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F. Matteucci

Publications and source records attributed to F. Matteucci.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

Continuous star formation in IZw18

We study the dynamical and chemical evolution of a galaxy similar to IZw18 under the assumption of a continuous star formation during bursts. We adopt a 2-D hydrocode coupled with detailed chemical yields originating from SNeII, SNeIa and from single intermediate-mass stars. Different nucleosynthetic yields and different IMF slopes are tested. In most of the explored cases, a galactic wind develops, mostly carrying out of the galaxy the metal-enriched gas produced by the burst itself. The chemical species with the largest escape probabilities are Fe and N. Consequently, we predict that the [$α$/Fe] and [$α$/N] ratios outside the galaxy are lower than inside. In order to reproduce the chemical composition of IZw18, the best choice seems to be the adoption of the yields of Meynet & Maeder (2002) which take into account stellar rotation, although these authors do not follow the whole evolution of all the stars. Models with a flat IMF (x=0.5) seem to be able to better reproduce the chemical properties of IZw18, but they inject in the gas a much larger amount of energy and the resulting galactic wind is very strong, at variance with observations. We also predict the evolution of the abundances in the \hi medium and compare them with recent {\sl FUSE} observations.

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Cosmic Star Formation: Constraints on the Galaxy Formation Models

We study the evolution of the cosmic star formation by computing the luminosity density (LD) in the UV, B, J, and K bands, and the stellar mass density (MD) of galaxies in two reference models of galaxy evolution: the pure luminosity evolution (PLE) model developed by Calura & Matteucci (2003) and the semi-analytical model (SAM) of hierarchical galaxy formation by Menci et al. (2002). The former includes a detailed description of the chemical evolution of galaxies of different morphological types with no density evolution; the latter includes the merging histories of the galactic DM haloes, as predicted by the hierarchical clustering scenario, but it does not contain morphological classification nor chemical evolution. We find that at z< 1.5 both models are consistent with the available data on the LD of galaxies in all the considered bands. At high z, the LDs predicted in the PLE model show a peak due to the formation of ellipticals, whereas the SAM predicts a gradual decrease of the star formation and of the LD for z> 2.5. At such redshifts the PLE predictions tend to overestimate the present data in the B band whereas the SAM tends to underestimate the observed UV LD. As for the stellar MD, the PLE picture predicts that nearly 50% and 85% of the present stellar mass are in place at z=4 and z=1, respectively. According to the SAM, 50% and 60% of the present stellar mass are in place at z=1.2 and z=1, respectively. Both predictions fit the observed MD up to z=1. At z>1, the PLE model and the SAM tend to overestimate and underestimate the observed values, respectively. We discuss the origin of the above model results, and the role of observational uncertainties (such as dust extinction) in comparing models with observations.

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Cosmic metal production and the mean metallicity of the Universe

By means of detailed chemo-photometric models for elliptical, spiral and irregular galaxies, we evaluate the cosmic history of the production of chemical elements as well as the metal mass density of the present-day universe. We then calculate the mean metal abundances for galaxies of different morphological types, along with the average metallicity of galactic matter in the universe (stars, gas and intergalactic medium). For the average metallicity of galaxies in the local universe, we find Z_gal= 0.0175, i.e. close to the solar value. We find the main metal production in spheroids (ellipticals and bulges) to occur at very early times, implying an early peak in the metal production and a subsequent decrease. On the other hand, the metal production in spirals and irregulars is always increasing with time. We perform a self-consistent census of the baryons and metals in the local universe finding that, while the vast majority of the baryons lies outside galaxies in the inter-galactic medium (IGM), 52 % of the metals (with the exception of the Fe-peak elements) is locked up in stars and in the interstellar medium. We estimate indirectly the amount of baryons which resides in the IGM and we derive its mean Fe abundance, finding a value of X_Fe,IGM=0.05 X_Fe,sun. We believe that this estimate is uncertain by a factor of 2, owing to the normalization of the local luminosity function. This means that the Fe abundance of 0.3 solar inferred from X-ray observations of the hot intra-cluster medium (ICM) is higher than the average Fe abundance of the inter-galactic gas in the field.

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Simulating the metal enrichment of the ICM

We present results from Tree+SPH simulations of a galaxy cluster, aimed at studying the metal enrichment of the intra--cluster medium (ICM). The simulation code includes a fairly advanced treatment of star formation, as well as the release of energy feedback and detailed yields from both type-II and type-Ia supernovae, also accurately accounting for the lifetimes of different stellar populations. We perform simulations of a cluster with virial mass ~ 3.9x 10^14 Msun, to investigate the effect of varying the feedback strength and the stellar initial mass function (IMF). Although most of the models are able to produce acceptable amounts of Fe mass, we find that the profiles of the iron abundance are always steeper than observed. The [O/Fe] ratio is found to be sub--solar for a Salpeter IMF, with [O/Fe] -0.2 at R >~ 0.1R200, whereas increasing to super-solar values in central regions, as a result of recent star formation. Using a top--heavier IMF gives a larger [O/Fe] over the whole cluster, at variance with observations. On the other hand, the adoption of a variable IMF, which becomes top-heavier at z>2, provides a roughly solar [O/Fe] ratio. Our results indicate that our simulations still lack a feedback mechanism which should quench star formation at low redshift and transport metals away from the star forming regions.

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A comprehensive set of elemental abundances in damped Ly-alpha systems: revealing the nature of these high-redshift galaxies

By combining our UVES-VLT spectra of a sample of four damped Ly-alpha systems (DLAs) toward the quasars Q0100+13, Q1331+17, Q2231-00 and Q2343+12 with the existing HIRES-Keck spectra, we covered the total spectral range from 3150 to 10000 A for the four quasars. This large wavelength coverage and the high quality of the spectra allowed us to measure the column densities of up to 21 ions, namely of 15 elements - N, O, Mg, Al, Si, P, S, Cl, Ar, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Zn. Such a large amount of information is necessary to constrain the photoionization and dust depletion effects, two important steps in order to derive the intrinsic chemical abundance patterns of DLAs. We evaluated the photoionization effects with the help of the Al+/Al++, Fe+/Fe++, N0/N+ and Ar/Si,S ratios, and computed dust corrections. Our analysis revealed that the DLA toward Q2343+12 requires important ionization corrections. The access to the complete series of relatively robust intrinsic elemental abundances in the other three DLAs allowed us to constrain their star formation history, their age and their star formation rate by a detailed comparison with a grid of chemical evolution models for spiral and dwarf irregular galaxies. Our results show that the galaxies associated with these three DLAs in the redshift interval z_abs = 1.7-2.5 are either outer regions of spiral disks (radius >= 8 kpc) or dwarf irregular galaxies (with a bursting or continuous star formation history) with ages varying from some 50 Myr only to >~ 3.5 Gyr and with moderate star formation rates per unit area of -2.1 < log ψ< -1.5 M_{sol} yr^{-1} kpc^{-2}.

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The cosmic evolution of the galaxy luminosity density

We reconstruct the history of the cosmic star formation in the universe by means of detailed chemical evolution models for galaxies of different morphological types. We consider a picture of coeval, non-interacting evolving galaxies where ellipticals experience intense and rapid starbursts within the first Gyr after their formation, and spirals and irregulars continue to form stars at lower rates up to the present time. Such models allow one to follow in detail the evolution of the metallicity of the gas out of which the stars are formed. We normalize the galaxy population to the B band luminosity function observed in the local Universe and study the redshift evolution of the luminosity densities in the B, U, I and K bands calculating galaxy colors and evolutionary corrections by means of a detailed synthetic stellar population model. Our predictions indicate that the decline of the galaxy luminosity density between redshift 1 and 0 observed in the U, B and I bands is caused mainly by star-forming spiral galaxies which slowly exhaust their gas reservoirs. Elliptical galaxies have dominated the total luminosity density in all optical bands at early epochs, when all their stars formed by means of rapid and very intense star-bursts. Irregular galaxies bring a negligible contribution to the total luminosity density in any band at any time. (abridged)

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Chemical Evolution of Damped Lyman Alpha Systems

By means of detailed chemical evolution models for galaxies of different morphological types (i.e. spirals, irregular/starburst galaxies and ellipticals) we study the nature of Damped Lyman-Alpha systems. Our concern is to infer which systems represent likely candidates for the DLA population and which do not. By focusing on individual systems, we can derive some constraints on both the nature of the associated galaxy and its age. Our results indicate that, owing to their high metallicities and [alpha/Fe] ratios, big spheroids represent unlikely DLA candidates whereas spirals (observed at different galactocentric distances) and irregulars are ideal sites where DLA absorptions can occur.

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Cooling and heating the ICM in hydrodynamical simulations

We discuss Tree+SPH simulations of galaxy clusters and groups, aimed at studying the effect of cooling and non-gravitational heating on observable properties of the ICM. We simulate at high resolution four halos,with masses in the range (0.2-4)10^{14}M_sol. We discuss the effects of using different SPH implementations and show that high resolution is mandatory to correctly follow the cooling pattern of the ICM. All of our heating schemes which correctly reproduce the X-ray scaling properties of clusters and groups do not succeed in reducing the fraction of collapsed gas below a level of 20 (30) per cent at the cluster (group) scale. Finally, gas compression in cooling cluster regions causes an increase of the temperature and a steepening of the temperature profiles, independent of the presence of non-gravitational heating processes. This is inconsistent with recent observational evidence for a decrease of gas temperature towards the center of relaxed clusters. Provided these discrepancies persist even for a more refined modeling of energy feedback, they may indicate that some basic physical process is still missing in hydrodynamical simulations.

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The evolution of cosmic star formation, metals and gas

We reconstruct the history of the cosmic star formation as well as the cosmic production of metals in the universe by means of detailed chemical evolution models for galaxies of different morphological types. We consider a picture of coeval, non-interacting evolving galaxies where ellipticals experience intense and rapid starbursts within the first Gyr after their formation, and spirals and irregulars continue to form stars at lower rates up to the present time. We show that spirals are the main contributors to the decline of the luminosity density in all bands between z=1 and z=0.

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Chemical evolution and nature of Damped Lyman-Alpha systems

We study the nature of Damped Lyman -Alpha systems (DLAs) by means of a comparison between observed abundances and models of chemical evolution of galaxies of different morphological type. In particular, we compare for the first time the abundance ratios as functions of metallicity and redshift with dust-corrected data. We have developed detailed models following the evolution of several chemical elements (H, D, He, C, N, O, Ne, Mg, Si, S, Fe, Ni and Zn) for elliptical, spiral and irregular galaxies. Each of the models is calibrated to reproduce the main features of a massive elliptical, the Milky Way and the LMC, respectively. In addition, we run some models also for dwarf irregular starburst galaxies. All the models share the same uptodate nucleosynthesis prescriptions but differ in their star formation histories. The role of SNe of different type (II, Ia) is studied in each galaxy model together with detailed and up to date nucleosynthesis prescriptions. Our main conclusions are: 1) when dust depletion is taken into account most of the claimed alpha/Fe overabundances disappear and DLAs show solar or subsolar abundance ratios. 2) The majority of DLAs can be explained either by disks of spirals observed at large galactocentric distances or by irregular galaxies like the LMC or by starburst dwarf irregulars observed at different times after the last burst of star formation. 3) Elliptical galaxies cannot be DLA systems since they reach a too high metallicity at early times and their abundance ratios show overabundances of $α$-elements relative to Fe over a large range of [Fe/H]. 4) The observed neutral gas cosmic evolution is compared with our predictions but no firm conclusions can be drawn in the light of the available data.

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K dwarfs and the chemical evolution of the Solar cylinder

K-dwarfs have life-times older than the present age of the Galactic disc, and are thus ideal stars to investigate the disc's chemical evolution. We have developed several photometric metallicity indicators for K dwarfs, based an a sample of accurate spectroscopic metallicities for 34 disc and halo G and K dwarfs. The photometric metallicities lead us to develop a metallicity index for K dwarfs based only on their position in the colour absolute-magnitude diagram. Metallicities have been determined for 431 single K dwarfs drawn from the Hipparcos catalog, selecting the stars by absolute magnitude and removing multiple systems. The sample is essentially a complete reckoning of the metal content in nearby K dwarfs. We use stellar isochrones to mark the stars by mass, and select a subset of 220 of the stars which is complete in a narrow mass interval. We fit the data with a model of the chemical evolution of the Solar cylinder. We find that only a modest cosmic scatter is required to fit our age metallicity relation. The model assumes two main infall episodes for the formation of the halo-thick disc and thin disc respectively. The new data confirms that the solar neighbourhood formed on a long timescale of order 7 Gyr.

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Chemical Evolution of Galaxies and Intracluster Medium

In this series of lectures I discuss the basic principles and the modelling of the chemical evolution of galaxies. In particular, I present models for the chemical evolution of the Milky Way galaxy and compare them with the available observational data. From this comparison one can infer important constraints on the mechanism of formation of the Milky Way as well as on stellar nucleosynthesis and supernova progenitors. Models for the chemical evolution of elliptical galaxies are also shown in the framework of the two competing scenarios for galaxy formation: monolithic and hierachical. The evolution of dwarf starbursting galaxies is also presented and the connection of these objects with Damped Lyman-alpha systems is briefly discussed. The roles of supernovae of different type (I, II) is discussed in the general framework of galactic evolution and in connection with the interpretation of high redshift objects. Finally, the chemical enrichment of the intracluster medium as due mainly to ellipticals and S0 galaxies is discussed.

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Lyman-break galaxies: are they young spheroids?

We have compared the results from a model for the chemical evolution of an elliptical galaxy with initial luminous mass of 2x10^10 M_sun and effective radius of 2 kpc with the recent abundance determinations for the Lyman-break galaxy MS 1512-cB58 at a redshift z=2.7276. After correcting the iron abundance determination for the presence of dust we concluded that the observed [Si/Fe], [Mg/Fe], [N/Fe] are consistent with our model when a galactic age between 20 and 35 Myr is assumed. Moreover, the [N/O] ratio also suggests the same age. This age is in very good agreement with other independent studies based on the analysis of the spectral energy distribution suggesting that this object is younger than 35 Myr. Therefore, we suggest that MS 1512-cB58 is a truly young normal elliptical galaxy experiencing its main episode of star formation and galactic wind.

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Multiple starbursts in Blue Compact Galaxies

In this paper we present some results concerning the effects of two instantaneous starbursts, separated by a quiescent period, on the dynamical and chemical evolution of blue compact dwarf galaxies. In particular, we compare the model results to the galaxy IZw18, which is a very metal-poor, gas-rich dwarf galaxy, possibly experiencing its first or second burst of star formation. We follow the evolution of a first weak burst of star formation followed by a second more intense one occurring after several hundreds million years. We find that a galactic wind develops only during the second burst and that metals produced in the burst are preferentially lost relative to the hydrogen gas. We predict the evolution of several chemical abundances (H, He, C, N, O, α-elements, Fe) in the gas inside and outside the galaxy, by taking into account in detail the chemical and energetical contributions from type II and Ia supernovae. We find that the abundances predicted for the star forming region are in good agreement with the HII region abundances derived for IZw18. We also predict the abundances of C, N and O expected for the HI gas to be compared with future FUSE abundance determinations. We conclude that IZw18 must have experienced two bursts of star formation, one occurred \sim 300 Myr ago and a present one with an age between 4-7 Myr. However, by taking into account also other independent estimates, such as the color-magnitude diagram and the spectral energy distribution of stars in IZw18, and the fact that real starbursts are not instantaneous, we suggest that it is more likely that the burst age is between 4 and 15 Myr.

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Chemical Enrichment and Energetics of the ICM with Redshift

In this paper we show preliminary results concerning the chemical and energetic enrichment of the ICM by means of supernova-driven wind models in elliptical galaxies. These models are obtained by taking into account new prescriptions about supernova remnant evolution in the interstellar medium. We find that models, which can reproduce the Fe abundance and the [$α$/Fe] ratios observed in the ICM, predict that the SN energy input can provide about 0.3 keV per ICM particle. We have obtained this result by assuming that each SN explosion inject on the average into the ISM no more than 20% of its initial blast wave energy. The predicted energy per particle is not enough to break the cluster self-similarity but is more than predicted in previous models.

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Galactic Winds in Starburst Irregular Galaxies

In this paper we present some results of numerical simulations concerning the development of galactic winds in starburst galaxies. In particular, we focus on a galaxy similar to IZw18, the most metal-poor galaxy locally known. We compute the chemio-dynamical evolution of this galaxy, considering the energetic input and the chemical yields originating from Supernovae (SNe) of Type II and Ia and from intermediate-mass stars. We consider both single, instantaneous starburst and two starbursts separated by a quiescent period. In all considered cases a metal enriched winds develops and in particular the metals produced by Type Ia SNe are ejected more efficiently than the other metals. We suggest that two burst of star formation, the first being weaker and the last having an age of some tenth of Myr, can satisfactorily reproduce the abundances and abundance ratios found in literature for IZw18

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On the typical timescale for the chemical enrichment from SNeIa in Galaxies

We calculate the type Ia supernova rate for different star formation histories in galaxies by adopting the most popular and recent progenitor models. We show that the timescale for the maximum in the type Ia supernova rate, which corresponds also to time of the maximum enrichment, is not unique but is a strong function of the adopted stellar lifetimes, initial mass function and star formation rate. This timescale varies from $\sim 40-50$ Myr for an instantaneous starburst to $\sim$ 0.3 Gyr for a typical elliptical galaxy to $\sim 4.0-5.0$ Gyr for a disk of a spiral Galaxy like the Milky Way. We also show that the typical timescale of 1 Gyr, often quoted as the typical timescale for the type Ia supernovae, is just the time at which, in the solar neighbourhood, the Fe production from supernovae Ia starts to become important and not the time at which SNe Ia start to explode. As a cosequence of this, a change in slope in the [O/Fe] ratio is expected in correspondance of this timescale. We conclude that the suggested lack of supernovae Ia at low metallicities produces results at variance with the observed [O/Fe] vs. [Fe/H] relation in the solar region. We also compute the supernova Ia rates for different galaxies as a function of redshift and predict an extended maximum between redshift $z \sim 3.6$ and $z \sim 1.6$ for elliptical galaxies, and two maxima, one at $z \sim 3$ and the other at $z \sim 1$, for spiral galaxies, under the assumption that galaxies start forming stars at $z_f \sim 5$ and $Ω_M = 0.3$, $Ω_Λ = 0.7$.

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Galactic Winds in Irregular Starburst Galaxies

In this paper we present some results concerning the study of the development of galactic winds in blue compact galaxies. In particular, we model a situation very similar to that of the galaxy IZw18, the most metal poor and unevolved galaxy known locally. To do that we compute the chemo-dynamical evolution of a galaxy in the case of one istantaneous isolated starburst as well as in the case of two successive instantaneous starbursts. We show that in both cases a metal enriched wind develops and that the metals produced by the type Ia SNe are lost more efficiently than those produced by type II SNe. We also find that one single burst is able to enrich chemically the surrounding region in few Myr. Both these results are the effect of the assumed efficiency of energy transfer from SNe to ISM and to the consideration of type Ia SNe in this kind of problem. The comparison with observed abundances of IZw18 suggests that this galaxy is likely to have suffered two bursts in its life, with the previous being less intense than the last one.

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