arXiv subjects

P. Kroupa

Publications and source records attributed to P. Kroupa.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

DGSAT: Dwarf Galaxy Survey with Amateur Telescopes I. Discovery of low surface brightness systems around nearby spiral galaxies

Context: We introduce the Dwarf Galaxy Survey with Amateur Telescopes (DGSAT) project and report the discovery of eleven low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies in the fields of the nearby galaxies NGC 2683, NGC 3628, NGC 4594 (M104), NGC 4631, NGC 5457 (M101), and NGC 7814. Aims: The DGSAT project aims to use the potential of small-sized telescopes to probe LSB features around large galaxies and to increase the sample size of the dwarf satellite galaxies in the Local Volume. Methods: Using long exposure images, fields of the target spiral galaxies are explored for extended low surface brightness objects. After identifying dwarf galaxy candidates, their observed properties are extracted by fitting models to their light profiles. Results: We find three, one, three, one, one, and two new LSB galaxies in the fields of NGC 2683, 3628, 4594, 4631, 5457, and 7814, respectively. In addition to the newly found galaxies, we analyse the structural properties of nine already known galaxies. All of these 20 dwarf galaxy candidates have effective surface brightnesses in the range $25.3\lesssimμ_{e}\lesssim28.8$ mag.arcsec$^{-2}$ and are fit with Sersic profiles with indices $n\lesssim 1$. Assuming that they are in the vicinity of the above mentioned massive galaxies, their $r$-band absolute magnitudes, their effective radii, and their luminosities are in the ranges $-15.6 \lesssim M_r \lesssim -7.8$, 160 pc $\lesssim R_e \lesssim$ 4.1 kpc, and $0.1\times 10^6 \lesssim\left(\frac{L}{L_{\odot}}\right)_r\lesssim127 \times 10^6$, respectively. To determine whether these LSB galaxies are indeed satellites of the above mentioned massive galaxies, their distances need to be determined via further observations. Conclusions: Using small telescopes, we are readily able to detect LSB galaxies with similar properties to the known dwarf galaxies of the Local Group.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2015

Young tidal dwarf galaxies cannot be used to probe dark matter in galaxies

The location of dark-matter free, tidal dwarf galaxies (TDGs) in the baryonic Tully Fisher (bTF) diagram has been used to test cosmological scenarios, leading to various and controversial results. Using new high-resolution 3D spectroscopic data, we re-investigate the morpho-kinematics of these galaxies to verify whether or not they can be used for such a purpose. We find that the three observed TDGs are kinematically not virialized and show complex morphologies and kinematics, leading to considerable uncertainties about their intrinsic rotation velocities and their locations on the bTF. Only one TDG can be identify as a (perturbed) rotation disk that it is indeed a sub-component of NGC5291N and that lies at $<$1$σ$ from the local bTF relation. It results that the presently studied TDGs are young, dynamically forming objects, which are not enough virialized to robustly challenge cosmological scenarios.

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arXiv2015

Globular Cluster Streams as Galactic High-Precision Scales

Tidal streams of globular clusters are ideal tracers of the Galactic gravitational potential. Compared to the few known, complex and diffuse dwarf-galaxy streams, they are kinematically cold, have thin morphologies and are abundant in the halo of the Milky Way. Their coldness and thinness in combination with potential epicyclic substructure in the vicinity of the stream progenitor turns them into high-precision scales. With the example of Palomar 5, we demonstrate how modeling of a globular cluster stream allows us to simultaneously measure the properties of the disrupting globular cluster, its orbital motion, and the gravitational potential of the Milky Way.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2015

The mass-metallicity relation of tidal dwarf galaxies

Dwarf galaxies generally follow a mass-metallicity (MZ) relation, where more massive objects retain a larger fraction of heavy elements. Young tidal dwarf galaxies (TDGs), born in the tidal tails produced by interacting gas-rich galaxies, have been thought to not follow the MZ relation, because they inherit the metallicity of the more massive parent galaxies. We present chemical evolution models to investigate if TDGs that formed at very high redshifts, where the metallicity of their parent galaxy was very low, can produce the observed MZ relation. Assuming that galaxy interactions were more frequent in the denser high-redshift universe, TDGs could constitute an important contribution to the dwarf galaxy population. The survey of chemical evolution models of TDGs presented here captures for the first time an initial mass function (IMF) of stars that is dependent on both the star formation rate and the gas metallicity via the integrated galactic IMF (IGIMF) theory. As TDGs form in the tidal debris of interacting galaxies, the pre-enrichment of the gas, an underlying pre-existing stellar population, infall, and mass dependent outflows are considered. The models of young TDGs that are created in strongly pre-enriched tidal arms with a pre-existing stellar population can explain the measured abundance ratios of observed TDGs. The same chemical evolution models for TDGs, that form out of gas with initially very low metallicity, naturally build up the observed MZ relation. The modelled chemical composition of ancient TDGs is therefore consistent with the observed MZ relation of satellite galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2014

The chemical evolution of galaxies with a variable IGIMF

Standard analytical chemical evolution modelling of galaxies has been assuming the stellar initial mass function (IMF) to be invariant and fully sampled allowing fractions of massive stars to contribute even in dwarf galaxies with very low star formation rates (SFRs). Recent observations show the integrated galactic initial mass function (IGIMF) of stars, i.e. the galaxy-wide IMF, to become systematically top-heavy with increasing SFR. This has been predicted by the IGIMF theory, which is here used to develop the analytical theory of the chemical evolution of galaxies. This theory is non-linear and requires the iterative solution of implicit integral equations due to the dependence of the IGIMF on the metallicity and on the SFR. It is shown that the mass-metallicity relation of galaxies emerges naturally, although at low masses the theoretical predictions overestimate the observations by 0.3--0.4 dex. A good agreement with the observation can be obtained only if gas flows are taken into account. In particular, we are able to reproduce the mass--metallicity relation observed by Lee et al. (2006) with modest amounts of infall and with an outflow rate which decreases as a function of the galactic mass. The outflow rates required to fit the data are considerably smaller than required in models with invariant IMFs.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2013

Chemo-dynamical evolution of tidal dwarf galaxies. I. Method and IMF dependence

We present high-resolution simulations of tidal dwarf galaxies (TDG) to investigate their early chemo-dynamical evolution and test their survivability. In this work the simulation setup is introduced and the response of TDGs to self-consistent star formation (SF) and an external tidal field is examined. Throughout the simulation star cluster particles with variable masses down to $5\,M_{\odot}$ form, depending on the local gas reservoir. For low cluster masses $M_{\mathrm{cl}}$, the stellar initial mass function (IMF) is considered to be either filled or truncated at a maximal star mass $m_\mathrm{max}$ to represent the observed $m_{\mathrm{max}} - M_{\mathrm{cl}}$ relation (IGIMF theory). The evolution of TDGs with fully-populated and truncated IMFs are compared to study the impact of stellar energy feedback on their survivability. Both TDGs experience an initial starburst but after a dynamical time they evolve into dwarf galaxies with self-regulated and continuous SF. At this stage the truncated-IMF model contains about 6 times more stellar mass than the invariant IMF models, but the final bound gas mass is comparable in both models. In spite of their significantly different SF histories, both TDG models are not disrupted within the first 500 Myr. We conclude that TDGs can survive an early starburst, independent of the underlying IMF description, even though they do not harbor a stabilizing dark matter halo.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2013

Phase mixing due to the Galactic potential: steps in the position and velocity distributions of popped star clusters

As star clusters are expected to form with low star formation efficiencies, the gas in the cluster is expelled quickly and early in their development: the star cluster "pops." This leads to an unbound stellar system, evolving in the Galactic potential. Previous N-body simulations have demonstrated the existence of a stepped number density distribution of cluster stars after popping, both in vertical position and vertical velocity, with a passing resemblance to a Christmas tree. Using numerical and analytical methods, we investigate the source of this structure, which arises due to the phase mixing of the out-of-equilibrium stellar system, determined entirely by the background analytic potential. Considering only the vertical motions, we construct a theoretical model to describe the time evolution of the phase space distribution of stars in a Miyamoto-Nagai disk potential and a full Milky-Way type potential comprising bulge, halo and disk components, which is then compared with N-body simulations. Using our theoretical model, we investigate the possible observational signatures and the feasibility of detection.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2013

The [alpha/Fe] ratios of very metal-poor stars within the IGIMF theory

The aim of this paper is to quantify the amplitude of the predicted plateau in [alpha/Fe] ratios associated with the most metal-poor stars of a galaxy. We assume that the initial mass function in galaxies is steeper if the star formation rate (SFR) is low -- as per the integrated galactic initial mass function (IGIMF) theory. A variant of the theory, in which the IGIMF depends upon the metallicity of the parent galaxy, is also considered. The IGIMF theory predicts low [alpha/Fe] plateaus in dwarf galaxies, characterised by small SFRs. The [alpha/Fe] plateau is up to 0.7dex lower than the corresponding plateau of the Milky Way. For a universal IMF one should expect instead that the [alpha/Fe] plateau is the same for all the galaxies, irrespective of their masses or SFRs. Assuming a strong dependence of the IMF on the metallicity of the parent galaxy, dwarf galaxies can show values of the [alpha/Fe] plateau similar to those of the Milky Way, and almost independent on the SFR. The [Mg/Fe] ratios of the most metal-poor stars in dwarf galaxies satellites of the Milky Way can be reproduced either if we consider metallicity-dependent IMFs or if the early SFRs of these galaxies were larger than we presently think. Present and future observations of dwarf galaxies can help disentangle between these different IGIMF formulations.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2013

The Curious Case of Palomar 13: The Influence of the Orbital Phase on the Appearance of Galactic Satellites

We investigate the dynamical status of the low-mass globular cluster Palomar 13 by means of N-body computations to test whether its unusually high mass-to-light ratio of about 40 and its peculiarly shallow surface density profile can be caused by tidal shocking. Alternatively, we test - by varying the assumed proper motion - if the orbital phase of Palomar 13 within its orbit about the Milky Way can influence its appearance and thus may be the origin of these peculiarities, as has been suggested by Kuepper et al. (2010). We find that, of these two scenarios, only the latter can explain the observed mass-to-light ratio and surface density profile. We note, however, that the particular orbit that best reproduces those observed parameters has a proper motion inconsistent with the available literature value. We discuss this discrepancy and suggest that it may be caused by an underestimation of the observational uncertainties in the proper motion determination. We demonstrate that Palomar 13 is most likely near apogalacticon, which makes the cluster appear supervirial and blown-up due to orbital compression of its tidal debris. Since the satellites of the Milky Way are on average closer to apo- than perigalacticon, their internal dynamics may be influenced by the same effect, and we advocate that this needs to be taken into account when interpreting their kinematical data. Moreover, we briefly discuss the influence of a possible binary population on such measurements.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2013

Polar ring galaxies as tests of gravity

Polar ring galaxies are ideal objects with which to study the three-dimensional shapes of galactic gravitational potentials since two rotation curves can be measured in two perpendicular planes. Observational studies have uncovered systematically larger rotation velocities in the extended polar rings than in the associated host galaxies. In the dark matter context, this can only be explained through dark halos that are systematically flattened along the polar rings. Here, we point out that these objects can also be used as very effective tests of gravity theories, such as those based on Milgromian dynamics (MOND). We run a set of polar ring models using both Milgromian and Newtonian dynamics to predict the expected shapes of the rotation curves in both planes, varying the total mass of the system, the mass of the ring with respect to the host, as well as the size of the hole at the center of the ring. We find that Milgromian dynamics not only naturally leads to rotation velocities being typically higher in the extended polar rings than in the hosts, as would be the case in Newtonian dynamics without dark matter, but that it also gets the shape and amplitude of velocities correct. Milgromian dynamics thus adequately explains this particular property of polar ring galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2013

Main Sequence Star Populations in the Virgo Overdensity Region

We present deep CMDs for two Subaru Suprime-Cam fields in the Virgo Stellar Stream(VSS)/Virgo Overdensity(VOD) and compare them to a field centred on the highest concentration of Sagittarius (Sgr) Tidal Stream stars in the leading arm, Branch A of the bifurcation. A prominent population of MS stars is detected in all three fields and can be traced as faint as g~24 mag. Using theoretical isochrone fitting we derive an age of 9.1(+1.0;-1.1)Gyr, a median abundance of [Fe/H]=-0.70 (+0.15; -0.20)dex and d_helio of 30.9+-3.0kpc for the MS of the Sgr Stream Branch A. The dominant main sequence populations in the two VSS/VOD fields (Lsun ~265 deg, Bsun ~13 deg) are located at a mean distance of 23.3+-1.6kpc and have an age ~8.2Gyr and an abundance [Fe/H]=-0.67(+0.16;-0.12)dex similar to the Sgr Stream stars. These parameters are also in good agreement with the age of the main population in the Sagittarius dwarf (8.0+-1.5Gyr). They also agree with the peak in the metallicity distribution of 2-3Gyr old M-giants, [Fe/H] ~ -0.6dex, in the Sgr leading arm north. We then compare the results from the VSS/VOD fields with the Sgr Tidal Stream model by Law & Majewski based on a triaxial Galactic halo that is calibrated with SDSS Sgr A-branch and 2MASS M-giant stars. We find that the most prominent feature in the CMDs, the MS population at 23kpc, is not explained by the model. Instead the model predicts in these directions a low density filamentary structure of Sgr debris stars at ~9kpc and a slightly higher concentration of Sgr stars spread from 42-53kpc. At best there is only marginal evidence for the presence of these populations in our data. Our findings then suggest that while there are probably some Sgr debris stars present, the dominant stellar population in the VOD originates from a different halo structure that has almost identical age and metallicity as some sections of the Sgr tidal stream.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2012

A Catalog of Extended Clusters and Ultra-Compact Dwarf Galaxies - An Analysis of their Parameters in Early- and Late-Type Galaxies

Extended stellar clusters with effective radii larger than 10 pc have been found in various environments. Objects with masses comparable to globular clusters (GCs) are called extended clusters (ECs), while objects with masses in the dwarf galaxy regime are called ultra-compact dwarf galaxies (UCDs). The paper analyses the observational parameters luminosity, effective radius, and projected distance to the host galaxy, of all known ECs and UCDs and the dependence of these parameters on the type and the luminosity of their host galaxy. We searched the available literature to compile a catalog of star clusters larger than 10 pc. As there is no clear distinction between ECs and UCDs, both types of objects will be called extended stellar objects (EOs). In total, we found 813 EOs of which 171 are associated with late-type and 642 with early-type galaxies. EOs cover a luminosity range from about MV = -4 to -14 mag. However, the vast majority of EOs brighter than -10 mag are associated with elliptical galaxies. At each magnitude EOs are found with effective radii between 10 pc and an upper size limit, which shows a clear trend: the more luminous the object the larger is the upper size limit. For EOs associated with early-and late-type galaxies, the luminosity functions peak at -6.40 and -6.47 mag, respectively, which is about one magnitude fainter than the peak of the GC luminosity function. EOs and GCs form a coherent structure in the reff vs. MV parameter space, while there is a clear gap between EOs and early type dwarf galaxies. However, there is a small potential overlap at the high-mass end, where the most extended EOs are close to the parameters of compact elliptical galaxies. We compare the EO sample with numerical models and conclude that the parameters of the EO sample as a whole can be very well explained by a star cluster origin, where EOs are the results of merged cluster complexes.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2012

Field O stars: formed in situ or as runaways?

A significant fraction of massive stars in the Milky Way and other galaxies are located far from star clusters. It is known that some of these stars are runaways and therefore most likely were formed in embedded clusters and then ejected into the field because of dynamical few-body interactions or binary-supernova explosions. However, there exists a group of field O stars whose runaway status is difficult to prove via direct proper motion measurements or whose low space velocities and/or young ages appear to be incompatible with their large separation from known star clusters. The existence of this group led some authors to believe that field O stars can form in situ. In this paper, we examine the runaway status of the best candidates for isolated formation of massive stars in the Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds by searching for bow shocks around them, by using the new reduction of the Hipparcos data, and by searching for stellar systems from which they could originate within their lifetimes. We show that most of the known O stars thought to have formed in isolation are instead very likely runaways. We show also that the field must contain a population of O stars whose low space velocities and/or young ages are in apparent contradiction with the large separation of these stars from their parent clusters and/or the ages of these clusters. These stars (the descendants of runaway massive binaries) cannot be traced back to their parent clusters and therefore can be mistakenly considered as having formed in situ. We argue also that some field O stars could be detected in optical wavelengths only because they are runaways, while their cousins residing in the deeply embedded parent clusters might still remain totally obscured. The main conclusion of our study is that there is no significant evidence whatsoever in support of the in situ proposal on the origin of massive stars.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2012

Dwarf spheroidal satellites of the Milky Way from dark matter free tidal dwarf galaxy progenitors: maps of orbits

The long term time evolution of tidal dwarf satellite galaxies with two different initial densities orbiting a host galaxy that resembles the Milky Way has been studied using a large set of Newtonian N-Body simulations. From the simulations two maps of the orbital conditions that lead to quasi-equilibrium objects were constructed. It has been found that several orbits of the satellites allow for the existence, for about 1 Gyr or more, of out-of-equilibrium bodies with high apparent mass-to-light ratios. Within this framework the satellites in the quasi-stable phase reproduce the observed satellite properties for about 16% of the orbit for high density progenitors, and for about 66% for progenitors with lower densities An additional simulation for a single satellite with initial mass of 10^7 Msun and Plummer radius of 0.15 kpc leads to remnants in the quasi- equilibrium phase that simultaneously reproduce remarkably well the observational quantities of the UFDGs of the Milky Way. This satellite in the quasi-stable phase reproduces the observed satellite properties for about 42% of the orbit. The results suggest that a fraction of the observed satellites could plausibly be galaxies without dark matter that have true M/L ratios much lower than those measured. The inflated M/L ratios arise because they are observed at the right time, along the right orbit and during the quasi-equilibrium phase of their evolution. This is a viable explanation for the high M/L ratios observed in all satellites as long as the satellites are preferentially on certain orbits and are observed at certain times. This could arise within the TDG scenario if all satellites are created at the same time along a few specific orbits that are particularly susceptible to the quasi-equilibrium phase.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2012

Can filamentary accretion explain the orbital poles of the Milky Way satellites?

Several scenarios have been suggested to explain the phase-space distribution of the Milky Way (MW) satellite galaxies in a disc of satellites (DoS). To quantitatively compare these different possibilities, a new method analysing angular momentum directions in modelled data is presented. It determines how likely it is to find sets of angular momenta as concentrated and as close to a polar orientation as is observed for the MW satellite orbital poles. The method can be easily applied to orbital pole data from different models. The observed distribution of satellite orbital poles is compared to published angular momentum directions of subhalos derived from six cosmological state-of-the-art simulations in the Aquarius project. This tests the possibility that filamentary accretion might be able to naturally explain the satellite orbits within the DoS. For the most likely alignment of main halo and MW disc spin, the probability to reproduce the MW satellite orbital pole properties turns out to be less than 0.5 per cent in Aquarius models. Even an isotropic distribution of angular momenta has a higher likelihood to produce the observed distribution. The two Via Lactea cosmological simulations give results similar to the Aquarius simulations. Comparing instead with numerical models of galaxy-interactions gives a probability of up to 90 per cent for some models to draw the observed distribution of orbital poles from the angular momenta of tidal debris. This indicates that the formation as tidal dwarf galaxies in a single encounter is a viable, if not the only, process to explain the phase-space distribution of the MW satellite galaxies.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2012

The VPOS: a vast polar structure of satellite galaxies, globular clusters and streams around the Milky Way

It has been known for a long time that the satellite galaxies of the Milky Way (MW) show a significant amount of phase-space correlation, they are distributed in a highly inclined Disc of Satellites (DoS). We have extended the previous studies on the DoS by analysing for the first time the orientations of streams of stars and gas, and the distributions of globular clusters within the halo of the MW. It is shown that the spatial distribution of MW globular clusters classified as young halo clusters (YH GC) is very similar to the DoS, while 7 of the 14 analysed streams align with the DoS. The probability to find the observed clustering of streams is only 0.3 per cent when assuming isotropy. The MW thus is surrounded by a vast polar structure (VPOS) of subsystems (satellite galaxies, globular clusters and streams), spreading from Galactocentric distances as small as 10 kpc out to 250 kpc. These findings demonstrate that a near-isotropic infall of cosmological sub-structure components onto the MW is essentially ruled out because a large number of infalling objects would have had to be highly correlated, to a degree not natural for dark matter sub-structures. The majority of satellites, streams and YH GCs had to be formed as a correlated population. This is possible in tidal tails consisting of material expelled from interacting galaxies. We discuss the tidal scenario for the formation of the VPOS, including successes and possible challenges. The potential consequences of the MW satellites being tidal dwarf galaxies are severe. If all the satellite galaxies and YH GCs have been formed in an encounter between the young MW and another gas-rich galaxy about 10-11 Gyr ago, then the MW does not have any luminous dark-matter substructures and the missing satellites problem becomes a catastrophic failure of the standard cosmological model.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2011

The evolution of the surface brightness of a star cluster as a result of residual star-forming gas expulsion

Direct N-body calculations are presented of the early evolution of exposed clusters to quantify the influence of gas expulsion on the time-varying surface brightness. By assuming that the embedded OB stars drive out most of the gas after a given time delay, the change of the surface brightness of expanding star clusters is studied. The influence of stellar dynamics and stellar evolution is discussed. The growth of the core radii of such models shows a remarkable core re-virialisation. The decrease of the surface mass density during gas expulsion is large and is only truncated by this re-virialisation process. However, the surface brightness within a certain radius does not increase noticeably. Thus, an embedded star cluster cannot reappear in observational surveys after re-virialisation. This finding has a bearing on the observed infant mortality fraction.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2011

Search for OB stars running away from young star clusters. II. The NGC 6357 star-forming region

Dynamical few-body encounters in the dense cores of young massive star clusters are responsible for the loss of a significant fraction of their massive stellar content. Some of the escaping (runaway) stars move through the ambient medium supersonically and can be revealed via detection of their bow shocks (visible in the infrared, optical or radio). In this paper, which is the second of a series of papers devoted to the search for OB stars running away from young (several Myr) Galactic clusters and OB associations, we present the results of the search for bow shocks around the star-forming region NGC 6357. Using the archival data of the Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX) satellite and the Spitzer Space Telescope, and the preliminary data release of the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), we discovered seven bow shocks, whose geometry is consistent with the possibility that they are generated by stars expelled from the young star clusters, Pismis 24 and AH03 J1725-34.4, associated with NGC 6357. Two of the seven bow shocks are driven by the already known O stars. Follow-up spectroscopy of three other bow shock-producing stars showed that they are O-type stars as well, while the 2MASS photometry of the remaining two stars suggests that they could be B0 V stars, provided that both are located at the same distance as NGC 6357. Detection of numerous massive stars ejected from the very young clusters is consistent with the theoretical expectation that star clusters can effectively lose massive stars at the very beginning of their dynamical evolution and lends strong support to the idea that probably all field OB stars have been dynamically ejected from their birth clusters. A by-product of our search for bow shocks around NGC 6357 is the detection of three circular shells typical of luminous blue variable and late WN-type Wolf-Rayet stars.

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