf spheroidal galaxy evolved in isolation and then swallowed by the Milky Way. Both infall of primordial matter and metal-enriched gas outflows have to be considered in order to reproduce the stellar metallicity distribution function, the age-metallicity relation and several abundance ratios. Yet, as long as an ordinary stellar mass function and standard stellar yields are assumed, we fail by far to get the enormous helium enhancement required to explain the blue main sequence (and, perhaps, the extreme horizontal branch) stellar data. Rotating models of massive stars producing stellar winds with large helium excesses at low metallicities have been put forward as promising candidates to solve the `helium enigma' of Omega Cen (Maeder & Meynet, 2006, A&A, 448, L37). However, we show that for any reasonable choice of the initial mass function the helium-to-metal enrichment of the integrated stellar population is unavoidably much lower than 70 and conclude that the issue of the helium enhancement in Omega Cen still waits for a satisfactory explanation. We briefly speculate upon possible solutions.

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arXiv2006

Abundance gradients in the Milky Way for alpha elements, Iron peak elements, Barium, Lanthanum and Europium

We model the abundance gradients in the disk of the Milky Way for several chemical elements (O, Mg, Si, S, Ca, Sc, Ti, Co, V, Fe, Ni, Zn, Cu, Mn, Cr, Ba, La and Eu), and compare our results with the most recent and homogeneous observational data. We adopt a chemical evolution model able to well reproduce the main properties of the solar vicinity. We compute, for the first time, the abundance gradients for all the above mentioned elements in the galactocentric distance range 4 - 22 kpc. The comparison with the observed data on Cepheids in the galactocentric distance range 5-17 kpc gives a very good agreement for many of the studied elements. In addition, we fit very well the data for the evolution of Lanthanum in the solar vicinity for which we present results here for the first time. We explore, also for the first time, the behaviour of the abundance gradients at large galactocentric distances by comparing our results with data relative to distant open clusters and red giants and select the best chemical evolution model model on the basis of that. We find a very good fit to the observed abundance gradients, as traced by Cepheids, for most of the elements, thus confirming the validity of the inside-out scenario for the formation of the Milky Way disk as well as the adopted nucleosynthesis prescriptions.

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arXiv2006

Early spectral evolution of Nova Sgr 2004 (V5114 Sgr)

We present optical and near-infrared spectral evolution of the Galactic nova V5114 Sgr (2004) during few months after the outburst. We use multi-band photometry and line intensities derived from spectroscopy to put constrains on the distance and the physical conditions of the ejecta of V5114 Sgr. The nova showed a fast decline (t_2 \simeq 11 days) and spectral features of FeII spectroscopic class. It reached M_V = -8.7 \pm 0.2 mag at maximum light, from which we derive a distance of 7700 \pm 700 kpc and a distance from the galactic plane of about 800 pc. Hydrogen and Oxygen mass of the ejecta are measured from emission lines, leading to 10^{-6} and 10^{-7} M_\odot, respectively. We compute the filling factor of the ejecta to be in the range 0.1 -- 10^{-3} . We found the value of the filling factor to decrease with time. The same is also observed in other novae, then giving support to the idea that nova shells are not homogeneously filled in, rather being the material clumped in relatively higher density blobs less affected by the general expanding motion of the ejecta.

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arXiv2006

Cosmic Supernova Rates and the Hubble Sequence

We compute the type Ia, Ib/c and II supernova (SN) rates as functions of the cosmic time for galaxies of different morphological types. We use four different chemical evolution models, each one reproducing the features of a particular morphological type: E/S0, S0a/b, Sbc/d and Irr galaxies. We essentially describe the Hubble sequence by means of decreasing efficiency of star formation and increasing infall timescale. These models are used to study the evolution of the SN rates per unit luminosity and per unit mass as functions of cosmic time and as functions of the Hubble type. Our results indicate that: (i) the observed increase of the SN rate per unit luminosity and unit mass from early to late galaxy types is accounted for by our models. Our explanation of this effect is related to the fact that the latest Hubble types have the highest star formation rate per unit mass; (ii) By adopting a Scalo (1986) initial mass function in spiral disks, we find that massive single stars ending their lives as Wolf-Rayet objects are not sufficient to account for the observed type Ib/c SN rate per unit mass. Less massive stars in close binary systems can give instead a significant contribution to the local Ib/c SN rates. On the other hand, with the assumption of a Salpeter (1955) IMF for all galaxy types, single massive WR stars are sufficient to account for the observed type Ib/c SN rate. (iii) Our models allow us to reproduce the observed type Ia SN rate density up to redshift z~1. We predict an increasing type Ia SN rate density with redshift, reaching a peak at redshift z >= 3, because of the contribution of massive spheroids.

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arXiv2006

A new formulation of the Type Ia SN rate and its consequences on galactic chemical evolution

In recent papers Mannucci et al. (2005, 2006) suggested, on the basis of observational arguments, that there is a bimodal distribution of delay times for the explosion of Type Ia SNe. In this paper, we test this hypothesis in models of chemical evolution of galaxies of different morphological type: ellipticals, spirals and irregulars. We show that this proposed scenario is compatible also with the main chemical properties of galaxies. When the new rate is introduced in the two-infall model for the Milky Way, the derived Type Ia SN rate as a function of cosmic time shows a high and broad peak at very early epochs thus influencing the chemical evolution of the galactic halo more than in the previous widely adopted formulations for the SNIa rate. As a consequence of this, the [O/Fe] ratio decreases faster for [Fe/H] > -2.0 dex, relative to the old models. For a typical elliptical of 10^11 M_sun of luminous mass, the new rate produces average [alpha/ Fe] ratios in the dominant stellar population still in agreement with observations. The Type Ia SN rate also in this case shows an earlier peak and a subsequent faster decline relative to the previous results, but the differences are smaller than in the case of our Galaxy. We have also checked the effects of the new Type Ia SN rate on the evolution of the Fe content in the ICM, as a consequence of its production from cluster ellipticals and we found that less Fe in the ICM is produced with the new rate, due to the higher fraction of Fe synthesized at early times and remaining locked into the stars in ellipticals. For dwarf irregular galaxies suffering few bursts of star formation we obtain [O/Fe] ratios larger by 0.2 dex relative to the previous models.

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arXiv2006

Metals and dust in high redshift AGNs

We summarize some recent results on the metallicity and dust properties of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) at high redshift (1 10). The properties of dust in high-z QSOs are discussed within the context of the dust production mechanisms in the early universe. The dust extinction curve is observed to evolve beyond z>4, and by z~6 it is well described by the properties expected for dust produced by SNe, suggesting that the latter is the main mechanism of dust production in the early universe. We also show that the huge dust masses observed in distant QSOs can be accounted for by SN dust within the observational constraints currently available. Finally, we show that QSO winds, which have been proposed as an alternative mechanism of dust production, may also contribute significantly to the total dust budget at high redshift.

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arXiv2006

A strong case for fast stellar rotation at very low metallicities

We investigate the effect of new stellar models, which take rotation into account, computed for a metallicity Z = 10^{-8} on the chemical evolution of the earliest phases of the Milky Way. These models are computed under the assumption that the ratio of the initial rotation velocity to the critical velocity of stars is roughly constant with metallicity. This naturally leads to faster rotation at lower metallicity, as metal poor stars are more compact than metal rich ones. We find that the new Z = 10^{-8} stellar yields have a tremendous impact on the interstellar medium nitrogen enrichment for log(O/H)+12 < 7 (or [Fe/H]< -3).We show that upon the inclusion of the Z = 10^{-8} stellar yields in chemical evolution models, both high N/O and C/O ratios are obtained in the very-metal poor metallicity range in agreement with observations. Our results give further support to the idea that stars at very low metallicities could have rotational velocities of the order of 600-800 km s^{-1}.

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arXiv2005

A new comprehensive set of elemental abundances in DLAs - II. Data analysis and chemical variation studies

We present new elemental abundance studies of seven damped Lyman-alpha systems (DLAs). Together with the four DLAs analyzed in Dessauges-Zavadsky et al. (2004), we have a sample of eleven DLA galaxies with uniquely comprehensive and homogeneous abundance measurements. These observations allow one to study the abundance patterns of 22 elements and the chemical variations in the interstellar medium of galaxies outside the Local Group. Comparing the gas-phase abundance ratios of these high redshift galaxies, we found that they show low RMS dispersions, reaching only up 2-3 times the statistical errors for the majority of elements. This uniformity is remarkable given that the quasar sightlines cross gaseous regions with HI column densities spanning over one order of magnitude and metallicities ranging from 1/55 to 1/5 solar. The gas-phase abundance patterns of interstellar medium clouds within the DLA galaxies detected along the velocity profiles show, on the other hand, a high dispersion in several abundance ratios, indicating that chemical variations seem to be more confined to individual clouds within the DLA galaxies than to integrated profiles. The analysis of the cloud-to-cloud chemical variations within seven individual DLAs reveals that five of them show statistically significant variations, higher than 0.2 dex at more than 3 sigma. The sources of these variations are both the differential dust depletion and/or ionization effects; however, no evidence for variations due to different star formation histories could be highlighted. These observations place large constraints on the mixing timescales of protogalaxies and on scenarios of galaxy formation within the CDM hierarchical theory. Finally, we provide an astrophysical determination of the oscillator strength of the NiII 1317 transition.

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arXiv2005

The chemical evolution of Barium and Europium in the Milky Way

We compute the evolution of the abundances of barium and europium in the Milky Way and we compare our results with the observed abundances from the recent UVES Large Program "First Stars". We use a chemical evolution model which already reproduces the majority of observational constraints. We confirm that barium is a neutron capture element mainly produced in the low mass AGB stars during the thermal-pulsing phase by the 13C neutron source, in a slow neutron capture process. However, in order to reproduce the [Ba/Fe] vs. [Fe/H] as well as the Ba solar abundance, we suggest that Ba should be also produced as an r-process element by massive stars in the range 10-30 solar masses. On the other hand, europium should be only an r-process element produced in the same range of masses (10-30 solar masses), at variance with previous suggestions indicating a smaller mass range for the Eu producers. As it is well known, there is a large spread in the [Ba/Fe] and [Eu/Fe] ratios at low metallicities, although smaller in the newest data. With our model we estimate for both elements (Ba and Eu) the ranges for the r-process yields from massive stars which better reproduce the trend of the data. We find that with the same yields which are able to explain the observed trends, the large spread in the [Ba/Fe] and [Eu/Fe] ratios cannot be explained even in the context of an inhomogeneous models for the chemical evolution of our Galaxy. We therefore derive the amount by which the yields should be modified to fully account for the observed spread. We then discuss several possibilities to explain the size of the spread. We finally suggest that the production ratio of [Ba/Eu] could be almost constant in the massive stars.

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arXiv2005

Dynamical and chemical evolution of NGC1569

Blue Compact Dwarf and Dwarf Irregular galaxies are generally believed to be unevolved objects, due to their blue colors, compact appearance and large gas fractions. Many of these objects show an ongoing intense burst of star formation or have experienced it in the recent past. By means of 2-D hydrodynamical simulations, coupled with detailed chemical yields originating from SNeII, SNeIa, and intermediate-mass stars, we study the dynamical and chemical evolution of model galaxies with structural parameters similar to NGC1569, a prototypical starburst galaxy. A burst of star formation with short duration is not able to account for the chemical and morphological properties of this galaxy. The best way to reproduce the chemical composition of this object is by assuming long-lasting episodes of star formation and a more recent burst, separated from the previous episodes by a short quiescent period. The last burst of star formation, in most of the explored cases, does not affect the chemical composition of the galaxy, since the enriched gas produced by young stars is in a too hot phase to be detectable with the optical spectroscopy. Models assuming the infall of a big cloud towards the center of the galaxy reproduce the chemical composition of the NGC1569, but the pressure exercised by the cloud hampers the expansion of the galactic wind, at variance with what observed in NGC1569.

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arXiv2005

Early chemical enrichment of the universe and the role of very massive pop III stars

In this paper the role of very massive pop III stars in the chemical enrichment of the early universe is discussed. We first compare our predictions with the abundance ratios measured in the high redshift Lyman-alpha forest to check whether they are compatible with the values predicted by assuming that the early universe was enriched by massive pop III stars. We conclude that to explain the observed C/Si ratio in the intergalactic medium, a contribution from pop II stars to carbon enrichment is necessary, already at redshift z=5. We then evaluate the number of Pair-Instability Supernovae (SN_(gamma gamma)) required to enrich the universe to the critical metallicity Z_cr, i.e. the metallicity value which causes the transition from a very massive star regime (m > 100 M_sun) to a lower mass regime, similar to the one characteristic of the present time (m < 100 M_sun). It is found that between 110 and 115 SN_(gamma gamma) are sufficient to chemically enrich a cubic megaparsec of the intergalactic medium at high redshift for a variety of initial mass functions. The number of ionizing photons provided by these SN_(gamma gamma) and also by the pop III stars ending as black holes was computed and we conclude that there are not enough photons to reionize the universe, being down by at least a factor of ~ 3. Finally, we calculate the abundance ratios generated by pop III stars and compare it with the ones observed in low metallicity Damped Lyman-alpha systems (DLAs). We suggest that pop III stars alone cannot be responsible for the abundance ratios in these objects and that intermediate mass pop II stars must have played an important role especially in enriching DLAs in nitrogen.

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arXiv2005

The origin of nitrogen: Implications of recent measurements of N/O in Galactic metal-poor stars

Recent new high-precision abundance data for Galactic halo stars suggest important primary nitrogen production in very metal-poor massive stars. Here, we compute a new model for the chemical evolution of the Milky Way aimed at explaining these new abundance data. The new data can be explained by adopting: a) the stellar yields obtained from stellar models that take into account rotation and b) an extra production of nitrogen in the very metal-poor massive stars. In particular, we suggest an increase of nearly a factor of 200 in 14N for a star of 60 Msun and 40 for a star of 9Msun, for metallicities below Z=10$^{-5}$, with respect to the yields given in the literature for Z=10$^{-5}$ and rotational velocity of 300 km/s. We show that once we adopt the above prescriptions, our model is able to predict high N/O abundance ratios at low metallicities and still explains the nitrogen abundances observed in thin disk stars in the solar vicinity. The physical motivation for a larger nitrogen production in massive stars in very metal-poor environments could be the fact that some stellar models as well as observational data suggest that at low metallicities stars rotate faster. If this is the case, such large nitrogen production seen in the pristine phases of the halo formation would not necessarily happen in Damped Lyman-alpha systems which have metallicities always above [Fe/H]$\simeq -$2.5, and could have been pre-enriched. We also compute the abundance gradient of N/O along the Galactic disk and show that a negative gradient is predicted once we adopt stellar yields where rotation is taken into account. The latter result implies that intermediate mass stars contribute less to the primary nitrogen than previously thought.

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